In an awesome new piece of One Piece fanart, artist @kiyo wonders how overpowered Pirate King Gol D. Roger's crew would be if everyone on his famous Laugh Tale crew survived to this day.In his quest to reach Laugh Tale, One Piece's Gol D Roger organized one of the meanest, roughest, toughest pirate crews to ever sail the Grand Line. The fact that the Roger Pirates was the only pirate crew in modern One Piece history to make it to Laugh Tale is enough to dismiss any doubts about their skills and experience. The crew included a combination of other-worldly talent, grizzled veterans, and young, skilled youth. When all three elements worked in unison, they were unstoppable. However, despite their greatness, once they reached Laugh Tale, Roger disbanded the team at the height of their power. Over the years since that time, life and success have been a mixed bag for the crew with some, most notably Roger, losing their lives not long after their once-in-a-lifetime triumph.In a dazzling image posted to his Twitter account, artist @Kiyo, perfectly imagines just how scary Roger and his pirates would have been if they remained together after reaching Laugh Tale and survived various threats from the World Government and other pirate crews that followed. Recognizing that no One Piece pirate crew would be successful without its leader, @kiyo's image makes sure that the older and certainly wiser, Pirate King himself is front and center. As his crew became more powerful in their own right, Roger would undoubtedly remain the unifying power keeping them together. While he surely would not be as swashbuckling as he was in his youth, he'd still be a force, any potential opponent, or crew member should think twice about confronting. The image also includes Gol D. Roger's First Mate Silvers Rayleigh. Besides being one of just a handful of people in the world to have mastered all three forms of Haki, in his prime, Rayleigh was also one of the strongest members of the crew. While his physical strength would have declined with age, he certainly would have made up for it by deepening his Haki abilities.
A Glimpse Into a Very Different Version of One Piece's World
Perhaps most interesting about the image, however, is its acknowledgment that with the passage of time the younger members of the crew would have reached their prime. The talented youth would include Shanks, Buggy, and Roger's own son, Portgas D. Ace. Indeed, while Ace had yet to be born when the crew was originally disbanded, it's more than likely Roger would have wanted him to join the crew, follow in his footsteps, and ensure his legacy. Moreover, considering that Shanks and Buggy have now been identified as Yonko with abilities to organize and control crews of their own, fight and win battles, as well as use their own personal strengths and skills, they would have formed a back bench of capabilities to supplement Roger's frontline that would have sparked fear in the heart of anyone who might question their authority to do as they wished.
In short, from top to bottom, a continuing Gol D. Roger's pirate crew would be the most fearsome and capable force in the One Piece world. Their strength would not just be based on skills and powers, though that would play a significant part. But also include their experience, as well as the intelligence they would have obtained from the Poneglyphs. @Kiyo's understanding of these factors clearly influenced his thinking in producing such an amazing example of One Piece fanart.
Source: @Kiyo