The world of One Piece is absolutely massive, and it has seen many incredible fights break out over the years. While the Great Pirate Era has seen an influx of pirates taking to the seas in an attempt to get to the One Piece, battles for supremacy have always been fought, and the era before the beginning of One Piece itself was laden with some earth-shattering clashes, which doesn't come as a surprise.

In fact, some of the most incredible battles were fought before Luffy set out on his journey, and while some of them were akin to the average One Piece battle, others were etched in history itself.

9 Whitebeard Vs Roger

roger vs whitebeard Biggest Battles Before Luffy Era one piece

One of the most amazing battles that took place in One Piece before Luffy set out on his journey was the clash between Roger and Whitebeard. When it comes to the strongest individuals in the One Piece world, Roger and Whitebeard certainly take the crown, and this clash was among the two titans of the world.

It can be said that these were the two strongest of the era at the time when they clashed against each other in a mighty battle, which ended up lasting for 3 days, at the very least. This battle ended in a draw. The most exciting part was Roger testing his skills and incredible Haki against Whitebeard, the World's Strongest Man.

8 Kaido Vs Oden

Kaido vs Oden Biggest Battles Before Luffy Era one piece
Kaido Oden

Fans have seen quite a lot of incredible battles in One Piece over the years, and it is safe to say that Kaido's battle vs Oden is one of them. This was a battle of nine men against 11,000, yet the power of Kozuki Oden was such that they were somehow able to hold their own.

Oden eventually went up against Kaido and did quite well. In fact, Oden could even have killed Kaido in combat right there. However, using dirty tactics, Oden was distracted, and this allowed Kaido an opportunity to injure him greatly in combat and defeat him. This fight took place over 20 years and, as a result, definitely happened before Luffy set out on his journey in the first chapter of One Piece.

7 Roger Vs Shiki

roger vs shiki Biggest Battles Before Luffy Era one piece

Before the Great Pirate Era, Roger was a dominant force on the seas. However, he certainly was not the only one. There were also other forces on the seas, such as Shiki, who commanded the largest armada in the Grand Line at the time.

Roger faced Shiki on many occasions. But their battle with Edward is believed to be one of the most intense ones. This fight would likely have seen the Roger Pirates being outnumbered. However, a storm struck at the right moment, pulling the winds of fate on Roger's side. After a massive battle, this clash ended in a tie with no clear winner.

6 Shiki Vs Garp And Sengoku

shiki vs garp sengoku Biggest Battles Before Luffy Era one piece

Another major battle that took place in One Piece before the creation of the Straw Hat Pirates was that of Shiki and the duo of Roger and Garp. Shiki came to Marineford following the news about the execution of Roger having been announced.

Shiki was absolutely distraught at hearing about his execution and decided to take the Marines on by himself. He fought a very brave battle against these two individuals, destroying half of Marineford in the process and injuring many, likely even the ones he was fighting. That said, he ended up losing this battle and was locked away in Impel Down.

5 Shanks Vs Blackbeard

shanks vs blackbeard Biggest Battles Before Luffy Era one piece

Of course, one of the most intense fights that has ever happened in One Piece before Luffy set out on his journey is the clash between Shanks and Blackbeard. It has been made clear and the series that when Shanks received this injury, he was actually on guard, and that it was not a sneak attack.

This just goes to show how strong Blackbeard was even before the defection from the Whitebeard Pirates. That said, Shanks was very young back then and far from his prime, so it makes more sense as to how Teach managed to injure him.

4 Shanks Vs Mihawk

Mihawk vs Shanks Biggest Battles Before Luffy Era one piece

Quite easily, one of the most hyped fights in One Piece is the battle between Shanks and Mihawk. It is believed that these two were rivals at one point and that they used to fight many high-profile battles against each other. Their battles were such that they echoed across the Grand Line, and even someone as great as Whitebeard heard of them.

The fact that they fought on multiple occasions seems to imply that they were evenly matched, at the very least. Unfortunately, fans have not seen even a single clash between Shanks and Mihawk in the story yet. However, in the final Saga, it might be elaborated upon.

Test your knowledge.

3 God Valley Incident

god-valley-incident-rocks-pirates

When one speaks of legendary battles that took place in One Piece before Luffy's journey, the God Valley Incident comes to mind. This incident was led by Rocks, and it saw all his powerful underlings, such as Kaido, Big Mom, Shiki, and even Whitebeard, rush to God Valley to save Shakky and, secretly, the Davy Clan.

There, they came up against the Marines and the Roger Pirates. There were many chaotic battles on this island, each one being of the highest order. In the end, Captain Rocks was Domi Reversed by Imu, and this required Roger and Garp to pool their strength together to free him from his misery. Rocks was completely crushed and sank with the island. Meanwhile, the vast majority of his underlings spread out in the ocean and made a name for themselves.

2 Loki Vs Harald

Loki vs Harald Biggest Battles Before Luffy Era one piece
Loki attacks king Harald with Ragnir.
Image via Shonen Jump.

14 years ago, one of the biggest battles in One Piece unfolded when Harald, the King of Elbaf, decided to enter into a Depths Covenant with Nerona Imu. With it, he became a puppet for Imu to control, and when he lost his senses and was about to hand over his country to the World Government, Loki was there to stop him.

After eating the Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Nidhoggr, Loki was able to gain enough strength to match Harald in battle and even overwhelm him.

1 Shanks Vs Loki

loki vs shanks Biggest Battles Before Luffy Era one piece

Around 6 years ago in the One Piece world, Shanks officially ascended to the position of Yonko, and this happened simultaneously with a massive battle that broke out in the Grand Line — Shanks Vs Loki. This fight was such that it is spoken of in Elbaf even now. It saw Shanks put his strength into the battle against Loki, and despite the latter's immense power, defeat him. Shanks then chained up Loki and took him back to Elbaf, where he was kept in the Underworld until Luffy freed him.

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One Piece
Release Date
October 20, 1999

Studio
Toei Animation
Creator
Eiichiro Oda
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV