The One Piece world has seen some of the strongest pirates get introduced over the years. With the likes of the Shichibukai, and then the mighty Yonko, the story has its fair share of overpowered pirates. As Luffy progresses further on his path to becoming the Pirate King and subsequently gets stronger, fans get to see more of those who reign supreme at the top. The New World, in particular, is home to these pirates, and only the person who conquers the New World is the one worthy of calling themselves the Pirate King.
At the same time, there are several characters from the old generation of One Piece who were arguably even more impressive than the Yonko who currently rule the world. Whitebeard is spoken of as a legendary pirate and Roger is held in even greater status in the world. There are also those whose names got lost in the sands of time, but their strength shook the world back during their era. Clearly, One Piece has had quite a lot of overpowered pirates and each of them has a fair shot at being labeled the 'strongest.'
The Strongest One Piece Pirates In History
From the very beginning of the story, there is one pirate who's always been associated with wealth, fame, and power and that person is none other than the former Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Roger was, quite simply, a monster in combat with few characters who could be considered strong enough to match him in battle. Despite not having any Devil Fruit power, Roger was able to conquer the entire era and eventually become the Pirate King. He's described to be the strongest pirate on several occasions and held in status even above the likes of the Yonko. Just his incredible usage of Haki and its advanced forms alone was enough to make him reach the top of the world.
When fans speak of Roger, they also tend to speak of Whitebeard, his rival. Whitebeard, or Edward Newgate, was described to be the only man in the world who drew a fight with Gol D. Roger, which is incredible. This was then seen during Oden's flashback when the two met on a rather strange island and clashed for 3 days straight. The battle eventually ended as a draw and a huge banquet kicked start immediately after.
Unlike Roger, Whitebeard was a user of Devil Fruit powers in the Gura Gura no Mi, which allowed him to create quakes at will. This power labeled him as "the strongest man in the world," even when Roger was alive. However, that certainly doesn't mean Whitebeard was stronger than Roger as the story quite clearly shows that the two were equally matched. In fact, when Whitebeard died, Oda directly compared him as a pirate worthy of matching Roger, showing he clearly wasn't superior to him.
Whitebeard's life was quite remarkable and he started his journey as a pirate under yet another legendary figure – Rocks D. Xebec. Rocks is yet another pirate whose name is held in legendary light by many in the One Piece world. In fact, he was so strong and dangerous that the World Government chose to erase his name from history itself. Rocks led the Rocks Pirates which included the younger (and weaker) versions of Whitebeard, Big Mom, Kaido, and even the likes of Shiki, Silver Axe, Whang Zhi, among others.
According to Sengoku, Rocks was a legendary pirate who ruled the seas all alone over 40 years ago. 38 years ago, on God Valley island, Rocks was defeated by a team-up of Roger and Garp and he is presumed to have died. Interestingly, Sengoku labels Rocks to be Roger's most formidable enemy ever, even above the likes of Whitebeard.
At the same time, the God Valley Incident gave rise to yet another powerful figure in the One Piece world, a young man who would then go on to attain the title of "The World's Strongest Creature," the King of Beasts, Kaido. One of the current Yonko, Kaido is an incredibly powerful pirate who is currently believed to be the strongest by many in the story. Having a Zoan power and the ability to wield all three Haki types, Kaido is tremendously powerful. While he certainly is the strongest pirate right now, when compared to the likes of the legends of the world, Kaido is slightly lacking in terms of portrayal. That's not to say that he's not around the same level as them. However, he's simply not earned a reputation as great as those legendary figures.
Who Is The Strongest Pirate In One Piece?
Out of all the strongest pirates discussed above, the story seems to imply that it's Rocks D. Xebec who was the strongest pirate in the One Piece world, simply because he was portrayed to be Roger's greatest rival, even more so than Whitebeard by those in the know, such as Sengoku. Roger also had to team up with Garp to defeat Rocks, which implies that he was lacking in terms of power when compared to Rocks. Of course, a lot of other factors come into play here as well.
Roger's era began long after the events of the God Valley Incident. Roger came into significant power around 30 years ago, meaning it is entirely possible that when the two fought, he was simply not in his prime at the moment. In that case, Roger could well have gone on to surpass his in terms of power later. This would also make Whitebeard the strongest pirate in the story automatically along with Roger, given that the two are deemed equal in power by Eiichiro Oda. Kaido, in the meanwhile, hasn't done anything to surpass the legacy left behind by these legendary pirates. Despite being a mighty pirate, he's likely to be weaker than these legends.
Although it is established that Roger may simply have hit his peak after fighting Rocks, a lot of it is based on small clues left behind in the story and other assumptions. Based on purely what the story tells the fans, Rocks D. Xebec was the strongest pirate of his era. The era that followed saw Roger and Whitebeard establish themselves as major powers. Although Roger died, Whitebeard remained to be the strongest until he met his end during the Paramount War. Currently, Kaido is the strongest pirate alive in the One Piece world. However, eventually, Luffy will go on to surpass him and even surpass Roger, Whitebeard, and even Rocks to establish himself as the strongest pirate to ever live.