The world ofOne Pieceis riddled withpirates of all types, sizes, and persuasions, with each bringing their own unique perspective on what the title actually means. From compassionate leaders and humanitarians such as Whitebeard, to more ruthless and despicable opportunists such as Blackbeard or Donquixote Doflamingo, there is a lot of variety in the series' main cast, especially when it comes to the captains of certain pirate crews.
Some captains, such as Monkey D. Luffy, Gol D. Roger, Whitebeard, Kaido, Shanks, or Big Mom, are exceptionally powerful fighters, counted among the strongest individuals of their era. Others are more astute, calculated individuals, such as Trafalgar Law, Capone Bege, Blackbeard, or Basil Hawkins, who wait for opportunities to present themselves before launching calculated strikes. Further down on the spectrum, there are the weakest of the bunch, who contribute little to major fights, and would struggle against some of themore combat oriented captainsinOne Piece.
8Buggy
Leader Of Cross Guild And Captain Of The Buggy Pirates
While he may not be the weakest of the lot, Buggy is certainly out of his depth in the New World, and his ability to survive incredibly dangerous situations has often come down to a combination of pure dumb luck and his Devil Fruit abilities. The Bara Bara no Mi gives him near invulnerability to cutting attacks, which means he can survive being sliced up beyond recognition.
However, Buggy’s greatest strength lies not in his physical prowess or combat ability, but rather, in his charismatic and boisterous personality, which has allowed him tomake allies of extremely powerful individuals. Since breaking out of Impel Down, he has steadily risen through the ranks of the Pirate World, becoming a Warlord of the Sea, and subsequently, one of the Four Emperors. Although he would almost certainly falter in a one-on-one fight against his peers, Buggy can always rely on his subordinates for protection, especially since they are generally more powerful than him.
7Brownbeard
Leader Of The Centaur Patrol Unit And Captain Of The Brownbeard Pirates
Once a haughty and arrogant individual who consistently overestimated his own strength, Chadros Higelyges — more often known as Brownbeard — was previously the commander of his own pirate crew. In the aftermath of Whitebeard’s defeat at Marineford, he was quick to take advantage of the power vacuum left by the great pirate’s death, as he seized the nation of Foodvalten, which was once under Whitebeard’s protection.
His joy would be short-lived, as Basil Hawkins and his crew soon landed on the shores of his kingdom, and soundly defeated him. Brownbeard also lost theuse of his legs during this confrontation, and he was transformed into an alligator centaur by Caesar Clown, allowing him to serve as the leader of the Centaur Patrol Unit on Punk Hazard. After Caesar’s betrayal, Brownbeard set out to find his crew once again, on realizing the value of his allies.
6Bluejam
Former Captain Of The Bluejam Pirates
One of the main antagonists of the Post-War Arc, Bluejam was a central figure in the plot to destroy the Gray Terminal of the Goa Kingdom, as the one responsible for setting off the fire that consumed the entire area. Driven by his greed and desire to become a Noble, Bluejam made a deal with the ruler of the Goa Kingdom, but was betrayed and forced to take the blame for the tragedy that destroyed the Gray Terminal.
Lacking any specialcombat abilities or Devil Fruit powers, Bluejam primarily relied on a flintlock pistol, a rifle, a saber, and his natural strength in combat, which proved to be enough of a match for Ace, Luffy, and Sabo, in their youth. That being said, he was quite easily defeated by Curly Dadan and Ace — before the latter attained his Devil Fruit powers. Even though he was quite powerful in the East Blue, Bluejam would have been no match for the pirates in the Grand Line.
5Kuro
Captain Of The Black Cat Pirates
Known as “Kuro of a Hundred Plans,” the captain of the Black Cat Pirates was renowned for his strategic prowess, often plotting schemes with meticulous planning and countermeasures against any unforeseen intervention. His speed and proficiency with Cat Claws — his weapon of choice — were enough to give the Straw Hat Pirates a scare during their initial voyage in the East Blue, but this was short-lived.
At best, Kurowas a starter antagonist who relied onmanipulation rather than his actual strength. Even if he could take out most of the run-of-the-mill pirates seen in the East Blue, his strength was nothing compared to the more powerful pirates that roam the seas inOne Piece. This is compounded by the fact that he had neither a Devil Fruit nor Haki, and his speed was relatively inferior to the Rokushiki technique Soru, used by Cipher Pol agents.
4Don Krieg
Admiral of The Krieg Pirates
As someone who relied more onweaponry and numbers to win battles rather thanhis physical abilities, Don Krieg was one of the more underhanded antagonists encountered by Luffy and his crew during their journey in the East Blue. His lack of sympathy and moral principles, coupled with his willingness to exploit any ill-attained advantage, firmly cast him in the role of a vicious militant leader.
That being said, his reputation as the strongest pirate in the East Blue after Arlong, was not much to be intimidated by, as he would not have been much of a match for any of the Straw Hat Pirates' main fighters by the time they entered the Grand Line. In the larger scheme of things, he was simply a big fish in a small pond, where his apparent strength became irrelevant as stronger characters were introduced.
3Alvida
Captain Of The Alvida Pirates
The first antagonist Luffy faced in the entire series, Alvida was one of the earliest Devil Fruit users to debut inOne Piece, although her powers were not ideally suited for combat. Wielding the Sube Sube no Mi, Alvida was able to make any part of her body smooth and slippery, which permitted her to slide across surfaces, avoid attacks, and even drastically change her appearance.
She used an iron mace in combat and commanded an average-sized crew of which Koby was initially a member, ruling over them through fear and intimidation. Despite this, she was easily defeated by Luffy quite early on in the series, before he acquired any of his later power ups, which is why she can be considered one of the weakest pirate captains inOne Piece.
2Foxy
Captain Of The Foxy Pirates
Easily one of the most frustrating characters in the entire series, Foxy is the captain of the Foxy Pirates and the main antagonist of the Long Ring Long Land Arc, who competed against the Straw Hat Pirates in an age-old tradition known as the Davy Back Fight. Known for his deceitful ways, Foxy has accrued a fair deal of power through underhanded methods.
Cunning and tactful, Foxy is one of the smartest tacticians inOne Piece, and avoids conflict in favor of conflict resolution methods such as the Davy Back Fight to gain more crew members and grow in power. He is famed for his ability to scheme and exploit an opponent’s faults in less than savory ways. Whilehe does possess a reasonably powerfulDevil Fruit that allows him to temporarily slow down opponents by firing a beam towards them, he is also prone to bouts of intense self doubt at the slightest provocation. Despite all of this, he’s much weaker than many other captains in the series.
1Demaro Black
Captain Of The Fake Straw Hat Crew
Having thrived during the time skip by impersonating Luffy, Demaro Black was one of the most opportunistic characters in the entire series, and his arrogance would eventually be his undoing. Ruthless, conceited, and willing to go to any length to obtain what he desires, Black is an expert conman who wasable to exploit the Straw Hat Pirates' dormancyafter the Summit War of Marineford to tarnish their reputation.
With limited combat abilities that amounted to simply threatening opponents with a pistol while pretending to be Luffy, Demaro Black could not hold a candle to the person he was impersonating. Black’s conceit proved to be his undoing, as he inadvertently challenged the real Luffy, who soundly defeated him with little to no effort.
