Summary
- Roger and Whitebeard were equally powerful, with unmatched proficiency in Haki.
- The true strongest pirate of their time was Rocks D. Xebec, not Roger or Whitebeard.
- The Rocks Pirate crew, which included Whitebeard, Kaido, Big Mom, and Shiki, was known as the strongest of all time.
When it comes to legends in the realm of One Piece, no two pirates fit the bill more than Gol D. Roger and Edward Newgate, more commonly known as Whitebeard. These two were the figures of myth and were active around the same time, going down in history as two of the strongest and most important pirates in the entire series. Because of their sheer importance and the time they were both active, they had a fierce rivalry.
Because of this, One Piece fans have been debating for years about who the stronger character was. In terms of influence, no one matches the King of the Pirates, but Whitebeard is the only one who ever came close, especially since his unofficial title was ‘King of the Seas’. Their rivalry was legendary, so let’s go over its importance and reveal the truth that fans of either legend don’t want to admit.
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The Rivalry Of Legends
The Most Influential Pirates Of Their Time
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Roger’s First Appearance |
One Piece, Chapter 1, “Romance Dawn – The Dawn of Adventure” |
|---|---|
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Whitebeard’s First Appearance |
One Piece, Chapter 234, “Please Remember” |
Even to this day, there are only a handful of characters who exist on the same level as Roger and Whitebeard, although many claim not even then. The truth of their otherworldly power is vaguely mentioned, though it can be surmised that the root of their strength is their unmatched proficiency in all kinds of Haki, particularly Conqueror’s Haki, since their output with it has rarely been replicated and has only been surpassed once by Joyboy.
Regarding Roger, he was a man in a class of his own for more reasons than one, particularly the fact that he is the only one in history to ever hold the title of Pirate King. He didn’t only become known as such due to finding the One Piece treasure since his strength and proficiency with Conqueror’s Haki is second to none, especially when considering the fact that he was so strong without any Devil Fruit powers either. In his long and illustrious career as a pirate, Roger relied only on his Haki to conquer the seas and find Joyboy’s legendary treasure.
You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place, now you just have to find it!
On the other hand, Whitebeard is a name that invokes just as much awe. For the longest time, he was the closest person to finding the One Piece treasure, only never doing so because it wasn’t something he wanted. Even in his old age and declining health, it took an entire Navy base to take him down, though many of the Marine forces were destroyed in the process. Whitebeard’s Conqueror’s Haki was just as potent as Roger’s, but on top of that, he had the Gura Gura no Mi Devil Fruit that could destroy the entire world if he wanted it to.
It is known that, from the beginning of their careers, Roger and Whitebeard fought against one another many times. Roger’s first rival was the legendary Rocks D. Xebec, and Whitebeard was part of his crew, though they were more like partners than the former being Newgate’s superior. Because of this, Roger and Newgate were already familiar with each other and often battled due to being active in their primes.
Years after Xebec’s defeat, they would clash now and then, even after Whitebeard founded his own pirate crew. Here lies the truth of their rivalry. Although Roger fans are sure that he would defeat his old rival due to his superior Haki and Whitebeard fans state that his world-ending Devil Fruit would give him the edge over the Pirate King, the truth of this rivalry was that they were both equals in every sense of the word.
Neither would win against the other in a fair fight. Many claim that if Roger had a Devil Fruit, he’d come out on top considering Roger and Whitebeard’s Haki were shown to be equal, but this is honestly a moot argument because it’s all speculation since Roger never had a Devil Fruit, so there’s no point bringing it up. Besides, each time they’ve been shown to fight, Whitebeard never used his Devil Fruit abilities against Roger, relying purely on his Haki matching up to Roger’s in their battles, so the argument goes both ways.
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The True Strongest Pirate Of Their Time
Someone Else Held The Crown of the Strongest
Roger and Whitebeard were the most powerful pirates of their age according to most people. However, the truth of the matter has been swept under the rug by the World Government, since the actual strongest pirate of the old generation was undoubtedly Rocks D. Xebec. The only time any details regarding him were shared in the series, Sengoku spoke about how he was Roger’s first and greatest rival.
This was further compounded by the fact that he was the captain of the Rocks Pirates, who are known as the strongest crew of all time, with powerful members such as Whitebeard, Kaido, Big Mom, and Shiki, to name a few. It’s only a matter of time until Rocks’ power is shown for sure, but he was known to be so powerful that Roger had to team up with Garp in order to defeat him once and for all, so he already takes the cake for being stronger than Roger and Whitebeard before he even makes his official debut in the story.
One Piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
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