6 characters that can reach Joyboy's level, ranked

Joyboy is an important historical figure in One Piece. Called the First Pirate, he was responsible for leading the charge against Imu and the rest of the World Government. Unfortunately, Joyboy lost, and Imu tried to erase his name from the annals of history.

However, Joyboy's name survived and so did his legend. Fans already know that Joyboy had the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, a mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit that allowed him to transform into the Sun God Nika. Besides the Devil Fruit, Joyboy also had insanely powerful Haki. The combination of the two makes him one of the strongest One Piece characters. As a result, the ability for other fighters to reach his level is almost impossible.

6

Monkey D. Luffy

Monkey D. Luffy is one of the four emperors of the sea, which automatically places him on the list of the most fearsome pirates. Luffy has mastered the use of all three types of Haki as well as their advanced versions. He learned the basics from Rayleigh, but he only used the advanced one after fighting powerful opponents.

Luffy is also armed with Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, the same Devil Fruit as Joyboy. The young pirate has successfully awakened his Devil Fruit, which he has named Gear 5th. Of course, Luffy has what it takes to reach the level of the legendary Joyboy. It is likely that he will rise beyond Joyboy's level by the end of the story.

5

Blackbeard

Blackbeard is arguably the most vicious and ruthless pirate in One Piece. He is quite a patient individual who waits for the right opportunity before making his move. This modus operandi has been very successful for him, and it has allowed him to become one of the most powerful pirates in the world.

Blackbeard has Yami Yami no Mi and Gura Gura no Mi, two of the most dangerous Devil Fruits in existence. With these powers, Blackbeard is nearly invincible in battle. The only department where he is lacking is Haki, but there is a good chance that Yonko will overcome this problem as well, and once he does, there will be no stopping him.

4

Shanks

Shanks is the captain of the Red Hair Pirates and arguably the greatest pirate alive. He showed tremendous potential from a young age. In fact, he was able to use Advanced Conqueror's Haki at the age of 15. Shanks was even called “Destiny's Child” by Scopper Gaban, showing how highly he was ranked.

Shanks doesn't have a Devil Fruit, but that hasn't stopped him from becoming an absurdly strong pirate. As previously mentioned, Shanks specializes in Haki. He has mastered every type of Haki, which in turn has allowed him to awaken a special ability. To be more concise, Shanks' Conqueror's Haki enables him to nullify his opponents' Observation Haki.

3

Nerona Imu

Image taken by Rei Penber from the official version of One Piece chapter 1181 via Manga Plus.

Nerona Imu is the leader of the world government. Many centuries before the current timeline, Imu spearheaded the charge against the Ancient Kingdom and Joyboy. Imu probably wanted to eradicate the country because it posed a threat to his personal ambitions.

Unsurprisingly, Nerona Imu has powerful Haki that can be felt from afar. As the ruler of the World Government, Eiichiro Oda has made sure to give Imu an exceptionally dangerous Devil Fruit. Imu's power is called Akuma no Mi or Devil's Fruit. It allows Imu to transform into a devil at will while giving him several demonic abilities. Additionally, Imu also wields a glaive in battle with immense mastery.

2

Figarland Shamrock

Figarland Shamrock is Shank's older twin brother. Unlike his sibling, Shamrock was raised in Marijoa by his father, Garling, and as a result is fiercely loyal to Imu and the World Government. Garling noted Shamrock's talent when he was still very young. In fact, the Supreme Commander of the Holy Knights was sure that Shamrock was stronger than Shanks when they were together in the Holy Knights.

Shamrock has already appeared in the story, but his full power is still unknown. Fans know that Shamrock's sword has been fed with Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Cerberus, allowing it to transform into the creature from Greek mythology. Shamrock's Haki is likely top notch as well. Whether it's on par with Shanks remains to be seen.

1

Boa Hancock

Boa Hancock is often overlooked in power scaling debates because she has yet to be involved in a major fight in the story, but that shouldn't undermine her efforts as one of the strongest characters in One Piece. Boa Hancock is an elite combatant who can use all three types of Haki. She probably has full control over them as she is the leader of the Kuja, a tribe known for their Haki mastery.

On top of that, Hancock has Mero Mero no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allows her to petrify any person. It is almost impossible to avoid the effects of the Devil Fruit. The only way to avoid being caught in the attack is to distract yourself with pain. With his power, Hancock can easily reach the top.

One Piece

Release date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

Author

Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)