Considering its swashbuckling setting, it’s unsurprising that talented swordfighters populate One Piece. Here are the strongest of the lot.
The world of One Piece has seen quite a number of capable swordsmen take the stage over the course of a 1000 chapters. Everyone’s favorite Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro, is one of them, but he’s definitely not the only. From the East Blue all the way to the Land of Wano in the New World, some very capable swordsmen who are incredibly skilled in the way of the sword have appeared.
In a plethora of sword wielders, though, only a handful can be called master swordsmen and are strong enough to be considered among the elites of the One Piece world. Those below are the best of the best, ranked by their relative strength.
Updated on January 18, 2022, by Rei Penber: The world of One Piece has several powerful swordsmen who use various techniques to get the better of their enemies. With the story currently being in the Wano Country arc, fans have seen what the samurai of this country are capable of. The fact that even the World Government is scared of them is proof enough that the strongest of swordsmen are from Wano. With that in mind, we’ve expanded this list even further and added five more of the strongest One Piece swordsmen to it.
15Kawamatsu
Kawamatsu is a pufferfish Fishman and quite a strong swordsman. He was raised by Kozuki Oden and under his tutelage, Kawamatsu became incredibly powerful. With his famed blade Soto Musou, Kawamatsu can defeat even high-level enemies in combat.
He can make use of Ryuo quite well. In the fight against Kaido, Kawamatsu was able to wound him on multiple occasions, which just goes to show that he’s a powerful swordsman in his own right.
14Okiku
Just like Kawamatsu, Okiku is another retainer of Kozuki Oden and was trained in the ways of the blade by him. Kiku was an orphan and used to perform on the streets with her brother, Izo, when Oden took them in. Years later, she managed to become an incredible samurai.
Kiku’s sword style is said to be quite unique and according to the tales, the wounds that it leaves behind linger even in the afterlife. She is a great user of Ryuo, just like any other member of the group. She’s also among the strongest of the lot, as evident from the fact that she defeated Kanjuro without even going all out.
13Ashura Doji
Ashura Doji was the strongest swordsman in One Piece’s Wano Country until the Scabbards all gathered 20 years later. He was extremely powerful and could fight even the strongest without much trouble. Ashura had great skill with Ryuo, as evident from his clash with Jack in the Kuri region of Wano Country. He could effortlessly overpower him and even managed to slice him across the chest with relative ease. Later, he tied a battle with a one-legged Inuarashi.
12Inuarashi
One of the leaders of the Minks, Inuarashi is the strongest swordsman in One Piece’s Zou island. He wields a saber in battle and uses it to channel both electro and advanced Ryuo at the same time. In Wano Country, Inuarashi showed his incredible skill to the fans when he fought Kaido on the rooftop and managed to injure him.
What’s more, Inuarashi got even stronger in his Sulong form. He is skilled in both Oden Two Sword Style and Oden One Sword Style. Despite being severely weakened after the fight against Kaido, Inuarashi was able to take down Jack in battle.
11Nekomamushi
Nekomamushi is just as strong as Inuarashi and even though he doesn’t make use of a sword, he’s an exceptionally powerful samurai. He’s just as good a user of Ryuo and Electro as Inuarashi and on Zou, he gave Jack a hard time. In Wano, he was able to fight against Kaido and even injure him in battle, which is nothing short of amazing.
Later, he took on Perospero in battle, and despite being severely weakened already, he was able to take him with his Sulong form. Just like Inuarashi, Nekomamushi is skilled in both Oden Two Sword Style and Oden One Sword Style, however, due to having lost an arm, he relies primarily on the latter.
10Denjiro
Denjiro is a vassal of Kozuki Oden and one of the Akazaya Nine of Wano Country. Known to be extremely powerful, Denjiro relies on his sword in combat and is powerful enough to take on even a Calamity of Kaido in combat.
Along with the other Scabbards, he has shown himself to be strong enough to wound Kaido in battle using extremely powerful Ryou. Without a doubt, he’s one of the strongest samurai seen in the story to date.
9Kin’emon
Kin’emon was the leader of the Akazaya Nine and one of the strongest members of the group, if not the strongest. Leading them from the front, Kin’emon was powerful enough to slice through Kaido’s Borobreath on several occasions.
What’s more, he could also pierce Kaido’s skin with his Ryou-based attacks, showing his skill with Haki. Kin’emon was also a user of the infamous Oden Two-Sword Style and delivered a powerful blow to the Yonko, causing him to bleed from the scar that Oden gave him.
8Vista
Flower Sword Vista is the former Fifth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and an extremely capable swordsman. He was the strongest swordsman of the Whitebeard Pirates, and even the likes of Dracule Mihawk respected him quite a lot.
The two clashed in Marineford and fought to a stalemate, each demonstrating their fighting skill. For Mihawk to give demonstrate respect for someone means that he was quite a capable wielder of the blade.
7Trafalgar Law
One of the members of the Worst Generation, Trafalgar Law is the extremely captain of the Heart Pirates. He has a bounty of 500 million berries on his head, which goes to show how capable he truly is.
Law possesses the cursed sword Kikoku, and uses it together with the Ope Ope no Mi devil fruit ability in combat. His powers were great enough for him to hold his own against Kaido. Even in his hybrid form, Law was able to hurt Kaido and defend himself from his attacks. Currently, he’s engaging the Yonko Big Mom in combat.
6Roronoa Zoro
Roronoa Zoro is the combatant of the Straw Hat Pirates, and one of the strongest people in the crew. He is a user of the famous Three-Sword Style and has Wado Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, and Enma in his possession.
Zoro fought Kaido on the rooftop and was able to hurt this formidable foe with his attacks. He even scarred Kaido using his strongest attack, Dead Man’s Game. Zoro then fought King and proved himself to be around Yonko Commander level.
5Fujitora
One of the Admirals of the Navy, Fujitora is an incredibly powerful character who is also a talented swordsman. He wields an unnamed blade and uses it in conjunction with a Devil Fruit power that allows him to control gravity at will.
Fujitora is easily one of the strongest swordsmen and is capable of fighting the likes of the Yonko as well. His true strength hasn’t been seen yet but, being an Admiral, he’s certainly among the strongest out there.
4Silvers Rayleigh
Silvers Rayleigh is the former First Mate of the Roger Pirates. Although he doesn’t have a Devil Fruit, Rayleigh is incredibly skilled as a fighter. He wields all three types of Haki and possesses the ability to use advanced Ryou as well.
Rayleigh is also a skilled swordsman, as seen when he stopped Kizaru with his sword and even grazed him. Despite being very old, Rayleigh managed to hold an Admiral at bay, meaning in his prime, he must’ve been a true menace.
3Shanks
Shanks is a former member of the Roger Pirates and currently one of the Yonko of the One Piece world. He captains the Red Hair Pirates and has a bounty of over 4 billion berries.
Shanks possesses decent skill with a sword, and he was strong enough to match Mihawk in combat to a point where they had to fight several duels and still did not settle the score. Shanks is likely stronger than Mihawk; however, the latter was able to beat Shanks with a bit higher-grade swordplay and strategy.
2Dracule Mihawk
Dracule Mihawk is the strongest swordsman in One Piece, and the wielder of the SaijŠŌ Wazamono sword called Yoru. With his Armament Haki, Mihawk was able to blacken the blade, which is quite a testament to his skills as a swordsman.
Mihawk was able to fight against Shanks long ago when they were young, which shows that he was quite powerful from an early age. In Marineford, he wasn’t afraid to test himself against the mighty Whitebeard, despite knowing he was inferior to him. While he hasn’t fought any major battle so far, his title alone is enough to justify his rank.
1Kozuki Oden
Kozuki Oden was one of the strongest characters in One Piece. Known to be an exceptionally skilled samurai, Oden was powerful enough to fight the likes of Whitebeard and Roger before hitting his prime. After returning to Wano several times stronger, Oden was strong enough to fight Yonko Kaido and scar him in combat.
Oden nearly managed to kill Kaido, and had it not been for the interference, the Yonko would most certainly have died. With his advanced Ryou and Conqueror’s Haki usage, Oden was certainly the strongest swordsman seen at the time.
