Summary
Known to be one of the most dangerous countries in theOne Pieceworld, 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 July 10, 2025: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 warriorswho deserve a mention among thestrongest samurai in One Pieceand, as such, this list has now been updated.
19Kozuki 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.
18Shimotsuki 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.
17Shimotsuki 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.
16Shinobu
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.
15Kanjuro
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 theOne Piecesamurai, as he lost to Kiku in combat when the two fought.
14Shimotsuki 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 skilledOne Piecesamurai. Unfortunately, he lost his life fighting Kaido, but his spirit never broke until his dying breath.
13Hyougoro
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.
12Raizo
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 inOne Piecewho wieldsthe 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.
11Izo
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.
10Kawamatsu
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.
