After 20 Years, One Piece Confirms A Pirate Crew Stronger Than Emperors

The Emperors of the Sea, also known as the Yonko, have played a significant role in the overarching story of One Piece. Although they have been active in the world of One Piece since the very beginning, they were explained by Eiichiro Oda properly in the story in One Piece chapter 432, which was released on October 30, 2006, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump issue 48.

In the 20 years that have passed since then, the Emperors made their presence known on the high seas of the One Piece world. But now, this order is finally being dethroned. While the Yonko maintained their dominance for 20 years, one of the Four Emperors is growing at an unprecedented speed, leaving the others in the dust. For the first time since the era of the Pirate King, a new unrivaled supreme king of the seas is emerging in the form of Luffy, who leads the Straw Hat Pirates. The Straw Hats, having gained two more Conqueror's Haki users, are now leaving the other Emperor crews behind and quickly establishing themselves as the true rulers of the seas in the climax of the Elbaf arc.

Eiichiro Oda Shows The Straw Hat Pirates Have Surpassed Most Emperor Crews

The Four Emperors have been the primary antagonists of the second half of the story, up until the Final Saga. In fact, after the events of the Dressrosa Saga, One Piece officially entered what is known as the “Versus Four Emperors Saga,” where Kaido and Big Mom, two of the Four Emperors, were the main antagonists. In the Wano Country arc, two of the Four Emperors finally fell. In One Piece chapter 1053, which was officially released on June 20, 2022, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 29, the new emperor order was officially announced. With both Big Mom and Kaido having fallen, Buggy and Luffy entered the fray alongside Shanks and Blackbeard and established a completely new order.

"I came here to eliminate you [Luffy]. I have no idea what happened in the outside world, but this is who they're calling the Four Emperors now!" — Eustass Kid reveals the rise of the Straw Hats to Emperor status, One Piece Chapter #1053

Since then, the Yonko crews have progressed at different rates. While Buggy's Cross Guild remained the weakest, the other three have been making great progress. Shanks is more aggressive than ever before, with Blackbeard continuing to arm his crew heavily. But, if there's one crew that has left all the others in the dust and is shaping up to be the true ruler of the seas, it is the Straw Hat Pirates. Monkey D. Luffy is currently facing off against Nerona Imu in the climax of the Elbaf arc. In One Piece chapter 1197, which was released on November 1, 2026, Eiichiro Oda took the Straw Hat Pirates to a completely different level by giving them their third official Supreme King Haki user. This user is none other than Sanji, the cook of the crew.

"Give him enough hits, and we can manage to knock him out of commission. If these guys have any weakness, it's against those of us who can infuse our attacks with the Color of the Supreme King!" — Gaban explains the importance of Conqueror's Haki, One Piece Chapter #1170

As things stand, the Straw Hat Pirates have three strong Conqueror's Haki users, all of whom are on Yonko level. The first of the lot is Luffy, the Captain of the crew, followed by Zoro, the right arm of Luffy and the swordsman of the crew, and finally Sanji, the left arm of the Pirate King and the cook of the crew. One Piece chapter 1197 also established Zoro and Sanji as the Sword and Shield of the Sun God, making them legendary figures in the world of One Piece in their own right. All things considered, the Straw Hat Pirates are pulling away from the rest of the Yonko crews and have left all the other Emperors that we have seen in the story in the dust due to their immense strength.

"Hey Zoro, you be Luffy's sword, and I'll be his shield!" — Sanji awakens Conqueror's Haki, One Piece Chapter #1197

The Straw Hats Are Eyeing The Status Of The Roger Pirates

The Four Emperors of the Sea are incredibly powerful, but they are not the strongest that the seas of the One Piece world have seen. Before the beginning of the Great Pirate Era, the Roger Pirates dominated the seas for a significant period of time, and before their era, it was the Rocks Pirates who solely dominated the seas. As such, it is quite clear to see that the Four Emperor order is not permanent, and sooner or later, this order will be broken once again.

"Even though the Roger Pirates sailed the seas in this time, it wouldn't be a stretch to call this time the era of Rocks!" — Narrator, One Piece Chapter #1157

The one crew that is going to break this order permanently is the crew of the future Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy. The Straw Hats are growing rapidly, and as things stand, they are far stronger than any other Emperor crew that we have seen in One Piece, which also includes the likes of the Blackbeard Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates, especially after Zoro and Sanji were propelled to a completely new level in Elbaf. This should not come as a surprise to the fans, because Gol D. Roger, the previous Pirate King, already confirmed that the Straw Hats would surpass his own crew.

"Those voices were telling the truth. Someone will eventually come and surpass us all. We were just too early." — Gol D. Roger confirms the Straw Hats will surpass his crew, One Piece Chapter #968

In One Piece Chapter 968, which was officially released on January 20, 2020, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 8, Roger clearly stated that a future pirate crew would go on to surpass his own and potentially reach even higher levels. This crew, as we all know, is the Straw Hat Pirates. Clearly, the Straw Hats have to surpass even the Roger Pirates and, in doing so, leave every Emperor crew in the dust.

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Why The Emperor System Will Not Last Long

Currently, the Yonko system dominates the New World of One Piece. However, in the climax of the Elbaf arc, it has been made clear that the Straw Hats are growing at a far greater pace than any other crew on the seas. The Straw Hats were recently made an Emperor crew of the seas, but with each power-up that this crew gains, they are pulling ahead of the others. Immediately after finding the last Road Poneglyph, the Straw Hat Pirates will be in pole position to claim the One Piece and become the greatest pirate crew in the modern era. By claiming this title, they will essentially destroy the entire Emperor order. With Luffy as the sole King of the Seas, the Emperors will simply be crushed, and there will no longer be a need for them to exist.

One way or another, the Emperors of the Seas are being defeated by Monkey D. Luffy, and that includes the likes of Shanks and Blackbeard as well. One Piece is set to enter a completely new arc in 2027, as confirmed by Eiichiro Oda himself, and it will be interesting to see how Oda portrays the other Emperors when compared to Monkey D. Luffy in this stretch of the story.

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

One Piece TV-14 Comedy Action Adventure Anime Fantasy Release Date October 20, 1999 Studio Toei Animation Creator Eiichiro Oda Streaming Service(s) Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV