Summary
The world ofOne Pieceis filled to the brim with strong characters, each one fiercer than the last. From Devil Fruits to Haki to technological advancements, there are many ways you’re able to overwhelm others with power. However, the weapon of choice for most of these powerhouses that can level entire cities with a single wave of their arm, would be a trusty sword.
Not every character that wields one makes a swordsman. For the sake of this list, we’ll be ranking every character that uses a sword as part of their main skillset, so the formerly alive Strongest Man in the world, Whitebeard, will not be making an appearance.
9Zoro
Our Beloved Swordsman Of Three Blades
The right-hand man of the Strawhat Pirates, Luffy’s first recruit has the dream to become the World’s Strongest Swordsman. Being one of the main characters, as well as a member of the Monster Trio, we’ve carefully followed Zoro’s progress as he becomes stronger with each arc.
Zoro is strong enough to slash away entire mountains, deflect a joint attack from Big Mom and Kaido, as well as control the cursed blade Enma. There’s no arguing he will one day reach the top of this list. However, until One Piece reaches its final arc, there are many other blade wielders he’ll have to challenge and defeat.
8Fujitora
Admiral Of The Marines
The Yonko, orEmperors of the Sea, are the strongest Pirates that dominate the New World. However, as strong as they are, the Marines have theirown group of powerhousesthat can rival the Yonko, them being the Admirals. Among the various fiery punchers and flashy kickers present in the group, only one stays on the path of the sword, the Blind Old Gambler, Fujitora.
Now, all Admirals don’t stand on equal ground, and Fujitora isn’t holding his own against Akainu. Still, Issho is strong enough to gain the Admiral position despite being completely blind and uses a Supreme Grade Blade, something seen by the strongest people in the verse like Whitebeard and Roger.
7Oden
Former Shogun Of Wano
Oden’s story is one of the most tragic ones Oda has written. Despite his absurd strength, he was unable to do anything with his power, instead relying on the future to save his beloved country. However, despite his showcase of weakness, he’s still one of the hardest hitters in One Piece, having served in the crews of both Roger and Whitebeard.
Oden uses two of the most perfectly crafted swords in One Piece. The Ame no Habakiri is one of the 21 Great Grade Swords and one of the only weapons to ever be seen to injure Kaido in his dragon form. His other sword, Enma, now belongs to Zoro and was so powerful that it drained all strength from him the first time he picked it up, making Oden’s casual use of it so much more impressive.
6Rayleigh
Dark King Rayleigh, Right-Hand Man Of The King Of Pirates
While the main focus of One Piece is on the newer generation, includingStrawhat Luffy and his crewmates, Oda establishes fairly early on that the world has existed before them, and there are characters that are hundreds of times stronger than those we follow.
Dark King Rayleigh is one such character, being Roger’s second-in-command and an incredibly proficient user of all types of Haki. Even old Rayleigh was strong enough to make Blackbeard cower in fear, a version of him that is noted to be a lot weaker. In his prime, he was said to be a legend equal in name to Whitebeard and Roger, albeit below them in strength.
5Saint Figarland Garling
Leader Of The Holy Knights, One Of The Five Elders
The newest member of the Five Great Elders, St. Figarland Garling is hinted as possessing strength equal to the likes of prime Whitebeard, Roger, and Rocks D. Xebecc. This is because, like the previously mentioned characters, he was one of the people involved in the God Valley incident, surviving the hell that broke loose there.
As for his strength, we have no idea what he’s capable of. He’s the leader of the Celestial Dragon’s protective force, the Holy Knights, as well as one of the only people allowed to pass judgment on said Celestial Dragons. Overall, even despite no solid feats, speculation and theme alone puts him near the top of the strongest sword users in One Piece.
4Shanks
Luffy’s Inspiration
Shanks is one of the first characters we meet and is an immediate example of what it means to be strong in One Piece. He’s always had an aura about him that screams strength, but we haven’t had a look at even a small portion of it.
What we do know is that he could battle Mihawk with a sword, could collide blades with Whitebeard even after losing an arm, and completely eradicated Kidd’s battle fleet with a single attack. Shanks’s feats already rival some of the most powerful characters in the verse, and the closer we get to the end of the story, the more we’ll get to see his full strength!
3Mihawk
World’s Strongest Swordsman
It’s no surprise the current World’s Strongest swordsman has such a high place on the list. Despite no real feats in the series, Mihawk was strong enough to become a Warlord of The Sea without even having a crew and has been seen to cut entire ships in half from miles away with a casual wave of his sword.
Mihawk uses one of the 12 Supreme Grade Blades, Yoru.
Mihawk is also one of the two characters we’ve seen that have turned their sword into a Black Blade, permanently changing its attributes. He serves as Zoro’s eventual final opponent before he can take the mantle of the best swordsman in the world. However, until we see more of him, his actual strength remains a mystery.
2Roger
The King Of Pirates
Whitebeard, Roger, and Rocks D. Xebecc are the three strongest characters we’ve seen in One Piece. Of these, the Pirate King was the only one who could be called a swordsman. Like many other top tiers, he has access to one of the 12 Supreme Grade Blades.
The series doesn’t attempt to hide the fact that the King of Pirates was at the peak of what any one person can achieve, both in terms of accomplishments and strength. He’s the only person to reach Laugh Tale and see the One Piece, and is the trigger for all events that happen in the series by starting the Great Age of Pirates and inspiring Luffy to chase after the same dream he once saw.
1Ryuuma
The Sword God
For one called the Sword God, it’d be a shame to put them any lower than this. Like certain other top-tiers like Shanks and Mihawk, we lack any conclusive idea of what his strength was like when he was alive. However, he was strong enough to be regarded as Wano’s savior and had enough power to defend the country from external entities such as the Marines and the World Government to the point that the rest of the world began fearing Wano.
Ryuuma’s named sword, Shusui, is Wano’s national treasure.
Ryuuma also has a Black Blade, and along with Mihawk, is the only character we’ve seen that has transformed his weapon into one. This further proves just how in tune he was with the sword and explains why the Samurai of Wano were thought to be so formidable. Additionally, the people of Wano believed him to be equal to Joyboy in terms of strength, putting him in the realm of otherworldly deities such as Imu.
