One Piece: 19 Strongest Samurai Of Wano Country, Ranked (2024)

Known to be one of the most dangerous countries in the One Piece world, Wano is located in the New World and is protected by mysterious barriers. It is home to several samurai who are considered to be incredibly powerful.

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Over the years, Wano Country has earned the reputation of being a place that not even the Navy has the manpower to take down. That is due to its incredible samurai, all of which have earned quite a name for themselves over the years.

Updated by Rei Penber on September 30, 2023: The Wano country Arc wrapped up quite some time ago in the manga and now, the arc is meeting its end in the anime as well. The land of Wano was home to some very powerful samurai who were introduced to the fans slowly over the years. While, traditionally speaking, the samurai are only those who wield swords, in the land of Wano, those carrying warrior spirits can also be termed samurai. As such, samurai can include the likes of ninjas and other warriors from the land of Wano. With that in mind, there are many powerful warriors who deserve a mention among the strongest samurai in One Piece and, as such, this list has now been updated.

19 Kozuki Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki is a character that fans were introduced to for the very first time in the flashback of Oden. At the end of the war of Wano, it was revealed that he was actually alive and was posing as Hitetsu. Fans know that Sukiyaki was a samurai himself in the past.

However, his skill with the blade was likely not as good as his craftsmanship. He is the person who ended up crafting Ame no Habakiri, and also Sandai Kitetsu. His strength remains unknown, however, given the fact that he wasn't able to do much against Orochi, it can be assumed that he is an average swordsman at best.

18 Shimotsuki Kozaburo

Shimotsuki Kozaburo is a very intriguing character who ties very well to the land of Wano and, at the same time, the character of Roronoa Zoro. Kozaburo did not live in Wano and he most certainly did not appear in this arc. He was revealed to the fans in Zoro's flashback, and it was made known that he left the land of Wano around 50 years ago and settled in the East Blue, where he created the Shimotsuki Dojo.

Kozaburo was the person who crafted Enma and Wado Ichimonji fans know for a fact that this blade is incredibly overpowered. His skill as a swordsman was never confirmed, given that he was a very old man by the time Zoro met him.

17 Shimotsuki Yasuie

Yasuie is another member of the Shimotsuki Family who fans know very well. He was introduced in the Wano arc and he ended up dying quite early in the story. That said, in his early life, when he was the Daimyo of Hakumai, he was believed to be a very skilled samurai.

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He even rebelled against Kaido and fought against him to quite some degree. However, in the end, his strength was ineffective against the monster that was Kaido. Given his stature, however, it can be assumed that he was a very strong samurai.

16 Shinobu

Shinobu is a character who rarely ever gets the respect that she deserves. Despite not being a traditional samurai, she fought with Oden and his vassals right until the very end. 20 years later, Shinobu continued her fight and in the end, prevailed with the alliance.

Her incredible skill as a ninja is extremely underrated. At the same time, her Devil Fruit powers make her a deadly opponent for anyone to fight. It goes without saying that she's one of the strongest samurai in Wano and the fans can only hope that she shows up later on in the story once again.

15 Kanjuro

Born into the Kurozumi family, Kanjuro spend quite a lot of time posing as one of Kozuki Oden's retainers. Under his tutelage, he learned quite a lot.

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Kanjuro is quite skilled as a samurai. He also has a Devil Fruit called the Fude Fude no Mi, which allows him to animate anything he draws for a certain while. Although Kanjuro is certainly powerful, he isn't the strongest of the One Piece samurai, as he lost to Kiku in combat when the two fought.

14 Shimotsuki Ushimaru

Shimotsuki Ushimaru was one of the strongest samurai of his time in Wano. According to Hyougoro, Ushimaru was quite similar to Zoro in terms of his fighting style. At some point, he challenged Kaido and lost, but was strong enough for Kaido to want to recruit him.

Ushimaru was also a user of Haki, and even with extremely dull blades, he was able to slice a giant boulder apart. Without a doubt, Ushimaru was among the most skilled One Piece samurai. Unfortunately, he lost his life fighting Kaido, but his spirit never broke until his dying breath.

13 Hyougoro

Hyougoro of the Flower was once among the strongest samurai in the land of Wano. He led the Underworld of the Flower Capital at one point, and his strength was such that Kaido tried to recruit him on several occasions. During the Onigashima Raid, Hyougoro was able to access his real power for a short while due to the effects of the Ice Oni virus.

Evidently, his strength in his prime was monstrous, and he was able to wipe out most of his enemies without much trouble. Hyougoro is also a great user of Ryuo, and his skill with a sword was considered legendary back in the day.

12 Raizo

Raizo was a member of the Oniwabanshu at one point, however, he later left the group and became a retainer of the Kozuki clan. He is the strongest ninja in One Piece who wields the power of the Maki Maki no Mi; a fruit that allows him to create scrolls that store things such as drawings and even techniques such as Kaido's Borobreath. Raizo is known to be a user of Ryuo, just like the other samurai.

11 Izo

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Kiku's elder brother, Izo was taken in by Oden at quite a young age and he went on to become a very respectable samurai under him. When Whitebeard arrived on Wano, Izo left with Oden and ended up staying on his crew for the years to come. As the 16th Division Commander, Izo was incredibly powerful and he still ranks among the very best sharpshooters in the story. His usage of Ryuo is great and the fact that he survived two wars just goes to show how tough he truly is.

10 Kawamatsu

Renowned as the Kappa, Kawamatsu is an incredibly skilled warrior who excels in both swordplay and sumo fighting. Although he was caged in Udon for 13 years, Kawamatsu is still as strong as ever. He is a capable user of Ryuo and with his famed blade Soto Musou, he is quite difficult to take down in battle. Kawamatsu can combine his swordplay and sumo skills with each other, making him quite dangerous.

9 Kiku

Also known as the Lingering Snow, Kiku was once an orphan but was taken in by none other than Kozuki Oden, who taught her to be a swordswoman. Kiku is extremely powerful and just like Kawamatsu, is a user of Ryuo.

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She was able to hurt Kaido in combat on the rooftop and, more importantly, even take down someone as skilled as Kanjuro without even breaking a sweat. Kiku's swordplay is exceptional and this certainly makes her one of Wano's strongest.

8 Ashura Doji

The leader of Kuri who also went by the name of Shutenmaru, Ashura Doji is an immensely powerful samurai. Among the retainers of Kozuki Oden, Ashura was certainly one of the very strongest. He was powerful enough to fight against Jack the Drought and give him some lethal wounds.

What's more, Ashura even injured Kaido and played a huge role in the war of Wano. In terms of strength, he could match Inuarashi in battle, although this was after the latter had lost a leg.

7 Denjiro

Also known as Kyoshiro, Denjiro is one of the very first retainers of Kozuki Oden. Under Oden, he refined his swordplay incredibly well and became an excellent user of Ryuo. Denjiro is far stronger than an average samurai and was able to match Zoro in the Flower Capital without even being serious. He played a huge role on the rooftop and delivered a powerful blow to Kaido in an attempt to defeat him.

6 Kin'emon

The leader of the Akazaya Nine, Kin'emon is certainly among the strongest samurai in Wano Country. Although he didn't appear to be all that strong at first, Kin'emon's true power was shown in the fight against Kaido. His swordplay was refined enough to cut through Kaido's Borobreath with ease and his usage of Ryuo allowed him to wound Kaido as well.

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Kin'emon is exceptionally skilled as he could even perform Paradise Totsuka, although not with nearly as much intensity as Oden. He could also survive Kaido's Conqueror's Haki-infused attacks.

5 Inuarashi & Nekomamushi

The two Mink leaders, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi are known to be equally strong. Long ago, they drifted to Wano Country where Oden found them and took them in. Under him, both Inuarashi and Nekomamushi became refined samurai. They were both strong enough to take on Jack in battle, showing how skilled they truly are.

In their Sulong form, their power multiplies several times and they can even take down some of the mightiest of warriors, such as Perospero and Jack the Drought, despite being beaten close to death moments before.

4 Momonosuke

Momonosuke started his journey in One Piece as an 8-year-old, when he was introduced in Punk Hazard. However, now, things are different. In the Wano arc, he was aged up by Shinobu and he currently possesses the body of a 28-year-old. At the same time, he has also eaten the replica of Kaido's Devil Fruit, and that makes him incredibly powerful.

He also wields one of the 21 Great Grade Swords, Ame no Habakiri, formerly wielded by his father, Oden. It is quite clear to see that Momo is going to become a legendary samurai and even now, he possesses tremendous strength up his sleeve. In the history of the land of Wano, Momonosuke cab quite easily go on to become the greatest Shogun that ever lived. For that reason, he has great standards to live up to and, thus, he has to get stronger and surpass the legacy of Oden.

3 Yamato

Yamato might not be considered as a samurai by many, however, by definition itself, she certainly fits the billing. She fought alongside all the samurai of Wano and the Straw Hat Pirates. Yamato absolutely adored Oden to the point where she tried to become him. Even after the war of Wano concluded, she continues to protect the land as its guardian deity.

By all means, Yamato is a samurai, and a powerful one at that. Currently, she is the strongest samurai in the land of Wano. Fans can only hope that Yamato appears in the story once again at some point in the final saga and potentially even join the Straw Hat Pirates. Her character left a profound impression not just on the other samurai of Wano but also on the fans.

2 Shimotsuki Ryuma

A legend of Wano Country, Shimotsuki Ryuma was a famous samurai who is renowned as the Sword God in the story. Long ago, he slew a dragon in the Flower Capital and earned praise as one of the greatest samurai to ever live. Ryuma's legend remains a mystery, unfortunately. He was able to blacken his blade, Shusui, at some point in life, showing excellent usage of Armament Haki.

1 Kozuki Oden

Kozuki Oden is easily the strongest samurai in Wano Country's history. Born 58 years ago, Oden was a menace before he even learned how to walk. As he grew up, he fulfilled his potential and became an extremely powerful samurai.

Oden wielded two of the most amazing swords in the form of Ame no Habakiri and Enma, both of which were completely tamed by him before the age of 10. In his prime, he was strong enough to mortally wound Kaido and almost kill him in battle, showing how skilled he truly was.

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