Known to be the four most powerful pirates in the world of One Piece, the Yonko are said to be the rulers of the New World. Out of all the people seeking out the One Piece, they're known to be the ones closest to it. The Yonko have immeasurable strength, but that's not all. They also have a tremendous influence on the seas that they rule. They're known to hold vast territories under their absolute control, and have countless allies.

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Their authority is such that not even the World Government dares to directly oppose any of them, which just goes to show how much of a threat they pose to the world. After One Piece's Wano Country arc, the ranks of the Yonko were reshuffled, and here are the people who currently hold this position.

4 Buggy

Buggy The Clown (One Piece)

Buggy is one of the latest additions to the ranks of the Yonko following the fall of the former Yonko Big Mom and Kaido. During the two-year timeskip, he rose to the position of Shichibukai, and exercise_ his power quite effectively. Over those two years, he built up quite an impressive force and allied with some of the greatest pirates in the world, such as the Giant Pirates, known to be some of the strongest out there.

His influence in the underworld of One Piece is also immense. Through Buggy's Delivery, he ran the show from behind the scenes, and despite not having any real strength, his followers are actually quite strong, as some of them are escapees from Impel Down. Furthermore, Buggy is a former member of the Roger Pirates and he also holds connections to Red-haired Shanks, who is said to be his sworn brother. All things considered, Buggy's position as one of the Yonko is completely justified. It is also likely that he has grown stronger during the timeskip, however, his exact level of strength remains unknown at this point in time.

3 Monkey D. Luffy

Luffy in his Gear Fifth

Luffy led the war against Yonko Kaido and Big Mom in One Piece's Wano Country arc. After allying with Trafalgar Law on Punk Hazard, he set his eyes on Kaido, and during the war, finally accomplished what he set out to do. Although the fight initially started as one between the Worst Generation and the Yonko, it eventually boiled down to a one-on-one fight between Kaido and Luffy.

Luffy managed to awaken the advanced usage of Conqueror's Haki and with it, match Kaido in battle. Despite that, his power proved to be slightly short of what was needed and he ended up falling to the Yonko more than once. Finally, he then awakened his Devil Fruit, which was then revealed to be a Mythical Zoan, named the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. With this power-up, Luffy tapped into a new transformation called Gear 5 and was able to hold his own against Kaido. His strongest attack, called Bajrang Gun, was strong enough to crush Kaido completely. 7 days after Kaido's defeat, he was declared one of the Yonko of the Sea. With the territory that he holds in the form of Fishman Island and possibly now Wano Country, along with countless allies across the sea, Luffy certainly deserves his title as one of the Yonko. He has a bounty of 3 billion berries.

2 Blackbeard

One Piece Blackbeard becomes a Yonko

Just like Buggy, Blackbeard was once one of the Shichibukai. After the events of the Paramount War, where he killed Whitebeard and acquired his Devil Fruit power, Blackbeard took to the New World and slowly started expanding his dominion. Over the two years, he defeated countless pirates and expanded his territories by taking over what belonged to Whitebeard once. Shortly after, he fought against Marco and the remaining Whitebeard Commanders in a war known as the Grudge War. By defeating them in an overwhelming fashion, Blackbeard established himself as one of the Yonko.

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He received a bounty of 2.247 billion berries which he still holds to this day. He has two Devil Fruit powers under his belt, making him the only person in history to be able to do so. With the strongest of the Logia type and the strongest of the Paramecia type, Blackbeard has declared himself to be invincible. Furthermore, his quest for strength has not stopped yet. In the New World, he is continuously hunting powerful Devil Fruits for his crewmates and possibly for even himself. Blackbeard is still growing and will, in the future, be one of the strongest characters to ever live.

1 Shanks

One Piece Shanks with his sword

Out of all the New Yonko, Shanks is officially the oldest one. He rose to this position 6 years prior to the current events of the story. When Shanks met Luffy and gave him the straw hat, he wasn't a Yonko at the point. It was 6 years after that incident that he rose to this position. Despite being young, Shanks holds tremendous strength and even though he has lost his dominant arm, he is still strong enough to be considered among the mightiest pirates in the world. Shanks does not have any Devil Fruit power. Instead, he relies on his Haki in battle. It is believed that his Conqueror's Haki is especially powerful, as it was praised on several occasions by the likes of Diamond Jozu and even Whitebeard himself.

He wields a blade known as Gryphon and it most likely ranks among the Supreme Grade Swords of the One Piece world. Shanks' crew, the Red-haired Pirates, are known to be the most balanced pirate crew out there with no particular weaknesses. All his officers are said to have high bounties, which makes them a threat to even the World Government. Shanks himself has a bounty of 4.048 billion berries, which is nothing short of staggering for someone who rose to this position just 6 years ago. His full power hasn't been seen just yet, however, with the story entering its final saga, the time for him to shine is now.

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