Strongest Swordsmen In One Piece

The world of One Piece has seen quite a number of capable swordsmen take the stage over the course of a 1000 chapters. Everyone’s favorite Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro, is one of them, but he’s definitely not the only. From the East Blue all the way to the Land of Wano in the New World, some very capable swordsmen who are incredibly skilled in the way of the sword have appeared.

In a plethora of sword wielders, though, only a handful can be called master swordsmen and are strong enough to be considered among the elites of the One Piece world. Those below are the best of the best, ranked by their relative strength.

Updated on January 6, 2025, by Rei Penber: The world of One Piece has seen the rise and fall of some of the mightiest swordsmen over the years. Oda is a fond admirer of swordsmen, and the art of swordsmanship is prevalent in One Piece. Fans have seen quite a lot of strong individuals who wield the blade with tremendous might emerge in different eras. While this list already goes over the mighty swordsman of the One Piece world, the Final Saga has seen to it that the swordsmanship skills of many strong individuals get revealed to the fans. As such, this list needs reshuffling, and, with that, it has not been updated.

33

Kyros

Sword Name: Broadsword

Kyros was the champion of the Corrida Colosseum once. His skill with the sword was impeccable and he could even defeat the Diamante, one of Doflamingo’s strongest underlings, with a single swing of his sword.

All this was when he had just one leg and, in his prime, he would have been even stronger. While Kyros is certainly not the strongest swordsman in One Piece, he’s certainly exceptionally powerful.

32

Brook

Sword: Cane Sword

Brook is one of the few powerful swordsmen in the Straw Hat Pirates. Although he is not as skilled as Zoro, he’s still exceptionally powerful.

He makes use of fencing swordsmanship style and he can also incorporate this with the chill of the underworld that he can utilize through his Devil Fruit.

31

Basil Hawkins

Sword: Warabide

Basil Hawkins Is a member of the Worst Generation who primarily relies on his Devil Fruit while fighting. However, he’s also a swordsman, and he makes use of his Warabide while in combat.

Hawkins also combines his Devil Fruit ability with his sword often. He was seen making use of it while he fought against Zoro, and, later, when he fought against Killer and lost.

30

Shimotsuki Ushimaru

Sword: Two Unnamed Katanas

Ushimaru was one of the few swordsmen in One Piece who attained the title of Daikengou. In terms of power, he was quite reliable and made great use of Haki.

He fought using two swords, however, his strength wasn’t all that great, given that he was crushed by Kaido effortlessly, even though he was alongside other Daimyo of Wano.

29

Pedro

Sword: Unnamed Rapier

Pedro is a Mink from Zou who served as one of the guardians of the Whale Forest. He could make exceptional use of a sword and, being a Mink, he could also utilize Electro.

Although fans never got to see it, Pedro could also utilize the Sulong transformation and since he taught it to Carrot, one can assume that he had perfect control over it.

28

Cavendish

Sword: Durandal

Cavendish is a skilled One Piece swordsman from the New World’s Burgeoise Kingdom. He’s a member of the pirate generation that set out to the sea before Luffy and the Worst Generation.

Cavendish has acquired a bounty of 330 million berries, which is an impressive figure. When it comes to swordplay, Cavendish is extremely powerful, and using his Durandal, he can take on nearly anyone in combat. When Hakuba awakens, Cavendish gets even stronger and his swordplay gets even more ferocious than before.

27

Vinsmoke Niji

Sword: Lightning Sword

Niji is a member of the Germa Family and he is certainly an exceptional fighter. He makes use of a sword in combat, using which he can channel his electrical powers.

He can also cut with lightning-enhanced attacks and slice at the speed of light. He is certainly an exceptional swordsman, who primarily relies on speed while fighting.

26

Prime Hyogoro

Sword: Flower Katana

Hyogoro was the leader of the Yakuza of Wano for quite a long time. He was exceptionally strong in his prime and fans got a glimpse of his prime powers during the Raid of Onigashima.

He took control of the Performance Floor all by himself, which goes to show his incredible powers. He could make great use of Ryuo, which indicated his true skill in combat.

25

Bogard

Sword: Unnamed Katana

Bogard is a character that fans do not know much about. However, he is Garp’s right-hand man and that alone makes him a dangerous fighter. More recently, he was seen engaging in combat in the God Valley Incident.

In fact, he was the second strongest marine on the island and he still managed to survive this encounter. While his full strength isn’t known, he was likely among the strongest One Piece swordsmen.

24

Okiku

Sword: Unnamed Katana

Just like Kawamatsu, Okiku is another retainer of Kozuki Oden and was trained in the ways of the blade by him. Kiku was an orphan and used to perform on the streets with her brother, Izo, when Oden took them in. Years later, she managed to become an incredible samurai.

Kiku’s sword style is said to be quite unique and according to the tales, the wounds that it leaves behind linger even in the afterlife. She is a great user of Ryuo, just like any other member of the group. She’s also among the strongest of the lot, as evident from the fact that she defeated Kanjuro without even going all out.

23

Kawamatsu

Sword: Soto Muso

Kawamatsu is a pufferfish Fishman and quite a strong swordsman. He was raised by Kozuki Oden and under his tutelage, Kawamatsu became incredibly powerful. With his famed blade Soto Musou, Kawamatsu can defeat even high-level enemies in combat.

He can make use of Ryuo quite well. In the fight against Kaido, Kawamatsu was able to wound him on multiple occasions, which just goes to show that he’s a powerful swordsman in his own right.

22

Ashura Doji

Sword: Unnamed Katana

Ashura Doji was the strongest swordsman in One Piece’s Wano Country until the Scabbards all gathered 20 years later. He was extremely powerful and could fight even the strongest without much trouble. Ashura had great skill with Ryuo, as evident from his clash with Jack in the Kuri region of Wano Country. He could effortlessly overpower him and even managed to slice him across the chest with relative ease. Later, he tied a battle with a one-legged Inuarashi.

21

Inuarashi

Sword: Unnamed Katana

One of the leaders of the Minks, Inuarashi is the strongest swordsman in One Piece’s Zou island. He wields a saber in battle and uses it to channel both electro and advanced Ryuo at the same time. In Wano Country, Inuarashi showed his incredible skill to the fans when he fought Kaido on the rooftop and managed to injure him.

What’s more, Inuarashi got even stronger in his Sulong form. He is skilled in both Oden Two Sword Style and Oden One Sword Style. Despite being severely weakened after the fight against Kaido, Inuarashi was able to take down Jack in battle.

20

Nekomamushi

Sword: None

Nekomamushi is just as strong as Inuarashi and even though he doesn’t make use of a sword, he’s an exceptionally powerful samurai. He’s just as good a user of Ryuo and Electro as Inuarashi and on Zou, he gave Jack a hard time. In Wano, he was able to fight against Kaido and even injure him in battle, which is nothing short of amazing.

Later, he took on Perospero in battle, and despite being severely weakened already, he was able to take him with his Sulong form. Just like Inuarashi, Nekomamushi is skilled in both Oden Two Sword Style and Oden One Sword Style, however, due to having lost an arm, he relies primarily on the latter.

19

Denjiro

Sword: Unnamed Katana

Denjiro is a vassal of Kozuki Oden and one of the Akazaya Nine of Wano Country. Known to be extremely powerful, Denjiro relies on his sword in combat and is powerful enough to take on even a Calamity of Kaido in combat.

Along with the other Scabbards, he has shown himself to be strong enough to wound Kaido in battle using extremely powerful Ryou. Without a doubt, he’s one of the strongest samurai seen in the story to date.

18

Kin’emon

Swords: Unnamed Katanas

Kin’emon was the leader of the Akazaya Nine and one of the strongest members of the group, if not the strongest. Leading them from the front, Kin’emon was powerful enough to slice through Kaido’s Borobreath on several occasions.

What’s more, he could also pierce Kaido’s skin with his Ryou-based attacks, showing his skill with Haki. Kin’emon was also a user of the infamous Oden Two-Sword Style and delivered a powerful blow to the Yonko, causing him to bleed from the scar that Oden gave him.

17

Vista

Sword: Unnamed Flower Sword

Flower Sword Vista is the former Fifth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and an extremely capable swordsman. He was the strongest swordsman of the Whitebeard Pirates, and even the likes of Dracule Mihawk respected him quite a lot.

The two clashed in Marineford and fought to a stalemate, each demonstrating their fighting skill. For Mihawk to give demonstrate respect for someone means that he was quite a capable wielder of the blade.

16

Charlotte Cracker

Sword: Pretzel

Charlotte Cracker is a member of the Big Mom Pirates and one of the Sweet Three Generals of the crew. He has a bounty of 860 million berries on his head. While Cracker is a Devil Fruit user, he is also a skilled swordsman and uses his sword named Pretzel in combat.

Cracker possesses incredible Haki and when combined with his swordplay, he is a force to be reckoned with. He is among the very best swordsmen in One Piece so far, and his power was such that he could even cut Luffy in his Gear Fourth, despite him being coated in Haki.

15

Charlotte Smoothie

Sword: Unnamed Sword

Charlotte Smoothie is another one of the Sweet 3 Generals of the Big Mom Pirates. She is stronger than Cracker and has a bounty of 932 million berries on her head. Just like Cracker, Smoothie is also a Devil Fruit user, however, she also uses a sword in combat in conjunction with her fruit powers.

Smoothie has been seen using her sword towards the end of the Whole Cake Island arc. With her fruit, she can gigantify herself by absorbing moisture from her surroundings and even increase the size of her sword. She certainly is a very dangerous swordswoman in the One Piece world.

14

King The Wildfire

Sword: Unnamed Katana

King is one of the three right-hand men of Kaido and the strongest of the lot. He has a bounty of 1.39 billion berries on his head which goes to show that he is very powerful indeed. King has the blood of the Lunarians, meaning his durability is incredible when his flames are on. He can also manipulate flames at will in combat.

Along with all that, he’s also are very skilled sword user. While King does not necessarily call himself a swordsman, he ended up giving Zoro the sword fight that he wanted. As such, King is certainly qualified enough in the way of the blade to be called a sword wielder in the One Piece world.