Did Whitebeard REALLY Need a Devil Fruit?
I’ve always wondered about Whitebeard’s decision to eat a Devil Fruit, specifically the Gura Gura no Mi. Given that he was from Roger’s era—where the most dominant fighters seemed to rely heavily on Haki rather than Devil Fruits—it never really felt like he needed one.
When you look at the top-tier characters of that time, most of them were absolute powerhouses through sheer Haki mastery. Roger, Rayleigh, Garp, Sengoku (who does have a fruit, but wasn’t defined by it), Shiki, and even people like Shanks in the modern era all relied on their Haki more than anything else. Even Kaido, despite his Mythical Zoan, is considered a monster mostly because of his insane durability and Haki.
Then there’s Whitebeard. He had one of the 12 Supreme Grade Blades, was capable of going toe-to-toe with Roger, and was already known as the “Strongest Man in the World.” But we never saw him use the Gura Gura no Mi against Roger—only against Oden. That always made me wonder: Why did Oda give him a Devil Fruit in the first place?
Did Whitebeard genuinely need the fruit to maintain his position as the strongest? Or was it more of an added tool rather than something essential to his power? It’s interesting to think about, especially since the Gura Gura no Mi is so ridiculously strong that it alone could make someone Yonko-tier. But Whitebeard was already there without it.
Was the Gura Gura no Mi just an extension of his overwhelming power, or do you think it actually played a vital role in solidifying his dominance?
I’ve always wondered about Whitebeard’s decision to eat a Devil Fruit, specifically the Gura Gura no Mi. Given that he was from Roger’s era—where the most dominant fighters seemed to rely heavily on Haki rather than Devil Fruits—it never really felt like he needed one.
When you look at the top-tier characters of that time, most of them were absolute powerhouses through sheer Haki mastery. Roger, Rayleigh, Garp, Sengoku (who does have a fruit, but wasn’t defined by it), Shiki, and even people like Shanks in the modern era all relied on their Haki more than anything else. Even Kaido, despite his Mythical Zoan, is considered a monster mostly because of his insane durability and Haki.
Then there’s Whitebeard. He had one of the 12 Supreme Grade Blades, was capable of going toe-to-toe with Roger, and was already known as the “Strongest Man in the World.” But we never saw him use the Gura Gura no Mi against Roger—only against Oden. That always made me wonder: Why did Oda give him a Devil Fruit in the first place?
Did Whitebeard genuinely need the fruit to maintain his position as the strongest? Or was it more of an added tool rather than something essential to his power? It’s interesting to think about, especially since the Gura Gura no Mi is so ridiculously strong that it alone could make someone Yonko-tier. But Whitebeard was already there without it.
Was the Gura Gura no Mi just an extension of his overwhelming power, or do you think it actually played a vital role in solidifying his dominance?