After 28 Years, One Piece’s Strongest Pirate Has Been Dethroned By A New Character

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This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Elbaf Arc.

Throughout the nearly 29-year run of One Piece, creator Eiichiro Oda has presented many incredibly strong characters. While many powerful figures appear, the series initially established that the ultimate goal – achieving immense wealth, fame, and power – would be embodied by the future Pirate King: Gol D. Roger.

Honestly, getting to see the world of One Piece expand was incredible! We weren’t just following Luffy, but learning about these other powerhouses – Whitebeard was a total equal to Roger, and Garp, the Marine hero, was another one of Roger’s biggest rivals. Then later on, we met groups like the Rocks pirates, who were seriously intimidating, but it always came back to Roger. He was just on another level! It really felt like, aside from the legends of the Void Century, nobody could even touch his strength. It made him such a deserving Pirate King!

The Elbaf arc was a turning point in One Piece. Oda skillfully introduced characters with power levels exceeding even the Pirate King, establishing a new strength tier. The most notable of these is Loki, the Accursed Prince of Elbaf, who possesses an incredibly powerful Devil Fruit feared even by Imu.

Gol D. Roger Was The Strongest Pirate In The Modern Era Of One Piece

  • Roger conquered the world of One Piece
  • Gol D. Roger surpassed even Rocks D. Xebec

When discussing the most powerful pirates in the One Piece world today, it’s clear that Roger was the strongest. Although he was just starting out around 50 years ago, as the Rocks Pirates were rising to power, Roger quickly built a reputation that no one has equaled or surpassed since.

Gold Roger, the Pirate King, had achieved everything the world had to offer – riches, recognition, influence, and more. — Narrator, One Piece chapter 1

Roger didn’t rely on the powers of a Devil Fruit; in fact, most of his crew didn’t have any Devil Fruit abilities at all. His incredible strength came from mastering Haki, which he honed to become the most powerful pirate of his era. While many believe Whitebeard was the strongest, the story actually establishes Roger as a level above him – Oda even portrays Whitebeard simply being compared to Roger as a significant achievement.

Roger was incredibly powerful, and it wasn’t until after his death that Whitebeard became known as the strongest. Garp was the only other person considered his equal. For a long time in One Piece, almost no one could reach the same level of strength as the Pirate King. But recently, the author has introduced characters who not only match that power but seem to exceed it, with Loki being one of them. In addition to Loki, King Harald of Elbaf has also surpassed Roger’s strength, becoming such a formidable threat that he’s been labeled an unstoppable monster.

Loki Has Surpassed All Human Levels In The One Piece World

  • Loki could defeat King Harald
  • Imu considered Harald undefeatable

Many One Piece fans have likely noticed that Prince Loki of Elbaf appears to be stronger than even Roger. While this might seem surprising, chapters 1170 and 1171 of the manga strongly suggest this is true.

One Piece chapter 1170 revealed a significant increase in King Harald’s power. Previously, Harald was shown to be as strong as Rocks, who is comparable in strength to Roger. This suggests that Harald, 14 years ago, was roughly at Roger’s level. If Roger grew even stronger after the battle at God Valley, then Harald would likely be close to him in terms of overall power.

I am the Sun God, a legend in this land. Mortal, you must not address me without my consent. I am the strongest being in these Lands. This is Warland, the Kingdom of Violence – Elbaf, once a nation defined by its constant warfare. And I, Loki, am the Sun God destined to bring this world to its end!

Harald received a powerful mark called the Deep Sea Covenant from Imu, significantly increasing his abilities. Imu and the Five Elders stated this granted him not only superhuman strength beyond his existing power, but also immortality and rapid healing. This made Harald an incredibly dangerous force, and a disastrous event was likely to occur in Elbaf. Despite attempts by Shanks and Gaban to subdue him with their Supreme King Haki, they were unsuccessful.

Gaban, a peer of legendary figures like Roger and Rayleigh, claimed Harald was so powerful he would have annihilated the world if he hadn’t been stopped. Even Imu, who has battled Joy Boy and seen Roger’s entire life, believed Harald was invincible. The fact that Imu considered Harald unbeatable proves he’d reached a strength beyond anything humanly possible, exceeding even that of the Pirate King.

Wow, it’s incredible to think that Loki is the only one who’s actually managed to defeat King Harald! Seriously, right now he’s the absolute strongest fighter in Elbaf, and honestly, if he ever decided to, he could be a huge threat to the whole world. It’s a little scary, but so exciting to watch!

Only Shanks Is Stronger Than Loki Right Now

  • Shanks defeated Loki 6 years ago
  • Shanks is logically stronger than Gol D. Roger

Although Loki is probably more powerful than the Pirate King currently, he’s not the only one who could defeat him. In the world of One Piece, Shanks is the one character who has actually beaten Loki, according to Scopper Gaban, who claims no one else could have stopped him. After failing to stop Harald 14 years prior, Shanks dramatically increased his strength, eventually becoming one of the Four Emperors and potentially even exceeding the power of his mentor, Gol D. Roger.

Currently, Shanks is widely considered the strongest pirate to ever live, which sets up a thrilling future for the story of One Piece. This also makes Shanks the ultimate goal for Luffy to achieve – despite becoming a Yonko himself, Luffy still has a long way to go before reaching Shanks’ level.

Eiichiro Oda’s popular manga, One Piece, follows Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, on their adventure to find the legendary treasure, the One Piece. The story is currently in its final arc. A new chapter, 1172, will be released in this week’s issue of Weekly Shonen Jump on February 1, 2026. In Japan, it will be available at midnight on Monday, which is 11:00 AM Eastern Time or 8:00 AM Pacific Time. Fans can read the chapter for free on the Manga Plus and Shonen Jump apps, and reading through these official platforms helps support the creator.

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2026-01-25 00:35