
The crews mentioned in this article are from the old era, which is the time of Roger and Rocks, so older Yonko crews won’t be included here.
Pirates have become widespread in the One Piece world ever since the Void Century ended 800 years ago. After the time of Joyboy, countless individuals from across the world set off from their homes and have been branded as outlaws by the World Government in an attempt to seek wealth, fame, or fortune on the Grand Line. This all culminated in the Great Pirate Era of today, where the Straw Hats and other notable crews are present.
While the pirates of the current era are undoubtedly powerful, for the most part, they simply can’t hold a candle to the strength of the legends of the previous generation. Figures like Roger, Rocks, and Whitebeard have come to be known as pirates so powerful and important that they have defined entire ages of the world, so let’s take a look at the most powerful pirate crews from the old era of One Piece.
The Kuja Pirates Had The Entire World Fawning Over Them For Years
The Icons Of The Old Era
First Appearance |
One Piece, Chapter 516, “Pirate Empress Boa Hancock” |
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Notable Members |
Shakuyaku, Gloriosa, Tritoma |
- The crown jewels of the pirate world.
Though all iterations of the Kuja Pirates have seen similar levels of infamy and obsession over the years, the version of the crew in the old era was, by far, the most powerful. This is because both Gloriosa and Shakky were active at this time; considered the most beautiful women in the world and the strongest of the Amazon Lily Empresses, which meant that everyone was completely crazy over them, especially Shakky. Due to this, they even managed to defeat the Roger Pirates.
Shakuyaku was like a flower blooming in a dry wasteland!
Shakky’s reputation was so great that she got kidnapped and was to be given away as the top prize for the winner of the Native Hunting Competition, kicking off the God Valley Incident as we know it. It was due to her kidnapping that the greatest figures of the era all came to the island in the first place. Though the Kuja Pirates weren’t outright powerful like the others, their unique trait was enough to make even the strongest crews surrender to them.
The Giant Warrior Pirates Had One Of The Strongest Captains In History
Harald’s Crew
First Appearance |
One Piece, Chapter 129, “Straight Ahead!!!” |
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Notable Characters |
Harald, Dorry, Brogy |
- The greatest Giants ever.
Even before the old generation of One Piece pirates, the New World was completely ruled by the Giants of Elbaf. Ever since the fall of Joyboy at the close of the Void Century, there weren’t very many pirates in the New World since any who became so were swiftly crushed by the overwhelming might of the Elbaf Giants. However, at the time of Rocks and Roger, the Giants had their own crew, which was exceptionally powerful.
Harald began his reign at 45 years of age – just 15 in human terms. Despite this, King Harald, remarkably enough, was pure scum!
Generally speaking, the Giants are automatically far stronger than regular people due to their size and strength, which just shows that they may not even necessarily need Haki. The Giant Warrior Pirates were quite formidable, but most of their overall strength can be attributed to Harald, who was their captain and king. He is widely considered to be the second-strongest character of the old era after Xebec himself and served a similar rival role to him as Garp did to Roger, despite the two being friends. Harald is one of the series’ strongest characters.
The Roger Pirates Eventually Reached Global Fame Due To Their Exploits
The Pirate King’s Crew
First Appearance |
One Piece, Chapter 19, “Devil Fruit” |
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Notable Members |
Gol D. Roger, Silvers Rayleigh, Scopper Gaban, Kozuki Oden, Crocus |
- The greatest pirate crew in history.
For anyone in the modern day to start their journey on the Grand Line as a pirate, the greatest inspiration of all is most likely Gol D. Roger and his infamous pirate crew, the Roger Pirates. This group is famous for being the only ones in history to find the mythical treasure of Joyboy, and upon realizing that they were too early, Roger eventually made his infamous speech atop the execution platform that started the Great Pirate Era. This ensured that Joyboy’s 800-year-old plan would eventually be completed.
My treasure? If you want it, you can have it… try and find it. I left everything I have there!
Aside from this, though, the Roger Pirates are remembered as one of the most powerful pirate crews of all time. With the three main members all being masters of Advanced Conqueror’s Haki, the overall strength of this crew is legendary, and they would likely have reached similar levels of fame even if they hadn’t found the One Piece treasure at all. When it comes to speaking of the greatest pirate crews of all time, the Roger Pirates are at the top of that list.
The Rocks Pirates Were The Greatest Pirate Crew In The Entire Series
The Strongest Crew Ever
First Appearance |
One Piece, Chapter 957, “Ultimate” |
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Notable Members |
Rocks D. Xebec, Whitebeard, Big Mom, Kaido, Shiki |
- The greatest crew in history.
After the time of Joyboy, the Rocks Pirates are the most powerful pirate crew in the history of One Piece. They are old-era mirrors to the Blackbeard Pirates, in that they are all incredibly powerful characters who were only brought together in order to achieve their own individual goals and never really had any kind of loyalty to one another, since they used their collective overwhelming strength to get whatever they wanted. They were so powerful that Sengoku even recounts that they stood as an organization that challenged the World Government.
Their captain, Rocks, aimed to become the King of the World. And he bared the fangs of his crew at the World Government, almost like a terrorist organization.
Their captain was Rocks D. Xebec, a member of the D. Clan who many in the fandom call the first true Pirate King. Not only is he portrayed as being the strongest individual from the old era of pirates, but he was also a member of a lost subsect of the D. Clan known as the Davy Clan, who are said to be one of the most infamous families in the series. Though Xebec was largely forgotten about in history, no other pirate was as powerful as him and his crew was the strongest in history.
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