Who’s the Smartest Character in the Series?

Key Takeaways

• Clover led the Ohara scholars & studied the Void Century.
• Doflamingo captured Dressrosa in a single night using his cunning.
• Sengoku held back Whitebeard through strategic brilliance.

One Piece has introduced around 1000 characters across its almost 30 years of runtime. These characters come from all walks of life and are unique in their design and stories, with varying strengths, skills, and abilities. Some of them are incredibly smart, either through their scientific knowledge, fighting IQ, or even through their knowledge of the Void Century, which consists of research that is banned by the World Government.

With that being said, this article serves to give an in-depth view of who the smartest characters are in the entire series, of course, excluding those whose current intelligence is unknown due to their sparing appearances in the story; such as Imu, the Gorosei, Roger, Whitebeard, and most of the other top brass of the world who haven’t been shown much at all. So, let’s break down the smartest characters in One Piece.

Clover Led The Ohara Scholars

A Great Researcher and Archaeologist

Clou D. Clover made his appearance in the series many years ago during the Ohara Flashback amid the Enies Lobby arc. Here, he is shown as an eccentric and genius archaeologist who led his team of researchers to undertake deep study of the Void Century at their base in the Tree of Knowledge in Ohara, which also, unfortunately, led to their doom.

Why did people of the past engrave text on hard stone in an attempt to deliver a message to the future?

Long ago, Clover used to be an explorer obsessed with finding out the secrets of the world, which led to his repeated capture by the Marines over several years. Still, though, his thirst for knowledge and the truth of the Void Century would never die, leading to him turning into a foremost expert on the Poneglyphs as he learned to decipher the ancient language on them, which shed light on many of the Void Century’s mysteries.

Doflamingo Captured Dressrosa In A Single Night

A Shrewd and Manipulative Villain

Moving on to a different kind of intelligence, Doflamingo was a cruel and manipulative genius who, through the usage of his Devil Fruit abilities, was able to take over the country of Dressrosa in a single night. However, despite how powerful he was, his true strength lay in his cunning; as he carefully manipulated the scenes and armies of Dressrosa to turn on the civilians, just so he and his crew could swoop in at the last moment, posing as heroes.

Kids who have never seen peace and kids who have never seen war have different values!

Other than this, Doflamingo was also a combat genius, having mastered his Devil Fruit powers to work from miles away to control others like puppets. Moreover, he was the first person in the entire One Piece series who was confirmed to have awakened his Devil Fruit, which he used to battle against Gear 4 Luffy very well. As stated previously, there are different kinds of geniuses, and when it comes to the sadistic and manipulative kind, no one beats Donquixote Doflamingo.

Sengoku Held Back Whitebeard

A Masterful Strategist and Fleet Admiral

‘Buddha’ Sengoku was the former Fleet Admiral of the Navy and is one of the most powerful characters in the history of One Piece as the only confirmed Marine with Conqueror’s Haki. Just like before, this showcases a different kind of intellect as Sengoku’s strategic genius was on full display at the Paramount War at Marineford, where he was the chief tactician who decided how the Navy would battle Whitebeard’s forces.

Justice lies in values which cannot transcend the generations.

It was Sengoku who decided to reinforce Marineford with quake-proof walls to withstand the incredible power of Whitebeard, as well as move up the time of Ace’s execution. Had it not been for Sengoku’s planning and his tactical brilliance on and off the battlefield, it’s safe to say that the Whitebeard Pirates would likely have won at Marineford. Moreover, Sengoku’s strength and intellect are perhaps the biggest reasons why he became the Fleet Admiral in the first place.

Nico Robin Is The Smartest Straw Hat

The Will of Ohara Lives On With Her

Nico Robin is the only survivor of the Ohara Incident; where a Buster Call was initiated on the island of Ohara due to their research into the Void Century. Because of her intellect and love for reading at an early age, Robin carries on the will of the researchers of her home island to this day as the resident archaeologist of the Straw Hats, and she remains one of the few people in the entire world who is able to read and decipher the text on the Poneglyphs.

Fools who don’t respect the past are doomed to repeat it.

Moreover, due to her adventures with the Straw Hats, she has seen much more of the world than the Ohara researchers were able to, possibly making her even more knowledgeable about the Poneglyphs and the Void Century than they were, which is reflected in how badly the World Government wants her out of the picture. Her brains also play in how she fights, as she uses her Devil Fruit abilities unconventionally and uniquely, showing just how smart she truly is.

Caesar Clown Is A Brilliant Scientist

Once A Subordinate of Vegapunk Himself

Caesar Clown was the primary antagonist of the Punk Hazard arc, where he was shown as being an incredibly intelligent scientist who was once a subordinate of the legendary Dr. Vegapunk. Caesar possessed an extremely overpowered Logia Type Devil Fruit, but his lack of battle IQ really couldn’t make full use of its abilities. So, although he lacked fighting power, he more than made up for it with his scientific genius.

I’ll show you how elegant my science really is!

Caesar was the one who created the SAD, a gaseous material that was the main ingredient that went into making SMILE Fruits. It was directly due to Caesar’s scientific mind that Doflamingo became incredibly powerful in the underworld, since he acted as the broker for the SMILE Fruits to Kaido’s crew, making Caesar integral to the entire operation. Currently, he and Vinsmoke Judge have gotten together to create Neo-MADS.

Vinsmoke Judge Is A Terrible Father

However, He’s A Great Scientist

Vinsmoke Judge probably gets the award for the worst parent in all of One Piece because of how he treated Sanji when he was a child. However, he is a genius scientist who perfected cloning and genetic modification on humans, which was perfectly replicated in his own children. Because of his research on the Lineage Factor, Judge was able to create perfect clones.

You are to serve as a means to an end Sanji, nothing more.

Moreover, he successfully managed to strip all of his children, except Sanji, of their humanity, making them the perfect killing machines. After MADS disbanded, Judge continued research into Lineage Factors that allowed him to do this and once these clones were made, he even created perfect Raid Suits for them that would perfectly compliment and augment their abilities to be used at their maximum output.

Dr. Vegapunk Is A Legendary Scientist

User of The Brain-Brain Fruit

Undoubtedly, the smartest person in all of One Piece is the one who ate the Brain-Brain Fruit; Dr. Vegapunk. He was already an incredibly gifted engineer before he even ate the Devil Fruit, but once he did, his brain went into overdrive, making him the smartest character to, presumably, ever live as his genius brought forth some incredible inventions. Of all the previously mentioned scientists, none of their legacy even comes close to that of Dr. Vegapunk.

The man behind such amazing technology is Dr. Vegapunk, the military scientist. He’s amazing.

He has been a part of the World Government for years now, due to which he was able to build some of the most magnificent weapons for them. These include the Pacifista and the Seraphim; incredibly powerful weapons designed to do the bidding of whoever commands them, with the former being immensely powerful robots and the latter being clones of former Warlords of the Sea. Vegapunk is also the only person to have ever successfully replicated the abilities of a Devil Fruit through science alone with the creation of the fruit Momonosuke ate to become a dragon like Kaido. It is stated that his mind is 500 years in the future and is always thinking up new ideas and inventions, making him the smartest character in all of One Piece.

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