One Piece has a lot of powerhouses but there is no shortage of smart individuals in the story either.
One Piece is known for its incredibly detailed world-building and storytelling. There is hardly any mangaka, who can match Eiichiro Oda’s craft. As a shonen series, the manga is also packed with several powerful characters who possess very interesting powers.
Most of these characters rely on their physical and devil fruit abilities to get the better of their opponents. Such characters never fail to capture the attention of the fans, but sometimes physical strength alone isn’t enough to win a fight or get out of a tricky situation. In such cases, the smartness of a character comes into play. Needless to say, there are many knowledgeable characters in One Piece, but not all of them are smart.
Intelligence is one of the main things by which a character is judged. Often, a strong character is defeated by a weaker one because of the latter’s superior brain. One Piece has smart characters in abundance. Many of them have toppled nations without armies, while others have risen to the top without applying much effort. When such characters combine their intelligence and physical abilities, they become extremely dangerous and uncontrollable. With that in mind, here are the smartest characters in One Piece.
15. Ben Beckman
Ben Beckman is Shanks’ right-hand man. In contrast to his captain’s easygoing attitude, Ben Beckman appears much more serious. Combat-wise, Ben Beckman is considered second only to his captain, and he is highly respected.
Ben Beckman has a high IQ, which has been confirmed by Oda to be the highest in East Blue. Bearing that in mind, Ben Beckman is bound to be smart. However, just like the rest of the members of the Red Hair Pirates, Ben Beckman is yet to show his real powers, leaving him with no real feats.
14. Franky
Franky is the shipwright of the Straw Hat Pirates. From a young age, Franky dared to go beyond the realm of the ordinary. He created battleships that were unorthodox, although they were not as effective as regular ones. These creations reflected his ingenuity.
With time, Franky’s creativity only improved, and it enabled him to create other incredible machines. Franky may appear dumb at times, but he is extremely innovative. He has shown that he can outfox his opponents and take them down with his amazing gadgets.
13. Whitebeard
Whitebeard was considered the “Strongest Man in the World,” before Roger became the Pirate King. He was the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates and one of the Yonko. Whitebeard could use all three types of Haki, and he had the Gura Gura no Mi at his disposal.
Whitebeard was physically superior to most of the characters in One Piece, and one would hardly think of him as a smart character. However, in the Marineford arc, Whitebeard proved that he was very sly. He managed to outfox Sengoku at his own game and made sure that the Marines wouldn’t gain the upper hand in the war.
12. Queen
Queen was one of the All-Stars of the Beasts Pirates. Prior to his career as a pirate, Queen was a member of MADS, an elite science group that consisted of Vegapunk, Caesar, Judge, and Stussy. During his time as a scientist, Queen learned a lot about genetic modifications.
He utilized this information to alter his body and make it more durable. Queen also added all the abilities of the Vinsmoke kids, which made him a formidable opponent. Queen also had a reputation for creating lethal viruses that could wipe out an entire population with ease.
11. Chopper
Chopper joined the Straw Hats after the Drum Island arc. He was born a reindeer, but he developed the ability to talk and walk on two legs after eating the Hito Hito no Mi. Furthermore, Chopper also became highly intellectual.
Chopper wants to become a great doctor and find the cure for every sickness. So far, he has shown that he can develop antidotes in a very short period of time. Chopper’s cleverness allowed him to discern how Queen’s Ice Oni virus worked, allowing the former to create the medicine to counter its effects.
10. Monkey D. Dragon
Monkey D. Dragon is the leader of the Revolutionary Army. He founded the Revolutionary Army many years ago in an attempt to overthrow the World Government, and he has successfully managed to help several nations to free themselves.
Dragon is a very smart person as he managed to create an organization so powerful that it can oppose the World Government. He has managed to stay out of their grasp, and his previous base, Baltigo would have remained hidden if Burgess had not led Blackbeard to the location.
9. Sengoku
Sengoku is one of the Navy’s veterans, and he served them for a very long time. Years prior to One Piece’s storyline, Sengoku managed to get promoted to the position of Fleet Admiral, which gave him absolute authority over the Marines.
Sengoku led the Marines to a very important victory over the Whitebeard Pirates, and it wouldn’t have been possible without his planning. He lured the Whitebeard Pirates and even created quakeproof walls to nullify Whitebeard’s power. Seeing that the Whitebeard Pirates managed to put up a great fight, Sengoku even tried to move up the time of execution.
8. Trafalgar Law
Trafalgar Law is the captain of the Heart Pirates and one of the members of the Worst Generation. After the time skip, Law formed an alliance with the Straw Hat Pirates. The main purpose of the alliance was to take down Donquixote Doflamingo.
Law was aware that Doflamingo wouldn’t be an easy target, so he crafted a brilliant plan to ensure his fellow Shichibukai’s downfall. He helped to destroy the factory on Punk Hazard, and then he backed up Luffy in his bid to defeat Doflamingo. With Doflamingo gone, Kaido was unable to buy more devil fruits for his crew. This effectively started the downfall of the Emperor.
7. Sanji
Sanji is a very intelligent character, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to call him the smartest Straw Hat Pirate. He is a culinary genius, who knows about all kinds of ingredients and their benefits. Sanji’s intelligence can also be seen in and out of fights.
During the Alabasta arc, Sanji managed to fool Crocodile, which gave him enough time to save the Straw Hats. He destroyed the machinery of the Ark Maxim, slowing down Enel and giving Luffy ample time to defeat the villain. While everyone was busy fighting at Enies Lobby, Sanji cleverly altered the mechanism of the Gates of Justice so that the crew could escape. These are just a few examples of Sanji’s smartness.
6. Nami
According to Oda, Nami has the highest IQ within the Straw Hat crew. She is unquestionably very skilled at cartography and navigation. Both these things require an immense understanding of the wind, sea, and several other things.
On various occasions, Nami’s quick thinking has helped the crew to get out of tricky situations. While traveling to Whole Cake Island with Luffy and co., she was able to figure out that the homies were scared of Big Mom’s Vivre Card. She also used her Clima-Tact to drench Cracker’s biscuits, making them soft for Luffy to eat.
5. Crocodile
Crocodile was the main antagonist of the Alabasta arc. He formulated an incredible plan to get rid of Nefertari Cobra and the rest of the royal family. Crocodile created the Baroque Works and used the organization to sow discontent among the people of Alabasta.
The best thing about Crocodile’s plan was that he didn’t even have to use his Shichibukai status to pull the strings. Crocodile’s intellect also enabled him to create the Cross Guild. In order to counter the threat of the Marines, Crocodile started to put bounties on their heads. He even managed to convince Dracule Mihawk to join.
4. Doflamingo
Doflamingo is one of the greatest anime villains. He managed to win over many fans with his evil charisma. After being driven out of Marijoa, Doflamingo vowed to seek revenge against the Celestial Dragons. He used the information that he had gained the blackmail them into giving him the position of a Shichibukai.
Doflamingo carefully executed his plan to take over the country of Dressrosa by using his devil fruit. The power of his devil fruit enabled him to control King Riku and the others into attacking the common people who believed that the king had gone mad. In order to trick the commoners, Doflamingo intervened and stopped Riku from killing the civilians. Once he became the king, Doflamingo used Sugar’s power to quell any usurpers.
3. Blackbeard
Many people believe that Blackbeard will be Luffy’s last opponent, and he has exhibited many signs of being the final boss. So far, Blackbeard has eloquently planned his every move, and he has worked his way around any possible hiccups. He bided his time when he was a crew member of the Whitebeard Pirates. But, as soon as Thatch got his hands on the Yami Yami no Mi, Blackbeard wasted no time in murdering him and stealing the fruit.
Then Blackbeard sought out Luffy as he wanted to turn him in to the Marines in exchange for a place in the Shichibukai. Ace attempted to derail Blackbeard’s plan, but the latter proved to be extremely powerful. After handing Ace to the Marines, Blackbeard got what he wanted and used his new status to invade Impel Down and free the prisoners. All these things prove that he is a very smart individual.
2. Vinsmoke Judge
Many years ago, Vinsmoke Judge used to be a part of MADS, an illegal scientific group. Vegapunk and Judge were researching the Lineage Factor, which would allow them to understand how life is created.
Even after the team disbanded, Judge continued his research and he eventually managed to use the Lineage Factor to create superhumans and clones. Judge also created raid suits for his family that increased their battle prowess even further.
1. Vegapunk
Vegapunk is undoubtedly the most intelligent person in the series. While his intelligence has not been tested in the midst of a battle, it is safe to assume that a person who is considered to be at least 500 years ahead of any other person would have no problem using it in battle. Vegapunk has even created several bodies to help him to get his work done faster and they essentially make him immortal.
Src: gamerant.com
