Best One Piece Characters Who Never Fight

Key Takeaways

• Influential One Piece characters can impact the plot without fighting, due to their actions and their relationships.
• Some characters, like Makino, Kaya, and Genzo, played significant roles in the Straw Hat Pirates’ backstories despite not being fighters.
• Even non-combatants like Dr. Kureha and Iceburg contributed to the story and character development significantly.

There’s no denying that Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece is home to one of the richest and best built fictional worlds ever created, and this is perfectly exemplified by its inhabitants. Of course, there are several pirates and marines who are constantly fighting against each other, but, what about everyone else that is stuck in between them?

The truth is that One Piece features a fair share of extremely important figures who are regular civilians that can’t engage in battle because they never ate a Devil Fruit or aren’t able to wield Haki. Furthermore, the following eight characters had an enormous influence on the plot and on other people, despite their blatant lack of fighting abilities.

8 Makino

Luffy’s Caring “Older Sister”

• First Appearance: Chapter 1 (Manga) Episode 4 (Anime)

Every One Piece fan is aware that “Red Hair” Shanks was Monkey D. Luffy’s role model and biggest inspiration during his youth. However, Makino’s influence on the young pirate should never be forgotten because she’s part of the reason as to why he’s so kind-hearted nowadays.

Makino is just an ordinary bartender living in Foosha Village who took care of Luffy whenever the Red Hair Pirates attended her bar, and she was always nothing but very friendly to him. She even took the time to visit him when he was living with Dadan and the mountain bandits, taught him and Ace good manners and made clothes for both of them. Because of all this, Makino inadvertently became the closest thing to a big sister that Luffy ever had.

7 Kaya

Usopp’s Close Friend And A Brilliant Doctor In Training

• First Appearance: Chapter 23 (Manga) Episode 9 (Anime)

For many years, Usopp took the time to visit Kaya and tell her fantastical stories in order to make her feel better while she was stuck at home with an illness. Over time, the two became very close friends, and she was basically the only person in Syrup Village who appreciated Usopp and his tall tales.

Despite her weak physique and inability to fight, Kaya stood up for herself after learning of Klahadore’s betrayal, and she eventually decided to become a doctor, so other people don’t have to suffer like she did. On top of all that, Kaya (and her butler, Merry) gave the Straw Hat Pirates their first ship, the Going Merry, which means that she has been extremely important for their journey.

6 Genzo

Nami’s Often Forgotten Father Figure

• First Appearance: Chapter 71 (Manga) Episode 32 (Anime)

Nami was basically raised by two people: Bell-mere, her brave adoptive mother who sacrificed herself for her, and Genzo, the respected sheriff of Cocoyasi Village. He may not have always met eye-to-eye with Bell-mere and her parenting methods, but it’s clear that he really cared about Nami and Nojiko, especially after the Arlong Pirates took over the village.

Even though he is a sheriff, Genzo is not much of a fighter, and yet he was still courageous enough to try and oppose Arlong on more than one occasion, which is why his body is filled to the brim with scars. When Nami was finally saved by the Straw Hat Pirates and decided to go with them, he made sure that they were not going to hurt her. Genzo is always looking after her, seeing as he literally wore a pinwheel on his hat for many years only because it cheered her up when she was a baby, which became an important symbol for Nami, to the point that she included it in the design of her new tattoo.

5 Dr. Kureha

The Brilliant Doctor Who Taught Chopper Everything He Knows

• First Appearance: Chapter 134 (Manga) Episode 80 (Anime)

Kureha is a 141-year-old woman who is one of the most brilliant medical minds in the entire One Piece world and yet, it seems that she has never engaged in battle. But she doesn’t really need to, because she has years and years of precise medical knowledge that can help make everyone feel better.

Despite her over-the-top personality and strict methods, it is quite clear that she is a sympathetic soul who cares deeply for her patients and her colleagues, to the point that she took care of Tony Tony Chopper after her good friend, Dr. Hiriluk, tragically passed away. Kureha is basically Chopper’s mother, and he would never have become the genius doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates if it wasn’t for her teachings.

4 Iceburg

A Talented But Eccentric Shipwright Who Grew Up Alongside Franky

• First Appearance: Chapter 323 (Manga) Episode 230 (Anime)

Most One Piece characters manage to be both cool and goofy at the same time, and Iceburg is a perfect example of this formula. On one hand, he’s a talented shipwright who learned everything he knows from the legendary Tom and who eventually became both the president of the Galley-La Company and the respected mayor of Water 7.

But, despite his impeccable work and prestigious reputation, Iceburg is also an eccentric and immature man who picks his nose, cancels his meetings because he feels like it and carries his pet mouse (named Tyrannosaurus) everywhere. The combination of the two sides of his personality makes Iceburg into a unique and weirdly charming character that proves that not everyone in One Piece has to be a powerful fighter in order to stand out.

3 Morgans

A Deceitful Journalist Who Controls The Flow Of Information

• First Appearance: Chapter 860 (Manga) Episode 828 (Anime)

The reputation of pirates and marines in the eyes of the general populace is an underrated factor of the One Piece world. And one of the key figures who controls the information that is available to the public, much to the displeasure of the World Government, is none other than “Big News” Morgans, the president of the World Economy newspaper. For starters, one thing that makes him interesting is the fact that he actually ate an Albatross Devil Fruit, yet he only uses it to hide his real identity, and not for fighting.

Morgans is quite fascinating because he’s actually a morally gray character: He may manipulate information in order to sell more newspapers, but he has also proven that he doesn’t trust the World Government on multiple occasions, like when he didn’t let them control the information he wrote about and when he helped Vivi hide from them after King Cobra was murdered. Not to mention that he was the first person to declare that Luffy was the “Fifth Emperor” before anyone else did, which was a huge narrative development.

2 Kouzuki Hiyori

A Clever Manipulator Who Used Her Looks To Avenge Her Father

• First Appearance: Chapter 909 (Manga) Episode 892 (Anime)

Kouzuki Oden may have been one of the most powerful swordsmen in the One Piece world, but his daughter, Kouzuki Hiyori, didn’t follow after his steps. She’s actually a tragic figure who had to live in a country that was destroyed by Kurozumi Orochi and Kaido after they murdered her father, and yet she managed to grow up into a beautiful and intelligent woman who infiltrated Orochi’s forces without using brute force.

Hiyori managed to steal Orochi’s heart by hiding her identity and becoming a famous oiran known as Komurasaki. This act served her very well because she eventually managed to trick him, capture him and tell him how much she despised him in one of the most satisfying and emotional scenes in the entire Wano Country Arc. Denjiro may have finished the job, but he could only do it thanks to Hiyori’s brilliant planning and unbreakable resolve.

1 Dr. Vegapunk (Stella)

The Most Intelligent And Influential Person In The Entire World

• First Appearance: Chapter 1066 (Manga) Episode 1096 (Anime)

Doctor Vegapunk is the perfect example of the fact that not everybody in One Piece needs to be able to fight in order to make an impact on this wonderful and complex world. With his brilliant mind (which was enhanced by his Devil Fruit, the Nomi Nomi no Mi), Vegapunk was able to make all sorts of scientific contributions, from discovering the secrets of the Devil Fruits, to creating powerful bioweapons like the Pacifistas and the Seraphims.

Even though he was employed by the World Government, his lack of fighting didn’t prevent him from going against them in his eternal search for knowledge and truth, especially when it comes to the Void Century. Unfortunately, Vegapunl’s determination is what led to his abrupt death, but he still lives on, not only in all the people he managed to impact with his research and his findings, but also in all of his satellites, who also prefer to never engage in battle.