The Top 20 Bounties in One Piece: After Watching 1000+ Episodes

Last updated on November 18th, 2025 at 11:14 am

I’m going to admit here: I’d been power-binging One Piece last year when this came to me, so for a while there I thought bounties were just nifty numbers that Oda snacked on during development. Y’know, like the power levels in Dragon Ball but with more zeros.

The truth is, I was completely mistaken.

Well, having now watched more than 1000 episodes (yes, I am that guy) it occurred to me that the bounty system reveals something much larger. It is a matter of more than who can hit harder. It’s who the World Government is most afraid of. And that distinction? It changes everything.

20 Most Powerful Bounties in One Piece

Here’s what most surprised me the top bounty isn’t even within hailing distance. Gol D. Roger’s 5,564,800,000 berry bounty and really the gulf between him and literally everyone else on this list just says everything you need to know about why he was the Pirate King.

Let me parse the top 20 for you, though, as with everything these days our list is insane:

The Untouchables (5+ Billion):

• Gol D. Roger: 5,500,000,000 berries
• Whitebeard: 5 billion berries

Yonko Tier (4+ Billion):

• Kaido: 4.6 billion berries
• Big Mom: 4.3 billion berries
• Shanks: 4 billion berries
• Blackbeard: 3.9 billion berries

New Guard (3+ Billion):

• Mihawk: 3.5 billion berries
• Buggy: 3,100,000,000 berries (yeah we clearly need to talk about this)
• Luffy, Law and Kid: 3 billion berries apiece

The other 15 are crew and ascending threats, but these? They’re the ones that have me pausing and rewinding episodes.

What Bounties Really Mean (And Why I Was Wrong)

Here’s where it came together for me. I was watching the Water 7 arc and Robin’s flashback hit differently. As an eight-year-old she had a 79 million berry bounty. Not that she could fight but she could read Poneglyphs.

And that’s when it struck me: bounties are not power levels. They’re threat assessments.

The World Government is not only concerned with which power can literally blow up islands. They wonder who could destroy their secrets. The former was a knowledge deadlier than the strength of most pirates, and her bounty reflected that.

This changes how you read every single bounty in the series. There’s a reason why when you look at someone like Mihawk, 3.5 billion beri, you’re not just looking “worlds strongest swordsman.” You’re gazing upon someone who the government deems as nearly dangerous that a Yonko is, despite not having a crew.

The Buggy Situation (Yes, Really)

Well, we need to talk about the elephant in the room. Buggy has a 3,100,000,000 berry bounty. Buggy. And a guy who couldn’t beat some dinky East Blue pirates sports one of the highest bounties in One Piece.

But here’s what makes it genius: his bounty is not about his strength. It’s about his perceived influence. The World Government suspects that he is commanding Cross Guild and directing both Mihawk and Crocodile. They think he’s a mastermind.

It’s the exact type of thing that shows why bounties are not black and white. Perception matters. Influence matters. Sometimes luck trumps power.

Cross Guild: The Game Changer

This is perhaps the coolest recent development. Crossguild subverted the entire system by bountying marines.

Consider just for a moment what that means. Pirates have always been hunted. Now? The hunters are being hunted.

The system is straightforward yet unforgiving:

• Fleet Admirals: 5 billion berries
• Admirals: 3 billion berries
• Vice Admirals: 500 million berries

There are exceptions (Garp is worth 3 billion because Garp), but the idea itself is enough to alter the balance of power. You can’t just chase bounties if you’re a Marine any longer they ARE the bounties.

Why Luffy’s 3 Billion Is More Important Than We Realize

And when Luffy got 3 billion berries after Wano, I saw people complaining he didn’t get more. But here’s the idea I saw: he is tied with Law and Kid precisely at 3 000 000.

The World Government is being rather clever here. And they’re not recognizing Luffy right as leader. They are treating all three as either of the same menace, and it’s taking away from his awakening Gear 5 and Yonko status.

It’s political. The government doesn’t want to concede that one rookie is that much more lethal than the others. But we all understand reallllly Luffy is waaaay more dangerous than his bounty lets on.

The Dragon Mystery

You know what I lost sleep over? Dragon does not have a verified bounty. Dude literally runs the REvolutionary Army the group trying to overthrow the World Government like right now And we do not know his number.

Rumors say it’s over 6 billion berries, which would make him the most wanted man alive, more than Roger. And honestly? That tracks. Roger found the One Piece. Dragon wishes to dismantle the entire system.

What This Means Going Forward

Having spent months now with this series, here’s what I think we’re doing: bounty inflation is real, and it’s going to get wilder.

The final war is coming. We have Revolutionary Army commanders who’ll mean huge bounties once they are all named. We have some potential alliance shakes-ups that’ll shake up everything. And we’ve got Luffy, who’s likely going to shatter every record Roger set.

It’s a pattern you see when you consider the arc of how bounties developed: bigger numbers, bigger threats, bigger stakes with every landmark arc. Currently the 20 highest bounties in one piece? They’ll be tiny by the time we get to Laugh Tale.

Why I’m Obsessed With This System

Here’s what got me to write all this: the bounty system is storytelling genius.

Oda does this with numbers, telling us who to care about without diverting from the plot. He lets us in on power shifts without doing exposition dumps. When a player’s bounty skyrockets, you know right away that they’ve done something to shake up the game.

It’s not perfect there are discrepancies when weaker characters have won against stronger ones despite their bounties. But that’s what makes it fascinating. The system mirrors official knowledge and priorities rather than objective power rankings.

My Take After 1000+ Episodes

If you’re getting into One Piece or are trying to figure out who’s really sinister, don’t base your perception just off of who has the highest number on their head. Look at the context. Ask yourself this: why is the World Government so afraid of him?

Sometimes it’s raw power (Kaido). Sometimes it’s knowledge (Robin). Sometimes it’s influence (Buggy). And sometimes it’s the opportunity to do just that (Luffy).

The top 20 bounties in One Piece aren’t just a ranking list. They’re a story about what endangers power, what constitutes danger, and how free you really are in a world eager to own your ass.

And honestly? Which honestly is way cooler than simply power levels ever could be.

Read:

Who Is Mosa aka Shaggy: One Piece’s Most Intriguing Mystery

Who Is Trafalgar Law in One Piece? The Surgeon of Death’s Journey from Rival to Essential Ally

Who Is Rocks D. Xebec: One Piece’s Most Notorious Pirate Captain Finally Revealed