The One Piece world has lots of powerful characters, both Pirates and Marines. However, few can match the power of the man who conquered all of the seas, the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. While Roger did not possess a Devil Fruit power of his own, he did have otherworldly Haki which allowed him to fight some of the series' strongest characters.
Although Roger was the undisputed King of Seas, there are many characters in One Piece who are still capable of taking him on in battle. These include some of his former rivals and enemies and some who graced the seas long after the death of the Pirate King. These are the One Piece characters who are closest to Gol D. Roger in terms of strength.
Updated on August 19, 2022 by George Voutiritsas: With the final saga now underway, One Piece's end is finally in sight, and it will undoubtedly be emotional. Luffy is well on his way to becoming the new Pirate King, and if he does achieve this goal, he will most certainly be on Gol D. Roger's level in terms of power. Only a handful of characters can realistically say that their strength is on par with the former Pirate King's, but there are a few more characters who deserve to be mentioned as well.
15 Monkey D. Dragon Is The Most Wanted Man In The World
Monkey D. Dragon is Garp's son and Luffy's father, and he first appeared in Loguetown when he saved his son from Smoker. He was able to grab hold of Smoker despite him being a Logia-user, which means that he possesses powerful Armament Haki.
He is the leader of the Revolutionary Army, which is a global enterprise comprised of hundreds of individuals, so he should have potent Conqueror's Haki as well. The World Government considers him to be the world's worst criminal, a moniker even Roger never held.
14 Kuzan Was One Of The World Goverment's Strongest Military Powers
Kuzan may have participated in the Ohara Buster Call, but he is by no means evil. In fact, he is one of the most heroic Marines because of his sense of justice and he is more compassionate and forgiving. Sengoku nominated Kuzan for the position of Fleet Admiral, but he fought Sakazuki for the title. When he lost, he left the Marines and joined the Blackbeard Pirates.
With the power of the Hie Hie no Mi, which allows him to manipulate ice, he was able to stop one of Whitebeard's attacks, and he was able to fight Sakazuki for 10 straight days. Even when he was a Vice-Admiral, many saw his power as abnormally high, and many high-ranking officials considered him to be one of the World Government's greatest military assets.
13 Benn Beckman Is Shank's First Mate & Is Stronger Than An Admiral
Benn Beckman is the first mate of the Red Hair Pirates, which means that he has been with Shanks since the very beginning. Fans first saw Beckman in One Piece's 4th episode, and like the rest of his crew, his appearances have been few.
His bounty is currently unknown, but considering his position, it is safe to say that it is beyond 1 billion berries. He possesses some type of stealth ability, as evidenced by his interaction with Kizaru at Marineford. One Piece Film: Red revealed that Beckman possesses advanced Armament Haki that he can apply to bullets. This effectively makes him more dangerous than a Marine Admiral.
12 Kong Was The Fleet Admiral During The Edd War
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Some may think that Sakazuki holds the highest rank within the Marines, but that title actually belongs to Kong. As the World Government's Commander-In-Chief, he possesses total control over the Marines, but he also controls the Cipher Pol divisions.
Kong is a well-respected Marine, and he held the rank of Fleet Admiral during the Edd War. So far, it does not look as though Kong ever fought Roger, but he must have been extremely powerful if his rank was higher than both Garp's and Sengoku's at the time.
11 Sakazuki Is The Current Fleet Admiral
Sakazuki, also known as "Marine Fleet Admiral Akainu," is one of the strongest characters to have appeared in One Piece. Before the two-year time skip, Akainu was an Admiral of the Marines. Now, he's been promoted to the rank of Fleet Admiral.
His Devil Fruit, which allows him to control magma, and his Haki are extremely powerful, as seen during the Battle of Marineford. Although he's not quite on the level of the Yonko themselves, he's pretty close to them, meaning that he's close to Roger in terms of strength too.
10 Roger Himself Considered Sengoku To Be A Rival
The former Fleet Admiral of the Marines, "The Buddha" Sengoku is quite a powerful man and someone who Roger himself considered one of his rivals. Back during Roger's era, Sengoku was an Admiral of the Navy. He possesses a lot of power thanks to the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu, a Mythical Zoan-Type Devil Fruit which turns him into a giant golden Buddha.
What's more, Sengoku is so far the only known man in the Navy to possess Conqueror's Haki, which is extremely rare for a Navy officer. Although he hasn't been seen going all-out, the fact that Roger praised him as one of the strongest Marines is a testament to his power.
9 Marshall D. Teach Possesses Two Of The World's Strongest Devil Fruits
Marshall D. Teach, also known as "Blackbeard," is a Yonko with a bounty worth over 2.2 billion berries, and his strength is as overwhelming as his Devil Fruits. He's the only known person in the world to possess two Devil Fruit abilities, that of the strongest Logia, the Yami Yami no Mi, and the strongest Paramecia, the Gura Gura no Mi.
He continues to grow in power with each passing day, and by the end of the series, he might even surpass Roger in power. He can negate and steal Devil Fruit Powers, and his Haki is potent as well. Teach can destroy the world with the Gura Gura no Mi, which is something even Roger couldn't do.
8 Shanks Is Roger's Former Apprentice & The Most Experienced Yonko
Also known as "Red-Haired Shanks," Shanks is now the most experienced Yonko, having risen to the spot only 6 years before the current timeline. Shanks possesses a bounty of over 4 billion berries, which shows that he is an incredible fighter.
He was an apprentice on Roger's ship, so it's not a surprise that Shanks grew up to be a man who could be compared to Roger himself. He has clashed with Whitebeard and Kaido without sustaining major injuries because his Conqueror's Haki is on another level. Shanks is also known as the Observation Haki killer because he can use his own Haki to negate future sight.
7 Charlotte Linlin Was A Yonko Who Faced Roger In The Past
Charlotte Linlin, also known as "Big Mom," is a fearsome pirate and a former Yonko. Just as her reputation states, Linlin was part of the infamous Rocks Pirates, which means that she was a rival to Roger in the past. She's also known to be at least equal to Kaido in terms of strength, as seen when the two fought to a stalemate at Onigashima in a battle that lasted 12 hours.
Linlin possesses a Paramecia type of Devil Fruit, called Soru Soru no Mi, that allows her to manipulate the souls of people. What's more, she also has the power to use all three Haki types to quite a high level.
6 Kaido Was The Strongest Creature In The World
Renowned for being "The Strongest Creature in the World," Kaido is a monster who boasts the highest active bounty among the pirates in the One Piece world. Being a Mythical Zoan Dragon, Kaido is quite powerful, and it is said that beating him in a one-on-one fight is nigh impossible.
Whether that's true or not remains to be seen. However, we do know that Kaido has tasted defeat only 7 times as a pirate. When compared to Roger, it is likely that Kaido is close, but Roger edges him out.
5 Monkey D. Garp Cornered Roger Numerous Times
"The Hero of the Marines," Garp is famous for being able to corner Roger numerous times, which automatically makes him an incredibly powerful character. Garp also fought Xebec and was partially responsible for defeating him, as seen in Sengoku's flashback.
Other than Sengoku, Garp was the only Marine that Roger considered worthy of his time. When compared to Roger, it is fair to say that Garp was extremely close to him in terms of power. Garp doesn't have any Devil Fruit ability. Instead, he relies on his Haki to fight the monsters of the New World.
4 Shiki Was One Of Roger's Greatest Rivals
The man known as "The Flying Pirate," Shiki is a character who Roger considered to be his rival way before the Great Pirate Era even began. Shiki's powers were immense, and thanks to that, he led the greatest Armada in the New World.
He would've also crushed Roger in the Edd War. However, due to some luck, Roger was saved by a storm. That's not to say that Shiki was stronger than Roger, however. It's just that his Armada was extremely large, compared to Roger's one ship. Furthermore, Shiki also fought Sengoku and Garp all alone and managed to injure Garp quite heavily.
3 Roger Needed To Team Up With Garp To Defeat Rocks D. Xebec
Xebec was a man who aimed to be "King of the World" and is perhaps the most fearsome pirate in One Piece. His strength was great enough to attract famous pirates from all over the world under his flag. Younger and far weaker versions of Big Mom, Kaido, Whitebeard, and Shiki all sailed under his flag.
He was finally defeated when the Navy and the Roger Pirates teamed up. Garp and Roger worked together to defeat Xebec. According to Sengoku, Xebec could've been Roger's most formidable enemy.
2 Monkey D. Luffy Is The Youngest Yonko & He Has Awakened His Devil Fruit
Now that Kaido and Big Mom have been defeated, a new era is underway, and Luffy is now the youngest of the new Yonko. He is skilled in all three forms of Haki, and he can use advanced Armament and Conqueror's Haki. His bounty now stands at 3 billion, and now that his Devil Fruit has awakened, his powers have increased even further.
Luffy is not much of a smart fighter, but he is strong, and his will and determination can only be described as inhuman. The Gomu Gomu no Mi was believed to be a Paramecia that turned his body into rubber, but it is actually a Mythical Zoan that transforms him into a legendary sun god. When awakened, he can fight freely and without constraints, and objects around him can also be turned into rubber.
1 Edward Newgate Was The Strongest Man In The World For Years
Famed throughout the world of One Piece as "Whitebeard," Edward Newgate was the strongest man in the world right up to the moment he died. Thanks to his incredible Devil Fruit powers and Haki, he was nigh unbeatable. Even the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger wasn't able to defeat Newgate in battle.
However, Newgate wasn't able to defeat Roger either. In all history, Whitebeard is the only known man to have matched Roger in a fight, as seen during Oden's flashback. Their fight was absolutely legendary, even though they weren't fighting to the death.