Edward Newgate

Whitebeard (白ひげ, Shirohige, Real name Edward Newgate) is known as the "closest pirate to One Piece" and is one of the Yonkou that rule over the New World.

Appearance
Being an abnormally large human, he is roughly five times the size of a normal human. He is always seen with a bandana around his head and a white captain's coat worn over his bare upper body.

The most prominent feature of his, is his large half-moon shaped mustache that has given him his nickname.

Whitebeard appears to have some health problems, possibly stemming from his advanced age. He is always surrounded by nurses and is hooked up to intravenous tubes. Despite this, he still drinks sake by the barrel.

Even with his health issues, he is still considered the world's most dangerous and powerful pirate, which raises the question of how powerful he must have been in his prime during the days of Gol D. Roger (Though the databook states that he hasn't lost any power from his prime). For unknown reasons, the scar on his chest wasn't present in Ace's flashback when they first met in the last three years. However, since it is heavily hinted that this scar was given by Gol D. Roger many years before Ace met Whitebeard, it is fairly safe to assume this was simply a mistake by the artist.

Personality
His reign on the sea, reputation and foreboding power has made him overconfident and he seems unable to see any cause for alarm on any decision he makes. He refuses all advice given to him (from his nurse telling him not to drink heavily to Shanks warning him of Blackbeard). He also seems to enjoy talking about the past, the first things he talks about when Shanks visits is old memories from the past 22 years. Among his philosophies in life is that it is fine when a man decides what to make of his life, as long as he doesn't live to regret it.

Crew
He believes any nakama from his crew who kills another nakama must be punished by another member of his crew, they are to be hunted down by the commander of that former crewmember's division. Whitebeard's strong stand with crewmate killing is based on him regarding every crewmember who joins his crew as his son. However, Whitebeard has grown to expect much from his own crewmembers and even with the possibility that Ace's own life may be on the line, he refuses to back off from Ace's duty to him. This is not blind loyalty however as Whitebeard is willing to go to war with the World Government to save Ace.

Enemies
Since none of the Yonkou are united together, any other Yonkou is a threat to him and his crew. When he first appears, he receives a letter from Red-Haired Shanks on behalf of Shanks' newest crewmate Rockstar. However, before even reading the letter, Whitebeard throws it away, claiming that if Shanks wants to talk, then he should visit in person. He even asks Rockstar to tell Shanks to prepare an expensive bottle of sake when Shanks comes to visit. Most of all, he refuses to accept Shanks as anything more than the snot-nosed kid he was 22 years ago, believing he is 100 years too young to tell him what to do.

He has also made many enemies over the years besides the other Yonkou and World Government. There are many prisoners in the lower levels of Impel Down who wish to kill him because of his power, the only one known by name so far however is Crocodile.

Abilities and Powers
He is the captain of the "Whitebeard Pirates". As the only man in the world who was able to match the late Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, in a fight, Whitebeard has been given the title of the "strongest man in the world". Whitebeard allegedly controls an enormous pirate fleet (much like Don Krieg's) which is divided into numerous corps under the command of a Whitebeard subordinate.

Whitebeard is one of the Yonkou, four of the most formidable pirates that rule the second half of the Grand Line, along with Shanks, Kaidou, and an unnamed Yonkou. They are considered the biggest pirate threats to the World Government. Another testament to this power is the fact that the Shichibukai and World Government are using virtually all their power to prepare to fight him. Also, aboard his ship, the Moby Dick, 23 Marine ships were destroyed in an instant.

Weapons
Whitebeard fights with a heavy spear-type weapon called a bisento.

Early History
Some time ago Whitebeard went to Fishman Island and freed it from pirate attacks and government attacks. He made this island one of his own and restored peace on the island. This stills stands today, but even Shichibukai Jinbei does not know what would happen if Whitebeard dies, or something happens to him.

Clashing of the Crews
It is unknown how events happened that led to the rivalry between Whitebeard's crew and Roger's. They competed often, leading to much bloodshed. Whitebeard came to know certain members of Roger's crew and came to know certain familiarities amongst the crew such as seeing Shanks with Buggy. Somewhere along the Grand Line, Roger pulled away from Whitebeard and made it to Raftel.

The End of an Era
Soon afterwards, Roger surrendered himself to be executed. Whitebeard became the undisputed power of the sea for being the only one able to battle on equal terms with the Pirate King. Whitebeard was always fully aware of events in the Grand Line playing out around him such as the fighting going on between Mihawk and Shanks. In time the World Government came to dub him and three other pirates as the 4 strongest pirates in the New World, the Yonkou.

More than 10 years ago, Blackbeard joined his crew. In an incident involving Shanks, Blackbeard was able to scar the Red-Haired Pirate across his left eye.

Expectations and Murder
At some point in the last 3 years, Whitebeard drafted Portgas D. Ace into his crew, allowing him to become commander of his 2nd Division despite his young age. Blackbeard, a member of his division decides to kill Thatch (the 4th division commander) to gain access to a Devil Fruit he had found. After the death of Thatch, Ace was sent to kill Blackbeard by Whitebeard, because Blackbeard had been part of Ace's division.

Shanks Calls
Sometime later, Rockstar arrives carrying a letter to Whitebeard from his captain Shanks. Unimpressed that Shanks sent him a letter instead of coming to see him in person, Whitebeard tears it up in front of Rockstar telling him Shanks should see him in person and bring some rum.

Shanks finally arrived to talk with Whitebeard over Ace and Blackbeard after barging his way through a blockade set up to prevent them meeting. After talking about the years gone by, Shanks demands Whitebeard pull Ace back believing him to be not ready for Blackbeard. Whitebeard ignores the request and the talks between the two break down into a fight which leaves both captains crews uneasy and splits the clouds above them. Jozu (commander of Whitebeard's 3rd division) mentioned that 'some kind of deal must've been broken as he indicates that the heavens have split.

Ace's Execution
Whitebeard and his pirate crew are going to prevent Ace's execution. Doflamingo states that the Shichibukai are getting ready to battle Whitebeard and his crew. While Ace's execution is in a week's time, the Marines are expecting something much sooner and are rallying the Shichibukai for his assault. It has been revealed that Whitebeard's mother ship, the Moby Dick, has started to move, and that he has taken out all 23 ships keeping an eye on him in an instant, leaving the Marines completely clueless as to exactly where and when he will attack. Recently, one of Momonga's subordinates mentioned that Kaidou had tried to attack Whitebeard but that Shanks had interfered.

Major Battles

 * Vs. Gol D. Roger (has yet to actually been shown)
 * Vs. Red-Haired Shanks
 * Vs. Shichibukai (current)

Translation and Dub Issues
The name Whitebeard is actually a mistranslation. In Japanese, his nickname is Shiro Hige. The word 'Shiro' meaning white, and 'Hige' meaning 'facial hair' (the Japanese do not have words for the individual styles of facial hair).

Anime and Manga Influences
Whitebeard's character design is based on the owner of the pub Oda liked going to. The owner often sat down in the store with medical equipment hooked up to his nose and drank calling sake "medicine" while telling war stories. Whitebeard's own line in his first appearance, "I'm not talking to any snot-nosed airheads." was in fact an exact phrase the owner often said to customers. Unfortunately the pub owner passed away by the time Oda revealed this fact.

Trivia

 * In a recent Japanese Fan Poll, Whitebeard is currently ranked the 43rd most popular character in One Piece.
 * On one of Whitebeard's medical support equipment is an upside down "Smilie", like those used instead of the traditional Jolly Roger.
 * A pirate with a similar appearance to Whitebeard, Crecent Moon Galley, can be seen in one of Oda's early "Romance Dawn" oneshots. His most notable feature is his crecent-shaped mustache, similar to Whitebeard's.