One Piece Revisits Whitebeard On Screen at Last

One Piece’s Wano Arc has easily been one of the biggest storylines of the Straw Hat Pirates to date, with the latest arc of the saga taking the opportunity to dive into the past of the resident samurai of Wano in Kozuki Oden, and in doing so, gives us a look into a much younger Whitebeard than the one we came to know in earlier episodes of Eiichiro Oda’s epic. With Oden attempting to join the Whitebeards, the two come to blows while also delivering the Wano warrior a task that few could handle within the world of the Grand Line.

Edward Newgate has shown time and time again that he was one of the most powerful pirates in the world of One Piece, having died during the same arc which saw Luffy’s brother also fall before the might of the military in the Battle of Marineford Arc. Dying on his feet and proving to the world that he was one of the most powerful swashbucklers, this flashback takes us to a time long before his demise where he encountered the samurai of Wano and debated whether to add him to his ever-expanding Whitebeard pirates that he considered being a part of his family.

Whitebeard and Oden came to blows before the former gave the samurai a proposition, if he could swim behind Whitebeard’s ship for days on end, surviving against the strong rapids alongside the hungry fish that were attempting to make him their next meal, then he would be welcomed with open arms. Luckily for Oden, he was able to not only survive the trial but also come into contact with the future mother of his children, Toki, who appears to be threatened on an island that the Whitebeard pirates came across on their journey around the world.

One of the major moments that fans of One Piece are waiting for is the earth-shattering battle between Whitebeard and Gol D. Roger, which has been hinted at in the opening of the anime series. With the preview for the next installment of the Shonen franchise showing that Gol D. Roger is about to make his presence known in this flashback, it’s clear that this battle isn’t too far away.

What did you think of Whitebeard’s big return via this Wano flashback? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Grand Line.