Who is stronger than LuffY?

[Shinobuden]

I think some people underestimate the strength of New World pirates. The New World is even more cruel and unforgiving than Paradise, the storms and season changes in Paradise pales in comparison to the New World (gravity even reverses there for crying out loud) so it only makes sense the pirates there have the physical strength and mental fortitude to sail there.

Luffy's gotten stronger and he has Haki now on top of that but he's still nothing more than a newcomer in the New World, so I think even Luffy would have trouble against New World veterans. Naturally this is just an assumption as we've seen Luffy emerge victorious against overwhelming odds before.

[mattiaildivino]

I see that a lot of you guys consider law and kid stronger than rufy. bu that's clearly impossible,imo. although their bounties might have surpassed rufy's,that doesn't mean they are stronger than him. Kid's bounty was higher than him but,as shakky told the SH,the onlt supernovas worthy of being an over 300 M was rufy. thereby rufy spent 2 years in training,while the others went on with their plans. so rufy now must be even stronger than them,although they should know NW better than him.

[hoeru]

I'm just throwing in a list of known characters:

After the Timeskip, currently while on Punk Hazard:

• Kizaru
• Sakazuki
• Kuzan
• Rayleigh
• Marco
• Blackbeard
• Shanks
• Bigmom
• Kaidou
• Mihawk
• Vista
• Siliew
• Doflamingo

I simply don't expect Luffy to beat them now since they have been classified as ubermonsters. Either their DF powers or their haki strength and experience is too much ahead of Luffy - or they are simply the absolute experts with their fighting skills even from what we've seen before the timeskip. I'm not trying to lower neither the training itself nor the trainers nor the trainees. It's just that Luffy (and his crew) still need some development.

Therefore, I'd say that the Sabaody rookie crews ("The Eleven Supernovae") are also still rivals on par to Luffy and his crew, while I'm curious why Oda let Bonney out of Sakazuki's grip - and how she did this. That could possibly make her the biggest and strongest of Luffy's rivals.

[mattiaildivino]

I don't understand why you guys put mihawk and doflamingo above the other shichibukais... except mihawk,I don't see them so strong. I also thought tha kuma would be the strongest amongst them because he can teleport,possesses a powerful DF,and can also use kizaru's beams

[Zehahaha]

I think some people underestimate the strength of New World pirates. The New World is even more cruel and unforgiving than Paradise, the storms and season changes in Paradise pales in comparison to the New World (gravity even reverses there for crying out loud) so it only makes sense the pirates there have the physical strength and mental fortitude to sail there.

Luffy's gotten stronger and he has Haki now on top of that but he's still nothing more than a newcomer in the New World, so I think even Luffy would have trouble against New World veterans. Naturally this is just an assumption as we've seen Luffy emerge victorious against overwhelming odds before.

Yeah, I recall back at East Blue how " Paradise " was hyped and stuff... It turned out to be a nice sea. So seriously, all the hyping shouldn't be taken so seriously by readers.
Sure NW is scary, and different from Paradise, but all that hyping was from the perspective of shitty pirates (Like the one Kidd's caught), and also, from the few scenes at the war showcasing the strenght of the NW's captains, they weren't that impressive at all.

[Shinobuden]

Yeah, I recall back at East Blue how " Paradise " was hyped and stuff... It turned out to be a nice sea. So seriously, all the hyping shouldn't be taken so seriously by readers.
Sure NW is scary, and different from Paradise, but all that hyping was from the perspective of shitty pirates (Like the one Kidd's caught), and also, from the few scenes at the war showcasing the strenght of the NW's captains, they weren't that impressive at all.

I think it's still too early to assume the pirates in the NW won't present any challenge. I agree the showcasing during the war wasn't too impressive but I hardly think the captains shown there are enough to represent the majority of pirates that most likely inhabit the NW. And let's not forget the Straw Hats are still only on their first island there.

I have to disagree with Paradise being a "nice" sea however. Take Don Krieg for example, his fleet got cut up by Mihawk AND was hit by a storm out of nowhere. Brook's crew was hit by a disease which forced the remaining uninfected crew to leave Yorki and the other infected crew members behind only to later be attacked by enemy pirates who had coated their weapons with poison, killing the remaining crew members and Brook himself. Each of these pirate crews were strong in their own right but there's *always* someone stronger.

It may have been interpreted as a "nice" sea when seen in Luffy and co's point of view but the Straw Hats have an outstanding navigator on their side who can sense the weather and avoid cyclones while having a 41 degree fever, not all captains have that kind of luxury on their side...you've seen what the rest of the Straw Hats can do, just used Nami as an example for the weather.

Just my two cents.

[Zehahaha]

I think it's still too early to assume the pirates in the NW won't present any challenge. I agree the showcasing during the war wasn't too impressive but I hardly think the captains shown there are enough to represent the majority of pirates that most likely inhabit the NW. And let's not forget the Straw Hats are still only on their first island there.

I have to disagree with Paradise being a "nice" sea however. Take Don Krieg for example, his fleet got cut up by Mihawk AND was hit by a storm out of nowhere. Brook's crew was hit by a disease which forced the remaining uninfected crew to leave Yorki and the other infected crew members behind only to later be attacked by enemy pirates who had coated their weapons with poison, killing the remaining crew members and Brook himself. Each of these pirate crews were strong in their own right but there's *always* someone stronger.

It may have been interpreted as a "nice" sea when seen in Luffy and co's point of view but the Straw Hats have an outstanding navigator on their side who can sense the weather and avoid cyclones while having a 41 degree fever, not all captains have that kind of luxury on their side...you've seen what the rest of the Straw Hats can do, just used Nami as an example for the weather.

Just my two cents.

But this whole adventure it's from the point of view of the SH's... I don't give a flying fuck about Krieg & co...
The adventure in the NW will be from the point of view of the SH's...

[Shinobuden]

But this whole adventure it's from the point of view of the SH's... I don't give a flying fuck about Krieg & co...
The adventure in the NW will be from the point of view of the SH's...

Alright. I was merely trying to put up a good debate.

[Zehahaha]

Alright. I was merely trying to put up a good debate.

I know that, but I just wanted to say, for Krieg or any shitty pirate, Paradise is hell etc.
But honestly, from the point of view of the SH's, it was never like that.

I do expect the NW to be something else, but it will not be like how other shitty pirate were hyping it, that's why I said we shouldn't take their words literally. What they may see as hell, Luffy may see it as paradise.

[Shinobuden]

I know that, but I just wanted to say, for Krieg or any shitty pirate, Paradise is hell etc.
But honestly, from the point of view of the SH's, it was never like that.

I do expect the NW to be something else, but it will not be like how other shitty pirate were hyping it, that's why I said we shouldn't take their words literally. What they may see as hell, Luffy may see it as paradise.

True enough, good point too. I've yet to see anything that scares Luffy, if you don't count angry Nami or Garp.

[Great Potato]

I'm including dead characters too

-Dragon
-Kong
-Sengoku
-Akainu
-Aokiji
-Kizaru
-Garp
-Tsuru
-John Giant
-Onigumo
-Doberman
-Mihawk
-Doflamingo
-Hancock
-Whitebeard
-Marco
-Jozu
-Vista
-Ace
-Squardo
-Oars Jr.
-Kaidou
-Big Mom
-Bobbins
-Shanks
-Beckmann
-Lucky Roo
-Yasopp
-Blackbeard
-Shiliew
-Roger
-Rayleigh
-Scopper

[GomuGomu_Getsuga]

Akainu
Kizaru
Aokiji
Kaido
BlackBeard
Gol D. Roger
WhiteBeard
Dragon

I also believe Luffy can defeat any one of these opponents if he gets serious.

[Curtarc]

I don't think Luffy has reached the level of strength of the guys at the very top of the food chain. Characters like Aokiji, Kizaru, Akainu, Whitebeard, Blackbeard, Dragon, Roger, etc still have the upper hand in terms of experience and raw power. However I think that's fine, it just gives a good margin of progress left for Luffy until he reaches that level. We are still far from the end of the manga, it would be strange if, at this point, Luffy was at the level of these monsters. I am pretty sure we can expect a couple more power upgrades as he travels around the New World.

[SlayerKisame]

I don't think Luffy has reached the level of strength of the guys at the very top of the food chain. Characters like Aokiji, Kizaru, Akainu, Whitebeard, Blackbeard, Dragon, Roger, etc still have the upper hand in terms of experience and raw power. However I think that's fine, it just gives a good margin of progress left for Luffy until he reaches that level. We are still far from the end of the manga, it would be strange if, at this point, Luffy was at the level of these monsters. I am pretty sure we can expect a couple more power upgrades as he travels around the New World.

I don't get how you could think that.

Alright, let's look at this from a third person perspective. Everyone was going about their duties during the timeskip. Sure, the pirates/marines may have gotten stronger, but nobody trained as hard as Luffy. He restrained himself to an island, got a PhD in all studies of haki, and now probably knows everything, literally everything about his DF. Keep in mind Luffy spent 2 full years in training. Why would he quit the training if he was not even strong enough to kill the guy who killed his brother?

[Curtarc]

I don't get how you could think that.

Alright, let's look at this from a third person perspective. Everyone was going about their duties during the timeskip. Sure, the pirates/marines may have gotten stronger, but nobody trained as hard as Luffy. He restrained himself to an island, got a PhD in all studies of haki, and now probably knows everything, literally everything about his DF. Keep in mind Luffy spent 2 full years in training. Why would he quit the training if he was not even strong enough to kill the guy who killed his brother?

It's a personal conviction really, there's no proof to back up my theory of Luffy not being at the level of the guys at the top of the food chain(since he hasn't fought anyone close to their level since he finished his training) but the same applies to the claim that he's already at their level. I believe we haven't seen everything he has learned from his training and I also believe he will learn something new along the way(mangas like these usually see their main characters evolving as time goes by) but as I said before, I can't prove what I am saying, it's just a feeling.