One Piece: Oda Confirms The Next Strongest Pirate In History After Joy Boy And Davy Jones

The final saga of One Piece has been relentless when it comes to introducing powerful characters to the fans. Fans have seen the Yonko make moves that they had never anticipated, and at the same time, the Admirals are taking part in major battles. Legends such as Garp have moved in combat, and at the same time, the old legends that existed in history, like Harald and Rocks, have also appeared.
Amidst all this incredible action, Oda has revealed to the fans the strongest pirate of all time, and fans know them to be Davy Jones and Joy Boy. Joy Boy is specifically known as Imu's biggest fear, which means that he can easily be classified as the strongest pirate. Now, in the current timeline, Oda has confirmed the strongest pirate that exists, behind only the likes of Davy Jones and the legendary Joy Boy, the first pirate in history.
Right now, fans don't know much about the events that took place in the Void Century, but based on the bits and pieces that Oda has revealed, it is quite clear that the two absolute monsters that struck fear into Imu, the strongest in the world currently, were Joy Boy and Davy Jones. Joy Boy was so strong that his Haku caused immense pain to Imu in Egghead, and gave them PTSD as well. Similarly, Davy Jones was incredibly strong as well. Davy Jones's power also struck fear in Imu, although perhaps not on the same level as that of Joy Boy.
Still, based on everything that has been presented in the story, at this point, it is safe to say that Joy Boy and Davy Jones were the two strongest pirates that existed long ago in the Void Century. This is precisely why Imu wants to get rid of Joy Boy, as well as erase the Davy line permanently. While these two pirates were absolutely incredible, and were on a completely different level to the rest, possibly even stronger than Imu back then, fans know that they don't matter right now because they're dead.
That said, Luffy is the next Joy Boy, even though he hasn't fully realized his powers yet, and Blackbeard, who is the successor to Davy Jones, is also slowly building his strength. In the current era, the strongest is neither of these two. The strongest pirate at the moment is none other than Red-Haired Shanks, and he is also the third strongest pirate in history, as far as fans know, right after Davy Jones and Joy Boy.
Fans might be confused as to what makes Shanks the third strongest pirate in the history of One Piece. However, to answer this question, one only needs to take a look at the Elbaf arc of One Piece. For one, Shanks' strength is already hyped up to be absolutely incredible. The Five Elders themselves state that once Shanks is angry, he is impossible to stop. At the same time, fans have seen a small glimpse of his powers when he absolutely demolished the leaders of the Kid Pirates, Kid and Killer, in a single swing of his sword. Shanks is so strong that he could strike fear into an Admiral and cancel out their Devil Fruit powers by launching a bolt of Haki from miles away. No other character has shown such feats in One Piece, and this is only a fragment of his true power.
All that said, the main reason why Shanks is the strongest pirate is neither of those things. In the Elbaf Arc, Oda went a level beyond for Shanks and showed us how strong he has truly become. The main reason why Shanks is the strongest pirate in history after Joy Boy and Davy Jones is that he was able to beat Loki and Ragnir all by himself.
To truly understand the significance of Shanks beating Loki and Ragnir all by himself, one only needs to understand how strong Loki and Ragnir truly are. Starting with Ragnir, it was revealed in One Piece Chapter 1170 that Ragnir has been guarding the legendary Devil Fruit of Elbaf for centuries. This is absolutely huge because almost everyone has tried to eat this legendary Devil Fruit, but they have not been accepted by Ragnir, which means they have also not shown enough strength and willpower to earn its acceptance. Harald failed at doing this, and so did countless others before him. Yet, Loki was able to earn the trust of Ragnir and show him impressive battle strength in One Piece Chapter 1170.
Ragnir's strength was clear to see. It even withstood powerful blows with Loki's maximum output Conqueror's Haki and it did more than enough to push Loki back. At the very least, Ragnir is stronger than the Yonko commanders of the One Piece world and somewhere around the same level as the Admirals, or rivaling even the Yonko in some aspects. This might sound ridiculous to the fans, simply because Ragnir is also a squirrel, but at the end of the day, it is what Oda has shown clearly in the chapters.
Beating Ragnir alone is a big feat for anyone, but Shanks did not just beat Ragnir, he also beat Loki. Another interesting thing that fans need to take into consideration is Loki's power level.
Fourteen years ago, on the day that Harald died, Loki was strong enough for Harald to call in to stop him. But, he then went on to consume the legendary Devil Fruit of the country. Once he ate this legendary Devil Fruit, Loki became so strong that he was even able to overwhelm Harald. For context, at this point, Harald was buffed by Imu's Deep Sea Covenant. This Covenant made him so strong that he had surpassed the levels of Rocks D. Xebec, Gol D. Roger, Garp, and Whitebeard, among all the other legends that have existed in One Piece.
For Loki to overwhelm such a monster quite easily and overpower him in combat is absolutely incredible. Loki did not even go all out, yet his strength was such that Harald could not stand his own against him.
At this point, it has clearly been established that Loki was the strongest in the One Piece world recently, and that he had surpassed the levels of Rocks and Harald, possibly even those of the Pirate King, although that remains unclear at this point in the story. Six years ago, Shanks fought Loki and Ragnir together, and against all odds, he was able to defeat them. For Shanks to defeat Loki and Ragnir together is absolutely incredible. This means Shanks' power is far above the likes of Rocks and Harald as well.
Fourteen years ago, Shanks was not strong enough to stop Harald. However, right now it is quite clear to see that Shanks grew tremendously during this phase and gained enough power to not just beat Loki, but Ragnir by his side. He then chained them up and took them back to Elbaf. Shanks's strength is legendary at this point, and no one else comes close. In the current generation, he is quite easily the strongest pirate.
Eiichiro Oda's One Piece focuses on the journey of Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates as they sail the seas to lay claim to the grand treasure known as the One Piece. The manga is currently in its Final Saga. One Piece will be featured in this week's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1170 is January 4, 2026. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday, which is 11:00 AM EST, or 8:00 AM PT. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump apps. Doing so will ensure that fans always support the author.