This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf Arc.
The final saga of One piece has been relentless about introducing powerful characters to fans. Fans have seen the Yonko make moves they never imagined, while the admirals take part in big battles. Legends like Garp moved in the fight while old legends that existed in history like Harald and Rocks also appeared.
One Piece: Oda already set up Zoro's replacement in The Slam Hat Pirates
Zoro is strong, but he is replaced by straw pirates in one piece.
In the middle of this incredible event, Oda revealed to fans the strongest pirate of all time and fans know them as Davy Jones and Joy Boy. Joy Boy is specifically known as Imu's biggest fear, meaning he can easily be classified as the strongest pirate. Now, in the current timeline, Oda confirmed the strongest pirate in existence, second only to the likes of Davy Jones and the legendary Joy Boythe first pirate in history.
Joy Boy and Davy Jones were the two most powerful pirates of the Void Century
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Joy Boy was the first to be called a Pirate
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Davy Jones was a former king of the world
Right now, fans don't know much about the events that took place in the Void Century, but based on the bits and pieces that Oda revealed, it's pretty clear that the two absolute monsters that struck fear into Im, currently the strongest in the world, were Joy Boy and Davy Jones. Joy Boy was so powerful that his Haku caused Ima in Egghead immense pain and gave them PTSD as well. Similarly, Davy Jones was incredibly strong. Davy Jones' power struck fear into Ima as well, though perhaps not to the same degree as Joy Boy.
Still, based on everything presented in the story, it's safe to say at this point that Joy Boy and Davy Jones were two of the strongest pirates that existed long ago in the Void Century.. This is exactly why Imu wants to get rid of Joy Boy as well as erase Davy's line permanently. While these two pirates were absolutely incredible and on a completely different level than the others, maybe even stronger than Imu back then, fans know that they don't matter now because they're dead.
I did all this to help Elbaf escape the cycle of violence and fighting. Of course, I always intended to allow those who wanted to enlist in the Navy to do so, but not like this! I only want to serve you alone. Guards, tie me to a pillar and quickly call Elder Jarul and Loki. — King Harald, One Volume Chapter 1168
he said that Luffy is another Joy Boy, although he hasn't fully realized his powers yet, and Blackbeard, who is Davy Jones' successor, is also slowly building his power. Neither of these two is currently the strongest. The most powerful pirate currently is none other than Red-Haired Shanks, and he is also the third most powerful pirate in history as far as fans know, after Davy Jones and Joy Boy.
Shanks is the next strongest pirate in one piece
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Oda confirmed that Shanks is stronger than Harald and Rocks
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Shanks' Haki is comparable to Joy Boy
Fans may be confused as to what makes Shanks the third most powerful pirate in history One piece. However, you only need to look at One Piece's Elbaf arc to answer that question. First of all, Shanks' strength is already touted to be absolutely incredible. The Elder Five themselves state that once Shanks gets angry, he cannot be stopped. At the same time, fans saw a small glimpse of his abilities when he completely destroyed the leader of the Kid Pirates, Kid and Killer, with a single swing of his sword. Shanks is so powerful that he could scare an Admiral and nullify their Devil Fruit abilities by releasing a Haki bolt from miles away. No other character in One Piece has performed such feats and this is only a fraction of her true power.
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All that being said, the main reason why Shanks is the strongest pirate is none of these things. In the Elbaf Arc, Oda went a level further for Shanks and showed us how strong he had truly become. The main reason why Shanks is the strongest pirate in history after Joy Boy and Davy Jones, who was able to defeat Loki and Ragnir all by himself..
Shanks defeated Loki and Ragnir all by himself
To really understand the significance of Shanks defeating Loki and Ragnir all by himself, it is enough to understand how strong Loki and Ragnir really are. Starting with Ragnir, it was revealed in One piece Chapter 1170 that Ragnir has guarded the legendary Devil Fruit of Elbaf for centuries. This is absolutely huge because almost everyone has tried to eat this legendary devil fruit but they have not been accepted by Ragnir, meaning they have also not shown enough strength and will to deserve his acceptance. Harald failed at this, as did countless others before him. Still, Loki was able to gain Ragnir's trust and show him impressive fighting power in One Piece Chapter 1170.
Ragnir's power was clearly visible. It even withstood powerful blows with the maximum power of Loki's Conqueror Haki and it did more than enough to push Loki back. to say the least Ragnir is stronger than the Yonk commanders of the One Piece world and somewhere on the same level as the admirals, or in some aspects even rivaling Yonk. This might sound ridiculous to fans, simply because Ragnir is also a squirrel, but at the end of the day, Oda made that clear in the chapters.
Defeating Ragnir alone is a great feat for anyone but Shanks not only defeated Ragnir, but also Loki. Another interesting thing for fans to consider is Loki's performance.
Loki was stronger than Rocks and Harald
Fourteen years ago, on the day Harald died, Loki was strong enough for Harald to call out to stop him. However, he then continued to consume the legendary Devil Fruit of the country. Once Loki ate this legendary devil fruit, he became so powerful that he was even able to overpower Harald. For context, at this point Harald was being polished by Imu's Deep Sea Covenant. This Covenant made him so powerful that he surpassed the levels of Rocks D. Xebec, Gol D. Roger, Garp, and Whitebeard among all the other legends that existed in One Piece.
The power, it ripples through him. It's almost scary. And now he's immortal. It's chilling. He is more than a monster. He is a weapon at this point. — The Five Elders of King Harald, One Volume Chapter 1168
For Loki to overpower such a monster quite easily and overwhelm him in battle is absolutely unbelievable. Loki didn't even go all out, but his strength was such that Harald couldn't stand against him.
Shanks defeated Loki 6 years ago and became the strongest pirate in the world
At this point it was clearly established that Loki was the strongest in the One Piece world recently, and surpassed the levels of Rocks and Harald, perhaps even those of the Pirate King, though that remains unclear at this point in the story. Six years ago, Shanks fought Loki and Ragnir together and managed to defeat them against all odds. Shanks defeating Loki and Ragnir together is absolutely unbelievable. This means that Shanks' strength is much higher than that of Rocks and Harald.
Fourteen years ago, Shanks wasn't strong enough to stop Harald. However, right now it's pretty clear to see Shanks grew tremendously during this phase and gained enough strength to defeat not only Loki, but also Ragnir at his side.. Then he bound them in chains and took them back to Elbaf. Shanks' strength is legendary at this point and no one else comes close. He is easily the strongest pirate in the current generation.
Eiichiro Oda's One Piece focuses on the journey of Monkey D. Luffy and the straw pirates who sail the seas to claim the great treasure known as One Piece. The manga is currently in its Final Saga. One Piece will be featured in Weekly Shonen Jump this week. The official release date for One Piece Chapter 1170 is January 4, 2026. In Japan, One Piece drops on Monday at 12:00 PM JST, which is 11:00 AM EST or 8:00 AM PT. Fans can read this chapter for free on Manga Plus and Shonen Jump apps. This ensures that fans will always support the author.
