One Piece Yonko Elite Warriors Guide: Strongest Soldier

Across the entire One Piece saga, the Yonko are treated as the pinnacle of pirate power—far ahead of everyone else. Their overwhelming strength and “broken” abilities have let each of them carve out a slice of the New World, then hold it with strict control.

Still, the Yonko’s global reach doesn’t come from raw force alone. Each captain’s dominance is amplified by their crew, especially the standout fighter in the group—one soldier who’s stronger than the rest. With that in mind, here’s a run through the most formidable subordinate associated with every Yonko in One Piece.

One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda is also laying groundwork for a new Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit transformation for Luffy, with the Elbaf arc climax serving as the stage for it.

7 Charlotte Katakuri Was Big Mom’s Most Powerful Child And Soldier

Crew: Big Mom Pirates

Katakuri was born into Big Mom’s older line of children and is often described as her most formidable soldier. That reputation was put on full display during the Wholecake Island arc, when he faced Luffy. A major reason for Katakuri’s standing is that he possesses the only Special Paramecia Devil Fruit that’s currently known to the public, giving him a power set that functions in a way that closely resembles Logia-style abilities.

On top of that, Charlotte Katakuri is among the rare individuals in the world who can use Conqueror’s Haki, while also being able to utilize the other Haki varieties. That combination immediately separates him from the vast majority of characters in One Piece, and his effectiveness with both his Devil Fruit and his Haki makes him look like a truly elite combatant.

6 King The Wildfire Is Known As One Of The Calamities

Crew: Beast Pirates

As the second-in-command of the Beast Pirates, King is one of the ocean’s most infamous figures. His Lunarian biology and genetics are a big part of why he’s regarded as someone with exceptional durability, and he’s also treated as a top-tier swordsman.

King can employ Observation and Armament Haki at a high level. He doesn’t have Conqueror’s Haki, but his battle against Zoro still demonstrates how dangerous a fighter can be without it—he pushed the Pirate Hunter into the hardest fight of his career so far. That performance suggests King could also give Katakuri a serious challenge, reinforcing the idea that King is an overall powerhouse.

5 Marco Managed To Take On King And Queen At Once

Crew: Whitebeard Pirates

Among the pirate generation that was active before the current era, Marco remains one of the most well-known and legendary. As the longtime second-in-command of the Whitebeard Pirates, his strength has become the stuff of legend—especially because of his Devil Fruit, which stands out in a way that few others in the series do.

Marco’s Phoenix Mythical Zoan grants him what’s arguably the strongest support and healing capability in the entire franchise. The blue flames he produces can mend essentially any physical damage. He’s not only defensive, either—during the Wano arc, he was observed battling King and Queen at the same time until Zoro and Sanji took over, which underlines just how formidable Marco truly is.

4 Roronoa Zoro Is The Most Iconic Yonko Commander

Crew: Straw Hat Pirates

After Luffy, Zoro may be the most recognizable figure in the series. He’s also one of One Piece’s most beloved characters, while still being among its most dangerous fighters. Unlike many top-tier characters, Zoro doesn’t rely on Devil Fruits for his power; instead, his combat skills, mastery of Haki, and swordsmanship make him one of the world’s most feared pirates.

Like Katakuri, he’s one of the few people on the planet capable of using Conqueror’s Haki. Zoro used it to defeat King in one of the franchise’s most memorable battles. Taken as a whole, Zoro’s feats and reputation position him as one of the best fighters in One Piece—and the ideal second-in-command for the Straw Hats.

Even though Luffy’s Nika Devil Fruit is among the best in One Piece, Elbaf is set up to introduce another Hito Hito no Mi God Fruit, featuring a major advantage over it.

3 Ben Beckman Is Said To Be A Genius Fighter

Crew: Red Hair Pirates

In an SBS segment, Oda revealed that the character with the highest IQ is Ben Beckman. That alone gives him a distinctive place among the series’ warriors. While fans often rank him much higher in their own discussions, the main reason he doesn’t automatically top those lists is that we haven’t been shown clear combat feats from him directly—so his true strength remains mostly an informed guess.

What we do know is that the Red Hair Pirates boast the highest total bounty among their peers, and their core members are close enough in power that Beckman can be seen as a proper match for Shanks. When you combine that status with how easily he previously handled Eustass Kid, it’s reasonable to conclude that Ben Beckman is extraordinarily powerful.

2 Kuzan Has One Of The Greatest Devil Fruit Powers

Crew: Blackbeard Pirates

Before joining Blackbeard, Kuzan was one of the three legendary Admirals in the Marines. After he lost to Akainu, he left the organization and went on to become Fleet Admiral. Even so, he didn’t leave Akainu unmarked—he walked away with lasting scars from that conflict, which is just one of many reasons Kuzan is often viewed as arguably the strongest Yonko commander overall.

Within Blackbeard’s crew, Kuzan stands out as the strongest by a wide margin. His Logia Devil Fruit is described as overpowered because it allows him to fully manipulate, produce, and control ice. He’s also highly skilled with Observation and Armament Haki, a result of the training he received under Garp. Put together, that makes Kuzan the strongest soldier the Blackbeard Pirates have.

Legendary One Piece and mecha anime director Goro Taniguchi believes that “white society” is actively harming the anime industry.

1 Mihawk Is One Of The Strongest Pirates Of All Time

Crew: Cross Guild

It may not be totally accurate to call Mihawk a “soldier” for the most unlikely Yonko duo in the world—Buggy—but Mihawk is still one of Buggy’s subordinates. With that in mind, it’s not hard to see why many One Piece fans consider the strongest figures among the Yonko factions to be Shanks and Mihawk.

Mihawk is known as the World’s Strongest Swordsman. Given how many legendary swordsmen appear across the series, that title alone strongly points to his insane skill level. On top of that, Hawk-Eyes is the only genuine rival and equal that Shanks has ever faced, which makes it easy to argue that Mihawk is the greatest Yonko soldier of them all—and a serious contender for the strongest pirate in history.

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