Buggy the Clown is one of the most important characters in One Piece. Debuting as the main antagonist of the Orange Town arc, he has since risen to prominence as a warlord of the sea and eventually even an emperor.
Buggy's impressive station begs the question of how powerful he actually is. To the pirate's credit, he has survived numerous brushes with the marines, including being personally targeted by Akainu himself. This suggests that although Buggy is a novelty character, he may be more powerful than initially meets the eye independent of his allies in the Cross Guild.
10 Paulie's Ropes Couldn't Hold Buggy
An expert shipwright, Paulie's mastery ropes was unrivaled. His battles against marines suggested decent practical experience and that he and Buggy are on similar skill levels. However, Buggy is perfectly equipped to escape his bindings no matter how proficient he is with them.
Whether employing ropes or simply chopping up his own body, Buggy wouldn't struggle when closing the distance against Paulie and fighting him at close quarters where he is least comfortable. This would invariably lead to Paulie's defeat, especially since he isn't as familiar with bladed weapons.
9 Buggy Could Ignore Perona's Negative Hollows
Perona's negative hollows may have been capable of paralyzing even the most stalwart fighters, though they ironically don't work on those with pessimistic personalities. This was seen in her encounter with Usopp, which ultimately led to her defeat.
Despite Buggy's bravado, he is constantly certain of his own death and assumes the worst from confrontation. As a result, he'd ironically be able to counter Perona's ghosts even if they made direct contact with him. This would allow him to defeat Perona with relative ease even though she can still detonate her hollows.
8 Hannyabal's Fighting Style Is Too Limited Against Buggy
Hannyabal's weapon of choice is a massive spear that he wields with relative ease. This made him an effective vice warden of Impel Down since he was stronger than most of the prison's inmates.
However, considering that Hannyabal was weak enough to lose to an unarmed Bon Clay, it follows that Buggy's explosives balls should be more than enough to depose of him. The clown's Chop-Chop Fruit significantly limits how much damage Hannyabal can actually inflict, especially given that he doesn't even know armament Haki.
7 Daifugo's Attacks Are Too Telegraphed To Hit Buggy
Daifugo was given a scorpion-based Devil Fruit for his service to the Beast Pirates. It reasonably increased his durability and allowed him to spew venom, which gives him a means of harming Buggy.
However, Buggy was capable of dodging marine gunfire and even Akainu himself at the battle for Marineford. Considering that Daifugo's poisons are fairly slow by comparison, it shouldn't be much of an issue for him so long as he keeps his body spread thin. A single Buggy Ball would be sufficient in cracking Daifugo's carapace and defeating him decisively.
6 T-Bone Is Too Reliant On Swords To Beat Buggy
T-Bone was a marine swordsman powerful enough to endanger an entire train. He has sufficient strength to kill Buggy in a single stroke should any of his attacks actually land. However, Buggy has survived against Mihawk, a swordsman much stronger than T-Bone who also knows armament Haki.
Should he dice himself into thin strands, T-Bone's over reliance on melee would be his undoing. While he's distracted attempting to hit Buggy, his opponent could backstab him using the knife he holds in a detached hand.
5 Kuro Lacks The Precision Necessary To Defeat Buggy
Kuro's "Pussyfoot" maneuver granted him incredible speed at the cost of precision. Although capable of moving almost faster than the eye could see and powerful enough to cleave boulders, Kuro's lack of aim helped Luffy defeat him.
Should Buggy spread his limbs and take to the air, nothing in Kuro's arsenal stands a chance of harming him. Buggy may not be able to hit him with explosives at first, though he'd only have to wait for his opponent to wear out before getting the shot he needs to prevail.
4 Galdino's Wax Wouldn't Inhibit Buggy Much
Galdino famously likes locking down a single part of his opponent's body in order to procure victory. For example, immobilizing Zoro's feet in wax gave him the chance to begin filling his lungs. With enough time, he would have turned the swordsman into a perfect statue.
However, considering that Buggy can detach any part of his body whenever he wants, Galdino's usual strategies would be completely useless. An amateur in hand-to-hand combat, Galdino wouldn't stand a chance if Buggy rushed him with a knife. So long as the clown is mindful of his former comrade's special abilities, a safe victory is guaranteed.
3 Tashigi Couldn't Keep Buggy Pinned Down
Tashigi is a competent fighter in service to G5. Although accompanying Smoker across the Grand Line and New World, she has remained a fairly inexperienced character who relies on the strength of her allies.
Like most blade users, Tashigi has virtually no answer for Buggy's Chop-Chop Fruit. She might be his superior in skill and expertise, though with enough time and effort, he'd be able to wear her down and slash her throat.
2 Buggy's Devil Fruit Counters Sugar's
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Sugar's ability to turn anyone into a toy makes her among One Piece's deadliest melee fighters. Fast and precise enough to grab dozens of Tontatta, it might seem as though she could overpower Buggy. However, should the clown assail her with different body parts simultaneously, one of them is bound to land a fatal blow.
Sugar might be able to touch a limb, though without a body attached to it, her Devil Fruit's power is fairly limited. As a master manipulator, Buggy has a reasonable chance of scaring Sugar into unconsciousness before the battle even begins.
1 Usopp's Latest Arsenal Isn't Cut Out To Address Buggy
Ever since the time skip, Usopp has preferred to use large, carnivorous plants in lieu of traditional projectiles. This would play to Buggy's strength, as he would more easily dodge them by dispersing his body. Granted, Usopp still has some of his favorite weapons, such as the shrapnel and exploding stars.
However, piercing attacks don't work particularly well against Buggy, and his Buggy Balls have a superior amount of firepower. Considering that Usopp hasn't mastered armament Haki, it would be fairly easy for Buggy to kill him once he'd survived the initial barrage of attacks.