8 Characters Luffy Will Surpass At The End Of The Series

This article contains spoilers for the One Piece series.

One Piece is packed with terrifyingly powerful individuals. Some of these individuals are still present in the story, while others have already died. That said, all of these terrifying monsters are worthy rivals to the protagonist, Luffy.

Having already become a Yonko, Luffy is quite strong, but the final saga is about to hand him his toughest battles. Luffy is already top tier, as he took down Kaido with Gear 5, but he still has to surpass the likes of Shanks and Joy Boy. He is bound to eventually overtake them before the end of One Piece, something many fans are looking forward to witnessing.

Sun God Nika

The Original One Piece Deity

Nika is a substantial part of One Piece’s lore. Not much is known about Nika yet, but one thing fans do know is that he was a worshipped deity in One Piece’s first world. Nika existed long before even the Void Century. According to the Elbaf Mural and Harley, Nika existed around 3000 years ago in One Piece. His power level isn’t fully clear yet, but Luffy is bound to surpass him on his journey.

Monkey D. Garp

The Hero of the Marines

Monkey D. Garp is Luffy’s very own grandfather. When Luffy was younger, he was trained by Garp in the hopes of him becoming a Marine someday. This obviously never happened. Regardless, Garp is incredibly powerful, despite not having a Devil Fruit. Luffy is still inferior to Garp when it comes to Haki, but he should soon be able to surpass Roger’s equal.

Monkey D. Dragon

The Leader of the Revolutionary Army

Dragon is another member of Luffy’s family. He is Luffy’s very own father, even though the two of them have never really had a solid relationship. Dragon’s full power is yet to be seen in One Piece, but as the Supreme Leader of the Revolutionary Army, the biggest threat to the World Government, he is bound to be powerful, comparable to the Yonko or even stronger. By the end of One Piece, Luffy should be above him.

Shanks

The Red-Haired Yonko

Shanks is currently the One Piece world’s most powerful Yonko. Red Hair Shanks is a monster when it comes to Haki. He possesses all the Haki types, and some of the rarest Haki subtypes. His Conqueror’s Haki was also directly compared to Joy Boy’s by Dorry and Brogy. Luffy’s ceiling is, however, far higher than Shanks’, and fans expect to see him surpass the Red-haired Emperor.

Joy Boy

The Second Nika From the Void Century

Joy Boy is a mysterious One Piece figure that fans are slowly, but surely, uncovering more information about in the Final Saga. Joy Boy was the Nika before Luffy and lived during the Void Century. He was strong, with his Haki striking fear in Imu, and more than that, he had Gear 5, just like Luffy. However, he lost against Imu during the Void Century, something that will not be repeated with Luffy again.

Gol D. Roger

The Late Pirate King

Roger tells the world about his treasure - One Piece

Gol D. Roger is the legendary late Pirate King. Roger conquered the Grand Line and started the Great Age of Pirates. Not only was Roger infamous for conquering the Grand Line, but he was also powerful. His Haki was the best in his era and he could even match Whitebeard and Rocks without a Devil Fruit. As the future Pirate King, Luffy has to eventually surpass him.

Rocks D. Xebec

The Legendary Captain of the Rocks Pirates

Rocks D. Xebec is a legend in One Piece. He had the most legendary crew to ever sail the Grand Line, called the Rocks Pirates. This crew united the likes of Whitebeard, Kaido, Shiki, and Big Mom, all in one crew.

Rocks himself was quite powerful, being able to kill an Admiral, and infiltrate the Flower Room and leave relatively unharmed. Luffy definitely has to surpass figures like him in the final saga to take on the challenges ahead.

Imu

The Secret Sovereign of the World

Imu is One Piece’s most powerful and dangerous character. They are still relatively mysterious, but fans have seen a glimpse of their power during Elbaf when they took over Gunko’s body. Luffy is still nowhere near Imu’s level, but he has to overcome him soon. Luffy can’t lose to Imu in the final battle like Joy Boy did before him.

One Piece Chapter 1162 will be out next week. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on October 12. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1162 is October 12, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.

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 Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Writers: 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