Highlights
- The Red Hair Pirates, led by Shanks, are among the Four Emperors of the Sea and currently rule a large portion of the New World.
- The crew structure of the Red Hair Pirates is unique, with Shanks being referred to as the Chief and Ben Beckman serving as the First Mate.
- The Red Hair Pirates are considered to be the strongest of the Yonko crews, as they are balanced and have powerful officers like Lucky Roux and Yasopp.
The Red Hair Pirates are one of the Yonko crew in the One Piece world. Currently, in the New World, this crew rules a big portion of this ocean like Kings. They are led by Red-Haired Shanks, who is the man who ranks among the Four Emperors of the Sea, the strongest pirates alive. Fans have not seen much of the Red Hair Pirates in One Piece, however, with the story entering the Final Saga now, this pirate crew is going to be more involved than ever before.
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At the same time, Oda has also been focusing on this crew a lot more and, finally, things such as the structure of the Red Hair Pirates are finally clear to the fans. While this crew is strong, it is categorically very different from any other Yonko crew that the fans have seen in the series.
The Captain Of The Red Hair Pirates
The Red Hair Pirates are, of course, led by none other than Red-Haired Shanks. Shanks is a famous pirate who was once the apprentice of Roger himself. Sailing on the Oro Jackson itself, Shanks learned the trade of piracy from him and excelled in every art, even earning enough plaudits to be considered to be the leader of the next generation who would, one day, go on to reach the same heights as Roger. After the execution of Roger, Shanks decided to create his own pirate crew, however, he made it very clear that he was not aiming for the One Piece anymore. Why that is the case is something that fans do not know but it likely has something to do with his last conversation with Roger.
Sometime later, Shanks had established his own pirate crew and he named it the Red Hair Pirates. Shanks used the Roger Pirates as inspiration for his own crew. Just like the Roger Pirates, Shanks' own crew does not have many pirates on board. Overall, there are 10 core members of this crew. Shanks himself is the captain, however, he isn't referred to as the captain. Shanks is called the Chief of the Red Hair Pirates and this is his specific title within the group. This shows a level of respect that all members of the crew have for him. Unlike the Straw Hat Pirates, where every single member of the crew simply calls Luffy by his name, the Red Hair Pirates use the word "Chief" or "Ogashira."
The First Mate Of The Red Hair Pirates
Once again, a major difference between the Straw Hat Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates is the fact that they have a First Mate. While a lot of the fans mistake the title of First Mate to be the one who joins the crew first, it couldn't be further from what it actually means. The title first made simply means Vice Captain. It has nothing to do with what order someone joined the crew in and can be anyone, chosen according to the captain himself. When it comes to the Straw Hat Pirates, there is no First Mate as different members of the crew excel at different things and have taken command of the crew at different times.
However, with the Red Hair Pirates, there is a defined First Mate of the crew and that is Ben Beckman. This is something that Shanks has once again taken out of the book of the Pirate King Roger. The Roger Pirates had a First Mate as well and that title belonged to Silvers Rayleigh.
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Ben Beckman is incredibly important for the Red Hair Pirates. While Shanks is primarily in charge of the group, Beckman is the one who ensures that everything is in order when Shanks is off partying. Shanks is quite a lot like Luffy and a very easy-going person. Ben Beckman, on the other hand, is more careful and reserved. He compliments Shanks' personality perfectly, and is thus absolutely essential for the crew to function as smoothly as it does. At the same time, Beckman is also very powerful, given that even Admirals of the Navy are wary of him.
The Officers Of The Red Hair Pirates
Together, Shanks and Beckman form the leadership of the Red Hair Pirates. However, other than them, there are eight more members in this crew, and they are collectively known as the Officers of the Red Hair Pirates. These Officers are incredibly powerful in their own right.
It is believed that all of them have earned high bounties for themselves and that their average is the most impressive out of the Yonko crews. At the same time, the Red Hair Pirates are also believed to be the most balanced crew among all the Four Emperors of the Sea. Out of the eight commanders of the Red Hair Pirates, there are two that stand out a lot more than the others. These are Lucky Roux and The Chaser, Yasopp.
Lucky Roux is the strongest of the eight commanders of the Red Hair Pirates. He possesses incredible strength and most likely a high bounty to back it. He was recently seen fighting in One Piece Film Red, however, whether the style that he displayed was canon or not remains to be seen. Regardless of that, Lucky Roux was seen making his body spin while fighting. He also appears to have strong kicks, which is something he has in common with Sanji. At the same time, it is believed that he is an exceptional user of the Color of Arms. He also possesses a certain degree of skill when it comes to sharp shooting and that makes him very special indeed.
Meanwhile, the Chaser, Yasopp is another exceptional Officer of the Red Hair Pirates. He is the second strongest of all the eight Officers and, once again, just like Beckman and Roux, he has a high bounty on his head and has made a name for himself. He is most certainly the best sharpshooter in the entire world of One Piece. According to Luffy, he can do things that are seemingly impossible. He also seems to excel at the usage of Observation Haki and, at the same time, Armament Haki as well.
How Strong Are The Red Hair Pirates?
Out of the Four Emperors of the Sea, the Red Hair Pirates might just be the strongest ones at the moment. They are believed to be the most balanced of the Yonko crews and that was when Big Mom and Kaido were a part of this group. Now, the Straw Hat Pirates and Buggy rank among the Four Emperors. While the Straw Hat pirates are certainly strong, a lot of their commanders are not nearly as strong and certainly need to level up their skills. Meanwhile, Buggy and his Cross Guild possess some serious firepower, however, they don't have enough manpower to compete with the likes of the Red Hair Pirates.
The only real competition to the Red Hair Pirates currently would be the Blackbeard Pirates. However, even in that case, the commanders don't seem to be all that impressive. The likes of Kuzan was able to take down multiple Commanders by himself at the same time. Hanco*ck, the Pirate Empress, also did the same without even breaking a sweat. It is quite clear that at the moment, the Red Hair Pirates are the strongest of all the Yonko crews and fans only hope that they back this statement up in the upcoming chapters of One Piece.
One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1092, is set to be September 18, 2023.
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