One Piece: The Real Reason Luffy Will Always Defeat Blackbeard
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In the world of One Piece, the biggest rivals of the Straw Hat Pirates are the Blackbeard Pirates. The captains of these two fleets, Luffy and Blackbeard, are enemies as well as kindred spirits. Oda makes this known immediately in Blackbeard’s introduction before the start of the Skypiea arc. Blackbeard’s assertion that “a man’s dream never ends” is a line that closely aligns with Luffy’s worldview despite being from one of Luffy’s future bitter enemies. The difference between them is first shown as a joke with their extreme reactions to the cherry pie served at the bar in Jaya and later in Blackbeard’s pursuit of Luffy for his bounty, despite the lack of enmity between them.
From the Skypiea arc onward, both Luffy and Blackbeard shot to the top of the pirate world. By the end of the Whole Cake Island arc, both are known as Emperors of the Sea, as well as two of the most powerful pirates to ever exist. Due to Blackbeard’s actions at Marineford, the Straw Hat Pirates and the Blackbeard Pirates have been set on a collision course. At the current point in the story, their inevitable confrontation could happen at any minute. At the conclusion of the Wano arc, Luffy defeated Kaido, who was thought to be impossible to defeat. Now, Blackbeard is Luffy’s most powerful rival and is yet to be defeated. In this struggle, Luffy’s biggest advantage is the matchup of his Devil Fruit against Blackbeard’s.
Blackbeard’s first Devil Fruit is the Yami-Yami no Mi. This fruit contains the power of darkness, as well as “the power to consume everything” and negate abilities gained through Devil Fruits. When Blackbeard’s Devil Fruit was initially revealed, it was a very poor matchup for Luffy. If Blackbeard could get his hands on him, he could negate Luffy’s power of elasticity and make him extremely vulnerable to attacks. Even thinking abstractly, the rubber power of the Gomu-Gomu no Mi does not seem like a good counter to the power to consume everything. When Blackbeard gained his next Devil Fruit ability, it looked even worse for Luffy’s prospects.
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