Four Emperors

The Four Emperors are the four most notorious and powerful pirate captains in the world. They are not typically allies, nor are they strictly enemies of one another. Rather, the four prefer to remain autonomous under most circumstances. These four individually reside within the second half of the Grand Line (known as the "New World"), exerting impressive influence and control over dozens of other pirate crews and self-governing islands. They make up one of The Three Great Powers.

Compared to antagonistic individuals and groups the Straw Hat Pirates have faced prior, the Emperors are a far bigger threat during the second half of the One Piece series, especially amid the eponymous Four Emperors Saga.

In the decisive Summit War of Marineford, Whitebeard of the Four Emperors, met his end towards the climax of the Summit War. Blackbeard, his killer, subsequently usurped his position within the following year. Shanks, another member of the Four Emperors, arbitrated a ceasefire to end the aforementioned war.

Following the events of the Whole Cake Island Arc, the World Economy News Paper has referred to Monkey D. Luffy as standing adjacent to the Four Emperors as the "Fifth Emperor" of the sea. This was both due to the events of the arc and interviews performed with Cavendish and Bartolomeo, who informed the journalists of the 5640-member Straw Hat Grand Fleet.

Abilities and Powers
A threat...a demand...when issued by one with absolute, overwhelming power becomes simply inevitable fate...after all, who could possibly oppose it? That is the existence known as the Four Emperors! And this is what it means to be driven to your very wit's end...!

Overview


As an entity, the Four Emperors are one of the Three Great Powers of the world, the others being the Marines and the SSG (the latter replacing the now-disbanded Seven Warlords of the Sea). Their strength and influence are such that they live quite literally as though they are sovereigns, doing mostly as they please.

Individually, the Emperors are considered to be the most powerful pirates in the world, with devastatingly powerful, versatile Devil Fruit abilities, immense physical prowess, and/or sheer mastery of Haki. Their individual bounties are the highest in the world, with the lowest being 2,247,600,000 and the highest (formerly) over 5 billion. The only known pirate who ever had a higher bounty than them was the late Pirate King himself.



In addition, three of the four original Emperors (Whitebeard, Kaidou, and Big Mom) were once members of the legendary Rocks Pirates, which was considered the world's strongest pirate crew of their time. During a Marine briefing, it was stated that an alliance between two of the Four Emperors could lead to the formation of the strongest pirate crew in recorded history, and that the collective bounty of such an organization's captains alone would easily dwarf that of even the Pirate King himself.

Whitebeard's Physical Abilities
Whitebeard, the first Emperor to display his full fighting prowess, was, even in his old age, considered the strongest man in the world. He possessed an enormous amount of brute strength; he was able to stop a charging battle ship with only one hand, even after he had been severely weakened by his poor health and battle damage.

Whitebeard had an immeasurable level of endurance. Before dying, he took 267 cuts, 152 gunshots, 46 bombshells, as well as laser beam and lava attacks from Marine Admirals Kizaru and Akainu, all while his health was failing him. Despite all this, his body remained upright on his feet post-mortem.

Shanks' Physical Abilities
Shanks stands on equal ground with his fellow Emperors, in spite of his young age. He was able to clash with Whitebeard without losing ground, and he was able to prevent Kaidou from attacking Whitebeard without receiving any visible damage.

He is extremely fast as well, quickly getting past hundreds of people to stop Admiral Akainu from killing Koby.

At one point, Shanks was the rival of the Warlord of the Sea, Dracule Mihawk, the man who holds the official title of "World's Strongest Swordsman".

Shanks is so strong, his presence alone was enough to convince countless elite Marine officers to stand down, rather than risk enraging him. However, the full range of his strength remains largely unknown.

Blackbeard's Physical Abilities
Even before gaining Devil Fruit powers, Blackbeard was an extremely capable combatant. He was able to leave a lasting scar on the Emperor, Red Hair Shanks, and not because Shanks was being careless. It was also mentioned that he has never slept a day in his life, which is a very odd trait but it does not appear to bother him.

Blackbeard has an immense level of endurance. His darkness Logia is unique in that it doesn't allow him to turn intangible; just the opposite actually, as any attack that hits will hurt worse than normal. This never slows Blackbeard down for long though.

He was also able to acquire the power of the Gura Gura no Mi, being the first person to utilize two devil fruits. Marco believed that Teach was able to achieve this because of his "abnormal body", it is unknown what the term abnormal entails though.

Big Mom's Physical Abilities
Big Mom possesses an immense level of brute strength; she can destroy entire cities and sink massive battle ships with her bare hands. Even when she was a child, she was strong enough to kill a Giant. In addition to her great offensive power, her body is borderline indestructible, but becomes more vulnerable when she suffers a mental shock.

Upon entering an emotional crisis, the raw power of her voice alone is able to incapacitate extremely powerful fighters, such as Katakuri and Smoothie. Her voice is also powerful enough to act as a barrier against bazooka fire.

Kaidou's Physical Abilities
Kaidou has been called "The Strongest Living Creature in the World", and for a very good reason. Kaidou possesses an unfathomable level of brute strength. He was able to beat a Gear Fourth enhanced Luffy in a single hit. He could also clash evenly with his fellow Emperor, Big Mom, for 3 days straight.

Kaidou also possesses great speed, as he is able to clear a distance of several meters in an instant.

Like Big Mom, Kaidou has been noted for his borderline indestructible body, being impervious to damage and conventional weaponry. Kaidou has been sentenced to execution 40 times and survived every time. When they tried to hang him, the chain snapped; when they tried to impale him, the spears broke; and when they tried to chop his head off, the blade shattered. Most notably, Kaidou survived a 10,000 meter fall and walked away with only a small headache. The first known time that Kaidou received an injury of any kind was during his battle against Kozuki Oden, a legendary samurai who used two of the 21 great swords, Enma and Ame no Habakiri.

Whitebeard's Devil Fruit
Whitebeard possessed the potentially world-destroying quake powers of the Gura Gura no Mi, the Devil Fruit considered to be the strongest among the Paramecia class. The Gura Gura no Mi allowed him to generate devastatingly powerful shockwaves, invoke chain reaction vibrations that resulted in natural disasters, and even fracture and tilt the landscape over a very wide area.

He could use his power to enhance his physical attacks by surrounding his hands and feet with concentrated quake bubbles. These quake bubbles would release a small, but powerful shockwave on impact, greatly increasing the destructive power of his melee attacks. He could also surround the blade of his polearm with a quake bubble, greatly increasing its destructive power as well.

Blackbeard's Devil Fruits
Blackbeard ate the Logia-type Yami Yami no Mi, the Devil Fruit said to be the most evil of them all. The Yami Yami no Mi gives him the ability to create, control, and transform his body into darkness. Despite this Fruit being a Logia, Blackbeard does not have the power to turn intangible; in fact, any attack that hits him will hurt worse than normal.

He has an infinite amount of space inside of his body made of darkness, as well as power over the forces of gravity and absorption, described as "the power to reduce all to nothingness". He can use the darkness to pull things in, as well as absorb and trap them inside the infinite darkness of his body.

Additionally, the darkness has the power to absorb/nullify another person's Devil Fruit abilities. As long as Blackbeard is touching the target, it's as if they never ate their Devil Fruit at all.

Following Whitebeard's death, Blackbeard stole the Gura Gura no Mi powers from Whitebeard's corpse through unknown means, thus becoming the first known individual to have acquired more than one Devil Fruit and survive. With the aid of his newfound powers, he would usurp Whitebeard's former position as an Emperor over the course of the following year.

Big Mom's Devil Fruit
Big Mom ate the Paramecia-type Soru Soru no Mi; it gives her the power to steal people's souls, killing the victim, or decreasing the victims remaining lifespan, depending on how much of a person's life force she takes.

She can then place the stolen souls in objects, bringing the objects to life to be her servants, known as Homies. Almost anything can be made into a Homie, including light, air, and animals; the only things that can't be made into Homies are people and corpses.

With this power, she has amassed thousands of loyal subordinates under her command. Among these servants are three special Homies who were made from fragments of Big Moms own powerful soul; the sun Homie, Prometheus, who gives Big Mom power over the element of fire; the thunder cloud Homie, Zeus, who gives Big Mom power over the element of lightning; and the bicorn hat Homie, Napoleon, who can turn into a sword with devastating attack power. With Zeus and Prometheus working together, Big Mom has the power to manipulate the weather to devastating effects, as she can conjure a massive storm that sinks ships in her fury.

Zeus was later replaced by a new thunder cloud Homie named Hera, who is notably more compatible with Prometheus and Napoleon, allowing Big Mom and her Homies to use more powerful and complex attacks.

Kaidou's Devil Fruit
Kaidou ate the Mythical Zoan-type Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu, which allows him to transform into a massive serpent-type azure dragon, or a human-dragon hybrid, at will.

As a Zoan, this power greatly enhances his already impressive physical abilities. Aside from his offensive muscle becoming many times greater, his body is covered in extremely durable scales that bolster his already unbelievable durability.

He can also release a devastatingly powerful blast of fire from his mouth that can easily decimate the landscape and obliterate large buildings in a single shot. He is also able to release bolts of lightning and razor sharp wind slashes from his mouth.

Additionally, his dragon form allows him to fly by creating special "Flame Clouds" and using them as footholds. He has enough mastery over these clouds to lift an entire island out of the sea and make it float to a destination of his choosing.

Whitebeard's Haki
Whitebeard was one of the very small number of people in the world capable of utilizing all three types of Haki.
 * Haoshoku: Whitebeard was capable of using Haoshoku. He attempted to use it to knockout the executioners who were about to kill Ace, but not only did his health fail him at that moment, Luffy unknowingly beats him to the punch with his own. He could also use advanced Haoshoku Haki as during a clash with Gol D. Roger, neither of their weapons even make contact.
 * Busoshoku: Whitebeard was capable of using Busoshoku. He attempted to stab Aokiji with a Haki infused blade, but failed because Aokiji formed a hole in his ice body.
 * Kenbunshoku: Whitebeard was capable of using Kenbunshoku. He was able to sense Crocodile coming to attack him, but didn't react because he could also sense that Luffy would stop the Logia user. He was also able to sense Ace's multiple attempts to murder him, even while sleeping.

Shanks' Haki
Shanks is one of the very small number of people in the world capable of utilizing all three types of Haki.
 * Haoshoku: Shanks is capable of using Haoshoku. His skill with this Haki is so great, even Marco the Phoenix, a veteran of the New World who had the great Whitebeard as a comparison, described it as impressive. It has been stated that Shanks could have knocked out all 100,000 fighters of the New Fishman Pirates.
 * Busoshoku: Shanks is capable of using Busoshoku. His skill with this Haki is so great, he was able to stop an attack from the magma Logia, the Devil Fruit said to have the greatest attack power of them all. He didn't even need to use the Koka technique.
 * Kenbunshoku: It has been stated that Shanks can use Kenbunshoku.

Blackbeard's Haki
It has been stated that Blackbeard can use at least two types of Haki.
 * Busoshoku: It has been stated that Blackbeard can use Busoshoku.
 * Kenbunshoku: It has been stated that Blackbeard can use Kenbunshoku.

Big Mom's Haki
Big Mom is one of the very small number of people in the world capable of utilizing all three types of Haki.
 * Haoshoku: Big Mom is capable of using Haoshoku. She tends to release this Haki in times of emotional distress, such as when she became angry when she heard about Cracker being defeated, or when she went into a sadness frenzy after a portrait of her beloved Mother Carmel was broken. She can also use advanced Haoshoku Haki, as proved when she took down Page One with a Haoshoku-infused punch after she knew about Okobore Town having been burned down by the Beasts Pirates.
 * Busoshoku: Big Mom is capable of using Busoshoku. Using the Koka technique, she was able to block a Gear Fourth attack from Luffy using only one arm without even flinching.
 * Kenbunshoku: It has been stated that Big Mom can use Kenbunshoku.

Kaidou's Haki
Kaidou is one of the very small number of people in the world capable of utilizing all three types of Haki.
 * Haoshoku: Kaidou has been shown to possess Haoshoku Haki when he clashed against Big Mom, which caused a massive shock wave. He can also use advanced Haoshoku Haki to infuse his kanabo and clash with a Haoshoku-infused Luffy, providing monstruous hits without making physical contact.
 * Busoshoku: Kaidou is capable of using Busoshoku. His Busoshoku Haki was strong enough to damage Luffy who hardened both of his arms. He is capable of utilizing the advanced application of projecting his Busoshoku Haki out from his kanabo, allowing him to strike opponents many meters in front of him with devastating power without the need to make direct contact.
 * Kenbunshoku: Kaidou is capable of using Kenbunshoku. he first demonstrated when he sensed the "voices" of the supernovas in the wake of his and Big Mom's combined attack which enabled him to tell they were still alive.

Fleets
Though undeniably powerful in their own right, much of the Four Emperors' martial strength can be attributed to their large crews filled with hundreds or even thousands of elite combatants; as well as to their close alliances with other pirate captains.

Whitebeard's crew amounted to 1616 men, and he also had 43 subordinate New World crews to aid him in his efforts to rescue Ace, each headed by an infamous pirate captain. Big Mom's crew is even larger, consisting of tens of thousands of soldiers and Homies and led by dozens of her children, further boosted by an unknown number of subordinate crews who married into the Charlotte Family. Furthermore, Big Mom's family is considered the "strongest family in the world". Kaidou's crew has been amounted to be over 20,000 strong, of which, over 500 possess the power of artificial SMILE fruits. Kaidou later gained an additional 10,000 samurai and ninja under his command after killing Kurozumi Orochi as part of his world domination plans.



Due to the sheer size of their crews, most of the Four Emperors utilize a number of executive officers to lead their forces. Because of their great strength and exposure as the top brass for the Emperor crews, they are regarded as a huge threat by the Marines, second only to their captains. This is further reinforced by their massive individual bounties, surpassing many infamous pirate captians and even the billion mark. Whitebeard had his 16 Division Commanders, each of whom had a hundred crew members under their command. Big Mom has the Three (formerly Four) Sweet Commanders, who are the strongest of all of Big Mom's children. Kaidou has his three right hand men, the All-Stars, also known as the Disasters. Blackbeard has the Ten Titanic Captains, some of whom were the most powerful and ruthless criminals ever to be locked up in Impel Down. These top officers are seen to be able to contend with the elites of the other two Great Powers: the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Marines. However, even the strongest of these officers cannot compare to the Four Emperors themselves, as seen when Big Mom easily defeated Queen the Plague, one of the All-Stars of the Beasts Pirates and Marco the Phoenix, the former 1st division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Even with their already vast amount of resources and strong subordinates, the Four Emperors continually seek to further their military might. Kaidou takes advantage of the superior craftsmen in Wano to make weapons that could otherwise not be made, as well as monopolize vast amounts of artificial Devil Fruits for his subordinates to eat. Kaidou also forces captive Pirate Captains into hard labor in order to break their spirits and make them subservient. Teach and his crew utilize the unknown method for stealing another person's Devil Fruit post-mortem in order to gain multiple powers. Big Mom constantly increases the strength of her crew by creating more and more Homies and by marrying her dozens of children into various powerful organizations to create a network of familial connections, forming the infrastructure of her army.

Trafalgar Law claimed that there are only two methods of surviving in the New World; one is to become the subordinate of an Emperor and be protected under the umbrella of their dominion. The other is to constantly oppose their authority.

Influence
Accordingly, each of the Four Emperors have a large number of territories that they govern within the New World. The Four Emperors provide protection to all who reside within their territories, keeping the borders safe from any faction that may wish to invade them. Because of their power, the Four Emperors can declare any chosen locations as their own. The mere declaration is often enough to compel others, both Marines and pirates alike, to acknowledge and respect their authority. When Whitebeard declared the crime-ridden Fish-Man Island to be under his control, he immediately ended all pirate attacks on the island as well as its slave trade.

Big Mom's main territory, Totto Land, for example, is heavily protected by scouting ships and by watchtowers called Tartes that dot the coastlines of each of her islands, both prepared to inspect and potentially shoot down any ships not affiliated with her crew. She also has territorial sea slugs that patrol the waters, warning would-be intruders that they are entering her territory. Finally, Big Mom has 34 ministers as part of her administration, one to run the affairs of each of her territory's subsidiary islands.

Kaidou and his crew took over Wano Country as their main territory after conspiring with the Kurozumi Family to overthrow the Kozuki shogunate twenty years ago. Since then, the Beasts Pirates consolidated their power by monopolizing the country's resources to manufacturing weapons at mass production for the underworld, specifically with Joker as their main broker and primary seller in the SMILE trade.

The Four Emperors themselves are the linchpin to their respective crews' influence in the world, as Charlotte Perospero feared that if Big Mom were to die from a possible poisoned wedding cake, her crew and the entire Totto Land empire would collapse. When Whitebeard died, all the locations he declared to be his territory were instantly open for attacks and for other Emperors to take, and the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates were mainly shunned aside by the crew that usurped their infamy in the great sea.

They can also motivate others to partake in a life of piracy. Shanks personally inspired Luffy, and Whitebeard's last words inspired many pirates to travel to the Grand Line.

Balance of the Three Powers
It is only with the combined efforts of the Marines and the Seven Warlords of the Sea, as well as the distrust amongst themselves, that keeps their power in check. During the Summit War of Marineford, the Marines and Seven Warlords of the Sea needed to fight together just to engage one of the Four Emperors, Whitebeard, his crew, and their allies. The arrival of a second Emperor, Shanks, and his crew, immediately brought an end to the hostilities, showing the power and influence they have without even needing to resort to combat.

The Four Emperors themselves are not a coalition like the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and they follow their own discrete agendas. Nevertheless, some of the Emperors like Marshall D. Teach and Charlotte Linlin still have the intention of locating the One Piece and becoming Pirate King, while former Emperor Whitebeard had no such interest in doing so.

The possibility of two or more of the Four Emperors forming an alliance was enough of a threat to cause the World Government to panic, as seen when it unsuccessfully attempted to prevent a meeting between Shanks and Whitebeard. The World Government feared that the two Emperors would unify, creating a much more imposing threat that would disrupt the balance between the Great Powers. This feared scenario ultimately came to fruition when the Emperors Charlotte Linlin and Kaidou formed an alliance during the Wano Country Arc. A war between two of the Four Emperors is considered a terrifying crisis, as Shanks' interception of Kaidou's advancement on Whitebeard had taken the Marines by shock and awe, putting the World Government in a "cold sweat" as stated by one of the Marines.

Though very powerful, they do have potential threats from even lower ranked fighters and pirates. For example, it is said that once Elizabello II has gathered enough strength, his King Punch can knock down even an Emperor. However, because of their immense power, it is necessary for factions aiming to oppose them to first form an alliance with other factions in order to bring any member of the Four Emperors down. However, even with pirate crews forming multiple alliances, the chances of defeating an Emperor are still extremely low. When the Straw Hat Pirates and the Heart Pirates formed an alliance to defeat Kaidou, Law informed Luffy that he believed their chance of success was still only 30%. This alliance would eventually grow to the massive Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance, consisting of over 5000 men, and yet its numbers still paled in comparison to the combined forces of the Beasts Pirates and their Wano allies, who were 30000 strong, around six times bigger.

The relationship between the Four Emperors can best described as a four-way standoff. Due to how much power each of them have, they try to avoid warring with one another since it would result in massive casualty for both sides, leaving the victor vulnerable to the remaining Emperors. This was the reason why the Whitebeard Pirates didn't war with the Beasts Pirates over the death of their former 2nd Division Commander. Another example when Big Mom and her crew attempt to invade Wano Country Kaidou furiously order his crew to shoot her ship down fearing all out war with Big Mom.

Past
Over 40 years ago, three of future Four Emperor members: Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaidou (as an apprentice) were members of the Rocks Pirates, named as the most dangerous pirate crew in the era. After the Rocks Pirates' defeat against the combined force of Roger and Garp at the God Valley Incident 38 years ago, the crew was disbanded.

At least 33 years ago, Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaidou started recruiting.

During Gol D. Roger's time over 25 years ago, Whitebeard, Shiki, and Big Mom were the most powerful pirates behind the Pirate King. Kaidou was not recognized as one of the top pirates in the world until around the time when Gol D. Roger was executed.

At least 25 years ago, Kaidou allied with the shogun of Wano Country. After the execution of Kozuki Oden 20 years ago, Kaidou attempted to kill the rest of his family, but Toki sent her son and some of his retainers to the future. Kaidou took over Wano Country and transformed most of it into a wasteland.

It was about six years ago when Shanks started being referred to as an Emperor.

About four years ago, Kaidou formed a partnership with Donquixote Doflamingo and Caesar Clown so that the two would give him Artificial Devil Fruits known as SMILEs, which he used to create an army of Devil Fruit users known as Gifters.

Post-Enies Lobby Arc


Shanks initiated a meeting with Whitebeard, and the two Emperors met with each other despite the World Government attempting to form a blockade. Shanks warned Whitebeard about the rise of the latter's former subordinate Blackbeard, and told Whitebeard to call off Portgas D. Ace's pursuit. However, Whitebeard refused, and the two briefly fought, with their clash of blades splitting the heavens.

Impel Down Arc
In an attempt to rescue Ace from execution, Whitebeard summoned all of his allies from the New World in preparation for war. Kaidou attempted to attack Whitebeard, but he was intercepted by Shanks.

Marineford Arc


Whitebeard and his crew and allies arrived at Marineford three hours before Ace's scheduled execution and initiated what would be known as the greatest war since the beginning of the Golden Age of Pirates. During this battle against the Marines, Whitebeard revealed how debilitated he had become over the last two decades, and he steadily acquired increasingly critical wounds from his enemies because of his weakened state.

During the battle, he destroyed most of Marine Headquarters, easily defeated two large giants who were at the rank of vice-admirals, and withstood the combined efforts of the three admirals. He was able to help free Ace with the aid of Monkey D. Luffy and his own ragtag group of allies, but Admiral Akainu executed Ace afterwards. An enraged Whitebeard dealt a serious blow to the admiral, but it was not enough to completely incapacitate him.



Remaining at Marineford alone to resolve the conflict with the Marines, Whitebeard was attacked and ultimately killed by the Blackbeard Pirates. Shortly afterwards, Shanks arrived at Marineford with his crew. His presence spared the remaining allies of Whitebeard and brought the war to an end. Shanks challenged Blackbeard, which the latter turned down before leaving with his own crew.

During the Timeskip
After the death of Whitebeard, Big Mom took over as the protector of Fish-Man Island in exchange for a large amount of candy every month, forming an alliance with the Sun Pirates. She also formed an alliance with the Fire Tank Pirates.

Blackbeard also usurped Whitebeard's position as the fourth Emperor as the Five Elders predicted, having managed to conquer most of Whitebeard's former territory and becoming stronger by hunting down powerful Devil Fruit users and taking their abilities after killing them. He became recognized as an Emperor after overwhelmingly defeating Marco and the remaining Whitebeard Pirates a year after the Summit War in the "Payback War".

Fish-Man Island Arc


When the candy factory was demolished during the uprising of the New Fish-Man Pirates and Flying Pirates, Fish-Man Island almost provoked Big Mom's wrath, since the island did not have enough candy for the tribute to her. Monkey D. Luffy pledged that he would claim Fish-Man Island as his protectorate by defeating Big Mom, shifting her fury from the island to him.

Dressrosa Arc
Blackbeard sent Jesus Burgess to Dressrosa in order to win the Mera Mera no Mi in the Corrida Colosseum tournament. While talking with Burgess over Den Den Mushi, Blackbeard came into contact with the passing Luffy and the two had a brief clash of words.



That night, Kaidou went up to Ballon Terminal on a sky island and jumped onto an island 10,000 meters below to attempt suicide. He survived the fall with no injuries, and confronted the Supernovas Eustass Kid, Scratchmen Apoo, and Basil Hawkins as he shouted a declaration to start the world's biggest war because he felt it had become too mundane. Kaidou then defeated and imprisoned Kid while Apoo and Hawkins became his subordinates.

Zou Arc


Big Mom formed an alliance with Vinsmoke Judge who arranged for his third son, Sanji, to marry her 35th daughter, Charlotte Pudding. Big Mom ordered her crew to retrieve Sanji unharmed, and to escort him to the wedding on Whole Cake Island.

Kaidou found out about the loss of his SMILE supply and entered drunken mood swings in response, but despite his subordinates' concern, he refused to pay any mind to Luffy and Trafalgar Law, who had destroyed the source of his SMILE.

According to a newspaper report, Blackbeard and his crew attacked the Revolutionary Army's base on Baltigo, destroying it by the time the Marines and Cipher Pol arrived. The Blackbeard Pirates fled after briefly clashing with Cipher Pol.

Whole Cake Island Arc
Big Mom discovered that the Straw Hat Pirates had invaded Totto Land to try to rescue Sanji from his wedding, and she lured them into a trap on Whole Cake Island. However, she herself briefly put Whole Cake Island in danger when she went on a mindless rampage for croquembouche. Her subordinates were successfully able to capture Luffy and Nami, and she met with Judge and the Vinsmoke Family. However, she was secretly plotting with Pudding to assassinate all of the Vinsmokes during the upcoming wedding and take their technology for herself. Big Mom went to confront Brook of the Straw Hats after he had broken into her Room of Treasure. She defeated and captured him, but unbeknownst to her, he had copied the text from all of her Poneglyphs.



Luffy, Nami, and Brook managed to escape from Big Mom's clutches with the help of their crew, but she did not notice as the wedding day arrived. However, the Straw Hats crashed the wedding with the help of Big Mom's subordinates the Fire Tank Pirates and Caesar Clown, and as Big Mom tried to deal with them, she was hit with another blow as her subordinate Jinbe also defected to join the Straw Hats, and the Vinsmoke Family was freed after the assassination attempt proved unsuccessful. The enemy alliance destroyed Big Mom's prized portrait of Mother Carmel, putting her in a psychological crisis that rendered her weak to attack. The Fire Tank Pirates were unable to successfully assassinate her though, and Big Mom regained her senses and easily subdued the enemy alliance with the help of her crew. However, Big Mom's prized treasure the Tamatebako was sent falling and created a massive explosion that toppled over the Chateau. The enemy alliance got away, but as Big Mom's crew began to pursue them, she got a craving for wedding cake. Entering a mindless rampage, she pursued the Straw Hats, who she believed had the cake.

Big Mom pursued the Straw Hats off of Whole Cake Island and into the seas of Totto Land for several hours, and grew skinnier and weaker as time passed on. She then attacked the Sunny to find the cake, threatening to kill the Straw Hats onboard. Bege's ship later arrived with the cake, diverting her attention away from the Straw Hats. Big Mom then pursued the Fire Tank Pirates and followed them to Funwari Island, where she ate the cake and ceased her rampage, collapsing from the deliciousness of the cake. Later when she woke up, she was briefed on the current situation. Rather than attempting to chase after the Fire Tank Pirates, she headed towards Cacao Island where her crew was battling the Sun Pirates and Germa 66, who stalled the Emperor's crew from pursuing the Thousand Sunny. After the Straw Hats successfully escaped, Big Mom arrived at the island before the Sun Pirates and Germa 66 could retreat.

Levely Arc


News of the events between Luffy and Big Mom were published in the World Economy News Paper, which claimed the incident as Luffy's victory and declared him to be "the Fifth Emperor" among the Four Emperors. All four of the Emperors read the newspaper and commented on Luffy's new status.

Big Mom later contacted Kaidou and they argued over who had the right to kill Luffy. Shanks went to Mary Geoise to speak with the Five Elders about a certain pirate.

Wano Country Arc
At Wano Country, a drunk Kaidou transformed into his dragon form and flew to Kuri, where he ordered Jack to bring his enemies to him. When Hawkins told him that Luffy and Law were hiding in Oden Castle, Kaidou proceeded to destroy the castle ruins. Afterwards, Luffy attempted to defeat Kaidou only to be overpowered by a single blow. Kaidou then decided to take Luffy prisoner and turn him into a subordinate.



Meanwhile, Gecko Moria attacked Blackbeard's territory on Hachinosu to find his missing subordinate Absalom, whom the Blackbeard Pirates had killed. Blackbeard offered for Moria to sail under his flag after the latter found out what had happened.

Big Mom and her crew reached Wano Country, and attempted to scale the waterfall around it as Kaidou tried to have his men stop her. King of the Beasts Pirates flew in and attacked the Big Mom Pirates' ship, causing them to fall back down. Big Mom fell into the ocean and washed up on Kuri Beach, but ended up losing her memories.

Later, she arrived at Udon Prison, where she got into a confrontation with Queen, one of Kaidou's crew members, and recovered her memories in the process. However, Queen captured her when she fell unconscious. Immediately, Linlin was taken to Onigashima, where she was held in handcuffs as a prisoner, until Kaidou ordered her released. At that moment, both began to fight, with their clash of weapons splitting the sky.



After a few days, Kaidou and Big Mom eventually stopped their clash and came to an agreement. The two then announced that the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates were officially forming a pirate alliance to take over the world.

However, news of their alliance also lead to Marco and Izou of the Whitebeard Pirates to accompany Nekomamushi to Wano Country to assist the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance, with Marco stopping the Big Mom Pirates from entering Wano Country by knocking them down the waterfall again during their second attempt to enter the country, preventing them from joining Big Mom in Onigashima.

During the Fire Festival, the joint celebration held by the Beasts Pirates and Orochi's forces held at Onigashima, Kaidou announced the New Onigashima Project, an operation to enslave the remaining populace of Wano and turn the island into a pirate paradise to combat the Marines and their new forces, the SSG. After being joined by Linlin, they declared their intention of seizing the Ancient Weapons and the One Piece, in order to trigger the "final war". Kaidou then beheaded Orochi just as he raised opposition, before giving the samurai who served the shogun an ultimatum, join them or die. The samurai ultimately chose to join the Beasts Pirates.

Just as Kaidou was about to execute Kozuki Momonosuke, who was captured earlier by the treacherous Kurozumi Kanjuro, the Nine Red Scabbards and Izou appeared, ambushing Kaidou. At this point, the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance, who infiltrated in disguise, revealed themselves, with Luffy declaring all out war on the Beasts and Big Mom Pirate Alliance. Kaidou then dragged the Nine Red Scabbards and Izou to the roof of the Skull Dome, where they engaged in battle. Jack and some of the Beast Pirates also arrived to support Kaidou, while the Inuarashi Musketeer Squad and the Guardians faced them.

Meanwhile, Big Mom attempted to take on the Straw Hats herself, but was skillfully driven away by Jinbe and Robin. She ended up meeting her eldest son, Charlotte Perospero, who brought Marco along with him in hopes of taking out Kaidou with his cooperation, but she shot down Perospero's misgivings about her alliance with Kaidou. She then used her Homies to fly to Kaidou.



In the meantime, Kaidou fought the Red Scabbard and Izou atop the Skull Dome in his dragon form, with the Samurai putting up a fierce fight and even inflicting wounds on him. However, after transforming back into his human form, Kaidou soon defeated them, before using his Flame Clouds to levitate the entire island of Onigashima, with the intent of dropping it atop the castle in the Flower Capital. Big Mom soon joined him afterwards, allowing Prometheus and Zeus to feed on the clouds and the flames from the battle. They are soon confronted by Luffy, Zoro, Law, Kid and Killer of the Worst Generation, with Luffy starting the fight with an attack that actually caused Kaidou some damage.

As the fight continued, the Worst Generation came to the conclusion that as long as the two Emperor's fought together, the outcome would be their own defeat. As such, they successfully pulled of a strategy to separate the two, with Kid and Killer volunteering to face Big Mom inside Onigashima, while Law and Zoro retreated downstairs to recover from their wounds, leaving Luffy alone to face Kaidou.

However Luffy soon lost to Kaidou, and was thrown off the island, leaving Kaidou free to pursue Momonosuke. Though he managed to corner the Kozuki heir and Shinobu on the edge of the island, thanks to the kunoichi rotting of the edge of the island, allowing them to escape to Wano mainland. He was then challenged by his own child Yamato, atop the Skull Dome, which he accepted. In the meantime, Big Mom had replaced Zeus with a new special Homie, Hera and soon found herself confronted by Kid, and later Law.

Translation and Dub Issues
The term "Four Emperors" is used by all official One Piece translations, and is also displayed in Episode 957 of the anime. However, the untranslated "Yonkō" has been common in fan translations, and is frequently used among the fandom. Although "Yonkō" directly translates to "Four Emperors", the term is also used in the original Japanese to refer to a single member of the Four Emperors, which does not grammatically work when translated.

Trivia

 * According to Skull in One Piece novel A, the four Emperors are stated to each have their own point when they are most fearsome: Shanks when he is enraged, Whitebeard when someone does dishonorable or inhumane things, Big Mom when she is in a bad mood, and Kaidou has always been terrifying.
 * Each of the original Four Emperor has their own sense of honor: Edward who never forgives those who harms their own crewmate; Shanks who never forgives anyone who hurts his friends; Kaidou who never forgives those who interferes in his fights; and Big Mom who never forgives those who harms those she owes a debt to.
 * In the first Romance Dawn story, the main antagonist, Crescent-Moon Gally was aiming to become one of the "Best 3" (ベスト), which could be considered the prototype of the Four Emperors.
 * The original Four Emperors possessed all three kind of Haki.
 * Three of them are able to use advanced application of Haoshoku and Busoshoku Haki.
 * All the Four Emperors' crews are named after their respective captain's epithet.
 * Each of the Four Emperors served under the strongest pirate captain during their time before becoming captains of their own crew. Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaidou served under Rocks D. Xebec while Shanks served under the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and Blackbeard served under Whitebeard.
 * Linlin claimed that had she managed to marry off her daughter Charlotte Lola to Elbaf prince Loki to secure a political alliance, she would have gained the strongest army of giants that would have allowed her to defeat the other three Emperors and become the next Pirate King.
 * Kaidou is the only Emperor whose epithet is a mere addition to his real name, and so is also the only one who is addressed by name by the people who do not know him, instead of his full epithet.
 * Shanks is the only Emperor who did not eat any Devil Fruit.
 * Shanks is the only Emperor confirmed to have been born outside the Grand Line.
 * Shanks is the only Emperor who has not been confirmed to have a fleet under his command, making him also the only non-admiral Emperor.
 * Additionally, Shanks is the only Emperor who were physically disabled (does not have Left Arm).
 * Blackbeard is the only known person to serve as both a Warlord of the Sea and later an Emperor.
 * Blackbeard is the only Emperor who did not become a captain of his own pirate crew after his former captain's death.
 * Blackbeard is the only Emperor without a signature or named weapon.
 * Blackbeard is the only Emperor who doesn't have Haoshoku Haki.
 * Currently, Kaidou has the highest active bounty amount among the Four Emperors, while Blackbeard has the lowest amount among them.
 * In their bounty posters, at least two Emperors are looking in the same direction as the other, with Shanks being the only exception as:
 * Big Mom and Kaidou appear on their right.
 * Blackbeard and Whitebeard appear on their left.
 * Shanks is the only one that appears on the middle, although he shares this position with the Pirate King Gol D. Roger.
 * Shanks was stated to have earned his title of Emperor six years before the present time. It is unknown, however, if the title of "Four Emperors" already existed before that point.
 * Out of the current Emperors, Big Mom is the only one to style herself "captain". Each of the other three have different titles: Blackbeard uses "admiral", Shanks uses "chief" and Kaidou uses "governor-general".

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