One Piece's new era consists of some really powerful characters like Kaido, Shanks and Big Mom, etcetera. These characters are the first names on any list when we're talking about the strongest characters. However, they weren't always so strong. They had to climb up slowly until they reached the peak of their powers. Before these characters came to power, there were other characters who were at the higher echelons.
They were characters from the "Old Era." There are still many characters about we know very little and we can expect more information on the older characters in the upcoming time. In this post, we will discuss the strongest characters from the Old Era of One Piece.
10 Charlotte Linlin
Charlotte Linlin is the captain of the Big Mom pirates. Big Mom is one of the four Yonkou and she has an enormous bounty of 4,388,000,000 beris. Big Mom possesses the Soru Soru no Mi that allows her to take the souls of her opponents.
She has all three types of Haki. Before becoming a Yonkou, Big Mom was a member of Rocks Pirates. The crew disbanded after it was defeated by the Marines and Roger Pirates. Big Mom considered a threat even when she was a mere kid.
9 Kaido
Kaido is the captain of the Beast Pirates. He is currently one of the Yonkou. Kaido possesses a mythical zoan devil fruit that allows him to turn into a mythical dragon. He is considered the "Strongest Creature in the World."
Kaido can't be killed with any method. The only thing that has ever hurt him is Enma and the last person to do so was Kozuki Oden, who ended up as Oden soup. Like Big Mom, he too was a part of the Rocks Pirates. His skill at that time is currently unknown.
8 Kozuki Oden
Kozuki Oden was the daiymo of Kuri. He was respected by everyone in the country. Oden was a very benevolent person and it earned him love and respect of everyone in Wano. Oden had sailed with Whitebeard in the past. He was one of their divisional commanders. Oden left the crew and joined Roger Pirates.
He was a very powerful swordsman. Oden possessed two swords— Ame no Habakiri and Enma. With his swordsmanship, Oden was able to damage Kaido when they fought. He also managed to beat Ashura Doji who is capable of fighting against one of Kaido's three commanders.
7 Silvers Rayleigh—
Silvers Rayleigh used to be the first-mate of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Rayleigh is among the few characters who can use all three types of Haki. He can also use advanced Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
Rayleigh has the epithet of "Dark King." Back when Kaido and the others were young, Rayleigh should have been stronger than them. Even his old age, Rayleigh's strength is comparable to that of an Admiral. If we talk about the current times, Rayleigh would not stand a chance against Kaido and Big Mom.
6 Sengoku
Sengoku is the former Fleet Admiral of the Marines. He is one of the most well-known characters in the series. Sengoku possesses Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu. He turns into a giant golden Buddha in this form.
Sengoku can launch shockwaves in this form. During the Old Era, Sengoku was one of the Admirals. Even in his old age, Sengoku was able to beat Blackbeard and his crew without much difficulty. His power during the Old Era is relatively unknown, but there is no doubt that he would have managed to fight against the strongest of enemies.
5 Shiki
"Golden Lion" Shiki is one of the most infamous pirates in the history of One Piece. He is also known as the "Flying Pirate." Shiki ate the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi that allows him to float anything inorganic and himself. Shiki's ability does not work on living things. He was one of the rivals of Gol D. Roger and he actually fought against Roger during the Edd War.
Despite this Shiki had a lot of respect for Roger. He refused to believe that the Navy could have caught Roger. Shiki destroyed half of Marineford on his own and it took Garp and Sengoku's combined efforts to put a stop to his rampage. Shiki was imprisoned in Impel Down, but he escaped from the facility.
4 Monkey D. Garp
Monkey D. Garp is the strongest Marine that we have seen so far in the series. Garp is also known as "Hero of the Marines." This title was given to him after the God Valley Incident. Garp is one of the few characters who has no devil fruit ability, however, he had extremely strong Haki.
With his Haki, Garp was able to flatten Don Chinjao's head, which was able to split an ice continent into two. Garp rejected the opportunity of becoming an Admiral because he didn't want to be the direct control of the World Nobles.
3 Whitebeard
Edward Newgate, also known as Whitebeard, is a former Yonkou. Whitebeard held the title of the "Strongest Man Alive," while he was alive. Whitebeard held the title well before Roger started to dominate the seas. Whitebeard possesses the Gura Gura no Mi. The power of devil fruit is considered to be so great that it could destroy the entire world.
Whitebeard was also a member of Rocks Pirates and he was present during the God Valley Incident. It is unknown how powerful was that at that time but, it should be kept in mind that he was the "Strongest Man in the World," even before Roger became the Pirate King.
2 Gol D. Roger
Roger is arguably the strongest character in One Piece to date. He was the first person who was able to conquer the Grand Line with his crew. Roger learned the secrets of the Void Century, and that made him a huge threat to the World Government. There is no information on whether he possesses a devil fruit or not.
Roger was well respected by his opponents such as Shiki, Whitebeard, and Monkey D. Garp. Roger fought against the Rocks Pirates at God Valley. He joined forces with the Marines and put an end to the reign of Rocks D. Xebec.
1 Rocks D. Xebec
The final character on the list is Rocks D. Xebec. Rocks D. Xebec was the leader of Rocks Pirates. In the Old Era, Xebec was considered the biggest threat to the World Government. He wanted to become the "Ruler of the World."
It is unknown what kind of powers Xebec had. Xebec is considered to the most formidable rival of Gol D. Roger. The era of Rocks was brought to an end by the combined efforts of Roger Pirates and the Marines.