One Piece: Sanji, Shanks, And 6 More Characters Who Are So Strong They Don't Even Need Devil Fruit Abilities

Devil Fruits have allowed many key figures in One Piece to become incredibly powerful and make a huge impact on their world. So, it should be no surprise that prominent characters in this series – like Monkey D. Luffy, Donquixote Doflamingo, Kaido and more – are known users of Devil Fruit abilities.

Contrary to popular belief, however, it’s not actually necessary for someone to eat one of these fruits in order to become a notorious historical figure. After all, One Piece is filled to the brim with many powerful characters that have never eaten a Devil Fruit, and yet they managed to reach the top anyway, thanks to their Haki, their skills, their fighting styles, etc.

Gol D. Roger

Worthy Of The Title Of Pirate King

Debut: Chapter 1 (Manga) Episode 1 (Anime)

The fact that Gol D. Roger was able to find the legendary treasure that would go on to be known as the “One Piece”, and became Pirate King as a result, is enough proof that Devil Fruits are not entirely necessary to become a world-changing figure. Not only was he able to recruit a crew of efficient, smart and strong pirates, but he himself was a capable fighter as well.

Like many other prominent figures in this series, Roger was a skilled sword fighter who wielded a cutlass named Ace and could use both Armament and Conqueror’s Haki. He was so exceptionally powerful that he could even go toe-to-toe against notorious Devil Fruit user (and his longtime rival), Whitebeard. While he’s the only person on this list that is currently deceased, it’s important to point out that he wasn’t killed by the World Government, and he actually went out on his own terms.

Shanks

The Captain Of The Red Hair Pirates And Luffy’s Mentor

Debut: Chapter 1 (Manga) Episode 4 (Anime)

As a respected pirate and efficient fighter without Devil Fruit powers, Gol D. Roger naturally had many apprentices that used a similar fighting style, and Shanks is the most noteworthy example. This former Celestial Dragon grew up to become a famous pirate on his own and, unlike his good friend Buggy the Clown, he was able to do so without needing to eat a Devil Fruit.

Similarly to Roger, Shanks is a master of Haki who has experience wielding its three forms (Armament, Observation and Conqueror’s) in combination with his saber, Gryphon. But what makes the captain of the Red Hair Pirates an especially impressive figure is that he was able to become an Emperor despite only having one arm, seeing as he sacrificed his left one in order to save a young Monkey D. Luffy. Needless to say, he will certainly show up as a prominent character in the final arcs of the series.

Roronoa Zoro

The Right Wing Of The Future Pirate King And A Powerful Sword Fighter

Debut: Chapter 3 (Manga) Episode 1 (Anime)

Even though Monkey D. Luffy – the main character of the series and the future Pirate King – does wield the power of the Gomu Gomu no Mi, most of his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, is made up of strong fighters who never ate a Devil Fruit but are still able to put up a fight with their own individual skills and abilities. One of them is obviously the combatant of the crew (and its unofficial vice-captain): Roronoa Zoro.

Zoro has been training as a sword fighter for pretty much his entire life, and all of his efforts have paid off. By mastering his signature Three Sword Style and gaining the ability to wield all three types of Haki, he has become Luffy’s right-hand man and the most trusted fighter in the entire crew, and he has been able to take down formidable opponents like Daz Bones, Kaku and King. On top of that, Zoro wants to defeat Dracule Mihawk in battle and become the strongest sword fighter in the entire world, and it seems he’ll achieve that dream in the near future.

Sanji

The Left Wing Of The Future Pirate King And An Enhanced Superhuman

Debut: Chapter 43 (Manga) Episode 20 (Anime)

Sanji is another notorious member of the Straw Hat Pirates who is so incredibly strong that he also became one of Luffy’s most trusted allies, right next to Zoro. This is definitely quite an impressive achievement for someone who originally joined the crew as its cook, but Sanji is actually much more powerful than it may initially seem.

He learned the Black Leg Style from his mentor/adoptive father, Zeff, and he eventually mastered his Diable Jambe technique in order to further increase the power of his kicks. This deadly combination allowed Sanji to become a force to be reckoned with before he and his crew even reached the New World, seeing as he defeated characters like Bon Clay, Wanze and Jabra in battle. But, during the recent Wano Country Arc, he awakened the genetic modifications that were dormant in his body, which gave him enhanced strength, durability and speed.

Dracule Mihawk

The Current Strongest Sword Fighter In The World

Debut: Chapter 49 (Manga) Episode 23 (Anime)

Zoro discovered very early on in his journey that becoming the world’s strongest sword fighter in the world was not going to be easy, because he got to face the current holder of that prestigious title, Dracule Mihawk, during the Baratie Arc, and he suffered a crushing defeat by his hands. This shouldn’t be much of a surprise, seeing as he was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and one of the few members of that group (alongside Jinbe) that didn’t have any Devil Fruit powers.

It goes without saying: Mihawk is exceptionally skilled with any blade he wields, regardless of whether it’s his giant long sword, Yoru (which is one of the 12 Supreme Grade swords) or a small knife. If his initial match against Zoro wasn’t enough, he later proved how powerful he is during Marineford Arc, in which he split a massive iceberg in half with just one slash of his sword. Even after the Warlords of the Sea were abolished, Mihawk managed to maintain his reputation by creating Cross Guild alongside Crocodile and Buggy (and he’s the only one of the three without Devil Fruit powers).

Monkey D. Garp

The Hero Of The Marines Is Also One Of Its Strongest Fighters

Debut: Chapter 92 (Manga) Episode 68 (Anime)

Truth be told, Luffy has always been a surprisingly strong young fighter, even before he ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi. This is because he spent many years being trained to an absurd extent by his grandfather, Monkey D. Garp, the famous hero of the Marines. Garp was able to earn this title and become a living legend just with his immense physical strength and absurdly strong Haki, without ever needing to eat a Devil Fruit.

Many years in the past, Garp succeeded in defeating Rocks D. Xebec once and for all (with the help of Gol D. Roger) and he has repeatedly displayed awe-inspiring showcases of power throughout the series that further cemented him as a major powerhouse, like launching a massive canon ball at his grandson’s ship and destroying the entire island of Hachinosu with one single attack called Galaxy Impact. Despite his old age, Garp is still very strong, and he has mentored many Marine apprentices, like Koby and Helmeppo, who will keep carrying on his legacy.

Silvers Rayleigh

The Right Hand Of The Pirate King And Luffy’s Best Teacher

Debut: Chapter 19 (Manga) Episode 8 (Anime)

As previously stated, Gol D. Roger was able to become Pirate King thanks, in part, to his loyal crew of strong pirates that always had his back, of which the most important was definitely his vice-captain, Silvers Rayleigh. Also known as the Dark King, he was Roger’s right-hand man and was exceptionally proficient at wielding all types of Haki, to the point that he was able to fight back against powerful Devil Fruit users (like Marco the Phoenix) by using just one finger.

On top of that, Rayleigh has also been shown to be capable of wielding many types of blades, like a katana or a longsword. It could be argued that he was even more skilled at using Haki than his own captain, and he cleverly utilized all that experience to teach his apprentice, Monkey D. Luffy, all he needed to know about this mysterious power before he and his crew entered the New World. Needless to say, Luffy would never have been able to get so far in his journey without Rayleigh’s teachings.

Scopper Gaban

The Left Hand Of The Pirate King And Elbaf’s Mountain-Eater

Debut: Chapter 19 (Manga) Episode 0 (Anime)

In case it wasn’t obvious, the Roger Pirates shared a lot of similarities with the Straw Hat Pirates, which means that, if Rayleigh is Zoro, Scopper Gaban is Sanji. The crew’s navigator was known as the Left Hand of the Pirate King and is almost equal in terms of power to the vice-captain, although he prefers to dual wield two axes instead of a sword.

On top of that, Gaban can use all types of Haki and was the first character to visibly damage the God’s Knights on-screen during the Elbaf Arc, which helped cement him as one of the arc’s most powerful fighters who has no Devil Fruit powers. The most fascinating thing about Gaban is that, similarly to Garp and Rayleigh, he is still extremely strong despite his old age, meaning he must have been even stronger during his prime.