One Piece officially establishes a new pirate stronger than Gol D. Roger

Elbaf Arch One piece introduced us to a constellation of powerful characters. In the process, story writer Eiichiro Oda introduced characters at a whole new level of power, some even surpassing that of pirate king Gol D. Roger. While Roger stood at the peak of his powers, surpassing even the likes of Rocks D. Xebec, as confirmed in One piece chapter 1167, the next generation has some individuals at an even higher level.

More specifically, Roger's protégé Shanks surpassed him by matching him in terms of both Haki and potentially wielding the Devil Fruit sword, performing on a scale never seen before.

Eiichiro Oda Prepares Shanks Defeating Gol D. Roger in One Piece Chapters 1079 and 1138

Pirate King Gol D. Roger has been confirmed by Eiichiro Oda on numerous occasions in the story to be at the pinnacle of power. Specifically, One Piece Chapter 577, portrayed the strongest man in the world, Whitebeard, as equal to Roger as the greatest achievement of his life.

“He was a man equal to the Pirate King Gol D. Roger. Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, The Great Pirate, Edward Newgate, Whitebeard.” — Narrator, One Piece Chapter #577

One Piece Chapter 966 once again showed a sick and dying Roger accidentally matching Whitebeard in a fight. Most recently, Loki's flashback in Elbaf, specifically in chapter 1165, Eiichiro Oda confirmed that even though Roger managed to severely injure Domi Reversed Rocks D. Xebec, he had not yet reached his peak power level. This confirms once and for all that Roger was the most powerful pirate in the world in his era.

As for the pirates who were set to surpass Gol D. Roger, Eiichiro Oda did a great job portraying Shanks as perfect for the role. One Piece Chapter 1079, which was released in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump #17 on March 27, 2023, showcased the immense power of Red-Haired Shanks as he went into battle against Eustass Kid and his pirate crew. With a single random attack from his blade, Shanks was able to take out both Kid and Killer with ease, and Dorry and Broggy then proceeded to finish off the Kid Pirates. This chapter showed that Shanks' Haki is at a similar power level to Pirate King Roger.

Additionally, when combined with Shanks' Haki performance against Aramaki v One piece chapter 1155 which was officially released on August 1, 2022, it is clear that he is the strongest Haki user currently. At the same time, it was also directly confirmed by Eiichiro Oda that Shanks had Haki abilities that even Roger did not have, such as Observation Killing, which was directly confirmed in Volume 4 Billion, written by Oda himself. As a Haki user, Shanks is just as good as Roger, if not stronger.

Added to this was the fact that Shanks could potentially wield a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit sword named Griffon. In One Piece SBS Vol. 87, Eiichiro Oda confirmed that Shanks has a special sword called the Griffon, which greatly influences his fighting style.

What is the name of Red-Haired Shanks' sword?

A: Apparently it's called “Griffon”. We've known Shanks since the first chapter, but how does he actually fight?

— Exchange between Oda and the fan, One Piece Volume 87 SBS

One Piece Chapter 1138, published in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #10 on February 3, 2026, showed Shamrock wielding the Cerberus sword, which is identical to Shanks' sword. As it turns out, his sword has the Mythical Zoan ability, which he used against Loki in battle, severely injuring him in the process. Shanks, who is Shamrock's twin brother, probably has similar power in his Griffon sword that he uses in battle, and this sword could potentially take him to a level even higher than the Pirate King's.

How One Piece Chapter 1170 Confirms Shanks Above Roger's Level

One piece Chapter 1170, published on January 5, 2026 in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #6-7, officially indicated that Shanks had surpassed Gol D. Roger's power level. This was confirmed as King Harald was shown to have reached a level much higher than the legends of the old era such as Roger and the Rocks after receiving the Treaty of the Deep from Nero Imu. In fact, Harald's power was confirmed in One Piece Chapter 1169 to have reached such a level that he could go on to destroy the entire world.

“If Harald left the castle in such a state, he would cause a great calamity to the entire world. I tasted a hopeless future in that fight. No matter what we did to him, his body kept regenerating. I still can't believe that someone managed to stop him.” — Scopper Gaban on King Harald's true power, One Piece Chapter #1171

Despite this, after consuming the power of Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Nidhoggr in chapter 1170, Loki was able to completely overpower him in battle and defeat him effortlessly. Fast forward eight years, Shanks was able to defeat the very same Loki, who easily overpowered King Harald, who was already stronger than Rocks and Roger. It is clear that Eiichiro Oda is training Shanks to be at an even higher level than Roger and Rocks, making him one of the strongest in the entire world.

“6 years ago, a man named Red-Haired Shanks was able to stop Loki. No one had ever been able to stop him before him.” — Scopper Gaban, One Piece Chapter #1139

The overall power level of Shanks in the current era of One Piece

Currently One piece world, Shanks easily ranks among the strongest characters. As one of the four sea emperors, he stands tall among the most powerful pirates. He has the strongest Haki of any pirate living in the story right now, as has been widely demonstrated through his feats unmatched by any other character. He could also potentially have a Devil Fruit sword rivaling Shamrock Figarland's Cerberus, putting him at an even higher level of power. All of his powers combined make him a force to be reckoned with.

Shanks primarily relies on his powerful Supreme King Haki in combat, and after decades of tireless training, Shanks has reached a level of power that only a select few can match. The only characters stronger than Shanks in the current One Piece timeline are Nerona Imu, the king of the entire world, and in the future, Monkey D. Luffy, who will surely surpass him and claim the throne of the Pirate King. While Shanks has already demonstrated immense strength in battle, the true power of this fearsome individual has yet to be unleashed by Eiichiro Oda. After the Elbaf arc, the focus will likely shift to all the other Emperors, including Shanks, and this is where we might finally see what he's really capable of in combat.

All the latest One Piece chapters by Eiichiro Oda are available to read through Manga Plus and Viz Media.