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One Piece fans will never forget the arc set in Arabasta. The Strawhat Pirates came into the country to help their friend Nefertari Vivi, giving rise to one of the most iconic parts of the series.
The pirates fought members of Baroque Works to stop their sophisticated plan to seize the Arabasta Kingdom from the Nefertari family. Moreover, other prominent One Piece characters, such as Ace and Smoker, played an important role in the arc.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1070 and purely reflects the opinions of the writer.
From Miss All Sunday to Ace, the 10 most powerful characters in One Piece's Arabasta Arc
10) Bentham aka Mr 2
An Officer Agent of Baroque Works, Bentham was a powerful fighter in the organization as Mr. 2 "Bon Clay". Baroque Works male agents were ranked through numbered codenames, with a lower number directly corresponding to a stronger individual.
Mr. 2 was the third strongest male member, and arguably the fourth strongest overall after Nico Robin. An accomplished martial artist with superhuman agility and physical strength, the character was also threatening due to the deceptive skills granted to him by his Clone-Clone Fruit.
In the Arabasta Arc, Mr. 2 fought against Sanji, matching him blow for a blow. Eventually, the latter managed to overpower him. Bentham then decided to sacrifice himself to stop the Marines from pursuing the Strawhats. Imprisoned in Impel Down, he will later become a trustworthy ally for Luffy.
9) Nico Robin aka Miss All Sunday
Being able to decypher Poneglyphs as a survivor of Ohara, Nico Robin was sought after by the World Government. She allied with Seven Warlord member Crocodile and fulfilled the role of vice president of Baroque Works, the latter's criminal syndicate.
She ate the Flower-Flower Fruit, gaining the ability to sprout duplicates of her body parts or entire body from any surface within range. During the Alabasta Arc, Robin used this ability to brutally beat Pell, a Zoan-enhanced warrior.
She tried to turn against Crocodile, but was quickly defeated by the Warlord. The character later helped Luffy fight Crocodile, giving him an antidote to the latter's poison. At the end of the Arabasta Arc, she joined the Strawhat Pirates, becoming the crew's archeologist.
8) Sanji
Sanji is the cook of the Strawhat Pirates and the third strongest fighter in the crew. A martial artist, he only uses his kicks to fight. During the Arabasta Arc, he also operated under the alias of "Mr. Prince," which was loved by One Piece fans.
Despite being a strong fighter and a smart individual, Sanji loses his mind when in the presence of women. Because of this weakness, he suffered several blows in the fight with Mr. 2, who used his Devil Fruit ability to take Nami's appearance.
The fight between them was very balanced. Mr. 2 was able to clash on par with Sanji several times and even injure him. However, in the end, the latter established his superiority, promptly defeating Mr. 2.
7) Hina
A Marine rear Admiral, Hina is a friend and former classmate of Vice-Admiral Smoker. During the Arabasta Arc, she was ranked as a Captain. Thanks to the power of the Bind-Bind Fruit, Hina can create iron bars and cages to bind her opponents.
After the Strawhat Pirates defeated Baroque Works, she headed to their ship with the intent of capturing them. However, Bentham distracted her, so that the crew could escape. After a brief fight, Hina wrecked him (although Bentham was already injured because of his previous fight with Sanji).
6) Daz Bonez aka Mr. 1
A former bounty hunter, Daz Bonez joined Baroque Works under the codename of Mr. 1. The character was Crocodile's strongest and most loyal subordinate. After his defeat at Zoro's hands during the Arabasta Arc, Daz was imprisoned in Impel Down.
After escaping the prison together, he was established as Crocodile's right-hand man. They took part in the Paramount War and subsequently traveled to the New World.
Being an experienced assassin and martial artist, Daz Bonez is a dangerous fighter. Relying on the powers of the Dice-Dice Fruit, he can turn any part of his body into sharp blades made of tough steel, making him a sort of a living weapon.
Using his Devil Fruit powers, Mr. 1 gave Zoro a hard time, proving himself to be a tough opponent. To defeat him, the latter was forced to upgrade his abilities, unlocking the ability to cut steel, which is a skill comparable to Armament Haki.
5) Roronoa Zoro
Zoro is Luffy's right-hand man and the Strawhat Pirates' second-in-command. Shortly before the Arabasta Arc, he single-handedly defeated more than a hundred bounty hunters in a single issue, including four Frontier Officers of Baroque Works. Impressively enough, he later fought Luffy to a draw.
Starting over a trivial matter, they challenged themselves to prove who was the strongest. Luffy's eyes and the fact that Zoro put his bandana emphasized that both were dead serious. They used some of their strongest attacks, clashing on par.
A testament to the effort that Zoro and Luffy put into the fight, they angrily wiped out Miss Valentine and Mr. 5, who tried to interfere with the battle. Interestingly, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda chose to leave the outcome of the fight ambiguous, using Nami as a plot device to interrupt them from clashing.
In Arabasta, Zoro faced Mr. 1. The latter proved himself to be a worthy opponent, bringing the swordsman near to death. However, Zoro endured the wounds that Mr. 1 inflicted on him and turned the tides of the battle. After developing the ability to cut steel, he brutally defeated him.
4) Monkey D. Luffy
Aiming to find the One Piece and become the King of Pirates, Monkey D. Luffy et sail, eventually becoming the Captain of Strawhat Pirates. Despite his goofy attitude, the character has proved himself to be a great warrior since the beginning of the series.
Thanks to the Gom-Gom Fruit (which will later be revealed to be the Human-Human Model: Nika), Luffy's body has rubber-like properties. These abilities supplement his fighting style as a brawler, increasing his speed and his power output, as well as his unpredictability.
In Whiskey Peak, Luffy and Zoro challenged each other to a battle which was interrupted with them clashing on par and no one winning over the other. In Little Garden, Luffy faced Mr. 3. Although somewhat troubled by the latter's tricky abilities, he promptly defeated him.
While leading the Strawhat Pirates' charge, Luffy was confronted by Crocodile. Admittedly, the latter overwhelmingly defeated him not once, but twice. However, his sheer luck as well as external help allowed him to recover.
Using blood from his own wounds to negate Crocodile's Rogia Devil Fruit powers, Luffy furiously engaged the Warlord. Gathering all his resolve, he overcame Crocodile's attempted counterattack and struck him with enough force to put him down.
3) Smoker
"White Hunter" Smoker is a Marine Vice-Admiral. He was ranked Captain when the Strawhats first met him in Logue Town. Exploiting his Logia powers, the character defeated Luffy, who only managed to escape thanks to the help of Monkey D. Dragon.
Smoker has the power of a rare Logia-class Devil Fruit, the Smoke-Smoke, which allows him to create and control smoke. He is also proficient in wielding a jitte that is tipped in Seastone, a material that immediately weakens Devil Fruit users upon contact.
Smoker follows his own personal code of justice. He and Luffy became rivals, but developed a strong sense of mutual respect that they would maintain throughout the series.
In Alabasta, Smoker battled Ace to a standstill due to their Devil Fruit powers, canceling each other out. He didn't fight Crocodile, but it's likely he would have been able to give him massive trouble at the very least.
2) Crocodile aka Mr. 0
A very powerful pirate, Crocodile was invited to be one of the Seven Warlords. At one point, he founded a criminal organization, the Baroque Works. After his defeat at Luffy's hands, the character lost his Warlord status and was imprisoned.
After escaping together with Daz, his right-hand man, Crocodile partook in the Paramount War. After the time skip, he, along with the world's strongest swordsman Dracule Mihawk, founded Cross Guild, an organization which was immediately recognized as a Yonko-level threat.
During the Alabasta Arc, Crocodile was especially frustrated because of the defeat he suffered several years ago at the hands of Whitebeard. Still, he outclassed Luffy, displaying greater fighting skills than the Strawhats' captain.
Crocodile is a ruthless mastermind, but sometimes he is too overconfident. This is widely recognized as one of the reasons for him losing against Luffy. His best asset is the Sand Sand Fruit, which allows him to create and control sand.
He can transform his body into sand, create sandstorms, and dehydrate his opponents until they get mummified. Using a venomous hook, he can also poison his opponent.
1) Portuguese D. Ace
The biological son of Gol D. Roger, Portuguese D. Ace was Monkey D. Garp's adoptive grandson as well as Luffy's sworn brother. He set sail with the aim of becoming a powerful pirate, and eventually joined the Whitebeard Pirates, becoming a prominent member of the crew.
Owning the powers of the Flame-Flame Fruit, Portuguese D. Ace was given the moniker "Fire Fist". His Devil Fruit allowed him to transform his body into flames and unleash powerful fire attacks. Possessing the very rare Conqueror Haki and also having the uncommon trait of the Will of D., Ace had great potential.
Unfortunately, at one point, Ace was defeated and sold to the World Government by Blackbeard. During the Paramount War, Ace sacrificed his life to protect Luffy from Akainu and died on the battlefield.
During the Arabasta Arc, the character was briefly reunited with Luffy. He acted as an ally for the Strawhat Pirates, fending off Marine officer Smoker. If Ace had gone all-out in Arabasta, he would have likely been able to overpower either Smoker or Crocodile.
Final thoughts
The Alabasta Arc encompassed some moments that all One Piece fans remember, such as Zoro learning to cut steel and Luffy's Gom-Gom Storm beating Crocodile, as well as the Strawhats greeting Vivi.
Ace is clearly the strongest character to have an active role in the arc. Succeeding him are two other powerful Logia users, Crocodile and Smoker. Despite eventually beating him, Luffy wasn't overall stronger than Crocodile.
The latter beat the Strawhat Pirates' leader twice before the third battle. If not for the plot-induced luck and the help he received from several people, Luffy would have been killed in all three fights: he was impaled (Nico Robin rescued him), dehydrated (some water revived him), and poisoned (Robin gave him the antidote).
As evidenced by their fight in Whiskey Peak, Luffy and Zoro had the same level of strength. A further testament to that, the One Piece Databook Red ranked them with the same score of six out of six. Conversely, Sanji was rated with a five out of six.
Sanji managed to defeat Mr. 2, but would have been no match for the much more powerful Mr. 1 and his steel-hard body used as a living weapon. Other prominent fighters emphasized in the arc were Nico Robin and Hina, as well as Mr. 3.
The strongest Alabasta warriors (Pell and Chaka), the other Baroque Works members (Miss Doublefinger, Mr. 4, Mr. 5, and more) and the remaining Strawhats (Chopper, Nami, and Usopp) were more or less comparable, with slight differences between their levels of individual strength depending on the specific case.
