Four Emperors

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Four Emperors
Original Name	四皇
Occupation/Role	Powerful pirate rulers whose crews can alter the balance of power in the New World 1583 1600.
Sphere of Influence	The New World, including territories, strongholds, and affiliated pirate forces 1635 1637 2043.
Known Titleholders	Whitebeard, Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, and Red-Haired Shanks; Blackbeard later emerges as an Emperor-level successor 1334 1598 1600 1859 2011 2063.
Major Alliances	Kaido–Charlotte Linlin alliance; later Kaido–Blackbeard alliance, both associated with the Yonko Alliance name 1637 1833 2011 2043.
Status	Severely diminished: Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin, Shanks, and Blackbeard die; the later Yonko Alliance collapses. Kaido escapes the main battle and is pursued by Ronglin 1598 1918 2012 2063 2068.

Membership

The title does not make its holders a permanently unified faction. Their crews pursue separate interests, and cooperation depends on specific alliances 1583 1637 1875.

Emperor	Crew / Power Base	Position and Fate
Whitebeard	Whitebeard Pirates; prominent commanders include Marco, Ace, and Jozu 1472.	His death leaves his former territories and position contested. Ace leads the remnants against Blackbeard 1334 1474 1598.
Kaido	Beasts Pirates; supported by the Three Disasters and a substantial Devil Fruit-user army 1472 1743.	Allies first with Linlin and later Blackbeard. Escapes the final fleet battle, after which Ronglin pursues him 1637 2011 2063.
Charlotte Linlin / Big Mom	BIGMOM Pirates, based on Whole Cake Island; supported by the Sweet Commanders 1472 1639.	Defeated by Ronglin and drowned during her attack on the Star Alliance 1910 1918.
Red-Haired Shanks	Red-Haired Pirates; later allied with Ace and Buggy 1670.	His crew is annihilated while covering an escape. Shanks and Buggy die fighting the Five Elders while protecting Ace’s breakout 2012.
Marshall D. Teach / Blackbeard	Blackbeard Pirates, including criminals recruited from Impel Down 1474.	Initially a contender for Whitebeard’s position rather than an established replacement. Later possesses Emperor-level strength, allies with Kaido, and is killed by Ronglin 1859 2011 2059 2063.

Power and Influence

Individual Combat Strength

• A costly opponent even for an Admiral: Aokiji treats Kaido as an opponent on Ronglin’s level and expects defeating an Emperor to require a terrible price 1598.
• Overwhelming against ordinary elite troops: Ronglin concludes that even strong Phantom Group members could be killed or crippled by a single full-strength Emperor attack. He rejects relying on a hundred enhanced fighters without personally intervening 1743.
• Island-threatening battles: Smoky estimates that two Emperor-level fighters could destroy a small island given enough time 2002.
• Not invincible: Kaido believes two Admirals together would capture him. The strengthened Marine expeditionary force—three Admiral candidates, ten elite Vice Admirals, and Tsuru—is assessed as capable of defeating a single Emperor’s crew 1598 1643.

Commanders and Armies

Force	Documented Assets
Whitebeard Pirates	Marco, Ace, and Jozu are identified as top-tier commanders capable of causing major upheaval independently 1472.
Beasts Pirates	The Three Disasters and approximately one hundred Devil Fruit users in the main battle units, according to a captured crew member 1472 1743.
BIGMOM Pirates	Four Sweet Commanders in the earlier account, powerful family officers, and affiliated fleets 1472 1913.
Blackbeard Pirates	Notorious Impel Down escapees whose strength helps Blackbeard challenge Whitebeard’s remnants even without the Tremor-Tremor Fruit 1334 1474.

Territorial and Political Influence

• Major-power standing: Ronglin places the Four Emperors alongside the Marines, Revolutionary Army, World Government, and pre-collapse Pirate Alliance as forces capable of reshaping the New World 1583.
• Recruitment through protection: Kaido and Linlin invite pirate crews of all sizes to join them, presenting their alliance as a means of survival under increasing World Government pressure 1637.
• Retaliatory bounties: The pair offer 100 million Beli for capturing or killing a Star Alliance captain and 500 million Beli for a fleet commander-in-chief 1746.
• Uneven loyalty: Affiliated pirates under Big Mom resent the treatment they receive from her direct subordinates. Once she loses, that resentment helps drive mass surrender 1913 1916.

History

Whitebeard’s Vacant Position

Following the Summit War, Ronglin expects Blackbeard to rise despite failing to acquire the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. He considers the Dark-Dark Fruit and Blackbeard’s vicious subordinates sufficient qualifications to challenge for an Emperor’s seat 1334.

Ace gathers Whitebeard’s surviving forces and becomes their chosen leader, while Blackbeard expands and contests their position 1474. Even after defeating Ace’s forces, Blackbeard’s ascent remains incomplete: Ronglin’s rapid rise, victories over him, and recruitment of two of his commanders overshadow his momentum 1859.

Ronglin’s Early Challenge

Ronglin openly challenges Emperor authority before establishing the Star Alliance. He kills Kaido’s subordinates despite their invoking their captain’s name, refusing to let their affiliation prevent him from rescuing someone 1376. His occupation of the Ashil Kingdom and recruitment campaign are subsequently reported as preparations to challenge the Four Emperors 1468.

Kaido and Linlin both show interest in recruiting him. Linlin offers to make him the leading Sweet Commander and allow him to marry her daughters, but Ronglin remains independent 1494 1495. He instead recruits fighters with free Devil Fruits, explicitly promising a campaign against the Emperors 1511.

Kaido and Linlin’s Alliance

As Marine and World Government operations intensify, Kaido and Linlin publicly unite. They use the Marine fleet monitoring them to broadcast the announcement and invite smaller crews into their protection 1637.

Ronglin counters with mobile operations rather than a single frontal assault. Hawkins’s Second Fleet attacks Kaido’s stronghold, Capone’s Fourth Fleet strikes Linlin’s, and the Third Fleet harasses the front 1669 1683. The simultaneous diversions allow the Star Alliance to strike the Emperors’ rear and escape pursuit, damaging their reputation 1685.

The rivalry also fuels unrest within the Star Alliance. Six lords push thirty-six islands to demand war, after which reports claim they have defected to the Emperors. The lords dispute the news, while Kaido and Linlin deny involvement and recognize that someone is manipulating events 1750 1751.

The Ten Thousand Nations Alliance Summit

After Star Alliance victories against her forces, Linlin retaliates against smaller factions that assisted Ronglin. Her troops destroy five factions in three days, slaughtering soldiers and civilians, and demand Cracker’s release. She threatens to turn the forthcoming summit into Ronglin’s funeral 1848.

The planned joint offensive fractures when Kaido faces attacks on his headquarters, pressure around Wano, and a threatened Marine ambush. He withdraws his support and delays informing Linlin until the following day. Furious, she proceeds alone 1873 1874 1875.

Ronglin defeats Linlin in a few hours without substantial injury 1910. Her fleet’s cohesion collapses: one-third defects during the battle, and the invading force is destroyed in less than a day. Linlin drowns, and underwater allies recover her body 1916 1918. Cracker, Smoky, and Katakuri are imprisoned, leaving the remaining BIGMOM territories exposed to rival powers 1928 1931.

Kaido, Blackbeard, and the Poneglyph Conflict

While Linlin attacks the summit, Crocodile and the Eight Treasures Navy exploit Blackbeard’s involvement to outmaneuver Kaido and withdraw with a Poneglyph 1939. Crocodile subsequently uses the Tremor-Tremor Fruit as part of a scheme intended to redirect Kaido’s attention toward Blackbeard 1940.

Blackbeard acquires the fruit and attacks his former partners. Kaido watches the conflict in confusion, recognizing Whitebeard’s former power in Blackbeard’s hands 1941 1947.

The Later Yonko Alliance

Kaido and Blackbeard eventually gather their forces, with Blackbeard proposing that their combined Emperor-level strength can destroy the Star Alliance 2011. News of the annihilation of Shanks’s crew and Ace’s coalition leaves their two forces as the New World’s remaining iconic pirate powers 2012.

Ronglin spends more than a month attacking the edges of their territories, destroying strongholds, scouts, supply lines, and rear resources while avoiding their main force. Other Star Alliance fleets conceal themselves underwater for an ambush 2043.

During the decisive battle, Ronglin takes on both Kaido and Blackbeard, freeing Fujitora to attack their officers 2059. He kills Blackbeard by drowning him, then pursues the escaping Kaido 2063. The Yonko Alliance collapses rapidly, with its core pirate officers rounded up and its remaining organized resistance eliminated 2068.

Relationships with Other Powers

• Star Alliance — Principal challenger to Kaido and Linlin’s dominance, and later the force responsible for destroying the Kaido–Blackbeard alliance 1683 1918 2068.
• Marines — Military rivals whose expanded strength increasingly threatens individual Emperor crews. Their pressure helps encourage cooperation between Kaido and Linlin 1622 1637 2017.
• World Government — Seeks to suppress major pirate powers but also considers allowing Ronglin to eliminate Emperor crews on its behalf 1938.
• Revolutionary Army — Intervenes against BIGMOM forces at Fish-Man Island; later urges Ronglin to avoid war with the Emperors because of the likely civilian casualties 1472 1642.

Notable Quotes

“Don't underestimate the Four Emperors. We were already at a disadvantage against CP0, let alone the Four Emperors who have ruled the New World for years.”
— Shiryu, warning Ronglin 1785

“Let's join forces! My strength now stands on the same level as the Four Emperors. With the power of two Four Emperors combined, destroying the Star Alliance will be no trouble at all!”
— Blackbeard, proposing an alliance with Kaido 2011