Deaths in anime are always important in one way or the other. In One Piece, deaths have impacted the story and they have also been pivotal to the shift of power from one person to the other. The series has had its fair share of deaths and they have made affected the story a lot.
There are some characters who died even before they could reach their true potential and there were some who were killed with some underhanded trick. Some of the characters brought chaos for as long as they lived. In this post, we will be discussing five characters who died too soon and five who didn't soon enough.
10 Died Too Soon: Kozuki Oden
Kozuki Oden is an amazing character. Before Wano, the information pertaining to him was very scarce, but that has changed after the recent flashback that we got. Oden was the father of Momonosuke and Hiyori. Oden was very powerful and with his power he almost killed Kaido, however, Kaido used underhanded methods to get beat Oden.
The best thing about Oden is his sense of adventure. He didn't want to grow strong nor did he want power, Oden wanted to sail the entire world and open the gates of Wano to the world. Such a great man should have lived on instead of dying.
9 Didn't Die Soon: Rocks D. Xebec
Before the era of Roger, a certain man named Rocks D. Xebec ruled the seas. He was the captain of Rocks Pirates which consisted of Shiki, Whitebeard, Big Mom, Kaido, and several other big names. All of them were apprentices on Rocks' ship. Rocks had to no mercy for anyone and he would destroy anyone who dared to stand in his way.
He wanted to become the ruler of the entire world, and the World Government was really scared of him. In order to get rid of Rocks, it took the combined effort of the Marines and the Roger Pirates.
8 Died Too Soon: Portgas D. Ace
Ace was the son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. He grew up hating his father due to a very big reason. Almost the entire world hated Gol D. Roger and they called him a "demon" and a lot of other things. Ace's life became miserable and he thought that he should have never been born in this world.
However, he was able to change the way he thought because of Luffy and Sabo. Ace loved Luffy a lot and he even sacrificed his own life to his little brother. Ace deserved to live on as he was still very young and he had at last found a "father" in Whitebeard and a family in Luffy and the Whitebeard Pirates.
7 Didn't Die Soon: Absalom
Absalom was one of the antagonists of the Thriller Bark arc. He was one Moria subordinates and his body was modified by Dr. Hogback. Absalom was a fairly powerful character and he possessed the power of Suke Suke no Mi.
The devil fruit allowed him to turn invisible and it was difficult for most of the opponents to block his attacks. Absalom was responsible for the creation of several zombies. Also, he tried to marry Nami!
6 Died Too Soon: Whitebeard
One of the many legends in the series, Whitebeard is the next character on the list. He was the "Strongest Man in the World," until his death. He was one of the Yonko. Whitebeard's devil fruit— Gura Gura no Mi granted him the power to destroy the world. He is considered to be the only person in history who fought on equal footing with Gol D. Roger.
Whitebeard died at Marineford after Blackbeard and his crew attacked him. Whitebeard wanted to help Ace become the Pirate King and it would have been awesome if that were to happen.
5 Didn't Die Soon: Higuma
Higuma was a "famous" bandit and he had a bounty of a few million beris. He was a very arrogant person as he thought that he had no equal. Higuma crashed into Makino's saloon whilst looking for alcohol. He got really mad that Makino had sold out everything.
Shanks casually tried to offer him a drink but Higuma broke the bottle and spilled the drink on Shanks. Higuma also tried to kill Luffy, but he was rescued by Shanks. Shanks lost an arm in the process and Higuma was devoured by Master of the Near Sea.
4 Died Too Soon: Gol D. Roger
Gol D. Roger became the biggest enemy of the World Government after he managed to sail around the entire Grand Line. Roger did the unthinkable when he finally sailed to the last island known as Laugh Tale.
Roger's actions made him the Pirate King, however, after becoming the Pirate King he disbanded the Roger Pirates. Roger turned himself in before he could have died of illness. However, he couldn't even meet his son once before his death.
3 Didn't Die Soon: Bobbin
Bobbin was a member of the Big Mom Pirates. He had enough skill to be trusted by Big Mom for several missions. Bobbin was also a part of the enraged army that brought down Luffy after he was weakened from his fight vs Charlotte Cracker.
Bobbin also tried to eat the meat from Sanji's bento box. Bobbin was killed by Vito on the orders of Capone Bege.
2 Died Too Soon: Mont Blanc Noland
Mont Blanc Noland was a character that was introduced during the Skypeia arc. He was an admiral of a fleet from the Lvneel Kingdom. He was a very experienced seafarer. Noland traveled to various places in order to find new things. One of his journeys brought him to Jaya, where he met Calagara and the others.
Noland was shocked to see a huge bell made of gold and when he went back to his kingdom, he reported it to the King. Unbeknownst to Noland, the island had been shot up into the sky and he was labeled a liar. Noland was executed and he ended up becoming a legend.
1 Didn't Die Soon: Kurozumi Higurashi
Kurozumi Higurashi was revealed during Oden's flashback. She was a very cunning woman who wanted to put the Kurozomi Clan back on the map. She was endowed with the power of the Mane Mane no Mi, which allowed her to change her facial appearance.
Higurashi was the main driving force behind Kurozumi Orochi's rise to the position of the daimyo of Wano.