With the possible exception of devil fruits, swords are just about the most powerful
things in all of One Piece! So today I’m counting down the Top 20 most powerful swords
users from those who follow the honorable code of swordsman to those who earned their
spot by…*checks notes*…owning a sword. Starting at #20 with Trafalgar
D. Law. He’s been a supernova, a warlord, but most importantly,
one hell of a swordsman. Now, most fans underrate Law’s actual swordsmanship
because Law typically fights with his super OP devil fruit. A lot of the time, his sword is like
a glorified scalpel within Law’s operating room. But let’s give credit where credit is due: Law’s
sword is named Kikoku and even though it hasn’t played into the story, it’s actually a cursed
blade. So what sword feats let Law into the Top 20? Well, it’s debatable how much of this
is his sword and how much is his devil fruit, but he did cut an entire mountain in half in Punk
Hazard. You could definitely chalk this solely up to his devil fruit, but don’t forget that
he also cut Vergo in half. Vergo - whose full body armament haki made short work of
Smoker and Sanji and should have been able to block both the effects of Law’s devil fruit
powers and his sword strike. This means he has enough haki behind his sword strikes to have
serious cutting power, devil fruit or not. #19 is a Yonkou Commander, in fact, he’s one of
the strongest Yonkou Commanders out there: King. It might seem like King ranks a bit low here,
but that’s because he’s not a proper swordsman. At least, he definitely doesn’t follow the same
honorable Bushido code that Zoro does. Instead of relying fully on swordplay, King resorts to
dirty tricks. Instead of a traditional blade, he uses a sword that has several notches, similar
to a “swordbreaker” dagger. Instead of meeting a fellow swordsman in an honorable duel, he
uses this weapon to disarm his opponents and twist their swords right from his opponent’s
hands. All’s fair in love and war, right? Beneath his leather daddy exterior, King
is secretly a member of the Lunarian race, whose superior speed and strength enhance his
sword fighting abilities. His natural ability to harness fire doesn’t hurt either - not only can
his sword knock his opponent’s sword away - it also coats it on fire. He’s a pirate at his
core and will use any trick in the book to try and get the advantage over his opponents.
Unlike Zoro, honor isn’t in his vocabulary. At number 18, is the captain of the
Beautiful pirates and member of the Grand Fleet - Cavendish. Now, King could totally
stomp Cavendish in a fight, I know, I know - but remember that this is a ranking of sword skills
and Cavendish has some serious finesse with his blade. Cavendish wields a cursed blade named
Durandal. As a named blade, Durandal belongs to a class of swords called the “Meito” -
however, the grade of his sword is unknown. Durandal is a rapier, which
is a rarity in One Piece, but it perfectly fits Cavendish’s
elegant and graceful fighting style. Fitting for someone who uses a European fencing
technique, Cavendish’s attack names are actually based on pieces of European literature. There’s
Swan Lake, named for a Russian Ballet, and Round Table based on King Arthur and the Knights
of the Round Table, among others. However, what really earns Cavendish a spot in the Top 20
is the “curse” part of his blade. When Cavendish falls unconscious, his body is occupied by
the demonic entity called Hakuba, which cuts his opponents down with lightning fast speed and
insatiable bloodlust. It was thanks to his Hakuba form that he was able to take out almost an entire
block of the Corrida Colosseum in an instant. It’s not actually confirmed that the Hakuba form
comes from his sword, but…I mean, it would be kind of weird if Cavendish just has a second,
unrelated curse in addition to his cursed blade. However, this captain of the Grand Fleet
can’t quite keep up with a member of the actual Straw Hat crew: Coming in at #17,
it’s Brook. Before Brook ever gained his soul powers and became the Soul King, he
was known as the Humming Swordsman. He’s an elegant fencing type just like Cavendish and
is able to use his sword with such finesse that he can actually play his violin with
the blade…which for all my musicians out there…is just not how strings
work, so it’s seriously impressive. Brook wields a type of blade called a Shikomizue,
which means a “prepared cane” in Japanese. This isn’t the last hidden cane sword on this list,
either! After the time skip, once Brook gained greater mastery over his devil fruit powers,
he renamed his blade “Soul Solid” because he can imbue it with the power of the underworld
to freeze his opponents. One of his signature moves is the Three-Pace Hum-Notch Slash, which
replicates an attack from classic samurai films, where he walks past an opponent and sheathes
his blade. Just as he closes it on the hilt, the opponents’ wound erupts, having cut
them without them even realizing it. While he doesn’t stack up to the later swordsman on
this list, you can’t sleep on Brook - especially considering he’s had feats such as actually
being able to wound one of Big Mom’s homies. But, if you’re worried that Law’s devil
fruit throws off the ranking too much, you definitely don’t need to worry about that with
#16 - Kinemon. The power to magically conjure any outfit has nothing to do with Kinemon’s
swordsmanship. And really, when I say Kinemon, I have to give an honorable mention to all
of the nine Red Scabbards because samurai like Denjiro and Ashura Doji have similar levels
of strength, but this would be a pretty boring list if so many spots were occupied by
these former retainers of Kozuki Oden. Kinemon and the others learned their
skill in swordsmanship from Oden, with many of them replicating his signature
two-sword style. However, Kinemon’s other special technique is what earns him a spot on this list:
Kinemon’s epithet is “Fox-Fire Kinemon” because his katana allow him to both cut flames and
generate flames, giving him the bad ass fire sword of Zoro’s dreams. He was even able to cut
Kaidou’s blast breath in half - sadly, though, none of the 9 Red Scabbards could cut Kaidou which
means this is as high on the list as they can go. Up next at #15 is Vista of the Flower
Swords, a man with a mustache to rival Gol D. Roger. We don’t really know much
about Vista outside of his skirmishes in the Marineford War - however, it’s
not just anybody who can serve as a division commander on Whitebeard’s
ship. As the 5th division commander, I can only assume that his power is on par
with that of characters like Marco and Ace. What we do know about Vista, though, is
that he was actually able to deflect a slash from Mihawk and his strength as a
swordsman was acknowledged by Mihawk as well. And that’s a high compliment from
a character of Mihawk’s caliber. However, it’s currently unknown what Vista is up to
after the dissolution of the Whitebeard Pirates, so who knows if we’ll get to see
this swordsman in action again? Charlotte Cracker is #14. As a Yonkou Commander,
he has enough power to have a drawn out battle with Gear 4th Luffy, which even Doflamingo
wasn’t able to manage. Cracker uses a named blade called Pretzel because the Charlotte family
really just goes all in with the food theme. At first, Cracker appeared to be primarily
a defensive character, hiding behind (or inside) his army of biscuit soldiers. But when his
true body and terrible hairstyle were revealed, he showed himself to be a fast and powerful
attacker with a sword. However, his defense stats were lacking which lead to him being blasted
into the troposphere by Luffy’s Gear 4th Tank Man. For #13, I’m going into pure speculation
territory because it’s Garp’s right-hand man, Bogard. Oda still hasn’t shown us what
this man can do, but I have to put some respect on Bogard’s name because you don’t
get to be the right-hand man of the marines’ greatest hero by being a pushover. This 1940s
detective trained Koby, Garp’s successor for the Hero of the Marines title, in swordplay.
And on top of that this Humphrey Bogart look alike pulled up with Garp to God Valley, where
he was sharing a battlefield with the likes of Roger and all of the Rocks Pirates. I can’t put
him any higher until Oda actually shows us what he can do for real, but I just know Bogard has
got some serious swordsmanship in store for us. #12 is S. Hawk, one of the Seraphim,
Dr. Vegapunk’s newest iteration of the Pacifista. Instead of being super-soldiers that
look like Kuma, the Seraphim are recreations of all of the former Shichibukai, mixed with Lunarian
DNA and sometimes even given synthetic devil fruit abilities. That means that S. Hawk is a clone of
Dracule Mihawk, the world’s strongest swordsman. S. Hawk’s Lunarian bloodline elements give
him super durable skin and enhanced speed and strength compared to a human. However, due to
the clone’s aging process, all of the Seraphim still have children’s bodies. And, even though
his sword is styled after Mihawk’s blade, Yoru, it’s no replacement for one of the 12 supreme
grade blades. S. Hawk can cut mountains clean in half, but he’s got a lot of growing up to
do before he can climb to the top of this list. #11 brings us to one of the strongest
characters in One Piece, period. Big Mom. You may be asking yourself? Big Mom?
A swordsman? Well, yes, she’s got a sword, so she’s got just as much of a right to be here
as non-traditional swordsmen like King and Law, who use swords but don’t follow an samurai-like
code of honor. But Big Mom deserves a higher spot on this list for her sword alone: it’s
literally sentient: Honorable mention to Spandam - sorry you were too weak for us to
talk about best boy Funkfreed on this list. But Big Mom’s sword is stronger than
any elephant around - it’s Napoleon, the living bicorne hat, who can become
a deadly sharp cutlass. As a homie, this means it can stab and slash independently
of its user. It can also work in sync with Big Mom’s other homies like Prometheus to become
a flaming blade as well. Sure, Big Mom doesn’t have the artful grace of Cavendish, but
when you can one shot 90% of the verse, you don’t need tact, you can just hack
and slash your way to certain victory. But one swordsman with incredibly skilled
technique is the OG himself, Ryuma, coming in at #10. And I should note that this is a
One Piece Top 20 list, not a Monsters Top 20 list. For those who don’t know, the Ryuma that appears
in Oda’s one shot Monsters that he created before One Piece is actually the same Ryuma that appears
on Thriller Bark. However, he’s hard to place on this list because the only Ryuma we actually
see in One Piece is the weaker zombie version on Thriller Bark. In honor of his legendary status
as a Wano samurai, he still earns the #10 spot. Shimotsuki Ryuma is actually Zoro’s distant
ancestor and the most famed swordsman in the entire history of Wano. He wields Wano’s national
treasure, Shusui, which is one of the 21 Great Grade swords and is also a Black Blade, which
likely means Ryuma’s haki was so strong that it permanently enhanced the blade’s strength
and power. Once upon a time, he beheaded a powerful dragon that threatened Wano Country,
making him a legendary figure for centuries. For #9, I have to go into
pure speculation territory, so I’m going to have two characters sharing
this spot. Neither of these characters have actually demonstrated their power in the series,
but based on their positions and vibes alone, we can all but guarantee they’re top tier
characters. They are two power houses of the Celestial Dragons, Saint Figarland Garling and
Saint Ethan Baron V. Nusjuro. For all we know, both of these characters are actually much higher
on the list, but until I see their sword skills, they’re just going to have to
settle for being in the top 10. Garling is the Supreme Commander of the
God’s Knights, the law enforcement branch of Marie Jois, who even have the authority
to dish out justice to the Celestial Dragons. Figarland Garling was the champion of God
Valley, the world nobles’ sick manhunt of non government-affiliated people. This means
he also survived the God Valley incident with combatants like Roger and Rocks. On top of that,
he’s almost certainly Shanks’ father, and since Shanks is another one of the series’ strongest
characters, he had to get it from somewhere. There’s also not a lot known about Ethan Baron
V. Nusjuro, but thanks to Saturn’s activities on Egghead, it’s clear that all of the Gorosei are
super powerful and probably all have mythical zoans. But more importantly, Nusjuro wields a
sword that looks suspiciously like a Kitetsu blade. It could be the fabled Shodai Kitetsu,
a Supreme Grade Cursed Blade which was the strongest sword forged by Kotetsu, Wano’s greatest
swordsmith. The “juro” suffix on Nusjuro’s name also adds to the suspicion that this swordsman
could have a connection to Wano somehow. But for #8, it’s time to come back to characters
that we’ve seen in action plenty of times. Dark King Rayleigh was Roger’s right hand man and
Luffy’s mentor during the time skip. Even though he’s older now, Rayleigh can still go toe-to-toe
with an admiral like when he clashed against Kizaru during the Sabaody Archipelago arc. And
his haki is strong enough that he made the logia user draw blood, being able to cut through
the intangibility of his devil fruit power. If he was in his prime, he’d be near the
very top of the list, but as he stated, in his older age, he probably wouldn’t be a
match for powerful combatants like Marshall D. Teach AKA Blackbeard. His speed and strength
make Silvers Rayleigh an unbelievable swordsman, but alas, his era seems to have come to an end. At #7 is the second cane sword user on the list
- Fujitora. Except while Brook uses his cane for vibes alone, Fujitora actually does use his
cane for a functional purpose. Wait a minute, does Brook use a cane because he doesn’t have
eyes? I’m not even setting up for a Yohoho joke, I’m actually just curious now.
That’s a theory for another video, though - right now it’s all about Fujitora. Fujitora, or Issho if I’m using his real
name, is based on the Blind Swordsman, Zatoichi, a famous character from samurai
films and novels. This continues the trend of every Marine Admiral being based on a famous
Japanese actor. Even without his sense of sight, Fujitora’s observation haki allows him to duel
with the best of them. Of course, he also has the power to use his gravity fruit to summon
meteors to rain down on the battlefield, but that seems almost like an after thought because
his skills with a sword speak for themselves. #6 seems to never get mentioned in these
discussions of the top swordsmen in One Piece. It’s like he’s invisible. Wait - actually,
no - he is just literally invisible. Shiryu of the Rain is the former head jailer of Impel Down
and currently the Titanic Captain of Blackbeard’s second ship. There’s not an actual confirmation
of Blackbeard’s ships being ranked to power level, as Kuzan is the tenth and there’s no way he’s
the weakest of the Blackbeard pirates. However, Shiryu being the second captain and being a
sword wielder seems to set him up perfectly as an end game boss for Zoro. And if Zoro
is getting closer and closer to the title of World’s Strongest Swordsman, then
Shiryu must not be too far away, either. Unlike the honorable Zoro, Shiryu is more in
line with the rest of his crew. He doesn’t play by the rules and prefers to use whatever
tricks or schemes he can to get the upper hand on his opponent. Therefore, his ability to
turn invisible is the perfect match for him. He can sneak up on unsuspecting opponents and
slice them up before they even know he’s there. This is the complete opposite of my #5
pick, Roronoa Zoro. As he said to Mihawk, “scars on the back are a swordsman’s shame” -
and he wouldn’t disgrace his status as a warrior by attacking unwitting or unarmed opponents,
either. He wants to truly be the World’s Greatest Swordsman and that means facing his opponents
with honor in a contest of head-to-head strength. His signature three-sword style means that Zoro
wields three different named blades. His first sword is the Wado Ichimonji, a Great Grade
sword that he uses in honor of his childhood friend Kuina. The Sandai Kitetsu is one of the
cursed blades made by the swordsmith Kotetsu. And his most recent katana is Enma, which is a
Great Grade Black Blade that once belonged to Kozuki Oden, the former shogun of Wano. Both
of Zoro’s Great Grade blades were forged by Shimotsuki Kozaburo, Kuina’s grandfather
and a distant realative of Zoro himself. By tapping into his armament and conqueror’s
haki, Zoro has managed such feats as cutting through sheer steel, dicing up entire
ships, and even scarring Kaidou. However, no technique is more deadly than his Asura
ability, which turns his three-sword style into nine-sword style for an extremely powerful
cutting attack. He’s Luffy’s right hand man and by the end of the series, he’ll surely
become the World’s Greatest Swordsman. But to reach the pinnacle of sword
users, there are still 4 swordsmen, past and present that Zoro needs
to overcome. And #4 is no big deal, you know, it’s only the former shogun of Wano,
Kozuki Oden. Oden was powerful enough to fight against Kaidou and possibly would have won if it
wasn’t for outside interference in the battle. He taught masterful samurai like Kinemon and
Denjiro, but his power eclipsed their own. His two-sword style is formidable, wielding
both Enma which is now possessed by Zoro and the Ame no Habakiri, which has been passed on
to his son, Momonosuke. Both of Oden’s swords were Great Grade blades, of which only 21 exist.
Both were forged by master swordsmiths of Wano, with Ame no Habakiri being made by Oden’s father,
Kozuki Sukiyaki in order to cut through the heavens and Enma being made by Shimotsuki Kozaburo
to cut through the bottom of hell. It’s unclear if Oden actually ever cut through heaven and
hell, but he sure did cut through Kaidou. He could not, though, manage to cut the #3 best
swordsman in One Piece: The King of the pirates, Gol D. Roger. Roger isn’t known as a swordsman
per se, but like so many other combatants on this list, the dude does use a sword. And
not just any sword, one of the 12 Supreme Grade swords that have the status as the very
strongest weapons in the world. The name of that sword? Ace. Yes, that’s right, dear viewer.
Gol D. Roger named his son after his sword. Even though Oden was a powerful master
samurai, when he tried to block Roger’s “Divine Departure” attack, it sent him flying.
Roger and Whitebeard’s haki was so powerful, their blades wouldn’t even touch
when they clashed - they hung in mid-air blocked by the haki as if they
were two magnets repelling one another. Roger became the King of the Pirates for a
reason: he had the strength to back it up. But, in a speculation that is sure to make
some of you rush to the comment section, I think that his apprentice has actually surpassed
him. That’s right - Buggy D. Clown is actually the #2 swordsman in One Piece. Just kidding, of
course - it’s Shanks. Nothing is known so far about Shanks’ saber, Gryphon, and whether it is
a graded blade. However, it is strong enough to clash with his fellow emperors of the sea. As a
Yonkou and the likely son of Figarland Garling, the commander of the God’s Knights, he has both
the blood and the life experience to create one of the One Piece world’s strongest
warriors - if not, THE strongest. Shanks’ sword skills are powerful enough to
have defeated Eustass Kid with just one Divine Departure attack, using the same technique that
his mentor Roger used to use. Before Shanks lost his arm, he regularly dueled with Mihawk, which
means that the arm Shanks lost was likely his dominant arm. However, this doesn’t seem to
have affected his overall ability too much, as he can still clash blades with the likes
of Whitebeard or block Akainu’s magma fist. But even Shanks can’t quite match up
to the World’s Greatest Swordsman. At #1, it’s the character everyone saw
coming: Dracule “Hawk Eyes” Mihawk. I mean, there’s not much argument to be made against
him when his title is literally “The World’s Greatest Swordsman.” He’s a man capable
of being a warlord without a crew, just going for solo pleasure cruises on his raft and
dicing up fleets of ships just to pass the time. He’s capable of dispatching most opponents
with little more than a butter knife, but when he’s serious he uses one of the 12
Supreme Grade blades: Yoru, a black blade permanently imbued with Mihawk’s will.
He can use Yoru to send dangerous, flying slashes across a battlefield and was
once formidable enough to earn the nickname, “Marine Hunter.” However, it won’t be
until the end of the series that we’ll see if Mihawk can hang on to this title
once Zoro challenges him to a final duel. But by the time Zoro faces down his mentor and
his greatest challenge yet, will he even still have the same swords or is he due for an upgrade?
It’s hard to imagine a sword that would beat Enma, which literally sucked all the life out
of his arm the first time he wielded it. And that katana is pretty tiny compared
to Mihawk’s massive black blade, Yoru. So, it makes sense that Zoro might need
a sword that’s even MORE broken than Enma. So it sure is a lucky break that my
viewers sent in over 1,000 possible swords that would absolutely break One Piece
if they were real. I picked the top 21 of these ingenious creations that would
make the perfect upgrade for Zoro when he finally faces down Mihawk for the
title of World’s Greatest Swordsman.
