One Piece is littered with powerful individuals, ranging from hard-working Marines to sea-faring pirates to rebellion-minded revolutionaries. However, despite the numerous differences between these characters, one thing unites many of them — their reliance on the power of Devil Fruits.
Almost every Devil Fruit grants its user an array of abilities, but in certain cases, an individual can "awaken" a Devil Fruit. An Awakened Devil Fruit massively increases the strength of its user, and generally, it gains the ability to transfer the Devil Fruit's effect to not just its user, but also any surrounding materials. Only a few characters have demonstrated this power; however, those that do are virtually guaranteed to be one of the strongest pirates in the Grand Line.
8 The Four Jailer Beasts
When Monkey D. Luffy journeys into the depths of Impel Down, he befriends a variety of influential Devil Fruit users. However, both he and his allies fail to realize that several of their captors, the Four Jailer Beasts, also wield Devil Fruits themselves.
Minotaurus, Minorhinoceros, Minokoala, and Minozebra form a quartet of Zoan-type Devil Fruit users that police the confines of Impel Down. Sometime before the events of One Piece, the Four Jailer Beasts awakened their Zoan-type Devil Fruits, but unlike the other characters to achieve this feat, they lost their sense of humanity in the process. Still, their superhuman durability and raw strength more than makeup for their lack of strategy.
7 Donquixote Doflamingo
Donquixote Doflamingo is often regarded as One Piece's best antagonist, due in large part to his menacing persona and convincingly deranged motivations. His skills in combat support his notoriety, as he wields both Conqueror's Haki and an Awakened Devil Fruit — two of the rarest abilities in the entire series.
Doflamingo's Devil Fruit, the String-String Fruit, is a Paramecia type that originally allowed him to control and manipulate strings. After awakening the Devil Fruit, the Warlord of the Sea can also transform nearby objects into strings, significantly elevating his attack and defense power. This ability ultimately allows him to exert absolute control over the kingdom of Dressrosa — a feat that speaks to the String-String Fruit's unbelievable potential.
6 Charlotte Katakuri
The Emperors of the Sea are the most powerful pirates on the Grand Line, and their commanders — the strongest members of their crew — are generally some of the most well-known pirates in the New World. Charlotte Katakuri, the unofficial first mate of Charlotte Linlin, is almost as important to the Big Mom Pirates as his captain, partially due to the fact that he awakened his Devil Fruit, the Mochi-Mochi Fruit.
The Mochi-Mochi Fruit is already a bit of a unique case when it comes to Devil Fruits; although it has the qualities of a Logia type, the fact that Mochi isn't a natural element prevents it from being classified as such. Therefore, it falls under the Paramecia category, and after being awakened by Katakuri, it also grants him the ability to transform nearby materials into the substance.
5 Trafalgar D. Water Law
The Raid on Onigashima is brimming with memorable moments, but few are as significant as Trafalgar D. Water Law and Eustass Kid's clash with the Emperor of the Sea, Charlotte Linlin. During their conflict, Law pushes past his limits, and in the process, he awakens his already-impressive Devil Fruit, the Op-Op Fruit.
The Op-Op Fruit grants Trafalgar D. Water Law the ability to manipulate all physical matter within a specific range — its area of effect is often referred to as a "room." After it is awakened, the Devil Fruit can also generate smaller "rooms" that can be affixed to objects and weapons, allowing him to extend his attacks much further than before. This provides Law, who was already one of the strongest pirates in One Piece prior to the Raid on Onigashima, with a much wider degree of versatility in his approach to combat.
4 Eustass Kid
When Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates arrive at Sabaody Archipelago, they encounter the other members of the Supernovas — the eleven rookie pirates who amassed a bounty of over 100 million Berries before reaching the New World. Although Luffy's bounty is impressive by this point, it is trumped by another member of the Supernovas: Eustass Kid. The red-haired pirate wields the Magnet-Magnet Fruit, allowing him to generate and control magnetic fields.
During Eustass Kid's fight against Charlotte Linlin in the Raid on Onigashima, he announces that he has awakened his Paramecia-type Devil Fruit. Using his newfound powers, he can apply magnetic properties to targets other than his own body. This, coupled with help from Trafalgar Law's Awakened Devil Fruit, proves to be too much for Big Mom to handle, ultimately dealing her a devastating blow to end the fight.
3 Monkey D. Luffy
For many years, Monkey D. Luffy's Devil Fruit was believed to be a Paramecia type, but the events of the Wano Country Arc slowly bring that premise into question. Kaido points out that Luffy's Devil Fruit doesn't necessarily demonstrate the traits of other Paramecia types — still, there's no way that he could have anticipated its true nature. In reality, the Straw Hat Pirate wields what is potentially the strongest Devil Fruit in One Piece, Human-Human Fruit, Model: Sun God Nika.
During the clash between Kaido and Monkey D. Luffy, the former repeatedly crushes the Straw Hat Pirate, and each time, he rises even stronger than before. In the final phase of their battle, Luffy finally awakens his Devil Fruit, assuming his iconic Gear 5 form in the process. This grants the series' protagonist the ability to apply the attributes of rubber to the world around him — including his enemies.
2 Rob Lucci
Minus Monkey D. Luffy, no major character in One Piece demonstrates the abilities of an Awakened Zoan-type Devil Fruit until Rob Lucci reappears during the Egghead Arc. In this arc, he and the Straw Hat Pirates cross paths for the first time since their clash at Enies Lobby, setting up a highly-anticipated rematch between him and the crew's captain.
Rob Lucci's Devil Fruit, the Cat-Cat Fruit: Model Leopard, greatly increases his physical capabilities, gaining him worldwide notoriety even before it is awakened. However, once he unlocks the Devil Fruit's true potential, the famed assassin is briefly capable of holding his own against Monkey D. Luffy's Gear Five form. One Piece's protagonist is firmly at the Emperor of Sea level by the time he squares off with Rob Lucci again, so it's clear that Lucci's Awakened Devil Fruit did wonders for his fighting prowess.
1 Kaku
Roronoa Zoro faces off against countless characters throughout the course of One Piece, but one of his most underappreciated opponents is the second-strongest member of CP9 (and later CP0), Kaku. The square-nosed assassin is introduced to the series as a mechanic for Water 7's Galley-La Company, only to have his affiliation with the World Government brought to light later. While he and the other members of CP9 are transporting Nico Robin to Enies Lobby, he is rewarded with the Ox-Ox Fruit: Model Giraffe.
Kaku's Zoan-type Devil Fruit immediately grants him a power boost, but it's clear that he significantly honed his abilities during the series' two-year timeskip. When he finally encounters the Straw Hat Pirates again in the Egghead Arc, he and Zoro quickly trade blows, revealing that Kaku awakened his Devil Fruit since they last met. Kaku only took two years to achieve this feat — something that took every other character in the series a significantly longer time to do. This firmly places his among the strongest combatants in the World Government, so it will be interesting to see how he factors into the final saga.