Blackbeard Pirates

The Blackbeard pirates (黒ひげ海賊団, Kurohige Kaizokudan) is a significantly powerful pirate crew and an antagonist group, led by Marshall D. Teach, better known as "Blackbeard."

Their captain was originally a member of Whitebeard's band of pirates (and Portgas D. Ace's subordinate), until he killed one of his crewmates and defected, heading out on his own and forming his own crew. Blackbeard was Crocodile's replacement among the Shichibukai, having turned in Ace to gain this position, but resigned after abusing the privilege to recruit more members from Impel Down.

Blackbeard's flag is that of three skulls: one looking left, one looking forward, and one looking right. Behind them there are four crossed bones instead of the classic two.

Part in the Story
The first time the crew is mentioned, they are said to have ransacked the kingdom of Drum. Upon seeing their immense power, the cruel and cowardly king, Wapol, fled without even fighting back. In Arabasta, when the Straw Hats meet up with Portgas D. Ace, it is revealed that Ace is hunting down the captain, Blackbeard, for killing a crewmate as a Whitebeard pirate and fleeing.

Laffite marks the first visual appearance of the crew by appearing at Mariejoa to recommend Blackbeard to replace Crocodile as one of the Shichibukai. The other crewmembers are first seen in Mock Town of the island Jaya, playing several "games" to see how fate works out. When Luffy meets Blackbeard himself in a bar, they at first seem to have the exact opposite opinions on the bars' food and beverages. While Luffy hates the bar's pie, Blackbeard loves it, and while Luffy loves one of the bar's drinks, Blackbeard hates it, which leads to them challenging each other to a fight, but they decide not to go through with it when Nami points out that they are fighting for no reason. Later on, after the Bellamy Pirates taunt them for believing in Sky Island, Blackbeard assures the Straw Hats that it does exist and in response to the notion of the "New Age", states that people will never stop dreaming. Because of this, Blackbeard's true motives are a mystery. When Blackbeard finds out about Luffy's high bounty, he and his crew try to capture him, but the Straw Hats are launched into the sky by the Knock-Up Stream before they can make an attempt.

Blackbeard learns that Luffy had defeated Crocodile and decides to bring Luffy's bounty to the World Government to prove himself as a worthy candidate for Crocodile's vacated Shichibukai position. However, Ace finally catches up with Blackbeard at Banaro Island, and after learning Blackbeard's intentions, engages him a fierce battle from which Blackbeard finally emerges victorious. Blackbeard then turns Ace, in place of Luffy, in to the Marines in order to attain a position in the Royal Shichibukai. This event also triggers the start of the war with Whitebeard, as the Marines publicly announced Ace's execution.

During the preparations for the war, Blackbeard is seen sitting along with his fellow Shichibukai. However, roughly five hours before the execution, he and his crew steal a Marine's ship from Marineford and set off to Impel Down, where they break in to recruit several new nakama on Level 6. After encountering former Chief Warden Shiliew (mistakenly identified as Magellan), they appear on Level 4, where Blackbeard eliminates Hannyabal's backup team before crushing Hannyabal personally. The five then face off against the breakout crew that includes Jinbei, Crocodile, Inazuma, Mr. 1, Mr. 2 and Luffy. As time is running out for Ace, the breakout army simply runs around Blackbeard, who allows them to pass through. The Blackbeard Pirates are then confronted by Magellan, who proceeds to drench them in the lethal neurotoxin Hydra. They are saved by Shiliew, who presents them with an antidote. Shiliew, who was originally temporarily released because the gaolers required his help managing the chaos in Impel Down, cites that he had been waiting for a person like Blackbeard and accepts the proposal to join his crew in order to avoid being imprisoned once again by Magellan.

After the war has reached its pinnacle point, the Blackbeard Pirates returned to Marineford, with several of the most legendary and feared prisoners from Impel Down as their new recruits. Teach informs Sengoku that he only wanted the Shichibukai title so he could break into Impel Down, and is then assaulted brutally by Whitebeard. The Blackbeard pirates then attack Whitebeard together, defeating and killing him. After that, the Blackbeard Pirates cover Blackbeard and Whitebeard with a black cloth, inside which Blackbeard somehow steals Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi powers, and then declares that he is the new era with the power of darkness and earthquake.

When Blackbeard states he will sink Marineford, Sengoku retaliates by hitting the entire crew with a shockwave. They soon later leave on account of Shanks and his crew arrive on the battlefield.

Back in the New World, Blackbeard defeated the Bonney Pirates and kept them as a bargain cheap for their deal with the Marines, in order to get a marine vessel. However, when they found out that the Marines are not interested in dealing with them (as they sent Akainu after them), the Blackbeard Pirates quickly left the island.

Crew Strength
The Blackbeard Pirates are much stronger than any normal pirate crew that have been shown so far. Their attack on Drum Island was overwhelming to the point that the island's selfish king, Wapol, fled without even attempting to fight back. Also, the fact they took a direct attack from Ace and managed to get up afterward is a good measure of their unusual strength. They were also able to break into Impel Down and made it to Level 4 without much difficulty (though Impel Down was, at the time, admittedly strained). Aside from their great endurance and strength, each member has a special profession in the crew (discounting the new recruits - it is unknown what positions they hold), though it is unknown how well they perform at these jobs. In a way, they are a dark version of the Straw Hat Pirates - both crews are abnormally strong despite their respective sizes, and recruit only highly specialized members. The Blackbeard Pirates, minus Wolf, dealt the final killing blows to the legendary pirate Whitebeard. An additional revelation to their power is the fact that Jewelry Bonney, one of the Eleven Supernovas, was deemed too weak to join their crew and was instead offered by Blackbeard to become her woman (although she declined the offer by kicking his head).

The sniper, Van Augur the "Supersonic", has incredible eyesight and speed, being able to shoot a flock of seagulls from a distance so far the Straw Hats couldn't even see the island he was on. He is able to predict where a bullet is going to hit, and can run at an amazing speed to avoid it.

The helmsman, Jesus Burgess the "Champion", is a wrestling champion who possess incredible strength and won every fight while he was in Mock Town. He is also able to throw buildings with much ease and at impressive distances.

Laffitte, the navigator and a former policeman, is very stealthy, and was able to sneak undetected into the World Government headquarters of Mariejoa during a meeting between several high-ranking Marine officials and three Shichibukai members, a feat made even greater by the fact that he was wearing tap shoes. He also seems to possess a Devil Fruit power that allows him to transform his arms into wings for flight, as well as possessing the powers of hypnosis.

The doctor, Doc Q the "Shinigami", and his horse Stronger have yet to show any notable abilities, and for the matter appears to be weak with sickness. However, Blackbeard himself stated that he doesn't desire weaklings into his crew. Indeed, despite their illness, Doc Q was still able to help row their raft and wield a double-bladed scythe in combat, and Stronger was still able to carry Doc Q.

The former chief warden of Impel Down, "Shiliew of the Rain", is a powerful swordsman, said to be equal to the extremely powerful Warden Magellan, who was strong enough to take care of Monkey D. Luffy, hundreds of prisoners, and the Blackbeard Pirates alone (though Shiliew noted that the crew had been careless against Magellan's poisonous powers).

After their break-in of Impel Down, excluding with Shiliew, the crew recruited four other pirates, their crimes so terrible that their existence was actually erased from history, who had been locked in the Level 6: Eternal Hell of the prison. The ones seen are Sanjuan Wolf the "Colossal Battleship"; Vasco Shot the "Mighty Drinker"; "Crescent Moon Hunter" Catarina Devon, the worst female criminal in history; and "Corrupt King" Avalo Pizarro. Though they have yet to show their full powers, they are some of the most feared legendary criminals in the world. The Marines even said that even just one of the prisoners walking free again is unthinkable. In fact, during the riot at Impel Down, Blackbeard selected them in a "survival fight" among the Level 6 prisoners, stating thus that they are the most powerful prisoners of the entire Impel Down at that time.

However, the true strength of the Blackbeard Pirates lies in their fearsome captain, Marshall D. Teach, better known as "Blackbeard." A relatively unknown name, Blackbeard has performed the incredible feat of landing a permanent scar on the Red Haired Shanks, who is famed as one of the Yonkou, reputed as the four strongest pirates in the world, prior to eating a Devil Fruit, as well as defeating two of the top four Division Commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates, Portgas D. Ace and Thatch. He also ate one of the most powerful known Devil Fruits, the Yami Yami no Mi, and held the position of a Shichibukai, until he forfeited the title after he used it to reach Impel Down and recruit the prisoners mentioned above. With the assistance of his crew, Blackbeard ganged up on Whitebeard with a barrage of gunshots and killed him in a rather cowardly fashion. He somehow acquires the power of the Gura Gura no Mi from Whitebeard's corpse, allowing him to be the only person to wield two Devil Fruit powers at the same time.

Other Information
They believe heavily in fate and luck, using often cruel measures to see how destiny plays out. One example is Van Augur, who shot a group of seagulls just to see the ones destined to die slow and painful deaths. Another example is demonstrated by Jesus Burgess, who challenges random people to a fight to see who wins. Doc Q also handed out apples in Mock Town to see who was unlucky enough to get ones that exploded after one bite and who did not. Even when they chase after Luffy to the Knock-Up Stream, his escape was put down to fate.

While it has never been stated by Oda where the influence of their flag comes from, the image of the 3 heads appears as a classic depiction of Cerberus. The three heads of Cerberus are suppose to see the past, the present and the future and Cerberus was also the guardian of the gates of Hades. It may also be a depiction of the Moirae, the three goddesses of Fate. They also happen to tie in with the crews views of fate and destiny as well as their often deadly methods for seeing how fate plays out and may be the reason behind the three skulls. The four crossbones on the flag resemble the popular eight-pointed "Symbol of Chaos", which suits their theme of chaotic destiny.

All members of the crew appear to be massive humans, like Aokiji, Kizaru or Whitebeard. Teach, Burgess, Doc Q, Pizarro and Shot are big characters, while Augur, Laffite, Shiliew and Devon are quite tall as well. Finally, Wolf is a giant of such size that even Oars and Oars Jr. stack combined pale in comparison.

The crew seems rather a set of indivdualities rather than a team. Also the initial crew shows some loyalty to Teach, the ex-prisoners from Impel Down do not hesitate to manifest their opinion when things do not go the way they want, Avalo Pizarro even asking once to replace Blackbeard as the captain

Trivia

 * All of the crewmembers (save Doc Q and Stronger) are named after real pirates, sailors or piracy related places.

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