Highlights
- After suffering heavy losses in the Marineford Incident, the Whitebeard Fleet reunites under Marco's leadership for the Payback War against Blackbeard. However, they are ultimately defeated even worse than before.
- As a result of the Payback War, the Whitebeard Pirates disband, leaving their former territories vulnerable to attacks from different parties, including the Marines and other pirates.
- Most former members of the Whitebeard pirate chose to go their separate ways, with some joining other crews, creating their own crews, or quitting piracy altogether, while Marco remains on Sphinx Island as its protector and doctor in honor of Whitebeard.
When he is one of the Four Emperors of The Sea and considered to be the closest man to be the Pirate King, Whitebeard commands one of the biggest fleets that the world has ever seen. The main fleet of the Whitebeard Pirate itself already consists of 16 different divisions. Every division has its own ship and commander with around a hundred people on board of every ship. That means the Whitebeard Fleet is worth about 1600 people strong. And that doesn’t even count dozens of independent pirate crews that sail under Whitebeard’s banner.
And then the Marineford Incident happened. The strongest man in the world lost his life that day. Not only that, the fleet also suffers heavy damage during the incident, both in terms of the loss of human lives and also the destruction of some of their ships. So what happened to the mighty Whitebeard’s Fleet after the Marineford Incident?
The Payback War
Right after Whitebeard loses his life, all of his crew start rushing back to their ships. They are still overcome with emotions, but they know their captain sacrificed his life in order to give them ample time to escape from that treacherous place. So they hold all of their sadness, anger, guilt, and frustration inside, and start running for their life. Countless people lost their lives that day, both from the side of the Marines and from the pirates. But for the most part, the majority of the Whitebeard fleet manage to escape from the Marineford.
After such a devastating loss, the crews spend their time recuperating. After all, nobody gets away unharmed from the Marineford. So patching themselves up and getting a proper rest are the utmost priority. Some of the crews stuck together with the main group, while others decided to sail away. The fleet may go their separate ways for a bit, but the fire of vengeance still burns bright in their heart. Which is why about one year after Marineford, the Whitebeard Fleet finally united as one under the leadership of the first division commander, Marco the Phoenix. They only have one purpose. To kill Blackbeard and decimate his followers.
The ensuing battle is known around the world as the Payback War or the Grudge War. Each side brings lots of allies into the battle, which makes the whole situation even more chaotic and brutal than Marineford. Under Marco’s flaming wings, the legendary Whitebeard fleet strike Blackbeard with all their might. Unfortunately for them, Blackbeard hit them back with the same ability that has been protecting them for decades, Whitebeard’s devastating earthquake power. Add to that Blackbeard’s own darkness ability and the absurd powers of his unhinged and ruthless subordinates, Marco and the rest of the fleet have no chance of beating him. So once again, the Whitebeard Fleet suffered another major defeat. This time even worse than before.
The Disbandment of The Whitebeard Pirates
The result of the Payback War echoes all around the world. Thanks to that, nobody dares to question Blackbeard’s power. Even the World Government recognizes his prowess, which leads to them acknowledging Blackbeard as one of the new Emperors of The Sea. As for the once mighty Whitebeard Fleet, they all agree to disband the entire fleet. They no longer have the means to oppose their enemies, so what’s left of the fleet decided to go their separate ways. And thus, the biggest and mightiest pirate fleet that the world has ever seen is gone without a trace.
The disbandment of the Whitebeard pirates also means the countless kingdoms, towns, and islands that align themselves with Whitebeard and enjoy his protection all these years suddenly found themselves vulnerable. It doesn’t take a long time for different parties to attack and claim all of those places. Some are taken by the Marines, while others are taken by different pirates, such as Brownbeard pirate or even Big Mom pirate, among others.
Whitebeard is never interested in things like money or treasures, which means the places within his sphere of influence can basically enjoy his protection for free. But now that the legendary pirate crew is no longer there, the people who live in these places are forced to live under new rules. Some are quite lenient, such as those who are taken by the Marines, while others are forced to pay hefty tributes, such as the Fish-Man Island that is now under the control of the Big Mom Pirate.
What’s Left of The Whitebeard Pirates
Since the rest of the fleet choose to go their separate ways, it’s unclear what happens to each and every single former member of the Whitebeard pirate. Some might join another pirate crew, some might create their own crew, and it is safe to assume that there will be those who decided to quit being pirates altogether and live the rest of their life as regular folks. For all intent and purpose, the only one who keeps the spirit of the now defunct Whitebeard fleet in his heart is the former commander of the first division and the man who is closest to Whitebeard, Marco The Phoenix.
As a matter of fact, Marco decided to stay in Whitebeard’s birthplace, the Sphinx island. This is one of the few islands who are abandoned by the World Government because the people are too poor to pay the Heavenly Tributes. The only reason it hasn’t turned back into a den of criminals is due to Whitebeard’s protection. So now, Marco is the one who takes on the mantle as the protector of this island. To him, this is the least he can do for the man that he considers as a father. And thanks to his healing ability, it doesn’t take a long time for the people of Sphinx to think of him as the new island doctor. So what happened to the Whitebeard Fleet after the Marineford Incident? Well, they simply ceased to exist.
One Piece is available to stream on Crunchyroll.