One Piece: Strongest Pirate Crews That Do Not Rely On Devil Fruits

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In the world of One Piece, might makes right. Since devil fruits give strange powers to those who consume them, it becomes a quick way to obtain strength. As such, the ocean is littered with people who have eaten devil fruits. This is true for pirates, for the Marines, and for regular people as well.

That being said, there are those who not only dare to set sail without borrowing the power of the devil fruits, but they turn out to be some of the strongest and most influential pirates in history. The captains don’t eat any kind of devil fruits, and the same can be said of the overwhelming majority of the crews as well. So here they are, the 7 strongest pirate crews that do not rely on Devil Fruits.

7. Yonta Maria Grand Fleet

Strength in Numbers

  • Captain: Orlumbus
  • Status: Active
  • First Appearance: Episode 633

As the name suggests, the Yonta Maria Grand Fleet is a fleet of pirates consisting of 56 ships and over 4000 members. That number alone will overwhelm anybody who is unlucky enough to cross paths with this fleet. Even the Marines have to thread carefully with this fleet.

That being said, numbers are not the only thing that Yonta Maria has. The admiral of this fleet is a towering man named “Massacre Ruler” Orlumbus. He is a strong man who can lift and squeeze a lion with one hand, as seen during his rampage in the Dressrosa Colloseum. Interestingly enough, after Dressrosa, the Yonta Maria Grand Fleet officially became the seventh member of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet.

6. Happo Navy

Strength Through Martial Arts

  • Captain: Sai
  • Status: Active
  • First Appearance: Episode 633

Apart from the Yonta Maria Grand Fleet, there’s another group within the Straw Hat Grand Fleet that effectively controls its domain without needing devil fruits. This group is known as the Happo Navy.

The Happo Navy is known for their unique martial arts called Hasshoken. This technique can shatter the hardest shield with a simple touch. They are also known for their remarkable use of Armament Haki. In fact, the previous leader of Happo Navy—a big man named Don Chinjao—is famous for splitting an entire island into two with his haki-enforced headbutt. The current leader of the Happo Navy is Don Chinjao’s grandson, a young man named Sai who inherited his devastating battle technique.

5. Nox Pirates

The Power of the Minks

  • Captain: Pedro
  • Status: Disbanded
  • First Appearance: Episode 571

Nox Pirates started its life as the Nox Expedition Party from Zou. Unfortunately for them, the Marines treat them as pirates, so they decided to fully embrace that image as the Nox Pirates, though the purpose of their journey remains relatively the same: to find the Poneglyphs.

The Nox Pirates sail under the leadership of Pedro the Jaguar Mink, with crews full of minks from Zou. Those who have seen the Zou arc will know that minks are natural-born fighters who are faster and stronger than regular humans. Not only that, but they also have a power-up mode called the Sulong that can enhance their power multiple times. With crews like this, who needs devil fruits?

4. Sun Pirates

The Power of the Fish-Men

  • Captain: Aladine
  • Status: Active
  • First Appearance: Episode 540

The Sun Pirates is a pirate crew with a lot of history behind them. The first captain of the Sun Pirates was Fisher Tiger, a legendary fish-man who liberated countless slaves from the Holy Land–including Boa Hancock, the Pirate Empress. Fisher Tiger founded the Sun Pirates with the freed slaves and other Fish-Men who were inspired by his brave and noble act.

During his tenure as a captain, Fisher Tiger was followed by some of the most powerful and infamous Fish-Men, such as Arlong and Jinbe. When Fisher Tiger passed away, Jinbe became the captain, while Arlong decided to form his own crew. Now that Jinbe joined the Straw Hats, the captain of the Sun Pirates is Aladine, Jinbe’s First Mate. Fish-Men are generally about ten times stronger than regular humans, so no matter the captains, a pirate crew full of Fish-Men is a formidable force to be reckoned with.

3. Giant Warrior Pirates

The Power of the Giants

  • Captain: Dorry and Brogy
  • Status: Disbanded
  • First Appearance: Episode 78

The Giant Warrior Pirates were actively sailing the vast ocean about a hundred years before the story. During their heyday, the Giant Warrior Pirates ruled the ocean. After all, a single giant can easily change the tide of battle. Imagine a pirate crew consisting of nothing but giant warriors. Humanity has no chance.

Unfortunately, the legendary Giant Warrior Pirates disbanded a long time ago. The two captains, Dorry and Brogy, disagreed and decided to engage in a century-long duel that hadn’t been resolved until fairly recently. Nowadays, Hajrudin—the giant that Luffy met in Dressrosa Colloseum—is the one who tries his best to keep the legend alive by forming the New Giant Warrior Pirates with four of his fellow young giants.

2. Red Hair Pirates

The Power of Those Who Have Mastered Haki

  • Captain: Shanks
  • Status: Active
  • First Appearance: Episode 4

The Red Hair Pirates is the only active human pirate crew whose captain and crews don’t rely on devil fruits. One might think that not having a devil fruit is a disadvantage in a sea where certain people can cause earthquakes or move at the speed of light. But that is not the case at all. The Red Hair Pirates are actually thriving as the crew of one of the Four Emperors of the Sea.

The strength of Shanks and his rowdy crews comes from their overwhelming mastery of Haki. Take Shanks’s first mate, Ben Beckman, for example. He can stop Kizaru, a Marine Admiral, dead in his tracks with the threat of Beckman’s Haki-imbued gun. As for Shanks himself, he can fend off Ryokugyu, another Marine Admiral, without having to lift a finger. A healthy dose of Conqueror’s Haki is all he needs to keep the Admiral away.

1. Roger Pirates

The Pirate King Didn’t Need Devil Fruits to Rule the World

  • Captain: Gol D. Roger
  • Status: Disbanded
  • First Appearance: Episode 8

Before the Red Hair Pirates came around, the legendary Roger Pirates was the one who ruled the world without using devil fruits. Similar to the Red Hair Pirates, the Roger Pirates also rely on martial arts and haki, though everything is turned up all the way to eleven.

In his twilight years, Silvers Rayleigh—The Right Hand of the Pirate King—could easily stop Kizaru’s sword of light with a rusty old blade. Likewise, old man Scopper Gaban—The Left Hand of the Pirate King—could take on both Luffy and Zoro without breaking a sweat.

As for the Pirate King himself, when Roger’s sword clashed with Whitebeard’s Naginata, both cloaked in Haki, it caused a massive tremor that could be felt throughout the island. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the Roger Pirates were the best Haki users in their time. Forget devil fruits, they devoured devil fruit users for breakfast on a daily basis.

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2025-03-16 12:11