The Strongest Right-Hand Commanders in One Piece, Ranked!

Right. We’re talking about the top dogs here, the first mates of the strongest organizations in One Piece. In terms of power hierarchy, these guys are second only to the captain or the leader of their groups, and are in charge of keeping all the other members in line.

Some of the commanders on this list might not officially be the first mate or vice-captain of their respective crews/organizations, but it’s evident that they are right-hand men because they are only answerable to their leaders.

These No. 2s have proven themselves time and again to their leaders, and are their most trusted subordinates. They’re strong, they’re scary, and they’re hella loyal. Here are the strongest right-hand commanders in One Piece, ranked!

10. Killer

Killer, is part of the Worst Generation, the 12 pirates infamous for their actions against the World Government. He’s also known as the Massacre Soldier or the Murder Machine – as if people didn’t already get the hint from his name.

In Wano, he took on a new identity and went by Kamazo the Manslayer, where he acted as the shogun Orochi’s secret assassin.

This was after Orochi offered him the artificial Zoan Devil Fruit, SMILE; the fruit was defective and Killer exhibits the weaknesses of a Devil Fruit user without seeing any of its pros – he loses the ability to swim, just like Zoro.

He also fought toe-to-toe with Zoro in Wano, and later along with him – together, they were able to briefly stun Kaido. Killer’s endurance is pretty killer – he was able to resist Rayleigh’s Haki during the Sabaody Archipelago arc.

Killer wields two weapons called the Punishers, which are a pair of scythes attached to him via gauntlets. Not only do the cut and block, they even act as chainsaws, which when vibrating fast enough, can cause soundwaves that damage opponents to the bone.

9. Shiryu

Shiryu is among the baddest of the bad, the ex-head warden at Impel Down who used to slaughter prisoners for fun.

He himself was imprisoned on Level 6, which is where only the most terrifying prisoners were restrained. He was said to be as strong as Magellan before the time-skip.

Shiryu has become a Yonko commander since, with crazy speed, endurance, and durability. He absorbed a direct hit from Sengoku in his Daibutsu avatar, and an indirect hit from a quake shockwave by Whitebeard.

Complementing his innate stealth tactics, Shiryu’s Clear-Clear Paramecia-type Devil Fruit grants him the ability to turn himself and any weapon he might be holding invisible; as you can imagine, this doesn’t bode too well for his enemies – they won’t even be able to tell what impaled them.

Imagine a match between Shiryu and Katakuri – Shiryu with his invisibility and Katakuri with his foresight!

5. Sabo

Sabo was formerly a pirate and bandit before he devoted his life to the service of the Revolutionary Army, and to Monkey D. Dragon.

We really see Sabo shine in the Dressrosa arc. He fights valiantly against Admiral Fujitora, which is when we also witness Sabo’s overprotective attitude towards Luffy.

Sabo easily destroys Blackbeard Pirates’ Burgess, and mashes Vice Admiral Bastille’s skull to a pulp using his own fighting style called Ryusoken.

Sabo carries Ace’s legacy having consumed his Devil Fruit. Now, Sabo has the Flame-Flame Logia-type Devil Fruit that allows him to manipulate fire. He can use this power in conjunction with advanced Armament Haki and Ryusoken.

Admiral fujitora vs Sabo - Gravity blade

During the Reverie, Sabo battled the admirals Fujitora and Ryokugyo to rescue Kuma. After the Reverie incident, Sabo became the centre of a potentially arc-altering news, which still hasn’t been revealed to us.

8. Zoro

Our man Zoro has grown exponentially since we started out. He’s shown exceptional prowess in combat, winning against the likes of King, Kaku, Killer, and Pica.

(He’s not above King on the list because Zoro can’t take the majority win against King in a 10-round match. He still has ways to go before he reaches that kind of power.)

In Wano, he easily defeated Apoo and collected Queen’s Ice Oni antibodies and helped Chopper make the vaccine. He even managed to deliver a cut to Kaido using his Ashura.

He spent 2 years training with Mihawk, the greatest swordsman in the world, and currently is one of the most skilled swordsmen in the series. He has mastered the 3 Sword Style and can also access the 9 Sword Style – Asura, which is the spiritual manifestation of his power.

Despite having no Devil Fruit power, Zoro has the strength of his 3 swords – Ichimonji, Kitetsu, and Enma. He can channel all his Haki through them, making them triply potent.  Zoro can use all 3 types of Haki.

7. Katakuri

Katakuri is possibly one of the most beloved characters of One Piece. He is the strongest of the Sweet Commanders, and fiercely loyal to his mom.

He is one of the few people in the world who can use all 3 types of Haki. He is a highly skilled user of Observation Haki, which allows him to see slightly ahead into the future.

This allows him to predict attacks and morph his body into “mochi” to avoid them. His Mochi-Mochi Paramecia-type Devil Fruit also lets him convert inorganic material into mochi.

Katakuri has never lost a single battle – until he faced Luffy. There’s a lot of controversy about how Luffy could triumph over someone as powerful as Katakuri, and indeed, if we pit them against each other in a rematch, who knows how things would turn out?

5. King

King the Conflagration is definitely one of the deadliest first commanders we’ve witnessed in the series.

We know he can wreak havoc just by the fact that he’s Kaido’s strongest man. He was the first member to join Kaido’s crew and has a thick bond with him, as strong as Zoro and Luffy’s, albeit more toxic.

He’s truly a beast in battle, excelling in melee combat and using his wide list of abilities all at once. King is a Lunarian, which means he can produce fire from his body.

On top of that, he has the Dragon-Dragon Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit, that allows him to transform into a Pteranodon, which is a scary-ass flying dinosaur.

We’ve seen him harden his sword with Armament Haki during the fight with Zoro. He was also able to injure Raizo with his sword in the battle against the Nine Red Scabbards, and tire Marco the Phoenix out, almost defeating him.

4. Marco

Marco the Phoenix took up the mantle of captain after Whitebeard’s death and led the crew until their disbandment following the Payback War. The guy’s a veteran, having been in the game more than 30 years and is extremely formidable in battle.

He was able to hold his own during the Marineford War when all 3 Admirals fought against him. Even Big Mom and Blackbeard think he’s dangerous.

He’s super proficient in Armament Haki and can imbue his legs with it to make them extra powerful – he threw Kizaru and Kuzan yards away with a simple kick.

But it’s Marco’s Devil Fruit ability that is the coolest. He has the Mythical Zoan-type Phoenix-Phoenix Devil Fruit, that, yes, allows him to turn into a huge, blue, flamin’ phoenix.

This boosts the abilities he already possesses but the best part about it is the “Blue Flames of Resurrection”. It allows Marco the power of regeneration or recovery, no matter how severe the damage.

3. Silvers Rayleigh

Silvers Rayleigh, the Dark King, was the first mate of the Pirate King, the strongest pirate in the world and the owner of the One Piece. Even without Devil fruit abilities, Rayleigh is easily one of the mightiest characters introduced in the series.

He has incredible mastery over all 3 kinds of Haki. Rayleigh uses Observation Haki to sense hundreds of people and creatures all over the island. His Armament Haki is capable of piercing a body amped by Devil Fruit powers.

With advanced Armament, he can project his Haki into his opponent, and destroy them from the inside. He can even imbue his double-edged sword with it to easily defeat anyone who dares to stand up to him.

We haven’t seen Rayleigh in action for a while now. The last we saw him, he was gambling when the Straw Hats’ bounties came out after Dressrosa.

No one can deny how strong he is, but going by current events, there are others who trump him.

2. Kizaru

Borsalino, aka Kizaru, is the only remaining member of the previous admiral trio that consisted of Kuzan/Aokiji, Akainu, and himself.

Kizaru, being a member of the Marines, has battled many right-hand commanders who are also on this list, like Ben Beckmann, Marco, and Rayleigh.

The very fact that he’s gone against these guys shows how mighty he is.

He fought the legendary Whitebeard along with the other admirals during the Summit War, where he used advanced Armament Haki to disperse Whitebeard’s shockwave.

But Kizaru’s trump card is his Glint-Glint Logia-type Devil Fruit that lets him control and become light. He can move at the speed of light, and shoot lasers from his extremities. He can make his light turn so bright that it can blind his opponents.

During the Levely arc, Kizaru casually asked Akainu if he should go to Wano to take care of the situation, but the latter asked him to hold off. We know Ryokugyu is in Wano, trying to impress Akainu, but I’m sure Kizaru would have handled the situation as well if not better.

1. Benn Beckman

Benn Beckman, the right-hand Yonko commander of Red Hair Shanks, is the current strongest first mate in One Piece. He has the highest IQ in East Blue, and possibly the highest commander bounty. He has both brain and brawn and is Shanks’ most trusted member in the crew.

The Red Hair Pirates are supposed to be the current strongest among the Yonkos, so it only makes sense that Beckman should be at #1.

The guy did single-handedly slam the mountain bandit Higuma and his entire crew with just a cigarette and a rifle that he used as a club. Talk about badass.

In Marineford, he sneaked up and stopped Kizaru in his tracks by his mere presence. Kizaru couldn’t sense him despite his Observation Haki.

What makes his particularly awesome, is the fact that he has the highest IQ of any character introduced in the East Blue Saga, even above Kuro, who’s a master strategist.

I can’t wait until Shanks and his crew properly make their entry and we can see Benn Beckman in action.

About One Piece

One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since July 22, 1997.

The man who had acquired everything in this world, the Pirate King, is Gol D. Roger. The final words he said at the execution tower were “My treasures? If you want it, I’ll let you have it. Look for it; I left all of it at that place.” These words sent many to the seas, chasing their dreams, headed toward the Grand Line, in search of One Piece. Thus began a new age!

Seeking to be the greatest pirate in the world, young Monkey D. Luffy also heads toward the Grand Line in search of One Piece. His diverse crew is joining him along the way, consisting of a swordsman, marksman, navigator, cook, doctor, archaeologist, and cyborg-shipwright, this will be one memorable adventure.