Characters Who Deserve A Power-Up On One Piece

One Piece is a series that places a heavy emphasis on its established characters. While many series will seek to strengthen their leads, One Piece goes a few steps further, with an added focus on supporting characters and antagonists returning. One of the biggest examples of this was the time spent between the time skip, a period of 2 years, in which each Straw Hat trained to strengthen themselves for the New World. This is just one of a few moments in which a character returns far stronger than before. This list will look at some characters who deserve to be strengthened further before the series.

5 Nefertari D. Vivi

Once and Future (?) Straw Hat

Vivi was a previous companion of the Straw Hats, being thrust into their care as a result of her position in Baroque Works being compromised. Her time with them concluded when Alabasta was freed from the influence of Crocodile, who had steadily been attempting to take the country for himself. Nonetheless, this did not come without its hardships, as she and the crew missed each other deeply. To signify their solidarity, each member at the time marked themselves with an X, which they all held up as a “silent goodbye.”

Vivi has since received more focus, with her father’s assassination upon revealing their connection to the Will of D, leading her to go on the run. Also noteworthy is the “X” on Luffy’s wrist being highlighted in a recent chapter. If Vivi were to join the Straw Hats before any other prospective crew members, she would be the tenth one, apart from Luffy, who is not counted in the numerics of the chapters which introduce crewmates. Seeing that “X” is the Roman numeral for 10, people speculate she could make a return to the crew sooner rather than later.

If this does come to pass, there is one element of Vivi that needs to be improved, namely her physical strength. Although Vivi was powerful enough to rise through the ranks in the Baroque Works, she was largely outmatched by most of its more prominent members, some of whom she expressed disbelief in the Straw Hats being able to defeat. Considering the level to which they’ve been relegated power-wise on a greater scale, Vivi, too, should become stronger, at least to keep up with everyone else.

4 Koby

A Future Admiral, Perhaps?

Koby is a character who has steadily grown and changed since his introduction into the series. Beginning as a pirate hostage with no apparent combat ability, he has steadily shaped up into an established marine hero, under unclear circumstances in the Rocky Port Incident. At present, he is formally resigned, so he can act as a member of the Black Ops Unit, SWORD.

However, Koby clearly does want to work his way up in the marines, being set up as a counterpart to Luffy, who also continually grows in power. If his recent appearance made one thing clear, it is that although Koby is strong, he is evidently not strong enough to be Admiral material just yet. A Devil Fruit may help bridge the gap, but considering his mentor, Garp, seems to not possess one, he may also get by on raw power alone.

3 Crocodile

A Secret Head of Cross Guild

Crocodile has been at various points an enemy and ally to Monkey D. Luffy. Knowing his power well, he currently does not wish to run afoul of the Straw Hat. Nonetheless, his own thirst for power and his grudge against the World Government has led him to form Cross Guild, a mercenary guild that puts bounties on marines. Alongside Dracule Mihawk, the other co-founder, he has thrust Buggy to the forefront of the crew, making him an Emperor, one of the top four pirate captains most threatening to the World Government.

Considering the potential Cross Guild has for growth, its secret leader should probably strengthen himself as well. Considering Dracule Mihawk is currently considered the world’s strongest swordsman, Crocodile should make an effort to reach a higher level of strength, at least rising above future prospects for the crew.

2 Buggy

The Figurehead of Cross Guild

Although Buggy has been a designated punching bag since his inception, he has also continually fallen up into power. The most recent result was Cross Guild, which he effectively usurped due to a misprint his fanatic staff did, making him seem like the leader in promotional material. Crocodile and Mihawk ran with the idea, in an effort to deflect blame should punishment be doled out.

Nonetheless, even with this falsehood, there should be some form of effort to explain why Buggy continually seems to gain power, despite lacking the strength to manage it. Some would attribute it to dumb luck, but others have more creative reasoning, such as potential Conqueror’s Haki. Even before Cross Guild, Buggy was known for being able to recruit stronger pirates on his own perceived merits, which allowed him to become a threat even before Cross Guild. Looking into this fact a bit more would be a fun narrative opportunity to showcase if not improve his own “strengths” as a pirate.

1 Usopp

The Straw Hats’ Sniper

Usopp is a tactically gifted member of the Straw Hat Pirates, who is capable of using his sniping skills in combination with his penchant for trickery to outmaneuver his foes. Having gained the use of pop greens during the timeskip, along with other different methods he picked up such as the reject dial, his exact attacks can vary greatly. That said, he is still one of the weakest members of the crew.

Although that doesn’t necessarily need to change, the Elbaf Arc is an opportunity for growth. Usopp expressed a deep interest in Elbaf back in the Little Garden Arc, wishing to see a bunch of giant warriors just like Dorry and Broggy. It is unclear to what extent this arc will change him, but ultimately, the chance to see him further improve himself is just too good of an opportunity to pass up.