One Piece Chapter 1190 was officially published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #37-38 on August 9, 2026, before the magazine went on a break for the Obon Festival. In this chapter, Eiichiro Oda showcased a battle between the King of the World, Nerona Imu, and the Left Arm of the Pirate King, Scopper Gaban. This battle was incredibly intense and showed us the best clash that has happened in Elbaf yet since the descent of the King of the World in One Piece Chapter 1179 on April 5, 2026. At the same time, this chapter also indirectly confirmed to us the strongest pirate in the entire modern era of piracy, and that is none other than the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.
One Piece Chapter 1190 Confirms Gol D. Roger As The Strongest Modern Pirate
One Piece Chapter 1190 gave us a glimpse of Scopper Gaban, the left arm of the Pirate King and a legendary figure renowned all over the world as the Mountain Eater, in combat, as he took up arms against Nerona Imu. The King of the World was incredibly dominant in his battle against both Loki and Luffy, easily defeating them; however, against Scopper Gaban, he struggled more.
Gaban: Don’t get it twisted. We aren’t blindly obedient to some man from the past we never met. We just want to see our captain’s dream brought to light.
Imu: Captain? Who is this Captain?
Gaban: The King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger!
— Gaban confirms he still follows Roger, One Piece Chapter #1190
Gaban opened the battle with his Mantis Axe style, which Imu blocked effortlessly, but then he finally took things seriously and unleashed a powerful Supreme King Haki attack known as Kamudo, or Divine Gate. This attack saw Gaban use massive bolts of Conqueror’s Haki to deal deadly damage to the surroundings and chop a significant part of the entire Adam Tree, dropping it on the mountain ranges below in the Underworld. Gaban’s Conqueror’s Haki attack was so powerful that it could have essentially split up islands with ease.
What makes this feat even more impressive is the fact that Scopper Gaban was already severely injured in One Piece Chapter 1149 by Gunko, and he clearly mentioned it affecting his performance in the chapter. Furthermore, Gaban was also old and rusty, complaining about the pain in his joints in this chapter, which once again goes to show that he was far beyond his prime. Had Gaban been in his prime, the damage he would have dealt would have been significantly greater. Even so, Gaban was still able to injure Imu and make him bleed in the chapter, despite the King of the World utilizing a defense of Maki or Omen powered up by his own Color of the Supreme King.
Scopper Gaban: Wait, you idiot! Sorry about this, Jewel Tree Adam. I didn’t intend to eat you up! Damn these creaky joints! It sucks getting old! Kamudo!!!
Imu: Even though you’re old, still the Pirate King’s Crew!
— Nerona Imu respects Gaban’s strength, One Piece Chapter #1190
Taking just one look at Scopper Gaban’s level of power in his old age, we easily arrive at the conclusion that the King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger, was the strongest in the modern era of piracy. He would have caused Imu quite some trouble had they fought long ago, when he was still alive.
Why Roger Was Strong Enough To Fight Imu
The reason why Roger was the strongest pirate in the modern era and powerful enough to fight Imu is quite clear for us to see. When it comes to the strongest pirates in the modern era, three individuals stand out more than anyone else:
- Rocks D. Xebec
- Gol D. Roger
- Shanks
When it comes to Rocks, the misconception surrounding his power was officially clarified in One Piece chapter 1165 on November 10, 2025. In this chapter, Rocks’s battle against Garp and Roger finally received some context. It was officially confirmed that Rocks was buffed up severely by Nerona Imu using Domi Reversi during this battle. Furthermore, neither Garp nor Roger were in their primes in this chapter, as was officially confirmed in One Piece chapter 1167. 10 years after God Valley, Roger had officially reached his prime as a pirate.
“Meanwhile, the Pirates who scattered to the wind after the God Valley Incident would grow in power over the next 10 or 20 years to reach their prime and become the face of the era. But only one managed to achieve the impossible – the crew of the Pirate King!” — Oda confirms Roger Pirates grew stronger after God Valley, One Piece Chapter #1167
During this time, his wings, Rayleigh, and Gaban had also reached tremendously high levels of strength. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Rayleigh and Gaban, in their primes, were stronger than the version of Rocks that we saw fight in God Valley. Their individual status is compared to Yonko, Whitebeard, and the other legends that exist in the world of One Piece.
Gaban’s performance against Nerona Imu, despite being old and injured, goes to show that in his prime, he must have been a monster above even Yonko level, and the same goes for Roger himself. In One Piece Chapter 1152, Gaban officially confirmed that he was the second strongest of the Roger Pirates, meaning that the Pirate King was slightly above him. If an old and dying Gaban was able to cause Imu this much trouble in combat, then Roger in his prime would most certainly have caused him significantly more trouble with his incredible mastery of Haki. Unfortunately, this clash never materialized because Roger realized that he was simply too early and thus entrusted his dreams to Shanks and the remaining members of the Roger Pirates. Shanks could since have gone on to reach the same levels as Roger or even surpass him, but we are yet to see him at his peak powers.
“Those voices were telling the truth. Someone will eventually come and surpass us all. We were just too early.” — Gol D. Roger explains why he didn’t fight the Government, One Piece Chapter #968
Joy Boy Was The Strongest Pirate In The History Of The One Piece World
While Roger was quite easily the strongest pirate in the modern era, when it comes to the entire history of the One Piece world, he was second to Joy Boy. Joy Boy is the first pirate to exist in the world of One Piece, as confirmed by Vegapunk himself in the Egghead arc. He also has the strongest Haki that we have seen in the entirety of One Piece so far, which was confirmed officially in One Piece chapter 1122 on August 5, 2024.
Joy Boy’s Haki was strong enough to cause a solo sky split, knock out Vice Admirals, nullify the Omen-based abilities of the Five Elders, and push even Nerona Imu to his knees. Such power cannot be underestimated, and quite clearly, he is the strongest pirate to exist in the entire world of One Piece. Roger comes in second behind him with his tremendous Haki and the power that flipped the world upside down. We cannot wait to see more of Roger as Eiichiro Oda continues building his legend in the Final Saga, and hopefully, we’ll get to see more glimpses of both Scopper Gaban and Silvers Rayleigh as well.
All the newest One Piece manga chapters by Eiichiro Oda are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
