Edward Newgate

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“	You punks really think that's all it takes to defeat me. Just a few toy swords and guns. I can tear you all apart singlehandedly, But you know that don't you. Because you quake when you hear the name WHITEBEARD!	„
	~ Whitebeard

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

History

Whitebeard's Past

Little is known about Whitebeard's past before he created the Whitebeard Pirates; however, some facts are known, including 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 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 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. 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, the Pirate King, one of his closest pirate rivals is seen on the Moby Dick. Shiki attempts to create an alliance between him and Whitebeard, knowing that their combined power would be incredible, Whitebeard's response is to threaten to have Shiki thrown overboard. Shiki proceeds to comment on Whitebeard not changing and calling it "Whitebeard's time". Lastly, he informs Whitebeard about his plan, Whitebeard comments "Plotting something again are you...?"

Personality

Edward Newgate seemed to be a cheerful and carefree person during his younger years (before he commanded his own ship and became known as Whitebeard). Unlike his comrades who loved treasure and riches, Newgate 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 (to the point of making it seem that he considered admirals, Shichibukai and other Yonko to be annoyances more than legitimate threats). In initial appearances, he seemed unable to see any cause for alarm on any decision he made and refused all advice given to him (from his nurse telling him not to drink heavily or Shanks warning him of Blackbeard). However, later revelations showed that he was much more thoughtful than he 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). Although from what other people saw of him, 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.

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 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 mainly 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. Still, this did not guarantee complete cooperation from the Pirate, judging from the nature of these said conversations.

Among his philosophies in life was that it is fine when a man decides what to make of his life, as long as he does not live to regret it. He had also been shown to be forgiving even after being stabbed in the abdomen by his ally Squard when he realized that Akainu had deceived Squard.

A distinguishing feature of Whitebeard's nature was his high moral standards. Whitebeard never forgave the death of a crewmate. His stance, 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 and his crew despite being close to death to avenge Thatch. 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 also 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.

Abilities and Powers

Whitebeard was given the title of the "strongest man in the world" for his unmatched physical strength, and was the only man in the world who could match the late Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, in a fight (the only one to come close 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.Newgate's reputation was so great, his simple declaration of Fishman Island being his territory was enough to keep slave traders and pirates from attacking the place further, making Edward Newgate himself far more effective than the treaty signed with the World Government 200 years before his death.

Edward Newgate 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, 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 do so even when he was sleeping. After Akainu killed Ace, Whitebeard brutally injured the admiral with the Admiral being practically helpless in response to Whitebeard's power, temporarily defeating him in a relatively short battle with a mere two hits. While Akainu was able to burn off a portion of Whitebeard's face, this was only due to the latter's control of magma.

Another example of his power is his "fight" with Shanks as when their weapons clashed the heavens split in two. Based just on his brute strength alone, Newgate blocked a two-handed downward swing from the giant Vice Admiral John Giant with only one hand on his bisento, and extinguished the flames of one of Akainu's molten rocks with just a single breath. Whitebeard also prevented a massive paddle ship (captained by Squard) from further advancing using only one hand. He was able to jump to extreme heights to land shots on otherwise untouchable enemies, such as John Giant. All these feats surely confirmed his title.

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 so that they would not be routed by Pacifista, or when he bypassed the siege wall.

Physical Abilities

During the Marineford war, he completely overpowered vast numbers of Marine officers and giants, such as Vice Admiral Ronse with only his single hand and his Devil Fruit powers. (It should be noted that he held back until Ace's death at Akainu's hands) He has also been shown to be able to move at a considerable speed, 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 Newgate had impressive stealth attributes, despite his gigantic size.

Whitebeard appeared to have some health problems, possibly stemming from his advanced age and severe drinking. He was always surrounded by nurses, when not in battle he 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, Newgate 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 which included part of his head being literally burned off. This also proves that Newgate 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 (and finally dying) once the near entirety 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 his Devil Fruit powers, he could take down a Shichibukai-level opponent without a problem as demonstrated in his fight against Blackbeard.

Devil Fruit

Whitebeard ate the Gura Gura no Mi, a Paramecia type Devil Fruit that made him a "Quake Man", and 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 was able to create powerful shock waves 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 has been shown to create such quakes even in the air, rendering airborne attacks ineffective. He could also use these shock waves 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 an attack and manipulate the air with his hands to tilt the environment around him. He has also been seen to use his bisento to slash the air, which caused a massive explosion and the collapse of a tower in Marineford.

Whitebeard was also able to create these shock waves to block physical attacks as well as non-physical attacks making his Devil Fruit powers excellent for both offensive and defensive capabilities. After his death, the power of the fruit was later extracted through some unknown means by Blackbeard.

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 curved, large blade attached to the pole via a golden part, decorated by what looks like a sea snake, with a thin part of it protruding on the blade itself. 

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

Also, the bisento is extremely durable, as it stopped Akainu's magma attack without melting or any visible damage, though it may be Whitebeard coating it with Busoshoku Haki. It sustained a two-handed downward swing from giant Vice Admiral John Giant as well.

After its owner's death, it became a marking for Newgate's 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 was able to foresee 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 managed to predict 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 (referred to as a "pesky stab"), 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 - even though it's 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. At the former Marine Headquarters, Whitebeard successfully landed blows on Akainu where Marco and Vista failed to do so with their own Busoshoku Haki.

He possessed Haoshoku Haki even though he was never seen using it. During the Battle of Marineford, he was on the verge of using it against some World Government's executioners (and Mr. 3 who was disguised) to protect Portgas D. Ace, but failed because of a sudden illness attack.

Gallery

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Whiteboard clashes with Shanks