As One Piece dives headfirst into its Final Saga, the stakes of the series have never been higher.

With multiple characters frequently wielding island-shaking powers that shock the entire world, the power levels of characters in One Piece have seemed to hit a climax. At this point, with Luffy himself wielding the godlike powers of the Human-Human Fruit: Model Sun God Nika, the once rookie pirate is able to go toe to toe with some of One Piece’s world-ending threats.

However, though it is amazing to see how far One Piece has come since its humble beginnings, some things that were considered to be epic threats are now nothing more than fodder for the characters to fight. One such creature is One Piece’s Sea Kings. Despite this, though they may seem weak individually, there are a few ways for Sea Kings to remain a relevant threat up until the very end of One Piece.

Sea Kings Used To Be Terrifying In One Piece

The True Kings Of The Sea

One Piece’s Sea Kings are a strange species of carnivorous monsters that live throughout the seas of the world. Appearing in most seas, these monsters seem to mainly live on the Grand Line and in the Calm Belt surrounding it. Due to this, the Calm Belt itself is considered to be extraordinarily dangerous.

[The Sea Kings] are gonna eat us all up! – Camie

Looking at Sea Kings themselves, it’s hard to pin down whether they are weak or powerful compared to the strongest characters of One Piece. Most of the time, the creatures vary greatly in size and power, with weaker ones being knocked out with one punch from base-form Luffy, while others are strong enough to lift the massive boat Noah during the Fishman Island Arc. Despite having the potential to be very strong, it has been a while in the story since a Sea King has actually proven to be a powerful foe.

Sea Kings Have Felt Underpowered In Recent One Piece

Not So Kingly Anymore

Due to the fact that most Sea Kings are instantly defeated before landing a single blow, although they were more of a threat in the past, many fans consider them to be a bit of a relic of One Piece’s past. With them being generally slow, and with weaker firepower than most of the top-tier One Piece characters, the Sea Kings are no longer the mighty test of strength they once were. Additionally, many fans have also considered Shanks himself, who lost his arm to a Sea King, to be weak for losing to a monster he should have easily defeated.

However, the true strength of Sea Kings in One Piece comes from their variety and number. Being such a prevalent species, while most encounters with Sea Kings have been against an individual foe, with the sheer number of Sea Kings out there, if the beasts attack in unison, they may be able to overwhelm a much stronger threat. This is especially true when looking at what happened to the One Piece Emperor, Shanks. Even a weaker, East Blue Sea King has the power to tear off a strong character’s arm if they’re distracted by something more important.

The Sea Kings Could Form A Massive Army

The Strongest Army In One Piece

On top of this, Sea Kings come in such a variety of shapes, sizes, and powers that one Sea King could individually prove to be a strong enough threat to take on top-tier characters. While a Sea King like this hasn’t been shown fighting, perhaps one of the Ancient Sea Kings near Fishman Island could prove to be a much stronger opponent than the ones that live closer to the surface. Additionally, due to their variety, if a swarm of Sea Kings attack, it may be impossible to adapt to the various forms and methods of attacking that each Sea King has.

The Ancient Weapon, Poseidon. – Robin

Finally, although it may seem unlikely for the strongest Sea Kings to randomly attack or for the monsters to launch a coordinated attack against their opponent, it’s actually more than possible with the One Piece Ancient Weapon, Poseidon. Shirahoshi, the Ancient Weapon, has the ability to communicate and command Sea Kings. Although this power may seem subpar at first, with the sheer number of Sea Kings at her disposal, the mermaid princess could command a massive army of the beasts, far stronger than any army in the show shown thus far.

In the end, Sea Kings are far from being a relevant threat individually in One Piece. However, with the combined power of Poseidon and every Sea King in One Piece, the carnivorous monsters may be one of the strongest threats in the entire show. For now, only time will tell. Fans will have to wait until the Oda shows off the Sea Kings once again in their full glory.