Summary
There’s a plethora of incredibly strong pirates, marines, and revolutionaries seen throughoutOne Piece’sstory, but despite this, many of the most powerful fighters are way past their prime. This doesn’t mean these individuals can’t still dish out tons of damage when they want to, since in the world ofOne Piece, once a person has proven their might in battle, they usually only end up becoming a little weaker over time, rather than losing all their strength.
Because of this, any time these characters do decide to show off a flashy, overwhelming attack or ability, it encourages fans to wonder how absurdly powerful they must have been back in their day. By the time that Luffy’s journey kicks off, it’s clear that some of the world’s former powerhouses are no longer quite as formidable as they once were, but if anything, that just makes theseOne Piececharacters all the more intriguing.
7Silvers Rayleigh
The Right-Hand Of The Pirate King Was Known Far And Wide For His Skills As A Swordsman
Before he ended up acting as a mentor to Luffy after theMarineford War, Rayleigh was the second in command of Gol. D Roger’s crew, where he was renowned for his combat capabilities. As a master of Haki, Rayleigh could effortlessly cut through anyone who looked at him or his captain the wrong way.
While there have only been small glimpses shown of Rayleigh’s time sailing the seas with Roger, he himself admits that he’s no longer in his prime, despite still being strong enough to strike fear into the eyes of anyone who dares to challenge him in a fight.
6Gecko Moria
Moria Managed to Hold His Own Against Kaido, Which Is Far From An Easy Feat
Although theformer Shichibukai Gecko Moriacomes across as a pretty lazy pirate when he debuts in the Thriller Bark arc, this wasn’t always the case. In fact, when he was still an up-and-coming pirate, he managed to go toe-to-toe with Kaido for three whole days. When taking into account that Kaido has always been immensely powerful, it makes this feat even more impressive, even though Moria’s crew was entirely wiped out during the skirmish.
With all of his crewmates gone, Moria would grow depressed, deciding to create a new crew full of zombies and mutants who can deal with oncoming trespassers while he sits back and admires the view from afar. It can be easy to forget about just how strong Moria truly was when seeing him only in the main story, but the flashbacks reveal that he was once a much more formidable opponent than the one that Luffy and the crew encountered.
5Whitebeard
The Almighty Whitebeard Was Somehow Even Stronger In His Youth
It’s clear from the moment Whitebeard shows up in the story that he’s a man who has been in more than a few battles during his time as a captain. When he enters the story, Whitebeard is hooked up to a life support machine with doctors all around him to provide him with help whenever he needs it. However, while his health may be deteriorating, he was still able to put up one hell of a fight during the Marineford War, and would even clash swords with Shanks not long before it started.
Whitebeard’s Devil Fruitallows him to create entire earthquakes in mere seconds, but his physical strength and mobility aren’t what they once were when he was riding alongside the likes of Big Mom and Kaido as part of the Rocks crew. As shown in the flashback with him and Roger, Whitebeard has always been incredibly strong, and though age did eventually catch up to him, it honestly didn’t end up slowing him down all that much.
4Shimotsuki Ryuma
Ryuma Reanimated Was A Slightly Nerfed Version Of The Legendary Swordsman
Though Ryuma technically died a little while before theOne Piecestory begins, he does return in a roundabout way after being re-animated by Moria, who dug the legendary samurai out from his grave to use as a tool within his army of ghouls and monsters. Zoro would be lucky enough to clash swords with Ryuma during the Thriller Bark arc, but it was evident that the latter was far weaker since his prime.
Fans would be able to learn a lot more about Ryuma and how admired he is among his fellow swordsmen because of his skills in battle in theWano arc. This is also why Zoro was able to best Ryuma in combat despite being fairly early in the journey, since Ryuma wasn’t fighting at his full potential.
3Garp
The Man Who Once Fought Off The Infamous Rock Pirates Is Still One Of The Strongest Marines
It’s honestly kind of scary to even think about how insanely strong the hero of the Marines, Garp, was back in his day, considering he still stands as one of the most powerful characters in the series. However, as someone who is credited with fighting off the infamous Rocks Pirates many years ago, alongside Gol. D Roger, it makes sense why so many marines look up to him as a role model.
In the main series, one of Garp’s greatest feats was being able to obliterate an entire island just to save Koby from the clutches of Blackbeard with a single punch. The fact that he could presumably deal even more damage than this just a few years back makes it a real joy anytime fans get to see a flashback of him fighting a powerful enemy.
2Buckingham Stussy
Believe It Or Not, The Old Hag Who Hangs Around With Weevil Was Actually A Fearsome Pirate
The Egghead story arc is packed full of fun and intriguing reveals, but one which seems to come out of nowhere is the reveal of Stussy, or rather, her true form. The Stussy who has been appearing here and there since the Whole Cake Island arc is revealed to actually be a clone of Stussy when she was in her prime duringher time aboard the Rocks ship.
In actuality, the true Stussy is the old woman who can always be seen ordering Weevil around to do her bidding. When looking at how quick and lethal the clone is compared to the real Stussy, it highlights that she was far stronger as a younger woman, considering she is now forced to rely heavily on Weevil to dish out damage in the modern story.
1Sengoku
Sengoku Is Currently Retired After Giving It His All At Marineford
While most of the marines have had numerous flashbacks scattered throughout the story, which explore their past lives, Sengoku’s backstory remains largely a mystery. However, as someone who was a fleet admiral beforethe timeskip, it’s clear he was no slouch when it came to fighting, as demonstrated in the Marineford War, where he transforms into his giant golden Buddha form to flatten entire groups of pirates with a single punch.
After the timeskip, though, Sengoku decided to hang up his hat for good, handing over the role of leader to Akainu after he bested Aokiji in their match on Punk Hazard. These days, Sengoku can often be found eating potato chips or petting his goat, preferring to take a backseat after achieving so much in his career.
