Edward Newgate

Whitebeard (白ひげ, Shirohige, Real name Edward Newgate) is known as the "Man closest 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 bandanna 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. However his hair under his bandanna can be seen as brown.

For unknown reasons, the scar on his chest wasn't present in Ace's flashback when they first met in the last three years and in his appearance in Marineford (the scar seems to reappear during his fight with the Admirals, suggesting that its presence may be influenced by the stress of using his great power).

Personality
His reign on the sea, reputation and foreboding power have made him overconfident and fearless. In initial appearances he seems unable to see any cause for alarm on any decision he makes and refuses all advice given to him (from his nurse telling him not to drink heavily to Shanks warning him of Blackbeard). However, later revelations show that he is much more thoughtful than he appears. Actions that initially seem to be the result of thoughtless, headstrong bravado actually have 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).

He also seems to enjoy talking about the past. The first things he talks about when Shanks visits are old memories from the past 22 years. People that were children at that time are still children in his eyes, even men as powerful as his fellow Yonkou Shanks and Admiral Aokiji. 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.

A distinguishing feature of Whitebeards personality is his high moral standards. As stated by Buggy the Clown, Whitebeard never forgives the death of a crewmate. His stance, that a man cannot live without some form of moral code, stands in direct contrast to that of his immoral former subordinate, Blackbeard. The ultimate proof of his unwavering sense of right and wrong comes when he declares war with the World Government solely to save Ace's life.

Crew
Any nakama from Whitebeard's 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 against crewmate killing is based on his fatherly stance over every member of his crew. As a result of this treatment the whole crew affectionatly refer to him as "Pops". However, Whitebeard does not force commanders to hunt down wayward crewmember's if he has an uneasy feeling about the situation. In the case of Blackbeard, for example, Whitebeard tries to make an exception and stop Ace from hunting down Blackbeard. In spite of Whitebeards advice Ace insists on hunting Blackbeard for the sake of Pops' honor. This is not blind loyalty as Whitebeard is willing to go to war with the World Government to save Ace. In addition, Whitebeard takes full responsibility for the actions of his crew and keeps a stern iron fist outward appearance for non-crew members, falsely claiming to outsiders that he ordered Ace to hunt down Blackbeard.

Allies
Whitebeard has a great number of allies from the New World, strong and infamous pirates, among which are "Bohemian Knight" Doma, "Thunder Lord" Makugai, the Decalvan Brothers, and "Great Whirlpool Spider" Squardo.

Because of his role as a protector of Fishman Island, Whitebeard is considered a hero by many fishmen, in particular Jimbei of the Shichibukai.

Enemies
Despite having been rivals to Gol D. Roger he seemed to have a lot of respect for him, to the point that he'd adopt Roger's son, even aiming to help Ace become Pirate King.

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 delivered by 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 one of the two men in the world who were able to match the late Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, in a fight (the other being Marine Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp), 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. 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). Whitebeard appears to have some health problems, possibly stemming from his advanced age and severe drinking. He is always surrounded by nurses, when not in battle he uses oxygen tubes, and is hooked up to intravenous tubes and life support systems. Despite this, he still literally drinks sake by the barrel.

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 fourth. They are considered the biggest pirate threats to the World Government.

An example of his power is his "fight" with Shanks as when their swords clash the "the heavens" split in two.

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. Whether he destroyed them with his own skill or Devil Fruit ability has yet to be seen.

Whitebeard's powers are so great, that few would dare challenge him or any of his crew, making Ace and Blackbeard two very brave and powerful people. In fact, Whitebeard's reputation is so great, his simple declaration that Fishman Island is his territory is enough to drive slave traders and pirates from attacking the place further, making him far more effective than a treaty signed with the World Government 200 years ago.

Whitebeard was also capable of injuring Ace in self-defense every time the latter tried to sneak-attack him, despite Ace having a Logia Devil Fruit. Whitebeard's retaliation was so effortless, he was able to do this even when sleeping.

Devil Fruit
Whitebeard ate the Gura Gura no Mi, a Devil Fruit that makes him a "Quake Man". With the power of this fruit, Whitebeard is able to create shock waves by shattering the air like a mirror. These shock waves then would be redirected into the ground, resulting in earthquakes and, if under the seafloor, tsunamis. He has shown to create such quakes even in the air, rendering airborne attacks ineffective. According to Sengoku, Whitebeard has the power to destroy the whole world.

Weapons
Whitebeard fights with a heavy spear-type weapon called a bisento. When clashed with Shanks' saber, the heavens had actually split.

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 as times passed even though Ace had tried numerous times to kill him. Blackbeard, a member of Ace's division decides to kill Thatch (the 4th division commander) to gain a Devil Fruit he had found. After the death of Thatch, Ace decides to finish off Blackbeard by himself even though Whitebeard did not want him to go.

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 have 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. It was revealed that Whitebeard and his crew had the power to make Marine HQ arrange 100,000 elite soldiers and 3 Marine Admirals, and call all the Shichibukai to battle his crew.

Whitebeard's allies have entered the execution grounds, ready to do battle with the Marines, Admirals, and the Shichibukai. Whitebeard himself and his commanders have all entered directly into the bay in the front of the execution stand, using a coating to travel underwater. As Whitebeard walks onto the galleon figure of the Moby Dick, he tells Ace to hold on a little longer.

When Ace asked him why they came to save him, even if they all told him to not go after Blackbeard in the first place, Whitebeard denies this, saying he himself sent Ace after Blackbeard. He then uses his Gura Gura no Mi powers to cause a massive sea-quake to raise two gigantic tidal waves against Marine Headquarters. However, the tsunamis are stopped by Aokiji who then attacks him with ice spears which, along with the ice Admiral, are shattered by an air-quake from Whitebeard. This forced him to freeze the sea creating a solid platform for the oncoming battle. Mihawk, wishing to see how much stronger Whitebeard was, launched a powerful sword slash in his direction. However, 3rd division commander Jozu blocked the attack with his diamond powers. Kizaru then tries to attack Whitebeard with an array of light beams, but this is then stopped by Marco.

Major Battles

 * Vs. Gol D. Roger (has yet to actually been shown)
 * Vs. Spade Pirates
 * Vs. Red-haired Shanks
 * Vs. Marine Headquarters and the Royal Shichibukai

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

 * Like other characters in One Piece, he has a distinct laughter 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.
 * 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, Crescent Moon Galley, can be seen in one of Oda's early "Romance Dawn" one shots. His most notable feature is his crescent-shaped mustache, similar to Whitebeard's.
 * He is the only Yonkou with known Devil Fruit abilities.
 * He is one of the two oldest Devil Fruit users shown, with the other being Brook.
 * Despite being noted as the "most powerful man in the world" since Gol D. Roger died, Whitebeard still holds many competition in his standings:
 * Monkey D. Dragon is the most wanted criminal in the world.
 * The law of offending the World Nobles would result being pursuited by an Admiral is equal to offending one of Whitebeard's "sons" being pursuited by Whitebeard himself.
 * His intense stubbornness of refusing to listen to advices matches those who bear the initial D.