The Old Yonko In One Piece

When the Yonko were first introduced in One Piece, the fans were in the post-Enies Lobby arc. In this arc, Luffy met Garp, his grandfather, for the very first time ever since he became a pirate. This reunion was quite scary and fans believed that Garp intended to take Luffy in at first. However, it became quite clear that he had no such intention. When Garp met Luffy, the latter found out about the existence of the New World through Koby and, at the same time, through Garp, he found out about the strongest pirates on the seas, the Four Emperors. Garp mentioned that Shanks was one of the Four Emperors and one of the brightest shining pirates of the current age.

Of course, then fans were introduced to the other members of the Yonko as well. At the time, the Yonko were made up of Whitebeard, Shanks, Big Mom, and Blackbeard. These were monstrously powerful pirates and the vast majority of them were in their primes. The only one out of these Yonko who was old was Whitebeard and, even in old age, he was strong enough to crush nearly anyone standing in his path. Shanks has always been a mystery and the fact is that his strength has never been revealed to this day. Shanks has kept his cards close to his chest and has been waiting for the perfect opportunity to make the move. Meanwhile, fans already knew how strong Big Mom and Kaido are. These are two of the strongest pirates of their generation. Kaido was dubbed to be the strongest creature alive, as well as the strongest pirate alive of the current era, especially after the death of Whitebeard.

Kaido possesses tremendous strength and he has showcased the very best display of any Yonko in the series so far. Of course, Big Mom is every bit as dangerous as Kaido himself and, even though she is a bit old, her abilities are nothing short of mind-blowing. She showcased how strong she can be and Oda had to severely nerf her in order to even allow Kid and Law a chance to win.

How The New Yonko Emerged

The new Yonko were announced recently in One Piece towards the end of the Wano Country arc. Essentially, they emerged after a series of events that started from the Paramount War itself. The very first of the old Yonko to fall was Whitebeard. He led his crew to Marineford, where he fought a war against the World Government and its forces. Eventually, Whitebeard died after he was attacked by none other than Blackbeard. In this fight, Blackbeard took over his powers. With the help of the Impel Down escapees that he had acquired, his own pirate crew grew even stronger and started dominating the New World. In over a year, Blackbeard had already become a Yonko of the sea and took the place of Whitebeard among the four emperors.

After the fall of Whitebeard, Kaido and Big Mom were soon to follow. Within 2 years, Kaido and Big Mom engaged in a battle against the Worst Generation, especially against Luffy, Law, and Kid. Luffy took on Kaido in Wano all by himself while Law and Kid took on Big Mom. Big Mom, who was incredibly strong at this point, underestimated these two fighters.

However, it must be noted that Oda had to severely nerf her in her fight, simply because he wanted to tear her down from her throne and give an opportunity for Kid and Law to win. The two combined their powers and successfully managed to defeat Big Mom, eliminating her from the throne of the Yonko. Meanwhile, Luffy gained one power after another in his fight against Kaido and managed to rise to the same level as him. Eventually, with the power of Gear 5, he managed to surpass him and replaced him as Yonko as well after he was crushed.

The current Four Emperors are made up of Shanks, Blackbeard, Luffy, and Buggy. The last one, Buggy, is quite a surprise to the fans, especially because many of them did not expect him to be among this legendary order. Buggy is among the Four Emperors because of the connections that he has fostered and the pedigree that his name carries. Furthermore, with the creation of the Cross Guild, Buggy has acquired Crocodile and Mihawk to join his team and the world believes them to be his underlings, which is why he was awarded the title of Yonko.

The Strength Of The Old Yonko Compared To The New

When comparing the strength of the old Yonko compared to the new, it appears that the vast majority of the new Yonko are stronger, with the exception of Buggy. Buggy really messes with the balance in many ways and, aside from him, every other new Yonko is the stronger version of the old one. When comparing them individually, Shanks is the same as before, however, the Shanks that fans know right now is more serious about the One Piece than ever before, as he declared himself. This means the current version of Shanks is more dangerous than the previous version of Shanks, which works in the favor of the new Yonko.

Blackbeard has two Devil Fruits and has mastered the ability of Whitebeard. Even if he isn’t at the same level as Whitebeard at the moment, fans know that he is one of the biggest One Piece villains and will eventually surpass nearly every pirate because he will be one of Luffy’s greatest enemies.

Blackbeard has to be a pirate on the same level as Whitebeard, at the very least. Luffy has managed to defeat Kaido and he still has a lot of room to grow stronger. This means Luffy is yet another pirate who works in favor of the new generation. That leaves Buggy behind and fans know that Buggy is weaker than Big Mom. In fact, there is no comparison between the two, and Buggy would likely be knocked out by a Conqueror’s Haki alone.

Even if one takes into consideration the underlings that Buggy has, Mihawk and Crocodile, these two alone cannot make up for the difference in strength when Big Mom’s entire crew is taken into the equation as well. These two are strong, however, taking down Big Mom and her entire crew is not possible for them. As such, buggy is the only one who’s the weaker one when the two Yonko versions are compared. Despite that, the new generation has an advantage, as three of their members are stronger than their predecessors, making it clear that the new generation of Yonko is actually slightly stronger and more dangerous than ever before.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1099, is set to be November 26, 2023.