Four Emperors (One Piece)

The Four Emperors (四皇, Yonkō) of the Sea are four fictional powerful pirates considered great powers in Eiichiro Oda's One Piece series. In the second half of the Grand Line known as the New World, the Four Emperors rule over separate empires consisting of several islands. An alliance between two or more of the Four Emperors is feared by the World Government, which maintains hegemony over most of the world. The geopolitical struggle between the World Government and the Four Emperors is the main conflict through the story.

Initially the Four Emperors consists of Shanks, Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom, forming a precarious balance of power with the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Marines that keeps the world at peace; they are allowed to do as they please without interference from or to the World Government. Blackbeard's capture of Ace leads to a war between the Whitebeard Pirates and the World Government, which results in Whitebeard's death.[ch. 432, 483, 576, 581] Two years later, Blackbeard is considered to have assumed Whitebeard's position.[ch. 650] Following the events of the Onigashima war, where Big Mom and Kaido were defeated, Monkey D. Luffy and Buggy were considered the new members to replace them.

Evolution of the Emperors

There have been seven different Emperors of the Sea during the story of One Piece. Big Mom was the first to form a pirate empire, followed by Whitebeard and Kaido.[ch.