One Piece: Could Whitebeard Defeat Sengoku In His Prime?

One Piece has its fair share of incredibly powerful characters. Both the pirates and the Marines are chock-full of characters that are masters of their Devil Fruits or Haki, giving them the strength to take on entire armies by themselves. However, even among these powerful characters, there are a few that take the top spot that no one else can contend with.

On the side of the pirates there is Whitebeard, a man with the power to destroy the world because of his mastery of Haki and his Devil Fruit, while on the side of the Marines is Sengoku, the wielder of a Mythical Zoan Fruit and someone who was strong enough to become the Fleet Admiral of the Navy due to his abilities. So, let’s see which one of the One Piece powerhouses would win in a battle in their prime.

Whitebeard’s World-Ending Powers

First Usage: One Piece, Episode 461, “The Beginning of the War! Ace and Whitebeard’s Past”

Debut Date: August 8, 2010

One does not become the most infamous pirate on the Grand Line with the highest bounty on their head without being a massive threat to the World Government. When Whitebeard was active in the world before Marineford, no one even dared to challenge him because they knew that it meant certain death. Whitebeard was the only one who was ever able to come to the level of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, as many considered them equals.

It may very well be us that meet our end here today… Because that man… Holds the power to destroy the very world!

Whitebeard’s Devil Fruit:

Whitebeard possessed the Gura Gura no Mi, a Paramecia Type Devil Fruit that is widely regarded as the strongest in the entire series. By giving him the ability to create and manipulate shockwaves, Whitebeard could create earthquakes and tremors strong enough to level entire islands or even destroy the entire planet. The only reason he was unable to do this at Marineford was because his allies were there, so they could have been caught in Whitebeard’s rampage.

Whitebeard’s Haki:

Whitebeard was one of the few people in One Piecewho had a mastery over Haki, as was shown in his clashes with Gol D. Roger. Though he didn’t use it much during the Paramount War, Whitebeard was able to significantly damage Akainu with his Haki, and he was also later confirmed to be one of the very few characters who could use Conquerer’s Haki.

Sengoku’s Mythical Abilities

First Usage: One Piece, Episode 480, “The Path They Each Chose – Luffy vs. Garp!”

Debut Date: December 19, 2010

Just like the case with Whitebeard, one does not simply hold the rank of Fleet Admiral of the Navy without being an incredibly powerful character. Sengoku was in his prime along with Monkey D. Garp, and the two are often held in the same regard of strength, to the point where the coveted high rank could have gone to either one of them, so it really goes to show how powerful this character was.

Don’t try to find a reason for somebody’s love!

Sengoku’s Devil Fruit:

Sengoku possessed a legendary Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit called the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu. Like other Zoan Types, it lets the Fleet Admiral transform into a massive golden Buddha figure with the ability to create powerful shockwaves that are potent enough to negate the damage of the Gura Gura no Mi. While the full extent of the powers of this fruit is still unknown, the few feats that it has shown are absolutely incredible.

Sengoku’s Haki:

Sengoku’s strength with Haki is grossly underrated within One Piece. This is because not only is he a very proficient user of the ability, he is the only known Marine who can use all 3 forms of it. So, just like Whitebeard, he is one of the few people in the entire series who is able to use Conquerer’s Haki.

So, Who Would Win?

Although both of these characters are legends in the world who have been active for decades and are among the most powerful characters in the series, Whitebeard is someone who is still considered to be in a league of his own, even after 600 chapters since his death. His legend spoke for itself and his few showings of power were beyond the scope of anyone else.

By using only the power of his Gura Gura no Mi, he destroyed half of the island of Marineford, showing that there’s no other Devil Fruit that has the same offensive capabilities. Although an argument could be made about Sengoku’s shockwaves stopping the tremors, it should be noted that he stopped it when Blackbeard was using it, who was new to the powers. The villain even mentioned shortly after that he did not have a full grasp on the powers of this fruit.

Moreover, in the build-up to the Paramount War, Sengoku wore an expression of genuine fear at the sight of his old enemy, even claiming that Whitebeard held the power to singlehandedly destroy the whole world if he chose to. The only reason he didn’t level all of Marineford in one fell swoop was due to Ace and the rest of his allies being there, which he holds more precious than anything else.

Whitebeard and Sengoku’s Haki feats have not been shown much in the series due to their limited appearances. However, Whitebeard was able to fight equally with Gol D. Roger, someone with a mysterious level of power who is still largely regarded as arguably the strongest person in One Piece, with many of their clashes ending in a draw. Sengoku is someone who is easily within the top tier of strength in the series, but Whitebeard must take the victory in this one.