One Piece is a series with a lot of world-building and interesting elements but the Yonko crew is something that deserves a lot more attention. A Yonko is one of the Four Emperors that rule the New World in the series, with these pirate crews holding a few islands as their territories. They are also among the most powerful characters in the manga.
The most interesting part about the Yonko, however, could be the dynamics of their crews. The author of One Piece Eiichiro Oda has explored this a lot through his theme of celebrating friendship and union. In that regard, every Yonko crew is different and they have their own dynamics, stories, and achievements, which are going to be analyzed and explored here, in no particular order.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the One Piece series.
Analyzing the structure of each Yonko crew in One Piece
1) Cross Guild
Cross Guild is the latest inclusion in the four Yonko system in One Piece and arguably the most unique in the series thus far. Buggy the Clown somehow formed an alliance with widely-known pirates Dracule Mihawk and Sir Crocodile after the Warlord system was eliminated by the World Government.
In terms of the structure, Buggy is the figurehead while Dracule Mihawk and Crocodile work as the chief officers and the brains behind the operation. They have a lot of small-time pirates whom Buggy gathered throughout the series thanks to his luck. The Cross Guild focuses on capturing members of the Navy and getting a reward for them, thus breaking a lot of the series’ traditional tropes regarding bounties.
2) The Beast Pirates
One Piece has shown a great diversity of pirate crews over the years but the Beast Pirates overshadow all of them in terms of sheer number of people, having more than 500 members in its roster. Due to their leader, Kaido, working with Doflamingo, he has an entire division of Devil Fruit users thanks to the artificial Smile fruits, thus upping their numbers.
When it comes to the structure of the Beast Pirates, Kaido serves as the leader and general, with the All-Star division featuring his strongest men, which are King, Queen, and Jack. There is also the division of the Tobiroppo, which are the most present group during the Wano, with some characters such as Black Maria, X Drake, and Ulti being the most prominent. There are also several lesser divisions made through the use of the aforementioned Smile fruits.
Kaido sailed the seas on his own after the Rocks Pirates dismantled and challenged most of the world’s greatest powers to test his strong strength. However, his biggest achievement (and his crew’s by extension) was reaching the land of Wano and conquering it. This helped to establish his base of operations and one of the most important places in One Piece.
3) The Big Mom Pirates
Much like Kaido and his crew, the Big Mom Pirates were built up for a long time in the One Piece series. While is safe to say that the results were mixed, they are still one of the most powerful crews in the series. Charlotte Linlin, also known as Big Mom, was a part of the Rocks Pirates like Kaido. She went on to form her own band of misfits, taking over the Totto Land, Whole Cake, and several other places.
Big Mom is the captain and leader of the organization, and the second highest number of people in the structure is the Sweet Commanders, featuring Katakuri, Cracker, Smoothie, and Snack. She also has a wide division of officers, who run most of the organization, and several other members with different roles.
4) Red Hair Pirates
There is an argument to be made that the Red Hair Pirates have the most hype in the One Piece series because they haven’t been able to show how strong they are. Sure, they are a Yonko crew so is proven they are strong but the story hasn’t given them the chance to show it off.
Regardless, Shanks is the captain and he has been leading since the death of Gol D. Roger, who the red-headed pirate used to work with. Benn Beckmann is his second-in-command and then there are officers, with some being part of the crew since the early days like Lucky Roux and Yasopp, Usopp’s father. They have some subordinate captains like Fugar or Pururu but they haven’t played any role in the story.
5) The Whitebeard Pirates
Edward Newgate, most commonly known as Whitebeard, was also a part of the Rocks Pirate led by Xebec. However, he ultimately left when they separated and formed his own crew, the Whitebeard Pirates. Unlike Kaido and Big Mom, however, Whitebeard was a lot more benevolent, and the territories he conquered were motivated to help people while also building a crew he treated as his own family.
It is a shame that One Piece fans only got to watch this crew in action once, during the Marineford arc, but they made a lasting impression, particularly Whitebeard through his display of power and honorable death. In terms of structure, Newgate is the captain, and he has fourteen division commanders, which include the likes of Oden, Ace, and Marco. He also added the former Spade Pirates, several subordinate captains, and many more.
6) The Blackbeard Pirates
Considering how they have been mirrored with the Straw Hats, there is a very good chance that the Blackbeard Pirates are going to be the final bosses in One Piece. That could be a wrong assumption, of course, but there is no denying that this band of basically lifelong criminals and evildoers has been hyped for hundreds of chapters in the series.
Marshall D. Teach, most commonly known as Blackbeard, is the captain of the crew and they have ten other ships, which all have their own Titanic Captains. All of the Titanic Captains are lifelong criminals with a long list of evil deeds, with former Navy Admiral Kuzan being the sole exception.
7) The Straw Hat Pirates
The Straw Hats are the main cast of the One Piece series and the main driving force of the plot. Monkey D. Luffy started from scratch and built a lot of strong bonds that helped him create a Yonko-level crew that has changed the entire world of the series.
When it comes to the structure, most One Piece fans already know it by heart. Luffy is the captain, Zoro and Sanji are the wings (Sanji is also the cook), Chopper is the doctor, Nami is the navigator, and Usopp is the sniper. Meanwhile, Brook is the musician, Franky is the mechanic, Jinbe is the one driving the ship, and Nico Robin is the archaeologist.
Final thoughts
Every Yonko crew has something interesting in One Piece and offers something different to the story, which is always fun for the audience. Hopefully, Eiichiro Oda is going to be able to explore more about others, such as the Red Hair Pirates.
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