The world of One Piece has some very intriguing villains, and each of them has their own specialty. While some, like the Four Emperors of the Sea, are known for their majestic and incomparable strength, others are known for their vast knowledge, cunning strategies, and evil plans. The smartest ones can be differentiated from the average villains of One Piece.
Some of these characters are charismatic and know how to manipulate entire countries to get their way. Others demonstrate their intelligence and win their battles with quick thinking and brilliant strategies.
9 Captain Kuro was known as a master of strategy
Kuro was the captain of the Black Cats Pirates and one of the main antagonists of the Eastern Blue Saga. de One Piece. He was an exceptionally smart villain, as well as strong. Kuro masterfully faked his own death three years before the events of the Syrup Village arc and then planned to gain great wealth by seizing everything Kaya owned. The Marines fell for his plan and believed he was dead as he began a new life and nearly carried out his three-year plan. If it weren’t for Luffy and Usopp, Kuro would have succeeded perfectly.
One Piece: The Smartest Characters
Bleach: The 10 Smartest Villains, Ranked
8 Hogback was a great doctor according to many of the protagonists of the story
Dr. Hogback was a secondary antagonist in the Thriller Bark arc. He was reputed to be a legend among doctors, including Chopper. At some point in his life, he was approached by Gecko Moria, who wanted his services. Hogback created hundreds of corpses for him to reanimate using his Kage Kage no Mi powers, and he played a crucial role in achieving Moria’s dream. Although he was a totally despicable villain, Hogback was one of the smartest people in all of history.
7 Sengoku was well known for his intelligence
The former Marine Fleet Admiral Sengoku was one of the most intelligent characters in history. He was one of the biggest antagonists during the Marineford arc, where he led the Marines in the war against the Whitebeard pirates and their allies. Sengoku was known to be incredibly powerful, but one of his most underrated qualities was his mind. He was an extremely cunning character who used countless strategies to fool Whitebeard during the Paramount War. Thanks to him, the Marines cornered the Whitebeard pirates in the war and ended up winning.
6 Sir Crocodile almost ruined an entire country by himself
Sir Crocodile was the first major character Luffy fought on the Grand Line. Like Shichibukai, Crocodile used his position to gain the trust of the people of Alabasta and become their hero.
Little by little, he destroyed the relationship that King Cobra had with his people and turned them against. In the end, Crocodile managed to start a civil war in Alabasta behind the scenes, which was extremely impressive. His plan to destroy the country was about to succeed and he would have gotten away with it if Luffy hadn’t stopped him.
5 Donquixote Doflamingo took down Dressrosa in one night
Donquixote Doflamingo is one of the ancient Shichibukai who wanted to take over a nation like Crocodile. Although Luffy was able to stop Alabasta from falling into chaos, he was not there to save Dressrosa, and Doflamingo rampaged across the country in a single night. He became the king of the country and soon won the trust of the people. Although Dressrosa seemed quite calm and passionate on the surface, she was actually keeping a dark secret with the Donquixote Family’s takeover and the appearance of the toys. Doflamingo also had connections with the Gorosei and had their power.
4 The clown Caesar possessed enormous knowledge
Caesar Clown was the main antagonist of the Punk Hazard arc, where he was revealed to be a genius scientist. Although he possessed incredible knowledge that could benefit humans, he chose to use it in harmful ways and created various weapons of mass destruction. Caesar even tried gigantification and experimented with children to this end, almost succeeding in the process. He could also create his own pet, Smiley, by compressing the H2S gas and then animating him with a Zoan-type devil fruit. Although Caesar was undoubtedly an evil character to the core, he had a fairly intelligent mind.
3 The Plague Queen has incredible scientific knowledge
Plague Queen is one of Kaido’s three right hands, and is one of the most special people in the crew. Having worked with Judge and Vegapunk in the past, Queen is very knowledgeable.
He has enhanced his body with a great deal of cybernetics and created technology that according to him, even Vegapunk cannot match. Queen has also developed countless viruses and other weapons of mass destruction, some of which are seen in Wano Country itself. He is, without a doubt, one of the most intelligent villains in history.
2 Judge Vinsmoke worked with the great Vegapunk
Judge and Vegapunk were part of the MADS team a long time ago. Together, the two discovered the plane of life known as the lineage factor. Their discovery was so important that the World Government came for them and took Vegapunk away. Judge, managing to escape, created his children using his work and established Germa 66. Judge’s scientific knowledge was extremely advanced, and he developed the assault suits and even perfected cloning, which was extremely impressive.
1 Vegapunk is the smartest person in the One Piece world
Vegapunk has yet to be formally featured on One Piece, but his name has been mentioned several times in history. According to Franky, his mind is 500 years ahead of humanity, and it is on a completely different level. He is responsible for creating the Sea Battleships that cross the Belt of Calm and feeding Devil Fruits to inanimate objects. Vegapunk also created the artificial Devil Fruit that Momonosuke ate. Additionally, he created the Pacifists who, when incomplete, could have destroyed any member of the Straw Hat Pirates before the timeskip. Since then, he has worked in the SSG and created another massive power. Although Vegapunk is not entirely a villain, his current loyalty to the Marines certainly makes him a secondary antagonist.