Every Shocking Betrayal in One Piece, Ranked Unforgivable to Heroic

Betrayals are quite frequent in One Piece, but it’s to be expected in the ruthless world of pirates and a corrupt government. While most of them have been out of malice and cruel acts of villainy, some betrayals were executed out of manipulation. In classic Eiichiro Oda writing, a few of them were also acts of heroism. There’s a ton of nuance that goes into these moments of betrayal in One Piece, so let’s analyze the major ones.

12. Blackbeard Kills Thatch

Pirate crews are meant to be a close-knit group, and this was especially true for the Whitebeard Pirates. The former Emperor thought of all of them as his sons, and Marshall D. Teach was one of them for 20 years. Despite his friendly demeanor towards Portgas D. Ace, there was something off.

This all came crashing down when Blackbeard murdered the 4th Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Thatch, when he realized he had found the Yami Yami no Mi. He chose his personal agenda and greed over his crew and family, and promptly formed his own. This particular betrayal has greatly impacted One Piece’s story.

11. York Sold Out Vegapunk to the World Government

Vegapunk might be the smartest man in One Piece, but he’s also perhaps too compassionate and makes mistakes along the way. He split his being into satellites, all of whom represent different aspects of him, with York being his greed. This personality trait, becoming its own person, led to his own demise.

York was pretending to be an ally of the Straw Hat at first, but she soon revealed her true alliance: the World Government. She told them about Vegapunk researching the Void Century, killing Shaka (Vegapunk’s good aspect), and stealing a portion of the Mother Flame to give to them. She did all of this to become a Celestial Dragon and now works under Garling.

10. Kanjuro Betrays the Nine Scabbards 

After Jack of the Beasts Pirates conveniently located Zou on top of Zunesha, which shouldn’t have been possible, suspicions of a traitor amongst Kin’emon’s group grew. Someone had to have leaked the information, and in the Wano Arc, it was revealed to be Kanjuro.

Kanjuro was the comic relief with terrible art skills, but all of this was an act. His true allegiance was always with the Kurozumi family, desired the destruction of the Kozuki clan; he even kidnapped Momonosuke. His true personality came as a huge shock to everyone.

9. CP9’s Infiltration of Water 7

The Water 7 Saga was incredible for more than just the revelation of Robin’s past. One Piece is known for great antagonists who are overtly evil, but some pretend to be allies. CP9, known as Cipher Pol Number 9, sent four agents to infiltrate Water 7 and retrieve the blueprints for the Ancient Weapon Pluton.

Lucci and Kaku became Dock One foremen at the Galley-La Company, Khalifa became Iceburg’s secretary, while Blueno posed as a bartender. Thankfully, the mayor knew the World Government was spying on him and kept Pluton safely with Franky. The betrayal still stung, however.

8. Hody Jones Is the Real Killer of Otohime 

We’ve known since before the time skip that tensions are high between Fish-Man Island and the human world, after the atrocities committed by the latter against their population. Hody Jones held onto his hatred for humans and took extreme measures to make sure it would stay the same.

Queen Otohime, who preached peace between the two and was an activist for her population, was assassinated by an unknown person, right before she would negotiate with the World Government. The killer was none other than Hody Jones, who deceived Fish-Man Island into believing it was a human.

7. Scratchmen Apoo Tricked Kid and Hawkins

During the Punk Hazard Arc, Eustass Kid, Scratchmen Apoo, and Basil Hawkins allied to take down the Emperors of the Sea. Luck wasn’t on their side as Kaido fell from the sky. Scratchmen Apoo, however, planned this moment to trap Kid and Hawkins into joining the Beasts Pirates as his subordinates. This was a clear betrayal of their alliance, as they discovered he was always allied with Kaido.

6. Pudding Fools Sanji

This is where the list enters the forgivable and nuanced territory. Sanji is forced to marry into Big Mom’s family, to her 35th daughter, Charlotte Pudding. Despite the terrible situation, she was genuinely kind and a perfect match. However, all of it was an act to lure Sanji.

Pudding plays a hand in capturing the Straw Hats and reveals the plan to kill all the Vinsmokes, with her assassinating Sanji at the altar. The chef also overhears her speaking ill of him, just as he was going to give her flowers.

Eventually, she failed to kill him when Sanji complimented her third eye, something Big Mom insults her for, and fell in love with him. Pudding is also a victim of abuse, and thus, this act is forgivable.

5. Squard Attacks Whitebeard

The tensions were high during the Summit War, as the Whitebeard Pirates and their allies put their lives on the line to save Ace. Whitebeard was a force of nature that even Sengoku and the Admirals wouldn’t dare to fight. So, imagine our shock when Squard, a person he considered his son, stabbed him.

Squard, however, was tricked by Akainu into believing Whitebeard planned to sacrifice all the subordinate crews. He was shocked that Ace was Gol D. Roger’s son and used his weakness to manipulate him. When he realized his mistake, Squard almost took his own life, but Whitebeard forgave him.

4. Denjiro Plotted Against Orochi and Kaido

Some betrayals stem from acts of intense loyalty. For Denjiro, the grief he felt for Oden’s death changed his face, and he never once deviated from his plan. He assumed the persona of Kyoshiro and worked under Orochi as a crime boss, all the while protecting Hiyori and plotting to defeat Oden’s killer and Kaido.

We witness all of his patience and planning come to fruition when he freed 1,000 samurai and attacked the Beasts Pirates’ ships. He reunited with the Nine Scabbards and even delivered the final blow to Orochi, enacting his revenge. Eiichiro Oda knows how to spin a great plot twist.

3. Donquixote Rosinante Betrayed His Brother to Save Law

Law’s past is one of the most tragic and beautiful stories of sacrifice in One Piece. When he joined the Donquixote Pirates and had limited time left, there was one person who looked out for him: Donquixote Rosinante (Corazon). He was the brother of Doflamingo, but was an undercover Marine looking to dismantle his operation.

Corazon abandoned his mission, both with the Marines and Donquixote Pirates, to find a cure for Law. He successfully acquired the Ope Ope no Mi and saved the young boy, but was executed once Doflamingo found him. His “betrayal” will always be known as the greatest sacrifice.

2. Fujitora Fought a Fellow Admiral

As the most moral Marine and Admiral in One Piece, Fujitora’s actions on the fourth day of the Reverie would go down in history. The Revolutionary Army attacked Mary Geoise and successfully got Kuma, while also freeing many slaves.

Ryokugyu wanted to stop them, but Fujitora protected the slaves and made sure they escaped. This angered his fellow Admiral, which led to a battle. Fujitora committed a significant and admirable act of defiance against a corrupt regime.

1. Donquixote Mjosgard Defies the Celestial Dragons

Apart from Doflamingo, the Donquixote Family seems to be on the right side of One Piece’s history. Mjosgard is one of them, who recognized the violence perpetuated by his people and actively stopped other Celestial Dragons from threatening Otohime’s family.

During the Reverie Arc, Mjosgard struck Charlos and ordered Shirahoshi to be freed. When another attempt was made, he allowed Leo and Sai to attack them and took full responsibility for it. Figarland Garling executed Mjosgard, accusing him of attempted murder against Charlos. His existence proves that Celestial Dragons can be moral.

Here’s a summary of our ranking, including which episode and chapter it happened:

Which act of betrayal in One Piece was the most shocking for you? Let us know in the comments below!

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