VI. In conclusion, how strong was 29~39 years old Prime Oden?
Answer: Definitely weaker than Prime Roger and Newgate at least, and by default Shiki. Why Shiki? Volume 2 of One Piece Novel A: Ace’s Story confirmed that before the era of the Yonkou, three men ruled the New World—Roger, Whitebeard and Shiki. “Golden Lion” Shiki was also one of Roger’s foremost rivals, sort of his evil Whitebeard. , so individually he was most definitely a tad weaker than the gold standard (no pun intended) Roger/Whitebeard. But there is still no way that an underling of both Roger and Newgate was stronger than another emperor of that era, at best equal, but even that feels sketchy.
So… he already wasn’t Top 3 of his time then. But how about the other big shots, most importantly Garp, Rayleigh, and Sengoku? Let’s continue with Rayleigh. The thing with Rayleigh is, while his current day hype is pretty solid and on par with people like Garp, his portrayal in the flashback wasn’t quite as prominent as Oden’s, but then again it was Oden’s wankfest. On the other hand he was hailed as “the Dark King”, “Vice Captain of the Roger Pirates” and “Right-hand of the Pirate King” all while Oden accompanied them on their final 4 years journey. That makes it very likely that Oden was just below Rayleigh as well, or at best, his very equal.
Next up “Hero of the Marines” Garp the legendary Fist of God Valley. Oden doesn’t have Garp’s portrayal or hype, period. It would lead too far to list all of Garp’s feats, accomplishments and the respectful lines he got from the old generation over the years. Roger’s “both of us have nearly killed each other so many times”, and the iconic God Valley team-up are two outstanding things that solidly put him above Oden. Not to mention his unrivaled physical strength feat even in old age. Prime Garp is without the slightest doubt above Oden and Rayleigh.
Next in line, Sengoku, Zephyr and Gaban. Sengoku is listed as Garp’s and Shiki’s rival and was constantly paired-up with the latter in the old days. But so was Prime Chinjao, another rival of both Garp and Roger. Judging from the fact that Prime Roger explicitely named Sengoku together with Garp as formidable opponents, it’s safe to assume that he wasn’t that far off and that a lot of us have been sleeping on “the Buddha”. For now, I’d put him on the same general level as Prime Oden and maybe Prime Rayleigh. Fights between calibers like that usually take days and can go either way.
Zephyr and Gaban are two other names we shouldn’t forget. Zephyr became an Admiral the same year Whitebeard hit his prime, at 38 same age even, that alone means the dude was legit. He was the only other Admiral at Sengoku’s side during the Roger era (bar Garp). Other than that, he doesn’t have much going for him, I’d put him below Oden and Sengoku for now.
Finally, Gaban, Roger’s left-hand man, his Sanji, his Kishido. He was paired-up with Rayleigh in that one chapter and eager to fight Oden with his twin axe, but honestly, he’s not relevant enough to put him above a man that could have been an emperor in his own right, a man that even had his own commanders, the Red Scabbards. A man that sailed under both Whitebeard and the Pirate King, and is even remembered today by the Marine bigshots for being a formidable pirate. I’d swipe left for either of them right now.
Did I forget anyone? We have too little information on Captain John, Ochoku and Ginbu (Silver Axe), but I feel Oden should be above all of them. Kaido and Big Mom were already in the making as Emperors, but not quite there yet, except for the final year, when Kaido clashed with Oden and defeated him through underhanded means.
So yeah, according to my list Prime Oden came out as #4~7 of the Roger’s era. Not bad.
*Theory by Admiral Ryokugyu
