When discussing the greatest pirates in the history of One Piece, it would be impossible not to mention the name of the only man to ever hold the title of Pirate King, or the one who captained the most powerful crew in history. For many, Rocks and Roger are the two strongest and most important pirates in the setting for numerous reasons, and their legacy goes down as some of the greatest in the entire series.

However, during the prime of both of these pirates' lives, there was another who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with them. This man was Edward Newgate, more commonly known as Whitebeard. Not only did this legendary figure own the title of World's Strongest Man, but he was also the one who was the closest to the One Piece ever since Roger died, cementing him as perhaps the greatest pirate of the old generation.

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By Haider Haroon Rasheed

Whitebeard May Have Been Even Greater Than Roger and Rocks

The Legendary Pirate

First Appearance	One Piece, Chapter 234, "Please Remember"
Story Arc	Jaya

It is said that once Roger found the legendary treasure of Joyboy, he shaped the entire era of where the world was at that point, which would go on to unofficially become known as the Age of Roger. Atop the execution platform where he died, Roger revealed that his treasure was out there for the taking, the immortal words that started the Great Pirate Era.

This happened 24 years before the current stage of the story, with all the pirates searching the world for his legendary treasure. Of all of them, only one man was ever known to be the closest to it, and this was none other than Whitebeard, who was once one of Roger's greatest rivals. The two had fought many times over the years, with neither ever coming out as a clear victor due to the equality of their Haki, since it's implied that the two of them fought using this power exclusively, as can be seen in Oden's flashback.

Whitebeard's legend came to be almost as great as Roger's own, and the only reason he didn't become the Pirate King was because it was never something he wanted since his true dream was always to have a family. Because of this and his staunch willingness to protect his friends and family, Whitebeard was either loved or feared by the world as the greatest pirate to sail the seas in the time after Roger's death. This is why it's said that, following the Great Pirate Era, the time became known as the Age of Whitebeard.

One of the reasons why many consider Whitebeard to be even greater than Roger is because, unlike his old rival, he took on the World Government directly, just like his former captain, Rocks D. Xebec. Upon Ace's capture and scheduled punishment, Whitebeard's entire fleet took on the overwhelming forces of the World Government, bringing their entire organization to its brink by almost destroying Marineford.

We may have the greater force, but we must not take this opponent lightly! It may well be us who will meet out end here today... For that man... Has the power to destroy this very world!

This battle is remembered as a highlight of the One Piece story, especially because it was framed as a single man taking on an entire organization for his family. His powers were on full display here, but were greatly mitigated due to his poor health and the presence of his fleet nearby. This speaks to Whitebeard's character, since he was the user of the most destructive Devil Fruit in the entire series, but actively never chose to use it to its fullest extent since he knew that doing so would place his own allies in danger.

At the end of the day, Whitebeard was stated to be Roger's equal on the basis of Haki alone, which directly puts him as a rival to Rocks as well. However, it's very likely he was stronger than the two of them due to the overwhelming powers of his Devil Fruit, which is a power stated to be great enough to destroy the entire world if he wanted. This, along with his mastery over all three of the Advanced Forms of Haki, makes him the greatest pirate in the series.

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By Haider Haroon Rasheed

Why Whitebeard Was Likely Even Stronger Than Roger And Rocks

The Best Devil Fruit And Haki

It's possible that Whitebeard was the strongest character of all time after Joyboy and Imu.

It was stated that, in their primes, Whitebeard and Roger clashed dozens of times, but each interaction ended with a stalemate since the two were actually friends. However, fans have only gotten a look at one of these clashes, which is the one that occurred during Oden's flashback in the Wano arc, where the two fought for three days straight to a draw yet again. However, fans picked up on the fact that, in this fight, both only used their Haki, with Whitebeard not being shown to use his Devil Fruit even once.

Fans have taken this and the friendly rivalry between the two of them to mean that all of their clashes were based on Haki alone, with which they were equal. If Whitebeard used the Gura Gura no Mi, the strongest Devil Fruit in the series, he would have likely won against his foe and perhaps even Rocks, who is stated to be the greatest rival that Roger ever had. Purely due to the strength of Whitebeard's specific Devil Fruit, he may come out on top against most foes.

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