Summary

  • Swordsmanship is an overlooked power system in One Piece, with legendary swordsmen using Supreme Grade Swords.
  • Characters like Shanks, Rayleigh, Shiki, Garling, and Rocks may wield Supreme Grade weapons due to their power and status.
  • Shanks, Rayleigh, Shiki, Garling, and Rocks have the potential to possess Supreme Grade swords, enhancing their already formidable abilities.

Although Devil Fruits and Haki typically steal the show as the most common and effective power systems that most characters tend to use in One Piece, one that often gets overlooked by fans is swordsmanship. Swordsmen are some of the most common types of combatants in the entire world, as most pirate crews have at least one, with characters like Mihawk being renowned across the seas for their unmatched skill with a blade.

As such, the most powerful swordsmen use weapons that are equally as legendary, with the greatest of all being the Supreme Grade Swords of which only 5 are known. These 5 belong to some of the most powerful characters in all of One Piece, so let's go over the other characters who may have a Supreme Grade Weapon while, at the same time, also having the same status or reputation as those who do!

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One Piece: Each Member of the Donquixote Pirates, Explained

The Donquixote Pirates were one of the strongest crew Luffy faced, but who were they exactly? What makes them special?

Shanks

Affiliations: Red-Haired Pirates, Roger Pirates

Shanks using Divine Departure in One Piece

First Appearance

One Piece, Episode 4, "Luffy's Past! The Red-Haired Shanks Appears!"

Debut Arc

Orange Town

The most obvious answer that appears to everyone when thinking about this topic is Shanks. The one common trait that all confirmed Supreme Grade wielders share is their status as legendary figures who hold an unprecedented amount of power, of which Shanks is a perfect example. His sword, Gryphon, is an extremely powerful weapon that would make perfect sense to be a Supreme Grade.

You could train for another 10 years and still lose to me!

Shanks has the greatest Conqueror's Haki feat of anyone in the current setting, putting him at an incredibly high level along with nigh-mythical figures like Roger and Whitebeard. With such a storied reputation as a Yonko and unparalleled feats of strength, Shanks is the prime candidate to wield a Supreme Grade weapon, which his sword Gryphon just might be!

Silvers Rayleigh

Affiliations: Roger Pirates

silvers rayleigh haki

First Appearance

One Piece, Episode 8, "Who Will Win? Showdown Between the True Powers of the Devil Fruit!"

Debut Arc

Orange Town

The right-hand man of the Pirate King, 'Dark King' Silvers Rayleigh is one of the most revered figures in pirate history. Rayleigh's reputation precedes him as one of the few living people who know the location of the One Piece treasure and the complete history of the entire Void Century, also making him one of the most important people on the entire planet!

Maybe nothing in this world happens by accident. As everything happens for a reason, our destiny slowly takes form.

Back in his youth, Rayleigh was powerful enough to be considered a second to Gol D. Roger himself and was one of the strongest swordsmen in the world. The few times that he has been seen fighting in the series, he used his sword skills. One of these times was his clash against Kizaru, where his blade went up against Kizau's light-sword, perhaps even earning it a place as one of the series' Supreme Grade Weapons, since it was very powerful and someone of Rayleigh's status used it!

Young Shanks & Buggy As Roger's Apprentices In One Piece
One Piece: Buggy and Shanks' Relationship, Explained

Shanks and Buggy share one of the series' most hilarious and important friendships. Here's a look at this unlikely alliance.

Shiki The Golden Lion

Affiliations: Golden Lion Pirates, Rocks Pirates

shiki one piece

First Appearance

One Piece, Episode 425, "The Prison's Strongest Man! Poison-man Magellan Appears!"

Debut Arc

Impel Down

Golden Shiki is a character that many fans don't typically think about having much relevance to the current plot. However, he is one of the most legendary pirates in existence due to his time in the Rocks Pirates and then again when he became a Yonko and formed the largest fleet of them all. After being taken prisoner at Impel Down, Shiki eventually escaped by cutting off his legs and replacing them with his swords.

The Pirate King?! So what?! If he'd joined forces with me, we could have taken over the world!

Shiki's blades are the famous Ota and Kogarashi, which he used to wield at the same time. However, he eventually put them on the stubs of his legs and walked on them. Though unlikely, it is still possible that one (or both) of these blades may have been Supreme Grade due to how powerful and important Shiki was as a character, so his having weapons of the highest caliber makes sense.

Saint Figarland Garling

Affiliations: God's Knight, 5 Elders

Garling Figarland Immortality one piece

First Appearance

One Piece, Chapter 1086, "The Five Elders"

Debut Arc

Egghead

One of the most mysterious characters in the current story, Saint Figarland Garling is someone of incredible strength, as he is the captain of an equally mysterious group of Celestial Dragons called the God's Knights. Though virtually nothing is known about him or this group, it is inferred that only the strongest Celestial Dragons are a part of it due to them being one of the central fighting forces on God Valley, which also saw the involvement of Marines led by Garp, the Roger Pirates, and the Rocks Pirates.

Stand up for sub-human scum, and you sink even lower!

With such an elite status, it's very easy to see why Garling's sword can be a Supreme Grade. He is always pictured with one at his side, so it's very likely of the greatest quality in the world, especially considering that Garling is now one of the 5 Elders. This means quite a bit since the only other Gorosei with a weapon, Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro with his Shodai Kitetsu, also has a Supreme Grade!

luffy surpasses yonko shanks blackbeard one piece
One Piece: Which Yonko Has The Strongest Crew?

The Yonko are the most powerful pirates in the world, but even they couldn't have gotten to that position without the help of their crews.

Rocks D. Xebec

Affiliations: Rocks Pirates

Rocks D. Xebec Laughing

First Appearance

One Piece, Episode 958, "A Legendary Battle! Garp and Roger"

Debut Arc

Egghead

Perhaps the most mysterious character on this list, Rocks D. Xebec was someone who the World Government thought to be such a great threat to their existence that all mention of him was expunged from the annals of history. Moreover, he was also thought to be Roger's greatest enemy, who was so powerful that Roger had to team up with Garp to take him down.

Before Roger, it was their era!

Rocks is also one of the only 2 known evil members of the D. Clan along with Blackbeard and the one whose crew consisted of some of the greatest pirates ever. With such a resumé, it's next to impossible for Rocks to not have had a Supreme Grade weapon, especially when one of his silhouettes even sees him holding a cutlass!

One Piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

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One Piece
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Release Date
October 20, 1999
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One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga's popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.

Main Genre
Anime
Number of Episodes
1122
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