The Yonko system of the One Piece world was first revealed in the Water Seven arc by Monkey D. Garp. According to Garp, in the New World, four powerful pirates rule as kings and their might was such that even the Government dare not confront them directly. These four powerful pirates are called the Four Emperors of the Sea, and at the time of Water 7, they were made up of Whitebeard, Shanks, Big Mom, and Kaido. It was made abundantly clear in the story that the Yonko were the pinnacle of piracy. It was also clear that they had existed for quite a while.

Shanks Became A Yonko 6 Years Ago In One Piece

When the Yonko were first introduced in One Piece, their ranks were made up of Whitebeard, Shanks, Kaido, and Big Mom. Out of those four, Whitebeard was certainly the oldest. Big Mom and Kaido were considered to be in the middle generation, while Shanks was, at the moment, the newest of the Yonko, having joined their ranks only four years ago.

Clearly before Shanks, there was another Yonko of the Sea that existed whose identity remains unknown for now. However, based on the recent turn of events in One Piece, it appears that the previous Yonko who existed in the New World as a powerful force before Shanks has already been revealed quietly, and this person is the very individual that Shanks ended up defeating six years ago in One Piece, Loki, the Accursed Prince of Elbaf.

Loki Could've Been The Yonko Before Shanks

Loki being the Yonko before Shanks should not come as a surprise to many. It is a fact that Loki possesses tremendous strength, which he gained after he ate the legendary Devil Fruit of Elbaf, also known as its National Treasure. This Devil Fruit allows him to transform into a giant black dragon that can engulf entire countries in size. On top of that, Loki also has access to Ragnir, a legendary hammer that can channel incredible power.

I am the Sun God who will destroy the whole world! — Loki

14 years ago, Loki killed King Harald with these powers, and at that point, it was already clear that his overall power level was even greater than that of Rocks D. Xebec. Then, Loki set out to sea immediately with a skeleton crew and he wreaked havoc for eight years on these seas. It was during this time that Loki was given a bounty of 2.6 billion berries, but what's even more impressive is that this bounty was termed "special" by the World Government. It is highly likely that this was Loki's very first bounty, making it the highest first bounty for any character in the entire series, and what's evident is that this bounty was already in Yonko territory.

It must be remembered that when Blackbeard was first made a Yonko, his bounty was 2.2476 billion berries. Comparatively, Loki's bounty, which was termed special was even higher at the time. At this point in the story, it was quite clear that Loki was easily the dominant force on the sea, along with the other three Yonko. This means that he could have been the fourth Emperor of the Sea before Shanks.

Loki Was Eventually Beaten By Shanks

Six years ago, Shanks and Loki came face to face, and this confrontation happened under unknown circumstances. But, the result of this confrontation has already been made clear by Eiichiro Oda. It was confirmed in the Elbaf arc that Shanks ended up defeating Loki and took the Accursed Prince back to Elbaf, where he was chained to the base of the Adam Tree in the Underworld. As to how Shanks managed to defeat a monstrosity as strong as Loki, fans do not know just yet.

Oda will likely shed more light on this later down the line, but the fact is that after defeating Loki, Shanks immediately went on to become a Yonko. This further supports the idea that Shanks replaced Loki as an Emperor of the Sea and has held on to this position ever since. The ranks of the Yonko have also undergone massive changes since Kaido, Big Mom, and Whitebeard have all been replaced. New Emperors in Luffy, Buggy, and Blackbeard have emerged. The Yonko might see even more shakeups as the final saga continues, and fans are incredibly excited to see that.

TV-14

Anime

Release Date: October 20, 1999
Network: Fuji TV
Directors: Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

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Mayumi Tanaka

Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
Kazuya Nakai

Roronoa Zoro (voice)

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.

Studio: Toei Animation
Creator: Eiichiro Oda
Streaming Service(s): Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV