Who was the strongest swordsman of each era?

one piece The latest developments have been great and fans are waiting for more (as they are also waiting for the new season to be released in April 2026). but one piece He promises a bright future, and as the best swordsman the series has ever seen, he also has a lot to say about his past.

There are a lot of sword-wielding characters in the franchise, and while not all of them are technically swordsmen, fans generally don't really care who is worthy of the title. However, there is only one person who can hold the official title of ‘World’s Strongest Swordsman’. Although we only know the identity of the current holder, we have a good guess as to who might have been the strongest in past eras. But before that, let’s learn a little more about the era. one piece And what the chronology looks like in the series.

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World Era in One Piece

world one piece It's a bit like our own world, with an extensive timeline that begins before the advent of civilization. Also, like in the real world, there is more than one calendar. There are two, the Age of the Sea Circle (ASC) and the Age of Heaven (AH), but it is unknown which is more widespread. What we do know is that Mont Blanc Noland used the Age of Sea Circle in his book to date events and Nico Robin mentioned the Age of Heaven. The era of the Sea Circle appears to be similar to the Gregorian calendar.

The timeline can be divided as follows:

• Before the Power of the Void (-3500 seconds ASC to 500 seconds ASC);

• Boyd Century (600s ASC to 700s ASC);

• After the Void Century/Before the Current Century (800s ASC to 1400s ASC);

• century before the God Valley incident (1440s ASC to 1500s ASC);

• God Valley Incident (1500 ASC);

• Pirate Period (1500s ASC to 1538 ASC);

• Rupee's Journey (after 1539 ASC, the story is now in 1541 ASC).

Notice how the time span gets shorter as you get closer to the current era. Because the most relevant events in the story didn't happen that long ago. Much of what happened centuries ago is just part of a larger legend. one piece It feels like a real universe, with its own chronology and evolution. Nonetheless, it is important to note the following: one piece While it does give fans a glimpse into the past by referencing events that took place centuries before the main story (like the age of the dinosaurs millions of years ago or the construction of Alabasta thousands of years ago), that's not to say the story attempts to recreate it 100% faithfully. It just gives fans the feeling that some coherent history needs to be revealed.

Moreover, in the real world, centuries-old knowledge is more difficult to find due to the scarcity of extant documentation. one piece It will be rare. Collecting some key events from the recent timeline, here are the most important ones in the story:

Why is the God Valley incident so important?

The God Valley incident marks a fundamental moment in the One Piece story. A few years before the events, Figaland Garling, now one of the Five Elders, stopped at God Valley, an island rich in natural resources and the hideout of the Davy family, enemies of the World Government. He then proposed island membership within the world government, but it was rejected. He also met a local woman who would eventually become Shamrock and Shanks' mother.

Still, Garling did not give up on the island. Within the World Government, he suggested that God Valley should host the next Native Hunting Tournament, as the island's name was considered blasphemous by the world's nobility. The Native Hunting Tournament is a tournament where world nobles compete to see who can kill the most natives/inhabitants of their region. It's basically a genocide contest with help from the Marine Corps.

Who is that character?

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Who is that character?

Check out the silhouette before time runs out.

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In any case, God Valley was chosen as the venue for the next competition, which, like other native hunting competitions, initially served as punishment for the Davie family (which was already bad enough). However, Rocks and Roger came to the island to save the people and the others followed, forcing the government's secret ruler Imu to intervene. Many people died, including Rocks. The God Valley incident was highly censored, and the island was officially removed from the map as if it never existed. Luffy's grandfather and father, Monkey D. Garp and Monkey D. Dragon, were also in attendance. Although censored from official records, this event was a turning point for many of the people present.

What is the relevance of swordsmen in One Piece?

Image via Toei Animation.

Image via Toei Animation

world history one piece Although it goes back many years, the history of swordsmen is shorter. There is no information about when exactly swordsmen emerged, but they have existed for centuries. If we consider practical logic, it is likely that they appeared thousands of years ago when humans learned how to produce swords. Therefore, the information we know is only a small part, and most of the swordsmen we know are from the current era or Roger's era.

What we do know is that the Wano Kingdom has had swordsmen called ‘samurai’ for centuries. However, swordsmanship is not just about swinging a sword; it also requires qualifications and skills to learn. However, people may also call themselves swordsmen, even if they technically are not. There is a place (coating) all over the world where people can learn swordsmanship. Well, the whole concept is based on actual swordplay, ethical and technical conduct, etc. And the best swordsman will eventually receive the title of World's Strongest Swordsman, which can be earned by defeating the current holder.

We only have information about the most recent eras, so we will consider only those. It's still possible that Oda will explore the swordsman from another era in spinoffs or other media. First, let's determine the best of each era, then take a closer look at each swordsman on the list.

Legendary samurai Ryuma Shimotsuki

Ryuma wasn't that kind of person to begin with. one piece Although it was a character, I came back and contacted him again. monster Ryuma Cannon one piece franchise. He lived in Wano centuries before Luffy's journey began and was considered the god of the sword. Since the title of World's Best Swordsman most likely does not exist yet, this is probably the closest title to it.

Roger and Rayleigh in the Pirate Age

Both Roger and Rayleigh are considered very skilled in swordsmanship. Since there is no official information about who held the title of Strongest Swordsman before Mihawk, fans often believe that one of them or both held the title at different times. Roger is a legendary pirate called the Pirate King, and Rayleigh is his right hand man.

Roger died (after his execution), but Rayleigh still lives and resides in Savondy, and is considered a legendary pirate. He became a friend of sorts with Luffy, teaching him how to master Haki and mentoring him during the two-year time skip between the Marineford Arc and the New World Saga.

Mihawk has no choice but to lose the title

Dracule Mihawk currently holds the title of Strongest Swordsman, but fans consider Shanks stronger than him, especially because of Haki. Mihawk is also a pirate known as a marine hunter and maintains a long-standing rivalry with Shanks. In any case, Roronoa Zoro sees Mihawk as his ultimate rival, and it is highly likely that Zoro will eventually take the title of the world's greatest swordsman.

one piece

release date

October 20, 1999

network

Fuji TV

move

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Ito, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudo, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yuji Endo, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Sato

author

Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shoji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda.

• 

  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)