Edward Newgate

Edward Newgate, more commonly known as "Whitebeard", was the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates and was known as "The Strongest Man in the World" and "The Man closest to One Piece" after Gol D. Roger's death. He was a member of the Yonko that ruled over the New World until his death during the Battle of Marineford.

Appearance
In his younger days, he wore an open dark gray vest and a black bandanna, and his trademark mustache was nonexistent. Later in his life, he grew the prominent crescent-shaped mustache, which would spawn his epithet, "Whitebeard". When he was 52, he wore a blue and yellow pirate hat with his jolly roger on it over a black bandana with black and red, both worn over long, blond flowing hair he had back then.

Whitebeard was an abnormally large human, roughly three times the size of a normal human. Unlike other large-sized humans, however, he was well-proportioned. He had a long face, ploughed because of the advanced age with many wrinkles around his eyes, and many scars running along his chest, and was very muscular. The muscles on his biceps seemed to grow bigger whenever he used his quake-based powers. Like all of his men, he had his own Jolly Roger tattooed on his back. In the manga, his eyes are brown, but in the anime, his eye color is seen to be yellow.

He wore a black bandanna around his head and adorned himself with a white captain's coat, which hung loosely from his broad shoulders and bore his Jolly Roger symbol. He was always seen bare-chested, and wore light, loose pants tucked inside his large black boots, and a dark pirate sash around his waist. While not in battle, Whitebeard was typically on oxygen and attached to several medical sensor machines, due to health issues concerning his age.

In the manga, after Akainu melted off a portion of his head, Whitebeard lost his left eye and the left side of his mustache (this was changed to just losing the left side of his mustache in the anime) as well as a massive hole in his torso (a second, bigger hole in the stomach was also dealt by Akainu in the anime). However, for the entire 72 years that he lived, he had never once received a wound on his back because he never ran away from his battles.

As a child, he wore a light colored sleeveless shirt with black writing on it. He also wore shorts and a white bandanna. He had bandaged scrapes and cuts from his fights.

Personality
I am only one man with one heart...Call me a demon, call me a monster...but I can't be the strongest forever...!!! Edward Newgate seemed to be a cheerful and carefree person during his younger years, prior to commanding his own ship and becoming known as Whitebeard. Unlike his comrades who loved treasure and riches, he only desired a family, and saw that as the greatest treasure.

His reign on the sea, reputation and foreboding power made him seemingly overconfident and fearless. In initial appearances, he seemed unable to see any cause for alarm on any decision he made and refused all advice given to him, such as his nurse telling him not to drink heavily or Shanks warning him of Blackbeard. However, he was much more thoughtful than he initially appeared to be. Actions that initially seem to be the result of thoughtless, headstrong bravado actually had strong reasons behind them; his loud declaration that Fishman Island belonged to him freed the island from all pirates and slavery, and his insistence that Blackbeard be punished was merely a cover for Ace, who had set out after him against Whitebeard's wishes. Though he may have seemed to have an overgrown ego, deep down he knew that he was nothing but a single man and was fully aware of his own mortality. He knew that the youth are the keys to the future, and that their lives are far more important than his own is.

He also seemed to enjoy talking about the past; the first things he talked about when Shanks visited were old memories from the past twenty-two years, and when he saw Buggy during the Paramount War, he recalled some memories from the past. People that were children at that time were still children in his eyes, even men as powerful as his fellow Yonko Shanks and Admiral Aokiji.

One way to appease him involved bringing and sharing with him a drink (preferably of high quality and very expensive) while striking up a conversation, as seen with his encounters with Shanks, Roger, and Shiki; however, this did not guarantee complete cooperation from him, judging from the nature of these conversations.

Whitebeard believed that it is fine when a man decides what to make of his life if he does not live to regret it. After being stabbed by Squard, Whitebeard remained forgiving and understanding toward his ally.

A distinguishing feature of Whitebeard's nature was his high moral standards: he never forgave the death of a crewmate, and believed that a man cannot live without some form of moral code. The ultimate proof of his unwavering sense of right and wrong came when he declared war with the World Government solely to save Ace's life. Another example is taking on Blackbeard in order to avenge Thatch, despite being close to death at the time. However, he was willing to go against his moral code under certain circumstances, such as when he instructed Ace to let Blackbeard go because he had an uneasy feeling about him.

Like Gol D. Roger, Whitebeard believed that a child should not be responsible for their parents' sins, and he told Squard that Ace should not be held responsible for Roger killing his (Squard's) original crew.

Like other characters in One Piece, he has a unique laugh, which is "Gu ra ra ra ra". Like Perona, his laugh is similar to the name of his Devil Fruit, the Gura Gura no Mi. However in the anime (before the Marineford Arc) and Gigant Battle, his laugh was changed to a regular "Ha ha ha ha ha". In the American Shonen Jump, his laugh is changed to "Gu ha ha ha ha".

Crew
It'd be a shame if you died here, kid. If you still want to wreck havoc on this sea, bear my name on your back and go wild as much as you like! Become my son! Whitebeard considered every single member of his crew, as well as his allies, his "sons". His strong love for his crew and allies traced all the way back to before he even had a crew, when he stated that the one thing he wanted more than anything was a family.

Any crewmember from Whitebeard's crew who killed another crewmember were to be hunted down by the commander of that former crew member's division. Whitebeard's strong stand against crewmate killing was based on his fatherly stance over every member of his crew; as a result of this treatment, the whole crew affectionately referred to him as "Pops" or "Old Man" (オヤジ). However, Whitebeard did not force commanders to hunt down wayward crew members if he had an uneasy feeling about the situation; in the case of Blackbeard, Whitebeard tried to make an exception and stop Ace from hunting him down, but Ace did so anyway for the sake of Whitebeard's honor.

This was not blind loyalty, as Whitebeard was willing to go to war with the World Government to save Ace. In addition, Whitebeard took full responsibility for the actions of his crew and kept a stern outward appearance for non-crew members, falsely claiming to outsiders that he ordered Ace to hunt down Blackbeard. Whitebeard also treated all of his "sons" and "daughters" equally, and claimed to Squard that Ace was no different than any other, despite being Roger's son. In battle, while this unshakable bond between him and his crew stood, Whitebeard's subordinates knew better than to get in the way of their captain.

Marco had a very strong bond with Whitebeard. During the Paramount War, he was the first and only crewmate who rushed to Whitebeard's aid after the latter was stabbed by Squard. Later, Marco attempted to assist his captain in fighting Blackbeard, but was ultimately ordered to stand down.

New World Pirates
Aside from their own 1600 member crew, the Whitebeard Pirates had many allies from the New World. Each one of the pirate captains was an infamous pirate who had made a name for him or herself in the New World. There seemed to be at least 43 crews allied with Whitebeard. Whitebeard treated all of his long-time allies just like his own crew, as though they were his own sons. They all seemed to know Ace, at least, and were willing to help Whitebeard's cause when Ace was about to be executed at Marineford; however, they were not aware that Ace was Roger's son until around the time Ace died. These New World allies included "Bohemian Knight" Doma, "Thunder Lord" McGuy, the Decalvan Brothers, "Great Whirlpool Spider" Squard, Little Oars Jr., and the "Ice Witch" Whitey Bay.

Squard
After losing his entire crew to Roger, Squard was taken in by Whitebeard, who treated him like a son and saved him from the loneliness of losing all of his comrades. Squard, in return, thought of Whitebeard as a father figure, but felt betrayed when he thought that Whitebeard was planning to sacrifice all of his allies to save Ace. When Whitebeard proved otherwise, Squard broke down in tears at his mistake. He later attempted to redeem himself at the cost of his own life by charging head-first into battle, but Whitebeard himself stopped and reprimanded him.

Jinbe
Because of his role as a protector of Fishman Island, Whitebeard was considered a hero by many Fishmen, in particular Jinbe of the Shichibukai. Jinbe has expressed many times that he owes a great deal of gratitude to the Yonko and refused to participate in the war against Whitebeard, even if it meant losing his Shichibukai title and being imprisoned in Impel Down. Over the years, Jinbe's respect has grown to the point where he will readily declare himself as an adversary to anyone or anything with ill intent upon the Yonko's life, which is why he immediately engaged in battle against Ace on their first encounter, since Ace was out to assassinate Whitebeard at that time.

Monkey D. Luffy
Whitebeard seemed to have some form of respect for Luffy after hearing about him from both Ace and Shanks; Ace had shown excitement that Luffy was on the Grand Line, and Shanks had stated that he had given up his arm on a "bet on the New Age", referring to Luffy. After showing his fierce tenacity, Luffy had managed to gain Whitebeard's respect. Whitebeard went as far as assigning his top commander, Marco, to act as Luffy's bodyguard during the war and "would not have forgiven him" if Luffy had died.

As the war went on, his respect for Luffy increased after witnessing Luffy's true potential, and Whitebeard decided to command all his forces to fully support Luffy with all their might, a decision which even surprised his own men. This also marks the first time that Whitebeard called him by his name, Straw Hat Luffy, instead of "brat", proving that Whitebeard came to acknowledge him and his strength through the course of the war. Luffy respected Whitebeard as well, believing that anyone whom Ace admires cannot be a bad person, and was willing to intercept an attack from Crocodile aimed at Whitebeard's life before he even met him in person.

Impel Down Escapees
Alongside Luffy were many Impel Down convicts who escaped from prison, including Emporio Ivankov, a Revolutionary Army commander, and Buggy, a former member of the Roger Pirates. All of these convicts were powerful people, and a majority of them fought against Whitebeard's opposition, which made them valuable assets to Whitebeard's cause. Whitebeard also proposed an alliance with Buggy, as he recognized the threat his new crew imposed, though he did not see Buggy himself as anything threatening.

Neptune
Whitebeard was an old friend of King Neptune. Their friendship stemmed from when they first drank together, and Whitebeard protected Fishman Island from slavery due to this friendship. Though it is unknown how they became friends, it is known that they had been friends for quite some time, as Neptune helped Whitebeard out a lot during his younger days.

Enemies
Roger... Garp... Sengoku... there aren't very many people who know about the sea back then.

Gol D. Roger
Despite having been rivals with Gol D. Roger, Whitebeard held much respect for him. Not long before his death, Roger met with Whitebeard on an island to have what seemed to be an entirely cordial drinking session, with Roger even offering to give the location of Raftel to Whitebeard, and when Whitebeard asked Roger about the Will of the D., Roger willingly told him about it. Upon learning that Ace was his rival's son, Whitebeard did not see his bloodline as an inconvenience, and even tried to inspire Ace to respect Roger as his father.

Impel Down Convicts
Whitebeard made many enemies over the years besides the other Yonko and the World Government. There are many prisoners in the lower levels of Impel Down who wished to kill him because of personal grudges, though the only one known by name is Crocodile.

Marines
Whitebeard respected Monkey D. Garp and Sengoku, a respect which was mutual. He considered them the few people that knew the seas from Roger's era who are still alive in the present. On the other hand, he considered other, younger Marines to be "brats", and refused to give any of them, including the admirals, much respect. Sakazuki, however, earned Whitebeard's wrath for killing Ace, and Whitebeard brutally injured him.

Shanks
Since none of the Yonko work together, any other Yonko is a threat to him and his crew. In his first appearance, Whitebeard received a letter from Shanks delivered by Shanks's newest crewmate, Rockstar. However, before even reading the letter, Whitebeard threw it away, claiming that Shanks should come in person with some expensive sake if he wanted to talk. Most of all, he refused to accept Shanks as anything more than the kid he was 22 years ago and believed he was 100 years too young to tell him what to do.

Despite being enemies, Shanks held great respect for Whitebeard, which made him willing to lend his aid to Whitebeard by preventing the Yonko Kaido from reaching Whitebeard, allowing him to reach Marineford without any hindrance. After Whitebeard's death, Shanks saved Whitebeard's crew and their other allies and gave Whitebeard and Ace a proper burial.

Marshall D. Teach
Marshall D. Teach, also known as Blackbeard, was Whitebeard's greatest enemy for killing Thatch and enabling Ace's capture and execution. Claiming that Blackbeard alone was the only one whom he refused to consider his son, Whitebeard attempted to take Blackbeard's life prior to his death. Just before dying, Whitebeard openly declared that Blackbeard was not worthy of being Roger's successor. After Whitebeard's death, Blackbeard conquered his territories and usurped his post as a Yonko.

Protectorates
Before his demise, Whitebeard had a number of locations under his protection. Most of them seem to be within the brink of pirate raids, and it was only by being "owned" under his name that they were kept stable and safe, thereby earning the Yonko the gratitude of the citizens; consequentially, these territories immediately became vulnerable after his death. At least one other Yonko, Big Mom, placed Fishman Island under her protection while Foodvalten fell to Brownbeard. The status of Whitebeard's other former territories is currently unknown, but Blackbeard appears to have taken over most of them during his ascent to Yonko status, as he has over two decades of experience with the Whitebeard Pirates and thus knows which islands they were protecting.

Edward Weevil
Current Shichibukai Edward Weevil claims to be Edward Newgate's biological son, however many such as Borsalino doubt the validity of this claim and it is unconfirmed whether he actually is Whitebeard's biological son or not. Along with his mother, Weevil seeks to obtain Whitebeard's fortune due to their belief that they are his rightful heirs, to the point Weevil has been hunting down Whitebeard's surviving crew and their allies in order to claim it. Weevil also wishes to avenge Whitebeard's death by killing Yonko Marshall D. Teach, indicating that at the very least he himself believes he is Whitebeard's son.

Bakkin
Bakkin is the self-proclaimed lover of Edward Newgate and mother of Edward Weevil. She claims and/or believes herself to have been Whitebeard's lover and claims that he is the father of her son. She believes that she and her son are the rightful heirs to Whitebeard's fortune. It is currently unknown if any of her claims concerning her and her son's relationship to Newgate are true or not.

Abilities and Powers
Even in death, his body did not fall. His figure, taking down enemies while losing half of his head, was truly monstrous. The total number of sword wounds he received in this battle was 267. He was shot by 152 bullets and was hit by 46 cannonballs. And despite all this, his proud back, over the course of his entire life as a pirate, never received a single scar from running away! Whitebeard was given the title of the "strongest man in the world" for his unmatched physical strength, and was one of the only men in the world who could match the late Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, in a fight (the only other known to match him was Marine Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, said to have cornered Gol D. Roger numerous times).

He was one of the Yonko, four of the most formidable pirates that rule the second half of the Grand Line, along with Shanks, Kaido, and Charlotte Linlin. They are considered the biggest pirate threats to the World Government. Whitebeard's reputation alone made his simple declaration of Fishman Island being his territory enough to keep slave traders and pirates from attacking the island further, making Whitebeard himself far more effective than the treaty signed with the World Government 200 years before his death.

Whitebeard was the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, directly controlling an enormous pirate fleet of 1,600 pirates divided into 16 divisions, each one being led by an incredibly powerful division commander. A testament to his power is the fact that the Shichibukai and World Government used virtually all their power to prepare to fight him.

Whitebeard's powers were so vast that few would dare challenge him or any of his crew, making Ace, Crocodile, Aokiji, Kizaru, Akainu, Blackbeard, Kaido, and Luffy a few very brave and powerful people. In the past, Ace tried to attack Whitebeard over a hundred times, with each attempt resulting in subsequent failure and injury; Whitebeard's retaliation was so effortless that he was able to counterattack even while sleeping. After Akainu killed Ace, Whitebeard brutally injured him, with the Admiral being practically helpless in response to Whitebeard's power, temporarily defeating him in a relatively short battle with a mere two attacks.

Another example of his power is his "fight" with Shanks; when their weapons clashed, the heavens split in two. Whitebeard blocked a two-handed downward swing from the giant Vice Admiral John Giant with only one hand on his bisento, extinguished the flames of one of Akainu's molten rocks with just a single breath, and prevented a massive paddle ship from advancing using only one hand. He could jump to great heights to attack large opponents, such as John Giant.

Besides his formidable power, Whitebeard was an incredibly skilled military strategist and a match for Sengoku the Buddha. His tactical prowess was demonstrated when he scattered the pirates at Marineford so that they would not be routed by Pacifista and when he bypassed the siege wall.

Physical Abilities
During the Marineford war, Whitebeard completely overpowered vast numbers of Marine officers and giants, such as Vice Admiral Ronse, with only one hand and his Devil Fruit powers.

He could move at considerable speeds, having snuck up on Akainu, with the latter only realizing it once his soldiers yelled at him to watch out. The very fact that he launched a surprise attack on the admiral, one with very acute hearing, also demonstrates that Whitebeard could be impressively stealthy, despite his gigantic size.

Whitebeard appeared to have some health problems, possibly stemming from his advanced age and severe drinking. When not in battle, he was always surrounded by nurses, used oxygen tubes, and was hooked up to intravenous tubes and life support systems; despite this, he used to literally drink sake by the barrel. However, Marco noted that Whitebeard's health had gotten worse, and he no longer possessed the reflexes to avoid Squard's surprise attack, which was, in the past, something easy for him to achieve. Even with his health issues, Whitebeard was still considered the world's most dangerous and powerful pirate, which raises the question of how powerful he must have been in his prime.

His physical resistance and pain tolerance were amazing: he was able to keep fighting despite the number of life-threatening injuries he sustained, which included part of his head being literally burned off. This also proves that Whitebeard possessed incredible amounts of stamina and endurance; no matter how much damage he took throughout the battle, Whitebeard continued to press forward and fight, only stopping once almost all of the Blackbeard Pirates collectively shot and stabbed him to death at point-blank range. It was shown that even in his old age, in a heavily wounded state and without access to his Devil Fruit and Haki powers, he could near-effortlessly take down a Shichibukai-level opponent, as demonstrated in his fight against Blackbeard.

He sustained 267 sword wounds, 152 gunshot wounds, and 46 wounds from cannonballs, and got half of his head blasted off, resulting in 465 injuries in total. In addition, Whitebeard was on the receiving end of one of Kizaru's laser beams and two of Akainu's magma blasts. However, even after taking so much damage in his already weakened state, he died standing, an impressive feat when compared to other characters.

Devil Fruit
Whitebeard ate the Gura Gura no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that made him a "Quake Man" and which was considered the strongest Devil Fruit within the Paramecia class. According to Sengoku, Whitebeard had the power to destroy the world.

With the power of this Devil Fruit, Whitebeard could create powerful shockwaves by shattering the air like glass. These shock waves then would be redirected into the ground, resulting in earthquakes and, if under the seafloor, tsunamis. He could create these shockwaves in the air, rendering airborne attacks ineffective. He could also use these shockwaves to attack enemies, with either widespread or specific targets. Whitebeard's powers also allowed him to create a quake bubble around his hand or bisento to increase the power of his physical attacks, as well as manipulate the air with his hands to tilt the environment around him. He also used his bisento to slash the air, which caused a massive explosion and the collapse of a tower in Marineford.

Whitebeard could also use these shockwaves to block physical attacks as well as non-physical attacks, making his Devil Fruit powers excellent for both offensive and defensive capabilities.

Soon after Whitebeard's death, the power of the fruit was extracted by Blackbeard through unknown means.

Weapon
Whitebeard fought with a very heavy polearm called a bisento (a more massive version of the japanese naginata), and was immensely skilled with it. The weapon's size is massive, fitting that of its owner, with a striped pole (with the stripes being all plain brown in the anime, but red and yellow in the manga) ending in a spherical edge, and a large, curved blade attached to the pole with a golden part, decorated by what looks like a sea snake, with a thin part of it protruding onto the blade itself.

With Whitebeard's immense power and skill, the bisento was strong enough to clash with Shanks's saber, which caused the clouds (and even the heavens) to split. Whitebeard usually employed the bisento with both hands, but could also use it proficiently with just one hand. Most of the time he kept it in his right hand, though he occasionally planted its blade in the ground in order to use both of his hands for his Devil Fruit. The bisento could be used in conjunction with his Devil Fruit and Busoshoku Haki to increase the already great damage it could inflict, as well as to neutralize any potential Devil Fruit defense his opponents may possess.

The bisento is extremely durable, having stopped Akainu's magma attack without melting or receiving any visible damage, though this may have resulted from Whitebeard coating it with Busoshoku Haki. It sustained a two-handed downward swing from giant Vice Admiral John Giant as well. Two years after whitebeards death, the weapon still showed no signs of decay in spite of two years of weathering the elements, further demonstrating its durability.

After Whitebeard's death, it became a marking for his burial site, with his coat, a bouquet of flowers, and the crew's flag hanging from it.

Haki
Whitebeard was one of the few people to have mastered all three kinds of Haki.

With his Kenbunshoku Haki, Whitebeard foresaw all of Portgas D. Ace's attempts to kill him, even while asleep, retaliating to each assault and launching the young pirate away great distances, often causing damage to the ship while doing so. In the bay of Marineford, he predicted Crocodile's sudden attack but did not move, knowing that Monkey D. Luffy would block it. However, due to his age and worsening health, he failed to predict Squard's betrayal and thus got injured, something which, according to Marco, was totally unexpected from the Yonko.

His control over Busoshoku Haki was such that he could, in most cases, negate the intangibility of Logia-based Devil Fruits. In the past, he was able to defeat Crocodile (though it is unknown if the former Shichibukai had already eaten his Devil Fruit) and to beat Ace more than one hundred times. The split in the heavens provoked by his clash with Shanks during the meeting of the Whitebeard Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates was the result of the amazing Busoshoku Haki imbued in their weapons. During the Paramount War, Whitebeard successfully landed blows on Akainu where Marco and Vista failed to do so with their own Busoshoku Haki.

He possessed Haoshoku Haki, though he was never seen using it. During the Paramount War, he was on the verge of using it against some of the World Government's executioners to protect Portgas D. Ace, but failed because of a sudden illness attack.

Whitebeard's Past
You're a pirate and you're not interested in treasure? What exactly are you looking for... eh, Newgate!?

Young Days
Little is known about Whitebeard's past before he created the Whitebeard Pirates beyond the fact that he was just another crewmember in another crew going by his real name "Newgate" and that he was not interested in treasure, but instead wanted a family.

Clashing of the Crews
It is unknown how the events that led to the rivalry between Whitebeard's crew and Roger's happened. They competed often, leading to much bloodshed. Whitebeard came to know certain members of Roger's crew, such as Shanks with Buggy. Somewhere along the Grand Line, Roger pulled away from Whitebeard and made it to Raftel. At some point, the two grew to respect each other, and Whitebeard was one of those Roger met shortly before his death to say goodbye. During the meeting, Roger explained The Will of D.

Shiki's Visit
After the execution of Gol D. Roger, Shiki broke out of Impel Down and had a drinking session with Whitebeard aboard the Moby Dick. When Shiki attempted to create an alliance between the two of them, knowing that their combined power would be incredible, Whitebeard responded by threatening to have Shiki thrown overboard, which prompted Shiki to note how Whitebeard had not changed. After claiming it was "Whitebeard's time", Shiki informed him of his plan, leading Whitebeard to note Shiki was plotting something again.

The End of an Era
Soon after Roger was 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 frequent dueling between Dracule Mihawk and Shanks. In time, the World Government came to dub him, and three other pirates, as the four strongest pirates in the New World, the Yonko.

Some time after the beginning of the Great Age of Pirates, Whitebeard went to Fishman Island and freed it from pirate attacks, stating that the attacking pirates had nerve attacking his old friend's kingdom. He claimed the island as his territory, and in doing so restored peace to the island. He defended Fishman Island because he was a good friend of King Neptune, the two having drank together in the past. After Whitebeard declared Fishman Island as his territory, no pirate dared to harm any of the fishmen and merfolk.

Expectations and Murder
At some point in the three years prior to Monkey D. Luffy setting out on his adventure, Whitebeard read about Portgas D. Ace's increasing fame as the captain of the Spade Pirates and how Ace refused the offer of a Shichibukai position, and later met Ace, who had spent a long time looking for him, seeking to defeat him and claim his throne as the strongest in the world. Right after the five-day fight between Ace and Jinbe, Whitebeard approached the Spade Pirates aboard the Moby Dick and told his own crew that he would deal with Ace alone.

Whitebeard defeated both Ace and his crew without a single scratch on him. After the confrontation, Whitebeard, aware of Ace's talent, drafted him into his crew, eventually allowing him to become commander of his Second Division despite Ace's young age and multiple attempts at assassinating him.

Around this time, Ace told Whitebeard about his father being Gol D. Roger, but Whitebeard claimed it did not matter because everyone was a son of the sea. When Blackbeard, who was back then a member of Ace's division, murdered Thatch, who was the Fourth Division commander, in order to acquire a Devil Fruit he had found, Ace decided to finish off Blackbeard by himself, even though Whitebeard did not want him to go because he felt uneasy about the situation.

Shanks Calls
Some time later, Rockstar arrived, carrying a letter to Whitebeard from his own captain, Shanks. Unimpressed that Shanks sent him a letter instead of coming to see him in person, Whitebeard tore it up in front of Rockstar, whom he told that Shanks should see him in person and bring some sake.

Discussion with Shanks
After barging his way through a Marine blockade that had been set up to prevent them from meeting and knocking out dozens of the Whitebeard Pirates with Haoshoku Haki, Shanks finally arrived to talk with Whitebeard about Ace and Blackbeard. Whitebeard talks about Gol D. Roger and seeing Shanks as a cabin boy during their fights along with Buggy that Shanks hung around. Whitebeard notes how the duels between Shanks and Mihawk still ring in his ear. When the subject of his missing left arm is brought up, Shanks replies he bet it on the new age.

When Shanks asked him to stop Ace because he does not feel he is ready to face Blackbeard, Whitebeard laughed off his request as that of someone 100 years too young to tell him what to do and told Shanks that Blackbeard must be taught a lesson about morality. Claiming he had nothing to fear, Whitebeard clashed with Shanks, causing the heavens above to split.

Summit War Saga
We have already angered....the ruler of the seas.

Ace's Execution
Whitebeard and his pirate crew went to prevent Ace's execution. Donquixote Doflamingo stated that the Shichibukai were getting ready to engage the Whitebeard Pirates.

Whitebeard's mother ship, the Moby Dick, had started to move, and Whitebeard had 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 would attack. Kaido tried to attack Whitebeard, but Shanks intercepted him.

Soon, Whitebeard's New World allies began arriving at Marineford, though the Marines could not find Whitebeard or his lieutenants among them. Not long after, Whitebeard's flagship, the Moby Dick, rose to the surface of the bay from the bottom alongside three other ships, all having had coating applied in order to travel underwater. Walking onto the prow of his ship, Whitebeard told Ace to stay where he was.

After planting his bisento in the prow of the Moby Dick, Whitebeard used his Devil Fruit powers to create a shockwave on either side of him, which moved into the ocean, shocking the Marines present. When Ace demanded to know why they had come to save him even though he ignored orders and pursued Blackbeard on his own, Whitebeard claimed that he had ordered Ace to do this and had Marco confirm this. Whitebeard grinned as the shockwaves he had sent out returned as two massive tsunamis on either side of Marineford, thus signalling the start of the war.

When Admiral Aokiji froze the tsunamis and attacked him with Ice Block: Partisan, Whitebeard shattered both him and his attack with a shockwave, leading Aokiji to fall into the bay and freeze it solid, thus creating a battleground for the pirates and Marines. When Dracule Mihawk sent a ranged slash at him to test the difference in their strength, Jozu intercepted it, and when Admiral Kizaru attacked Whitebeard with Yasakana no Magatami, Marco protected Whitebeard from it with his partially-transformed form.

When Admiral Akainu used Dai Funka to rain magma fists down on the battlefield, Whitebeard caught one on the end of his bisento and blew out the flames before telling Akainu to work his skills on a birthday cake.

Soon, Little Oars Jr. opened a path into the bay and began making his advance toward Ace, prompting Whitebeard to note he does not know what to do with such a fool sometimes before ordering his men to provide backup for Oars Jr.

As Whitebeard witnessed Oars Jr.'s defeat, he was attacked by Vice Admiral Ronse, but effortlessly defeated him with a quake bubble to the head before ordering his men to charge over Oars Jr.'s body. Soon after, he noticed several Marines being contacted about something and noted Sengoku had something up his sleeve.

New Allies Arrive
When Monkey D. Luffy and his allies fell into the bay, Whitebeard expressed confusion over what had just happened. Whitebeard was attacked by Crocodile, but Luffy protected him and revealed he did so because Ace cares about Whitebeard. Upon seeing Luffy's straw hat, Whitebeard was reminded of how Shanks, the hat's former owner, said he bet his left arm on the new age. After Luffy confirmed that he was here to save Ace, Whitebeard claimed that he would simply be throwing his life away, but Luffy defiantly told him that he would not decide this and that Luffy himself would be Pirate King. Impressed by Luffy's confidence, a grinning Whitebeard told him to not get in the way.

Luffy informed Whitebeard of the Marines' plan to execute Ace ahead of schedule, for which Whitebeard thanked him. As Luffy leaped off the Moby Dick and started heading for Ace, Whitebeard noted that the Marines did not feel the need to adhere to schedule for a mere pirate as Marco arrived and informed him of the same thing Luffy did. Whitebeard states they must stay calm because Sengoku would never make the mistake of allowing the enemy to overhear a key strategy. After Luffy declared his intention to save Ace even if it killed him, Whitebeard ordered Marco to not let him die.

Upon noticing Buggy and his newly-assembled crew of escaped convicts nearby, Whitebeard asked him if he planned on taking his head before pointing out that Buggy would have to deal with the Marines afterward. Whitebeard offered Buggy the opportunity to join forces in order to crush the Marines, which Buggy accepted, and admitted to Marco that he did not want to deal with Buggy's crew of convicts before having his forces scatter themselves to the left and right of the bay.

When Crocodile sent dozens of his men flying away with Sables, Whitebeard noted he was a troublesome man.

Soon afterward, the Pacifista arrived, prompting Whitebeard to recognize them as the World Government's human weapons which he had heard rumors about.

When the Pacifista began attacking with no heed for the Marine battleships, Whitebeard noted that the Marines were not above sacrificing their own forces before ordering his men to push onward into the square. As the pirates began attacking the Pacifista, Whitebeard noticed Squard walking up behind him. When informed that the allied crews in the rear were suffering heavy casualties, Whitebeard proclaimed his intention to join the battle himself, but was shocked when Squard stabbed him through the chest with his sword.

Squard accused Whitebeard of making a deal with the Marines to have Ace and his pirates spared in exchange for sacrificing his New World allies. When Squard claimed Whitebeard did this despite knowing Squard lost his entire crew to Roger, Whitebeard noted the Marines chose the man who would be most affected by Ace being Roger's son before hugging and forgiving Squard, whom he told to not hold the sins of Roger against Ace before stating that all of his sons are equal to him. After destroying the walls of ice on either side of Marineford so the pirates could escape at any time, Whitebeard admitted that he would not always be the strongest man in the world before telling his men to be prepared to give up their lives if they wished to continue fighting alongside him while leaping into the battle.

As Whitebeard's men cleared a path for him, John Giant attacked Whitebeard, who effortlessly blocked him with his bisento before tilting the entire island of Marineford with Shima Yurashi. After defeating John with a shockwave, Whitebeard saw the siege wall rise and looked on in shock as Akainu destroyed the Moby Dick with Ryusei Kazan.

After apologizing to the Moby Dick, Whitebeard attempted to destroy the siege wall with a shockwave, but it did not even crack, to the surprise of those watching. When Luffy charged ahead and confronted the three admirals, Whitebeard noted that he shared his recklessness with Ace before telling his men that they were going to break through to the execution platform.

Whitebeard revealed another coated ship that had been lying on the sea floor up until that point. After having his men climb aboard, Whitebeard had Oars Jr. grab and ram the ship through the gap in the siege wall, effectively bypassing it. When Oars Jr. was taken down by cannon fire, Whitebeard ordered his sons to get down and encased the blade of his bisento in a quake bubble before swinging it at the Marines, sending several dozen of them flying. Whitebeard rallied his men to save Ace and destroy the Marines.

When Whitebeard attempted to hit the Marines with another quake bubble-enhanced slash, Aokiji encased him in ice with Ice Ball, but the ice shattered due to the vibrations surrounding Whitebeard's body, and Whitebeard impaled Aokiji on his bisento. Aokiji attempted to hit Whitebeard with Ice Block: Partisan, but was interrupted by Jozu, who punched him away and told Whitebeard to advance. When Luffy was severely wounded by several Marines and kicked away by Kizaru, Whitebeard caught him and ordered his men to tend to his injuries after assuring Luffy that he had done enough already. Admitting that he liked idiots like Luffy, Whitebeard prepared to attack the Marines with his bisento once more, but was intercepted by Akainu, causing his strike to instead destroy part of the town nearby. When Akainu noted that Whitebeard's actions would destroy the island, Whitebeard dared him to stop him before countering Akainu's Dai Funka with a shockwave.

When Monkey D. Garp joined the battle, Whitebeard told his men to not be intimidated by him because he was just another old Marine, but Akainu pointed out how they were from the same generation before attacking Whitebeard with Inagumi Guren, which Whitebeard dispersed with a slash of his bisento. When this slash destroyed a nearby tower, Akainu once again told Whitebeard to not destroy the town, but Whitebeard merely dared him to stop him once more. However, Whitebeard was soon incapacitated by his old age weakening his body, which caused him to cough up blood, and Akainu used this opportunity to impale him with his magma hand.

After Akainu pulled back, Whitebeard was shot and stabbed by several more Marines. However, when his men attempted to help him, Whitebeard ordered them to stay back and wondered if they thought this was enough to defeat him before defeating all of the Marines before him with a single blow while proclaiming that he was Whitebeard. Whitebeard stated that he could not die yet because he needed to watch over the futures of his sons, and chastised his allies for caring too much about his pride when they gathered behind him in order to protect him. When Sengoku ordered the executioners to kill Ace, Whitebeard attempted to knock them out with Haoshoku Haki, but was interrupted by his illness and old age incapacitating him once more. However, he was shocked to see Luffy knock out the executioners himself with Haoshoku Haki.

After pushing back the Marines trying to attack him with his bisento, Whitebeard ordered his men to fully support Luffy while mentally asking Luffy to show him what lies beyond this age as a carrier of the Will of the D. After defeating several Marines with a shockwave, Whitebeard slashed through Kizaru with his bisento when the latter attempted to prevent Luffy from reaching Ace. After reforming, Kizaru pierced Whitebeard with a laser beam. Shortly afterward, Whitebeard looked on as Luffy successfully freed Ace.

Whitebeard's Last Stand
There's no need for words... Just answer one question for me, Ace... Was I a good father? Upon seeing Luffy and Ace fighting off Marines together, Whitebeard grinned in pride. Soon after, when Squard attempted to lead a suicidal charge into the plaza with the paddle ship, Whitebeard stopped the ship with one hand and told Squard that it is painful for a father to bury his child before announcing that his final order was for the pirates to safely return to the New World without him. Claiming there was no ship to take him to the next age, Whitebeard damaged the Marine headquarters with a shockwave and recalled his past as a young pirate before telling the Marines they would finish this here.

Whitebeard's men refused to leave without him, but Whitebeard merely repeated his order before attacking the Marines before him. As Whitebeard continued attacking the Marines, he noticed Ace clearing a path to him with fire. When Ace knelt before him, Whitebeard asked him if he was a good father, and laughed when Ace claimed he was. After Akainu fatally impaled Ace, Whitebeard shed tears upon realizing his son was going to die.

As Akainu prepared to pursue Luffy, Whitebeard appeared behind him and smashed him into the ground with a quake bubble-enhanced punch. When Akainu retaliated by melting off part of his head with Meigo, Whitebeard hit him with another shockwave that further damaged the Marine headquarters and split the plaza in half as Whitebeard continued to tear through the Marine ranks. However, he was shocked when Blackbeard and his crew arrived at Marineford.

Upon seeing Blackbeard, Whitebeard attacked him and his crew with a shockwave while proclaiming his intention to avenge Thatch. When Blackbeard confronted him, Whitebeard attempted to hit him with another shockwave, but Blackbeard neutralized his powers, only for Whitebeard to cut him down with his bisento before wrapping a quake bubble around his head. Fearing for his life, Blackbeard had his crewmembers shoot and stab Whitebeard multiple times. However, Whitebeard survived and noted that someone other than Blackbeard would succeed Roger before proclaiming that One Piece existed. Bidding farewell to his sons, Whitebeard died as his coat fell from his shoulder to reveal his back, which had never received a wound from him running away.

Postmortem
After Whitebeard's death, Blackbeard used an unknown method to steal Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi powers from the corpse. When Shanks arrived to end the war, Whitebeard's and Ace's bodies were taken for a proper burial, a request that Sengoku allowed despite Vice Admiral Doberman wanting to show their heads to the world to symbolize the Marines' victory. Whitebeard, along with Ace, was buried on an unknown island somewhere on the second half of the Grand Line.

His coat and bisento were made into a grave marker, with his pirate flag tied to it and a bouquet of flowers hanging from the halberd's handle. His grave was put beside Ace's and filled with flowers and swords left behind by his crew members, and the members themselves stood on either side of the island, paying their last respects to the two deceased.

Two Years Later
Two years later, the grave markers had become tattered with age. Sabo visited them and placed a bottle of sake and three cups on a crate next to Ace's grave, pinning the recent newspaper article of the Straw Hats' return onto Ace's grave as a message to him that Luffy is doing fine.

Legacy
Whitebeard's death was a devastating blow to the balance of power in the world. Because of his great power and influence, many of the islands he controlled as protectorates descended into anarchy as pirates began invading his territory. One of the more prominent pirates was his assassin, Blackbeard, who annexed most of Whitebeard's territory and usurped his previous status of Yonko. Nonetheless, Whitebeard's dying words provoked the New Age of piracy and inspired countless pirates to voyage to the New World, just as Gol D. Roger did. Also, two pirates who claim to be the late Yonko's son and lover are going after his crew and allies in order to claim his fortune.

Filler Battle

 * Edward Newgate vs. Marine Bazooka Unit
 * Edward Newgate vs. Zephyr (unseen)

Appearance
In the manga and other related merchandise, the interior color of Whitebeard's coat was initially green. In the anime and other related merchandise, it is red. Later in the manga, however, this was changed to red. In his initial appearance in the anime, his eyes were black like many male characters of the series, but this was changed to a golden yellow color by the Battle of Marineford.

In the manga, Whitebeard has no hair showing, but in the anime, he initially had some brown hair; his hair was later retconned to follow the manga. His pants were also left hanging over his boots in his first appearance in the anime and during one of the scenes of his meeting with Shanks; in the manga, his pants were always tucked inside his boots.

War at Marineford
After Ace's death, Whitebeard tried to stop Akainu but was attacked by Kizaru. In Episode 484, instead of blasting off half of Whitebeard's face, Akainu only managed to remove part of Whitebeard's mustache. Instead, Akainu successfully punched another hole in Whitebeard's torso and visibly filled him with magma. Also, the battle between Whitebeard and Akainu went on longer, with Whitebeard launching more vicious attacks against the admiral. The fight between Whitebeard and Blackbeard is extended in the anime. Blackbeard manages to land punches on Whitebeard's torso and chin. Even after the initial strike proved Whitebeard's quake punch has no effect on Blackbeard, Whitebeard continued to punch several more times before using his bisento. Whitebeard was unable to move after his last attack on Blackbeard, but managed to move forward with his body turned red with smoke coming out of it, similar to Luffy in Gear Second. This was likely done to signify his fury. Additionally, Whitebeard's speech about One Piece was longer in the anime.

After Whitebeard's death, when the narrator lists all the injuries Whitebeard suffered, swords that have pierced his front and through his body could be seen with the tips protruding from his back. In the anime, there were no swords at all in his body.

Later, in Episode 507, when Usopp dropped a newspaper covering the aftermath of the war, Whitebeard's body was shown to match the manga's depiction as opposed to the anime's censorships: his torso had swords sticking out, half his face was torn off, and the gaping hole on his stomach that Akainu inflicted on him in the anime was missing, leaving only the hole in his upper chest.

Anime and Manga Influences
He is one of three characters whose name comes from the real life Blackbeard, otherwise known as Edward Teach.

Whitebeard's character design is based on the owner of the pub which 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. One of Whitebeard's lines in his first appearance, "I'm not talking to any snot-nosed airheads", was actually an exact phrase which the owner often said to customers. Unfortunately, the pub owner passed away by the time Oda revealed this fact.

The nature of Whitebeard's death may have been influenced by the legend of Japanese folk hero Musashibo Benkei, who famously died in a standing position after sustaining countless injuries in battle.

Translation and Dub Issues
As confirmed in One Piece Yellow: Grand Elements, Newgate's official English epithet is "Whitebeard", despite him having no actual beard. In the Japanese language, there are no distinct terms for beard or mustache; instead, Whitebeard's name contains the word "Hige", which is a blanket term for facial hair.

Merchandise
Several action figures of Edward Newgate have been produced. He has twice been featured as part of MegaHouse's Portrait of Pirates collection of a 1/8 scale figures: once in July 2011 in his present day appearance, and again in September 2013 in his youthful appearance (called "Ver. 0"). A 9" figure was featured as part of the Figuarts ZERO One Piece series. Banpresto has released two Whitebeard figures as Ichiban Kuji prizes, one in August 2010 and another in April 2012.

Playable Appearances

 * One Piece: Unlimited Adventure
 * One Piece: Unlimited Cruise
 * One Piece: Gigant Battle
 * One Piece: Gigant Battle! 2 New World
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3
 * One Piece: Unlimited World Red
 * One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X
 * One Py Berry Match
 * One Piece Treasure Cruise

Support Appearances

 * One Piece: Gear Spirit
 * One Piece Romance Dawn: The Dawn of the Adventure

Trivia

 * Despite being nicknamed "Whitebeard", Newgate's epithet originated from his trademark mustache. This is because the Japanese word "hige" can mean both mustache and beard.
 * Universal Studios of Japan built a replica of Ace's and Whitebeard's tombs. Whitebeard's epitaph says: "Edward Newgate, captain of the Whitebeard pirates, here lies a great captain and father, liberated from the exhausting role and labor, who captained the Moby Dick in the spectacular Era of Pirates".
 * In the 5th Japanese Fan Poll, Whitebeard ranked the 26th most popular character in One Piece, making him the third most popular of the Whitebeard Pirates and the second most popular Yonko.
 * A pirate with a similar crescent-shaped mustache, Galley, can be seen in Oda's early "Romance Dawn" one shots.
 * Throughout the Battle of Marineford, Whitebeard received 267 sword wounds, 152 gunshot wounds and 46 wounds from cannonballs — adding up to a total of 465 injuries at the time of death. Despite this, there was not a single scar on Whitebeard's back showing cowardice.
 * In a SBS, Oda jokingly stated that Whitebeard once had a dog, Stefan, with a mustache similar to his own.
 * Whitebeard is widely regarded as the "strongest man" in the world. In comparison, Kaido is said to be the "strongest creature" in the world, though the extent of his powers remains unknown. At one time, Krieg falsely proclaimed himself to be the "strongest man" while Whitebeard was still alive.
 * Whitebeard is so far the only devil fruit user who hasn't named his attacks. He does so in the videogames, however they are not canon.
 * Oda explains in an extra pamphlet (that came with the initial copies of Databook Yellow in celebration of the series's 10th anniversary) titled "One Piece Paradise Vol. 2", that Whitebeard was directly modeled after the barkeep of the pub he used to frequent with his previous manager. This barkeeper passed away in 2007.

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