Summary

  • The Yonko are the most powerful pirates in One Piece, feared and revered globally for their strength and crews.
  • The Red-Hair Pirates are the most balanced Yonko crew, with potentially the highest overall bounty and mastery of Haki.
  • The Whitebeard Pirates, led by Whitebeard, relied heavily on his one-man strength, suffering after his demise in battles.

The Yonko, or Emperors of the Sea, are the most powerful pirates in the entire world, whether due to their mastery of the different kinds of Haki or the overpowered nature of their Devil Fruits. In all of One Piece, no other pirates are as feared or revered as them, since the power they hold is second to none, leading to them being the single greatest threat to the World Government and its established order.

However, as powerful and important as the Yonko are, they would be nowhere without their crews. Just like the Emperors themselves, their crews are also the most powerful in the entire One Piece world, often comprising of other incredibly notorious pirates and fighters. So, let's take a look at each of the Yonko crews and see which one of them is the strongest.

nico robin bounty one piece
One Piece: Every Bounty Of Nico Robin (So Far)

Nico Robin is an important member of the Straw Hat pirates. She keeps getting huge bounty increases in One Piece.

By 

The Cross Guild

Bounty: 8,848,000,000 Berry (at least)

featured one piece episode 1083 threat to Marines cross guild formation buggy mihawk crocodile

Captain

Buggy

Notable Members

Sir Crocodile - Dracule Mihawk - Daz Bonez - Alvida

Main Ship

Big Top Blaster

The Cross Guild is the newest crew of them all and, despite being so recent, is a massive thorn in the side of the World Government. This is because the Cross Guild gives out bounties for the Marines, much like the World Government does for pirates, making the entire world unsafe for these soldiers, as pirates and criminals would always be on the lookout to claim these bounties on just about any island. This was seen as enough of a threat for Buggy to be instated as one of the New Emperors.

I know that miracles don't come too often!

However, in terms of strength, the Cross Guild isn't very powerful. This is because the leader, Buggy, is notorious for being a weakling with incredible luck, whereas Sir Crocodile, who isn't weak by any means, is more of a ruthless manipulator than a fighter, despite having a very powerful Devil Fruit. The true muscle of the organization comes with Mihawk, but it's just him alone with most of the crew consisting of no-name criminals and pirates.

The Big Mom Pirates

Bounty: 10,121,500,000 Berry (at least)

One Piece Katakuri, Smoothie, Oven and Daifuku

Captain

Charlotte Linlin (Big Mom)

Notable Characters

Charlotte Katakuri - Charlotte Pudding - Charlotte Smoothie - Charlotte Cracker

Main Ship

Queen Mama Chanter

The first of the Yonko that the main heroes of the story ever fought, the Big Mom Pirates are easily the overall largest Yonko crew in the entire series. Totto-Land is their base of operations and spans a very wide area with many thousands of residents who usually live in peace. With a crew filled with multiple characters with bounties teetering around the billion-berry mark, the Big Mom Pirates are renowned across the Grand Line as one of the strongest crews out there.

My name is Linlin! I'm the woman who'll become the King of the Pirates!

The strongest members of the crew are known as the Sweet Commanders, who are all extremely powerful and versatile characters that proved to be a great hindrance to the heroes during the Wholecake Island arc, the best example of which is Katakuri, who showed incredible mastery over Observation Haki and gave Luffy a very tough fight. However, much of the fighting force of this crew relies on the Sweet Commanders and, for as many members of the Big Mom Pirates as there are, the majority of them aren't powerful, which is why they're ranked fairly low.

The Beast Pirates

Bounty: 11,179,000,000 (at least)

one-piece-beast-pirates

Captain

Kaido of the Beasts

Notable Members

King - Queen - Jack - Basil Hawkins

Main Ship

Unknown

The Beast Pirates are one of the most dangerous pirate crews in the entire world, led by the governor-general, Kaido. Kaido himself is known as the strongest creature on Earth who's famous around the world for being nigh-unkillable. He was so strong that he was able to defeat Luffy multiple times in various battles, only being beaten by Gear 5. Other than him, the rest of his crew are extremely powerful, with his 3 strongest executives each having a bounty of over 1 Billion and being incredible warriors in their own right with powerful Ancient Zoan Devil Fruits!

King... I know who he is. Joyboy is the man... Who will defeat me!

What makes the Beast Pirates so formidable is the fact that all the top-ranking officials within them are users of powerful Ancient Zoan Type Devil Fruits, whereas the lower-ranking members have eaten Smile Fruits, which are essentially weaker versions of Devil Fruits. However, despite this strength, the Beast Pirates largely have little camaraderie, which led to their defeat at the hands of the Straw Hat Pirates and the forces of Wano.

Saint Garling Figarland Immortality
One Piece: Will Garling Figarland Gain Immortality, Explained

The Gorosei are all immortal. Will Figarland Garling become immortal after joining them in One Piece?

2
By 

The Straw Hat Pirates

Bounty: 8,816,001,000

Straw Hats

Captain

Monkey D. Luffy

Notable Members

Roronoa Zoro - Vinsmoke Sani - Jimbei - Usopp - Nico Robin - Tony Tony Chopper - Brook - Franky - Nami

Main Ship

The Thousand Sunny

The Straw Hat Pirates are one of the youngest and most recently formed crews from all the Yonko forces. Despite them having a fairly lower placement, the main combatants of this crew are incredibly powerful fighters in their own right, with the captain, Monkey D. Luffy, being the holder of the legendary Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Sun God Nika Devil Fruit, as well as a proficient user of Conqueror's Haki. His right-hand man, Roronoa Zoro, is one of the world's strongest swordsmen, and other members such as Sanji and Jimbei are also incredibly powerful fighters.

Power isn't determined by your size, but the size of your heart and dreams!

However, this crew is very balanced in terms of designations. While every member has at least some form of combat utility, their true expertise lies in the various fields that make the Straw Hats such an important force that is destined to change the world. While Chopper may not be the strongest fighter, his role as the doctor has been instrumental in saving many people and winning the overall battle multiple times in the story, whereas Nami's role as the navigator is the only reason why the heroes can get to wherever they need to go! The true strength of this crew comes with the things that makes each member so important.

The Whitebeard Pirates

Bounty: 10,010,000,000 (at least)

Whitebeard walking with his 16 division commanders in One Piece

Captain

Edward Newgate (Whitebeard)

Notable Members

Marco - Portgaz D. Ace - Diamond Jozu - Kozuki Oden - Vista

Main Ship

The Moby Dick

Whitebeard himself was the strongest man in the entire world, reportedly powerful enough to destroy the entire planet by himself. Not only that, but for the longest time, he was said to be the man who was closest to finding the One Piece treasure despite not even wanting to, as well as the pirate to hold the second-highest pirate bounty in history. Other than him, his crew consisted of incredibly powerful and legendary fighters, such as Marco the Phoenix, Ace, and Kozuki Oden.

The One Piece... Is real!

However, the biggest drawback of the Whitebeard Pirates was the fact that most of their strength came from Whitebeard himself. Due to his mastery over all kinds of Haki paired with his destructive Devil Fruit, Whitebeard was essentially a one-man army. Though the rest of his crew were quite powerful, much of their strength had dissipated without him, as was seen by how they suffered a terrible loss when they fought against Blackbeard's forces after Marineford. Had Newgate himself been there, then there wouldn't even have been a competition.

The Blackbeard Pirates

Bounty: 4,246,200,000 (at least)

Blackbeard pirates one piece

Captain

Marshall D. Teach (Blackbeard)

Notable Members

Kuzan - Shiryu of the Rain - Catarina Devon - Van Auger - Jesus Burgess

Main Ship

Saber of Xebec

The Blackbeard Pirates are easily the most unpredictable and dangerous of all the Yonko pirate crews. Blackbeard himself is perhaps the most cunning and ruthless pirate in the entire series, as well as one of the strangest, since he has a special body that allows him to eat more than 1 Devil Fruit. This also mirrors the main goal of his entire crew, which is to go around and collect overpowered Devil Fruits in order to have the most powerful crew on the seas!

A man's dream will never die!

The Blackbeard Pirates consist of the most dangerous and detestable criminals in the entire world, as they're all Level 6 prisoners who were kept inside Impel Down. Throughout the story, they have collected extremely powerful Devil Fruits or users of said fruits to make the most powerful crew imaginable, which was seen when the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates led by Marco attacked them but suffered a crushing defeat. Even though Whitebeard himself could have taken them down, Teach took his Devil Fruit and now holds two at once!

figarland imu akainu world government one piece
One Piece: The Hierarchy of the World Government, Explained

The World Government is the most powerful organization in all of One Piece, so what is the hierarchy that governs the way it functions?

The Red-Hair Pirates

Bounty: 4,142,900,000 (at least)

red hair pirates race for one piece

Captain

'Red-Hair' Shanks

Notable Members

Benn Beckman - Yasopp - Lucky Roux - Bonk Punch

Main Ship

Red Force

The Red-Hair Pirates are the only Yonko crew from the previous generation to still be in action today, showing just how important and powerful they truly are. Their captain is Shanks, a former apprentice of the Pirate King Gol D. Roger and the character with arguably the most powerful Conqueror's Haki in the current setting. Though very little is known about this crew in terms of its overall power, it is revealed that the Red-Hair Pirates are said to be the most balanced in terms of strength and bounty, meaning each member is incredibly dangerous in their own right.

I'm here to put an end to this war!

Shanks has a bounty of over 4.1 Billion and while the bounties of the other crewmates aren't known, it is said that they're all relative to one another, possibly making this crew the one with the highest overall bounty. Moreover, it is also inferred that none of them have Devil Fruit powers, implying that each member is a masterful Haki user, making them even more legendary. However, the true strength of the Red-Hair Pirates remains a mystery, though the fear they struck in the hearts of the World Government after the Marineford War was enough to warrant them as the strongest Yonko crew of them all!

One Piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

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One Piece
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Release Date
October 20, 1999
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One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga's popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.

Main Genre
Anime
Number of Episodes
1122
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