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This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
| “ | A threat...a demand...when issued by one with absolute, overwhelming power becomes simply inevitable fate...after all, who could possibly oppose it? That is the existence known as the Yonko! And this is what it means to be driven to your very wit's end...! | „ |
| ~ Pekoms on the scope of the Yonko's power. |
The Four Emperors (in Japanese: 四皇, Yonkō), also known as the Emperors of the Sea in the English version, are the four most notorious and most powerful pirate captains in the world of the One Piece franchise. They are neither allies nor enemies of one another, preferring to remain autonomous under most circumstances.
These four individually reside within the second half of the Grand Line (also known as the "New World"), exerting impressive influence/control over dozens of other pirate crews and self-governing islands. With the exception of Shanks and Edward Newgate and their crews, Red Hair Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates respectively.
As one of the three great powers in the world alongside the Marines and the Seven Warlords of the Sea (before their disbandment and replacement by SSG), the Four Emperors have significant authority over the New World. They have control over multiple islands and nations in the New World and have political powers in each of these locations. With their position in the world, the Four Emperors help to maintain power in the world.
After the events of Totto Land, the World Economic News considered Monkey D. Luffy to be the "Fifth Emperor of the Sea" among the emperors though he wasn't officially an Emperor for the time being. After Luffy, Kid and Law defeated both Kaido and Big Mom, Luffy and Buggy were officially declared as the new emperors alongside Blackbeard and Shanks in the news.
Members[]
- "Red Hair" Shanks - Chief of the Red Hair Pirates and a former apprentice of the late Pirate King's crew. He became an emperor, 6 years before the start of the series. Shanks was responsible for motivating Luffy to achieve his goal of becoming Pirate King. Shanks is the only emperor in the current setup that was also part of the original setup. His current bounty is 4,048,900,000 berries.
- "Blackbeard" Marshall D. Teach - Captain-turned-admiral of the Blackbeard Pirates. He is part of the Worst Generation, a former Warlord, and a deserter of the Whitebeard Pirates. He dealt the final blow against his former captain 2 years ago and subsequently usurped his position as a Yonko in the following year. According to both Jaygarcia Saturn and Catarina Devon, Teach is hailed from a special lineage, His current bounty is 3.996.000.000 berries.
- Buggy the Genius Jester - Captain of the Buggy Pirates and former apprentice of the late Pirate King's crew, just like Shanks. He attained the title as a Warlord during the time-skip, but lost it when the organization was disbanded, leading to the Marines attempting to arrest him. However, the Marines ended up being ambushed by Crocodile and Daz Bonez, who had came to collect money that Buggy owed. Buggy ended up joining Crocodile's new founded organization, the Cross Guild, alongside with Dracule Mihawk but due to this misconception spread by his followers, Buggy was recognized as the founder and leader who brought Crocodile and Mihawk "under his control", leading to him being labelled as an emperor. His current bounty is 3,189,000,000 berries.
- Monkey D. Luffy (commonly known as "Straw Hat Luffy") - Captain and Founder of the Straw Hat Pirates and a Worst Generation member. He was dubbed as "Fifth Emperor of the Sea" following his attempted assassination against then-emperor Big Mom, though he was not officially an emperor, at least not yet for the time. After the defeats of Kaido and Big Mom at the hands of Luffy and his alliance, he was chosen as a suitable replacement as the new emperor genuinely, for usurping Kaido's status. He was also dubbed as "Sun God" Nika by the Five Elders. Due to his age, Luffy is currently the youngest member among the Four Emperors. His current bounty is 3,000,000,000 berries.
Former[]
- "Whitebeard" Edward Newgate - Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates and the former member of the Rocks Pirates. He was the only person in the world to give Roger - the late Pirate King - a good fight. After Roger's death, he was called "The Man Closest to One Piece" (though Newgate has no intentions of finding the treasure). He met his demise at the climax of the Marineford War by his former crew member Blackbeard, but his last words motivated pirates from all around the world to find the One Piece, thus ending the Golden Age of Piracy and beginning the New Age. His final bounty was 5,046,000,000 berries.
- Kaido of the Beasts - Governor-General of the Beasts Pirates and former apprentice of the Rocks Pirates. He took control of the Wano Country 24 years ago thanks to the help of the corrupt shogun Kurozumi Orochi, thus making the country his base of operations. Kaido formed an alliance with fellow emperor Big Mom with the plan to take over the world after finishing his "New Onigashima Project", but the plan came to an abrupt end after he was defeated by Luffy. His status as an emperor was stripped off in the following day when Luffy usurped his title. His most recent Bounty is 4,611,100,000 berries.
- "Big Mom" Charlotte Linlin - Captain of the Big Mom Pirates, the matriarch of the Charlotte Family and queen of Totto Land, as well as former apprentice of the Rocks Pirates. She formed an alliance with fellow emperor Kaido with the plan to take over the world after Kaido finishing his "New Onigashima Project", but the plan came to an abrupt end after Linlin was defeated by Law and Kid of the Worst Generation. Her status as an emperor was stripped off in the following day. Her most recent bounty is 4,388,000,000 berries.
Power and Authority[]
In the world, the Four Emperors are apart of the three great powers which consist of the Marines, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the Emperors themselves.
Physical Power[]
The Four Emperors as individuals is known to be very powerful pirates. Their powers are feared greatly in the world to the degree that if one of them decides to rage a war against the World Government such as Whitebeard, it would be considered a very dire threat to them. In the Marineford War, for example, the World Government needed thousands of Marines, the three admirals, the vice admirals, and the Shichibukai to assist in their battle against Whitebeard, his crew, and allies.
The Four Emperors are renowned as being one of the strongest pirates in the New World that are formidable. For example, Kaido is known as the "Strongest Creature" in the world and is described to be very powerful and dangerous. Charlotte Linlin is also known as the "World's Strongest Hag" for her immense power and strength along with her crew that has a powerful intelligence network. Luffy is the current holder of "Joy Boy" and also known by the Five Elders as the "Sun God Nika".
Unlike the others who are considered to be very powerful, Buggy is the only known emperor who is nothing more than a weakling (that even Crocodile and Mihawk realized how pathetically weak Buggy truly is).
With the exception of Buggy, all emperors are Haki users (advanced and basic alike).
With the exception of Shanks, all emperors are Devil Fruit users. Among them, Blackbeard is the only known Emperor who has two devil fruits. Luffy is the only known Emperor who has awakened abilities.
Political Power[]
In the New World, the Four Emperors are also conquerors that shown to have political power over the islands that are allied with them and intend to conquer any islands as they've want. Unlike Whitebeard, who is protective of these allies, another emperor like Charlotte Linlin is strict and tyrannical on their allegiance with them. For example, if they do not pay her tons of candy monthly then she will have her crew-mates destroy the islands that were allies. In Big Mom's case, she has dominance over her own territory, Totto Land that has 33 islands that form an archipelago. She is known as the queen of Totto Land. Big Mom form alliance through arrange marriage for her daughters to finalize her alliance with those who became her subordinates. However, she is not above of creating fake marriage for those who will not obey her (such as the Vinsmoke Family due to Judge's delusions) when she has no use of the Vinsmoke as she intend to kill them and steal their technology for herself.
According to Trafalgar D. Water Law, there are two surviving choices for those who encounter an Emperor. The first choice is having those joining the Emperor's crew to be protected under their flag and the other is to oppose the Emperor's authority.
In other cases, Kaido formed an alliance with the former Shogun of Wano Country, Kurozumi Orochi, and holds significant political power over the country. His pirate crew, the Beast Pirates have a level of authority over the citizens in the country. However, Kaido broke his alliance with Orochi when he is no longer necessary to his operation known as "New Onigashima Project".
However, if two emperors, such as Kaido and Big Mom, formed an alliance together, it would be world domination. According to Brannew, when forming an alliance, it would mean that Kaido and Big Mom's bounties would surpass both Roger and Whitebeard. Even the Marines cannot stop them as they don't have enough military power since the Seven Warlords of the Sea are abolished.
If an emperor falls, they lost their statuses and reputations (similar to the Seven Warlords) as well being replaced by those who defeated them as the next emperor such as both Blackbeard and later Luffy. While having 2 former Warlords as their subordinates, they became an emperor as it resulted of Buggy became an Emperor when having Crocodile and Dracule Mihawk as his so-called "subordinates" which is revealed to be misconceptions and lies by Buggy's dimwitted followers.
According to Kaku and Vice-Admiral Yamakaji, CP0 and even Vice-Admirals has no authority to fight one of the Four Emperors and their crew members (which is forbidden) without getting a permission from either the highest ranking Government official or the Fleet Admiral. In order for either CP0 and Vice-Admirals to fight a member of the Four Emperors, they need to have an Admiral with them but they cannot engage until the Admiral's arrival. In addition, the Admiral needs 9 Vice-Admirals in order to conflict an Emperor who were confronted by either CP0 or a Vice-Admiral.
Relationships[]
Each Other[]
Shanks tries to warn Whitebeard to call off Ace from his pursuit on Teach but failed. Shanks helps Whitebeard to get to Marineford while intercepting Kaido. After the Summit War, Shanks buried Whitebeard. Shanks and Buggy used to be apprentices of the Roger Pirates. Despite them being Emperors, they have differences such as Shanks is immensely powerful while Buggy is remarkably weak. Buggy hates Shanks for losing his treasure map and will never forgive him. Many years ago, Buggy refused to join Shanks and called him as an "idiot". Buggy really thinks he and Shanks are now at the same ground due to them being Emperor (although Buggy became one by mistake). After Kaido and Big Mom's downfalls, Shanks has been looking for Blackbeard in order to stop him when he thought he was on Wano, but Blackbeard shown cautious possibly he still not ready yet for his fight with Shanks.
Over 40 years ago Whitebeard, Kaido and Big Mom were once the same pirate crew called the Rocks Pirates (a notorious pirates who killed even their own crewmates). Even after their captain, Rocks D. Xebec's death at the hands of Roger and Garp, they became powerful pirate captains and Emperors until their downfalls at the hands four members of the Worst Generation (Whitebeard was killed by Blackbeard, Kaido was defeated by the future Emperor Luffy and Big Mom was defeated by Kid and Law).
Kaido respects both Shanks and Whitebeard as he considered them to be one of the legendary pirates who are capable of defeating him. Kaido cursed Whitebeard for enabling himself to die, while Kaido couldn't.
Blackbeard used to be Whitebeard's apprentice. But he betrayed his captain by killing the fourth division commander, Thatch to steal the Yami Yami no Mi. He killed his former captain and steal Whitebeard's Devil fruit. After the Summit War, Blackbeard went out to conquer almost all of Whitebeard's former territories as well usurped Newgate's position as the Emperor. Blackbeard is the one who gives a claw scar on Shanks' face. When Shanks arrived to end the war, Blackbeard declined his fight with Shanks for the time being since he is not yet ready to fight Shanks. While Big Mom is away to Wano for her revenge on Luffy, Blackbeard reviled the Big Mom Pirates' reputation by sending Van Augur and Kuzan to invade Totto-Land and kidnapped Charlotte Pudding in Teach's quests for the Road Poneglyph copies to find a man with a burn scar. After the Raid on Onigashima, Blackbeard and his crew believed that Big Mom and Kaido are dead at the hands of Luffy, Kid and Law, when one of Teach's crewmates mocked Pudding about Big Mom and declared the new eras only begins while the old legends got torn down.
Big Mom and Kaido met 44 years ago during their time with the Rocks Pirates. Big Mom always thought of Kaido as her younger brother and gives him the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu as a favour when the Rocks Pirates falls. Despite this however, Kaido doesn't hold much respects for Big Mom as he calls her as an "old hag". After the Totto-Land incident, Big Mom contacted Kaido to let her kill Luffy just to save her reputation. However, Kaido refused to oblige and threats Big Mom that he will kill her if she dares to set foot on Wano. Big Mom isn't imitiated by this threat and went to Wano. Kaido order his crew to sink Big Mom's ship before they would have an all-out war only for King to prevent Big Mom's entry. While Big Mom was transported to Onigashima by Queen, Kaido ordered his crew to release Big Mom, shown fearless of her powers when he chose to fight her to the death. Until an unknown reason, Big Mom and Kaido formed an alliance to take over the World as Rock attempted before going back to kill each other. Their plot are to seek the Ancient Weapons and the One Piece treasure as well to destroy the World Government to create a paradise for all pirates. However, their plans were thwarted by Luffy, Kid and Law as well they are presumably dead in the magma chamber deep within Wano, thus ending their eras for good.
Monkey D. Luffy[]
Monkey D. Luffy desired to overthrown all four emperors but saved Shanks for last. Luffy idolized Shanks during his childhood. He wished to surpass him. When Shanks saved him from Akainu, he would broke his promise if he see Luffy. Shanks held an even greater amazement for Luffy after Totto Land. After Big Mom and Kaido's downfalls, Shanks only went to Wano save Luffy from getting arrested by Admiral Ryokugyu when Shanks forced Aramaki to submit with his advanced Conqueror's Haki and tells the Marine Admiral to get lost which he begrudgedly obliges (since the Admiral didn't came to fight Shanks and his crew, not yet at least).
Luffy teamed up with Whitebeard to save Ace. They initial held hostile, but apologized to each other after Luffy reveal to Whitebeard of the Marines of speeding up Ace's execution time. Luffy shown sympathy for Whitebeard's death.
Luffy and Blackbeard are arch-enemies due to Blackbeard caused the Summit War and Ace's death. They met at Mock Town, mocking each other about their favorite foods. Luffy holds an immensely hatred towards his nemesis, Teach and will never forgive him for what he did to his family (such as Ace, Sabo and Dragon). While Blackbeard holds amusement for Luffy despite being archnemeses. Blackbeard attempted to steal Ace's devil fruit to reviled Luffy's brother's memories but thwarted by Sabo. After the Totto-land, Teach's amusements for Luffy continually increased as he claim it's too soon for his archnemesis to become a new Emperor. He is even more excited of Luffy's upcoming clash with Kaido (which ended up in Luffy's victory and rise as the new Emperor as Blackbeard claimed it was too soon).
Big Mom held a grudge on Luffy for eating sweets at Fishman Island. She failed to kill him after he defeated both her powerful sons (Cracker and Katakuri), destroying the wedding ceremony (which is a rig) and escaped Totto Land while ruining Big Mom's reputation. Big Mom left Totto Land to get her revenge on Luffy. In Amnesia, Big Mom attempt to kill Luffy until Queen stopped her and captured while sleeping. She attempted to kill Luffy at Onigashima but never got the chance when she was defeated by Eustass Kid and Trafalgar D. Water Law as well fell into the magma deep of Wano Country, which caused the eruption.
Kaido held a great hatred towards Luffy, due to ruining his SMILES deal with Doflamingo. However, despite this, Kaido did not take Luffy seriously as a threat, as he viewed himself to be stronger than Luffy. Kaido easily defeated Luffy but attempted to break his will to have him as a subordinate by sending him to Udon to torture him rather than killing him. When Luffy came back to fight him at his fullest, however, Kaido began to develop respect for Luffy and his ability, which he called it to be ridiculous. Like to Oden, Kaido even apologized to Luffy for Guernica's interference and never wanted to win in such a dishonorable victory. Luffy forgave Kaido from the CP0's interrupt and tells him to finish where they left off. In the final attack, Luffy finally defeated Kaido as well Kaido presumably died when he fell into the magma deep within Wano Country, which caused the eruption. While losing his consciousness, Kaido finally accepted Luffy as "Joy Boy". Luffy has usurped Kaido's spot to become the new Emperor.
Before the timeskip, Luffy and Buggy are enemies, before becoming reluctant allies, due to the Impel Down breakout, in which the two later took part in the Marineford War with the Whitebeard Pirates. The animosity between the two has remained relatively unchanged ever since. When both of them became Emperors, Luffy didn't take the idea of Buggy being an Emperor very seriously due to Buggy being weak, and believed it to be a mistake, lie and ingenuine when he calls Buggy as a "moron" (something that Nami agreed).
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Even though he is not a villain, Edward Newgate AKA Whitebeard is the only emperor to have been confirmed dead in the series so far.
- Luffy, Whitebeard and Shanks are the only non-villainous emperors.
- Whitebeard, Kaido and Big Mom were the only Emperors whom were on the same pirate crew, the Rocks Pirates.
- Kaido and Big Mom are the only known members who are confirmed to have children.
- Before the Marineford War, Whitebeard nearly got into a conflict with Kaido but the issue was resolved by Shanks.
- Kaido is the last emperor to make an appearance in the series.
- Two of the current emperors are former apprentices of Gol. D Roger's crew, while the other two are carriers of D.
- With Big Mom no longer an emperor, the roster of the Four Emperors are all male.
- Luffy is the only emperor so far to have never served under another captain's flag before forming his own crew.
- In addition, Luffy also the only member of the current lineup to have never been a pirate apprentice.
- Big Mom claimed that had she managed to get her daughter Lola to a political marriage with Elbaf prince Loki, she could have gained an army of giants that could easily crush the rival Yonkos and becoming the next Pirate King.
- Like Luffy and unlike Big Mom, Shanks has a strong friendship with the giants of Elbaf as well old friends with Dorry and Brogy. Shanks refused the giant kid to join his crew because he doesn't want a hotheaded kid in his crew.
- Interestingly, while Teach is the only emperor of past and current (and the only character in the series so far) to have eaten 2 Devil Fruits without dying, Shanks is the only emperor to have not eaten any Devil fruits made evident by the fact he can swim as shown when Shanks jumped into the sea to save Luffy from drowning without drowning himself. Luffy is the only emperor who has "awakening" powers.
- Luffy and Blackbeard are the only Emperors who usurps the previous Emperors after they've defeated them (Kaido and Whitebeard).
- After Shanks, Luffy is the youngest among the Four Emperors,and also the youngest pirate in history to achieve that title, having achieved it at age 19.
- In the original and current formation, Shanks is the only one of the Four Emperors not to have the power of a Devil Fruit.
External Links[]
- Four Emperors on the One Piece Wiki
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 Villains
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