One Piece is filled with many different kinds of pirates and pirate crews, some being more dependable and balanced than others.
The soul of a pirate ship is its crew, and the main role in the crew is that of its captain. The captain should have certain qualities that capture the attention and respect of the others.
The captains should not only be powerful in terms of strength and abilities, but also need to have proper leadership skills and a good connection to those in the crew.
The fate of even the most hopeless crews can be turned around if they have a good captain to lead them to prosperity.
In this list we rank the top 15 best pirate captains of all time in terms of Haki, individual strength, leadership, tactical, and decision making skills, pirating ability and their affinity with the crew.
15Jinbe
“First Son of the Sea” Jinbe is a Fish-Man who took on the role of captain of the Sun Pirates after the death of its former captain. He was also one of the Warlords of the Sea.
Jinbe is fearless, even in the presence of a Yonko. He keeps a calm mind at all times and always puts the safety of his crew before his own. He knows where his loyalties lie and is a great asset in any battle.
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14Portgas D. Ace
“Fire Fist” Ace is the son of the late Pirate King Gol D. Roger. He is also the 1st division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and the former captain of the Spade Pirates.
Ace is known to be very hot headed just like his Flare-Flare Devil Fruit but at the same time he is very strong, being able to destroy many large ships in one blazing shot. He is a very supportive character and is extremely loyal to his friends and comrades.
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13Eustass Kid
Eustass “Captain” Kid is another pirate from the Worst Generation and the captain of the Kid Pirates. When the 11 Supernovas were first introduced in the Sabaody Archipelago, Kid was the rookie with the highest bounty among them.
Kid has displayed tremendous strength in combat and can also use the very rare Conqueror’s Haki. He has also achieved the Awakening of his Magnet-Magnet Devil Fruit, which he displayed when he fought and defeated the Yonko Big Mom.
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12Trafalgar Law
The “Surgeon of Death” Trafalgar D. Water Law is a pirate from the Worst Generation of pirates. He is the captain and doctor of the Heart Pirates. Law is an master strategist and fighter and the only one from the 11 Supernovas to be part of the Warlords of the Sea.
He has lived possibly the harshest childhoods anyone has faced and has come out of it with a strong sense of Justice and Determination. Having one of the rarest powers in the form of the Op-Op Devil Fruit, Law is known to be a massive threat in combat.
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11Boa Hancock
The “Pirate Empress” Boa Hancock is the captain of the Kuja Pirates and the only female Warlord of the Sea. She rules over the island of women, Amazon Lily and is a terrifying threat to any man in the world.
Also called “Snake Princess”, Hancock possesses the power of the Love Love Fruit and uses it in different ways to stun and overwhelm her enemies. She is a proud female who is strong enough to destroy the navy’s Pacifista Robots.
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10Marshall D. Teach
Marshall D. Teach, more commonly known as “Blackbeard”, is one of the four Emperors of the Sea and a former Warlord. He took his place as a Yonko after he killed his former captain, the Yonko Whitebeard and seized his territories.
Teach has since grown in power, having brought together a crew made up of dangerous criminals and other powerful allies. He also is the only person in history to have the power of two Devil Fruits, the Dark-Dark Fruit and Whitebeard’s Quake-Quake Fruit.
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9Donquixote Doflamingo
The “Heavenly Demon” Donquixote Doflamingo used to be a Celestial Dragon long before he turned to piracy. He has also served as a Warlord of the Sea that subjugated and ruled over the kingdom of Dressrosa.
He is an extremely wild character with a soft side for those closest to him. He is one of the few people in the world to know about the secret of Marijoa and is also the first individual in the series to use the ‘awakened’ power of his Devil Fruit.
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8Kaido
“King of the Beasts” Kaido is a Yonko who has the power of the Mythical-Zoan Fish-Fish Fruit model: Azure Dragon, which gives him the power to become a gigantic blue dragon or a dragon-human hybrid.
Kaido is seen to have great mastery over his Devil Fruit powers as well as all three types of Haki. He was able to defeat even the Wano kingdom’s strongest warrior Kozuki Oden and knock out Monkey D. Luffy in combat.
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7Monkey D. Luffy
“Straw Hat” Luffy was just a rookie from the East Blue who set out to sea with big dreams. Now he is part of the Worst Generation of Pirates and is a newly designated Emperor of the Sea.
Luffy’s fun loving and magnetic attitude has helped him gain many amazing companions in the course of his journey. He has shown to have mastered all 3 types of advance Haki while also incorporating it into his Gum-Gum Devil Fruit ability and attacks in calling it “Gears”.
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6Rocks D. Xebec
Rocks D. Xebec was the most infamous pirate to ever sail the oceans of the Grand Line. He is well reputed for being the captain of the most chaotic and powerful crew, the Rocks Pirates.
Xebec was considered to be even stronger than the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. After the incident at Marijoa, it took the combined efforts of both Monkey D. Garp and Gol D. Roger to defeat Xebec for good. He was also known to study many taboos and secrets of the World Government, which compelled them to erase his name from history.
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5Charlotte Linlin
“Big Mom” Charlotte Linlin is the captain of the Big Mom Pirates and the ruler of the queendom of Totto Land. She is also an Emperor of the Sea.
Linlin’s Soul-Soul Fruit abilities give her the power to drain the life force of any person and infuse it into a non living object. She has been known to have immense durability and uses her soul infused objects in battle. She also has mastery over different kinds of Haki and is a terrible presence in battle.
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4Shiki the Golden Lion
Shiki the Golden Lion is the captain of the Golden Lion Piratesand the first known person to escape the great prison, Impel Down.
He is also known as the “Flying Pirate” because of his Float-Float Devil Fruit abilities, which allows him to make anything float just by touch. He was also one of the most powerful pirates during the time of Gol D. Roger.
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3Shanks
“Red Haired” Shanks is an Emperor of the Sea and is the only one from the original 4 Emperors still holding the title. He started out as an apprentice on the ship of the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, and later formed his own pirate crew, the Red Haired Pirates.
Shanks definitely keeps up to his title of Yonko, he has immensely strong Haki and has a reputation that makes most pirates tremble after hearing his name. He also is one of the strongest characters in the series without a devil fruit power.
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2Gol D. Roger
Gol D. Roger is the only one in history to hold the title of Pirate King. He is the most successful captain to ever sail the seas of One Piece, reaching the end of the Grand Line and discovering the secrets of the world while also leaving behind his famous treasure for the rest of the world to find.
Roger is a great pirate in many ways, having displayed tremendous strength in combat, he can go on fighting for days at a time and can even destroy entire pirate crews. He is also the one responsible for inspiring an entire new generation of pirates.
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1Edward Newgate
Edward Newgate, the captain of Whitebeard Pirates, is been the best pirate captain in the entirety of One Piece.
Being a Yonko, he’s not only extremely strong, but intellectual as well. He was passionate and caring towards his crew treating them like family and leading them as a great man.
Whitebeard was matched by very few, thus earning him the title of “Strongest Man in the World”. He could literally shake the world with his Tremor-Tremor Devil Fruit. He was an exceptional leader and had the respect of not only his subordinates, but also his enemies.
His amazing leadership skills saw many pirate crews swear allegiance to him and fight on his behalf whenever required.
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About One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since July 22, 1997.
The man who had acquired everything in this world, the Pirate King, is Gol D. Roger. The final words he said at the execution tower were “My treasures? If you want it, I’ll let you have it. Look for it; I left all of it at that place.” These words sent many to the seas, chasing their dreams, headed toward the Grand Line, in search of One Piece. Thus began a new age!
Seeking to be the greatest pirate in the world, young Monkey D. Luffy also heads toward the Grand Line in search of One Piece. His diverse crew is joining him along the way, consisting of a swordsman, marksman, navigator, cook, doctor, archaeologist, and cyborg-shipwright, this will be one memorable adventure.
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