This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf Arc.
The Yonko are some of the most intriguing characters in the world of One Piece. As fans know already, they're the four most powerful pirates to exist in the One Piece world, and that's what makes them so relevant, especially in the endgame of the series. The pirates that make up the Yonko are always changing in One Piece. Right now, the order is made up of Luffy, Shanks, Blackbeard, and of course, the Genius Jester, Buggy the Clown.
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Dragon had a massive bounty, and Oda just hinted at its number in One Piece.
All these pirates are in the quest for the One Piece, and fans know very well that one of them will eventually go on to claim it. Naturally, the Yonko crew with the highest strength stands the best chance of doing so. Oda has officially revealed which Yonko crew is the strongest in One Piece, and, unsurprisingly, it is the Red Hair Pirates, which are led by none other than the Yonko, Red-haired Shanks. Fans might be wondering what makes them the strongest Yonko crew, but there are more than enough reasons for that to be the case.
The Red Hair Pirates Is The Strongest Yonko Crew
The Highest Bounties Belong To This Crew
- Their Overall Balance Is The Best
- The Straw Hats Are Not Balanced
When it comes to the Red Hair Pirates, fans know very well that Oda has taken his sweet time with them. They were introduced quite early on in One Piece, and that means Oda paid special attention to them. More than that, the Red Hair Pirates were designed in such a way that they were essentially Luffy's goal.
Led by the Chief Red Hair Shanks, this crew has very few weak spots. — Brannew
When Luffy promises to become a Great Pirate to Shanks, he also explicitly states that he will make a Pirate Crew better than that of Red Hair Shanks's. Until they clash, Luffy and the Straw Hats aren't on that level. But, these are mostly narrative reasons.
The truth is that Oda himself has hyped up the Red Hair Pirates as the strongest crew on more than just one occasion. Oda recently mentioned in Wano that the Red Hair Pirates boast an extremely high bounty average. This means that all their members have very high rewards on their heads. As fans know, high bounty means high strength and high danger level. If the Red Hair Pirates are relatively calm and don't cause much trouble for the World Government, the high bounty can only come from strength.
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Are you that afraid of the new era? — Shanks
Oda also explicitly stated that out of all the Yonko crew, the Red Hair Pirates have the best balance of all. This means the power gaps between various members aren't that high and that there are no weaknesses.
The Straw Hats Are In The Third Spot
Blackbeard Pirates Are Closing In On The Red Hair Pirates
No matter which way the fans want to look at it, the Red Hair Pirates are the strongest Yonko crew in One Piece at the moment. The only crew close to them at the moment is the Blackbeard Pirates, and as fans know, they've managed to reach a very high level thanks to their Devil Fruits.
The Straw Hat Pirates, in the meantime, are far weaker, and aside from the Monster Trio, none of them are especially powerful.
One Piece's next chapter will be out in two weeks. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. The official release date for the next One Piece Chapter is September 28, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
One Piece
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
