Sengoku & Whitebeard had a long-standing rivalry based on equal strength and mutual respect.
Rob Lucci & Luffy’s rivalry heightened after Lucci’s defeat in Enies Lobby and continued in Egghead Island.
Smoker & Luffy share a complex rivalry with respect, moral dilemmas, and consistent attempts to catch Luffy.
While marines and pirates in the world of One Piece are sworn enemies, throughout the series, there have been particular sets of individuals on both sides who have ended up forming bitter rivalries with one another. Most of the time, this comes as a result of the two characters being at roughly equal strength, prompting them to jump into another battle as soon as possible to test their abilities against one another to one day come out as the victor.
On the other hand, a rivalry can come if one of these characters manages to humiliate the other on more than one occasion, creating a hot-blooded feud in the process; some of which have lasted for several decades. Everybody knows of rivalries shared between pirates, such as Zoro and Sanji, for example, but it’s time to take a look at the pirates and marines who have also come to form a competitive bond over the course of the One Piece story.
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Sengoku & Whitebeard
It’s Implied These Two Were Always Going At It When They Were In Peak Performance
When Whitebeard sets sail to Marineford in a desperate attempt to save his crew member Ace from being executed, he specifically mentions Sengoku by name after spotting him from afar. Throughout the brutal conflict, the two share many interactions where it’s heavily implied that they have been rivals for quite a few years. This does make sense, considering Whitebeard would have been at the peak of his performance at roughly the same time that Sengoku became Fleet Admiral, since by this point, he would have disbanded from Rocks and formed his own crew.
Added to that, the two are also immensely powerful, with Whitebeard being able to cause entire earthquakes with a single punch, and Sengoku possessing the strength of the almighty Buddha thanks to his unique Zoan fruit. Unfortunately, Oda hasn’t shown too much about this rivalry since the Marineford war ended, but that hasn’t stopped fans from theorizing just how epic the battles between these two would have been back in their heyday.
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Rob Lucci & Luffy
The CPO-0 Agent Will Never Live Down His Defeat In Enies Lobby
Luffy and Rob Lucci first meet each other in Water 7, where the latter of the two completely humiliates the Straw Hat captain so that he can continue on with his mission of kidnapping Robin. However, Luffy isn’t the type of captain who will sit back and relax if he knows one of his nakama is in danger, and after learning his Gear 3 and Gear 2 techniques, he is finally able to stand his ground against Lucci in a dramatic final battle where he ends up overpowering the CP-0 agent.
This wouldn’t be the last time these two run into one another though, as Lucci once again returned in Egghead Island to confront his longtime nemesis, and hopefully score a win over him. Considering Luffy had already awoken his Gear Five mode by this point in the story, it was hard for Lucci to deal any sort of significant damage to the troublesome pirate, with this fun rivalry continuing on even to this day.
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Smoker & Luffy
Smoker Just Can’t Seem To Catch Luffy, No Matter How Hard He Tries
Smoker is a rather unique marine in the series, as while he understands that hunting down pirates is for the greater good, he often finds himself in moral dilemmas when he sees them acting a lot more responsibly than the marines. This all started in Alabasta when Luffy and his crew took it upon themselves to defeat Crocodile in order to free the country, only for the marines to tell Smoker that they would be the ones who should get all the credit.
A similar scenario happens a lot later in Punk Hazard, where, once again, Smoker finds himself at a crossroads on whether to apprehend Luffy or let him ruin Caesar Clown’s wicked experiments. This has led to an interesting rivalry where the two share a deep respect for one another, but are still aware that they are sworn enemies. It definitely would be nice to see this relationship expanded on more in the future, considering it’s only been briefly shown in a few story arcs, but it’s definitely one that Oda could do a lot with if Smoker were to make a grand return in the final saga.
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Tashigi & Zoro
Two Talented Sword-Wielders Who Are Desperate To Prove Their Worth
On the surface, it makes a lot of sense that Tashigi and Zoro would end up clashing on more than a few occasions, considering they are both very talented sword users, but there’s actually a deeper reason why this rivalry formed in the first place. Tashigi shares a striking resemblance to Kuina, Zoro’s childhood friend, who sadly passed away at a young age due to a tragic accident. When Zoro first spotted Tashigi back in Alabasta, he noticed this immediately and was eager to clash swords with the Marines to test her strength.
Since then, the two have been butting heads anytime they have a chance to see one another again, to the point where it seems like they are more concerned with scoring a victory rather than having any intent to kill. While it’s clear that Zoro is much more powerful than Tashigi, especially now that he’s in possession of swords like Enma, it’s also obvious that he wants Tashigi to also become a strong warrior, resulting in one of the most captivating pirate and marine rivalries in the series.
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Koby & Luffy
Childhood Friends Who Took Very Different Paths In Life
The rivalry between Koby and Luffy is one that has been brewing since the very first episode. Luffy was fully prepared to embark on his adventure as a pirate back then, but Kobe still had a very long way to go until he could earn the title of marine, though thanks to some brutal training under Garp, he was able to rise up the ranks pretty quickly while Luffy was still collecting his crew members.
As lifelong friends, Luffy and Kobe always push one another to strive to be the best, even though they are directly opposed due to their affiliations. It’s a real treat for long-time fans to see just how far these two have come since those early episodes, and the fact they still think about one another and consider themselves rivals is a true testament to their lasting friendship which can never be broken, despite the fact they decided to take drastically different life paths.
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Garp & Roger
Legendary Rivals Who Came To Deeply Respect One Another
Back when the Pirate King Gol D. Roger was still alive and kicking, the only marine who had any chance of even standing up to him was Garp. Although the absurdly strong marine was able to corner Roger on more than a few occasions, the legendary pirate always managed to escape, resulting in the two duking it out plenty of times over the course of Roger’s adventure to reach the One Piece. However, while Garp was dead-set on capturing Roger, he also made the decision to team up with him one time on God Valley in order to defeat the Rocks Pirates, proving that he was also fully aware and respectful of Roger’s true strength.
Near the end of his life, Roger would even entrust Garp with looking after his son Ace, emphasizing that while these two may be rivals when it comes to their power and strength, they don’t exactly hate one another like a marine and a pirate should. This is one of those rivalries that fans are eager to learn more about, considering these are two of the strongest and most fascinating characters in all of One Piece, so it’s always a joy being able to see flashes of these two back in their heyday interacting with one another, whether they’re exchanging blows, or just sharing a casual conversation about their views on the current state of the world.
