Strongest Pirate Fleets In One Piece

Summary

• Pirate fleets in One Piece vary in power, with some, like the Red Hair Pirates, being strong, while others, like the Krieg Pirates, being weak.
• The Straw Hat Grand Fleet, led by Monkey D. Luffy, consists of diverse crews and has a large number of members ready to aid in battle.
• The Blackbeard Pirates, founded by Marshall D. Teach, are considered one of the strongest fleets in One Piece, having defeated the Whitebeard Pirates.

A fleet is a grouping of ships that sails together under the same banner. They are frequently used by organizations like the navy, during their Buster Calls, in which a number of affiliated ships are summoned to deal with a significant issue. It stands to reason that, in most cases, the fleets in One Piece are a good deal more powerful than a single ship.

Pirates are also users of fleets, though how powerful they are varies on a case-by-case basis. The Krieg Pirates, despite boasting 5,000 men on 50 ships, managed to lose all but their flagship after an encounter with Mihawk. Nonetheless, some fleets are fairly reputable in battle, and many powerful pirates make good use of them. These are the most powerful pirate fleets in One Piece.

7

Golden Lion Pirates

Airbound Fleet

• Captain: Shiki
• Subordinate Crews: Amigo Pirates (Non-Canonically), At Least 49 Other Crews

Shiki, alongside the likes of Linlin, Newgate, and Kaido, was a former subordinate to Rocks D. Xebec. Once the Rocks Pirates disbanded, Shiki founded his own crew, said to be the strongest of Roger’s era, who terrified the Grand Line in their prime. Shiki’s Devil Fruit, the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi, allows him to levitate virtually any non-living thing, alongside himself, allowing his flagship island to float in the air. Despite his apparent reputation, however, Shiki is no stranger to defeat.

He challenged the Roger Pirates once Gol D. Roger refused to join his armada and even gained the upper hand. However, a freak storm wiped out half of his fleet, and Shiki ultimately lost to Roger. Shiki ended up being incarcerated in Impel Down but escaped by cutting off his legs and replacing them with his swords as prosthetics. Non-canonically, he rebuilt his fleet in One Piece: Strong World and the filler episodes surrounding it. He added a number of mutated animals to this incarnation, adding to its potency. Nonetheless, this version was defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates.

6

Red Hair Pirates

Strong Core But Externally Weak

• Captain: Shanks
• Subordinate Crews: Social Club, Bourgeois Pirates, Puddle Pirates, Night Butterfly Pirates, and at least one other crew

“Red Hair” Shanks is one of the most powerful pirates in the One Piece series. A pirate since his youth and an early inspiration for Luffy, Shanks has long had a level of established power. He is considered a viable challenger to most pirates who share his rank of Emperor, and he may be the strongest of those currently active. His crew itself is also fairly remarkable, including the likes of the intelligent Ben Beckmann, the sharpshooting Yassop, and the surprisingly flexible Lucky Roux among its senior officers.

But while Shanks and his crew have a level of dominance, his subordinates are, by New World standards, fairly weak, diluting the fleet’s overall power. Despite his lack of mercy towards enemies, Shanks is known to have a generous side that was shown early on with Luffy. It is possible that lending his banner to fairly weak crews is a method of protecting them, similar to how other pirates with the rank of Emperor “claim” territories with this exact intention.

5

Straw Hat Grand Fleet

An Alliance Of Crews

• Captain: Monkey D. Luffy
• Subordinate Crews: Beautiful Pirates, Barto Club (?), Happo Navy, Ideo Pirates, Tontatta Pirates, New Giant Warrior Pirates, Yonta Maria Grand Fleet

Monkey D. Luffy is the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. His own crew tends to be fairly small but powerful, with each of its members being fairly skilled in combat and particularly distinguished in their own specific fields. Despite not even becoming an Emperor at the time of its formation, Luffy inadvertently inspired a pirate fleet of his own after his time in Dressrosa. Many figures in the Corrida Colosseum were baited with the Mera Mera no Mi and ended up being turned into toy automatons by Sugar after their loss.

It was thanks to the intervention of one “God” Usopp, who knocked out Sugar by making a truly pained face, that these various combatants regained their freedom. Once the fighting in Dressrosa had ceased, those involved who stayed loyal to the Straw Hats declared allegiance to Monkey D. Luffy, allowing him to call on their aid in times of need. Luffy himself was somewhat discontent with the idea, as he preferred a smaller crew. In essence, he retooled the organization to an alliance, adding the caveat that any “subordinate” in need of assistance should simply ask him for help when they need it as well.

The fleet is somewhat large, boasting 5,640 members in total, with the individual crews varying in size. While two crews had fewer than ten total members, another two were large enough to constitute fleets of their own. There is also a level of diversity amidst the ranks, with dwarves and giants being among those currently affiliated. That said, the crew has yet to debut in its entirety. While all of its captains and a majority of prominent members fought alongside the crew at Dressrosa, crews like the New Giant Warrior Pirates and Yonta Maria Grand Fleet are still not significantly detailed.

Further complicating matters is the apparent sinking of the Barto Club during an altercation with the Red Hair Pirates, making it unclear whether they are still a factor in the group. An incomplete incarnation of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet was able to take on most of the Donquixote Pirates, so who knows what a full-fledged version of the group can manage?

4

Beasts Pirates

A Menagerie Of Crews

• Captain: Kaido
• Subordinate Crews: None at present, Donquixote Pirates (formerly)

Kaido was a figure of great fear for most of his time as a pirate. The World Government repeatedly struggled to capture him and failed to kill him. Other pirate crews were single-handedly decimated at his hand. His own crew, the Beasts Pirates, integrated a number of other crews into its roster. While there are no explicitly affiliated “subordinate” crews active at present, many officers within the Beasts Pirates, namely half of the Flying Six among others, were former captains themselves, seemingly letting their crews filter into the Beasts Pirates, rather than retaining any direct authority over them specifically.

Kaido’s crew found themselves defeated by the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance, itself a collaborative effort between the Straw Hat Pirates, the Heart Pirates, the Momoko Dukedom, and the Kozuki Family. Eventually, additional forces, including the Kid Pirates and many Beasts Pirates defectors, also joined. A combination of circumstances led to the crew losing a significant level of power, with Kaido currently being incapacitated and two of his All-Stars, among others, currently being in naval custody.

3

Big Mom Pirates

A Massive Formation

• Captain: Charlotte Linlin
• Subordinate Crews: Unclear

Charlotte “Big Mom” Linlin boasts the massive crew known as the Big Mom Pirates. Consisting of her many children among others, the crew inhabits the 35-island archipelago known as Totto Land. In addition to her children, many of whom are strong enough to boast the rank of officer or higher, Big Mom has an army of homies, sentient soul-infused inanimate objects, among her subordinates. Beyond her own crew, Big Mom is known for her tactical arranged marriages. She has wedded her children to powerful figures in order to effectively strongarm them into becoming her subordinates. Yet in the few displayed instances, this has led to defections, with said crews, including the wedded children, betraying the crew and escaping Big Mom’s authority.

That said, the crew, even in its current capacity, has shown itself to be one with many powerful figures commandeering the ranks. Even so, a number of Worst Generation members have shown themselves capable of defeating its strongest members, putting a relative cap on just how strong the crew is. Big Mom herself was recently incapacitated alongside Kaido, further limiting the exact power the crew holds overall.

2

Whitebeard Pirates

44-Crew Fleet

• Captain: Edward Newgate
• Subordinate Crews: Maelstrom Spider Pirates, Little Pirates, A O Pirates, 40 Other Crews

At their height, the Whitebeard Pirates were a truly massive crew. Edward “Whitebeard” Newgate was an orphan who yearned for a family growing up on the poverty and crime-ridden island of Sphinx. It was likely for this reason that he accrued a massive number of crewmates. Whitebeard’s primary crew was large enough that it required 16 Division Commanders at its height. Whitebeard also poached at least one crew, the Spade Pirates, effectively integrating all of its members, including its captain, Portgas D. Ace, who became the 2nd Division Commander.

Newgate also employed many subordinate crews. At least five of his former crewmates left the crew but decided to remain loyal to their former captain, with their crews serving under his. An additional 38 crews also served under Whitebeard, though it was mostly their captains who were seen during the Summit War.

The crew suffered a rapid decline following the deaths of Ace and Whitebeard during the Summit War. The remnants of the crew were led by 1st Division Commander Marco, in the Payback War, where they were defeated by the Blackbeard Pirates. After this event, Blackbeard became one of the Four Emperors, annexed the majority of Whitebeard’s territory, and effectively led to the crew’s disbanding. Edward Weevil, the alleged son of Whitebeard, has since defeated at least one former pirate captain who was affiliated with Newgate, with the anime depicting several others.

1

Blackbeard Pirates

Arguably The Strongest Fleet In All Of One Piece

• Captain: Marshall D. Teach
• Subordinate Crews: Peachbeard Pirates, other crews

The Blackbeard Pirates were founded by Marshall D. Teach, a former subordinate of Whitebeard. Teach killed 4th Division Commander Thatch and stole the Yami Yami no Mi he discovered, effectively concluding a 26-year mission to join the crew for the sole purpose of stealing it. Teach initially selected a small handful of subordinates to join his crew, with half of them being picked from Impel Down in the aftermath of a battle to the death. After killing Whitebeard and stealing his Devil Fruit, Teach has steadily grown in power.

His main crew is massive enough to necessitate divisions, with his initial nine crewmates and the ex-Marine Admiral, Kuzan, becoming the Ten Titanic Captains. Additionally, they are said to have subordinate crews, with the Peachbeard Pirates being identified as one while in conflict with the Revolutionary Army. Ultimately, they were strong enough to wipe out the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates so badly that they ended up disbanding. Since then, they have shown no signs of slowing down, and all their pivotal players are currently intact.