The world of One Piece is absolutely massive and that only means Oda keeps on adding more depth to it to make it even more diverse. One of the most incredible things about One Piece is that the world is filled with countless races of people, each with different abilities and things that make them very special.
One of the most recent races that Oda added to One Piece was none other than the Buccaneer race. Although this race was teased quite a while ago in the series, it was only in the Final Saga that it was properly explained. The Buccaneer race is extremely relevant to the ongoing story arc of One Piece, and the Egghead elaborated upon them greatly. Fans already know a beloved character, Kuma, to be a Buccaneer, however, it is possible that they may have already met another Buccaneer in the form of a very powerful pirate and this figure could be none other than the former World's Strongest Man, Edward Newgate, also known as Whitebeard.
What Is The Buccaneer Race?
The Buccaneer race was recently introduced to the fans in One Piece.In the Final Saga of One Piece, it was first teased that Kuma belonged to a special race of people. Fans did not know what exactly this race was at the time, however, it was clear that it was only a matter of time before Oda further explored this idea. As soon as Kuma's flashback began to Jewelry Bonney, fans found out more about his entire life. Kuma was born in the Kingdom of Sorbet nearly 48 years ago. As soon as he was born, it was made clear that he belonged to a special race. Kuma's father, Clapp, also belonged to this race and Oda then revealed the name of this race to be the Buccaneer Race.
According to what the fans know so far, the Buccaneer Race is a race of ancient people that has existed for centuries now. This race is quite special, however, at the same time, their existence is kept a secret and this is simply down to the fact that they have committed some sort of a grave crime against the World Government. As to what this crime is, fans do not know just yet. However, they are somewhat linked to Nika, the Sun God. The lore of Nika is passed down among the Buccaneer folk and has been for centuries upon centuries. That is how Kuma's father, Clapp, found out about Nika and, currently, Kuma himself knows about him too.
The Features Of The Buccaneer Race
When speaking of the features of the Buccaneer race and the things that make them unique, their massive size comes to mind. Essentially, the Buccaneer race is somewhat between a Human and a Giant. Fans are very familiar with the humans of the One Piece world and they are not all that special in terms of physical appearances. The humans are normal-sized and have nothing special going about themselves in terms of abilities and appearances.
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Then there are the giants of the One Piece world they are absolutely massive, and pack quite a lot of strength as well. The Giants are incredibly powerful and they possess a chivalrous code as well, along with a warrior's spirit. The vast majority of the giants of the One Piece world hail from the island of Elbaf. Now, Oda has introduced a race that falls somewhere between a human and a giant in terms of size as well as power.
This is basically what the Buccaneer race is all about. It must be noted that the Buccaneer race is a naturally existing race and not simply a product of mating between a human and a Giant. If a human and a giant were to mate, that would then be a human-giant hybrid. The Buccaneers are anything but that. They are a naturally existing race that is known to be incredibly powerful.
When it comes to the features of the Buccaneer race, it must be remembered that they are much bigger in terms of size when compared to regular humans. At the same time, they also possess tremendous strength, which is attributed to the blood of the giants that flows in their veins. As to how exactly they got this blood, fans do not know just yet. However, as the story progresses, the fans will likely figure it out.
Was Whitebeard A Buccaneer?
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With the introduction of the Buccaneer race, almost every giant character that has existed in the One Piece world can be put under the microscope and labeled as Buccaneer. Of course, Whitebeard, who was absurdly large and incredibly strong, is one of the prime candidates. What separates Whitebeard from the vast majority of these characters is his incredible size. It must be noted that Kuma is about 22 ft tall. Even though One Piece characters are absurdly large in terms of size, hardly anyone is naturally that tall.
For instance, the Admirals are all known to be incredibly tall, however, all of them are somewhat around 10 ft and under. For any character to be a Buccaneer, their height is likely supposed to be greater than 20 ft, at the very least. Interestingly, Whitebeard himself was around 22 feet tall as well, which is somewhat similar to that of Kuma. In terms of physical strength, fans know that Whitebeard was tremendously powerful and could easily have carried the blood of the giants. This was shown to the fans when Whitebeard grabbed Vice Admiral Ronce by his head, crushed it completely and threw him like he was a piece of paper.
Furthermore, Whitebeard's physical structure is quite similar to those of the Buccaneer race as well. This is especially evident when he was a child. Whitebeard was built just like a Buccaneer and, the fact that he is incredibly large and, at the same time, possesses tremendous physical strength, which could result from him having the blood of the Giants, suggests that he could have been a Buccaneer as well.
This could also tie into why Whitebeard was the strongest man in the entire world. It must be remembered that this title is directly tied to his Devil Fruit, which is the strongest in the Paramecia class and has the power to destroy the entire world, however, it could also allude to the fact that Whitebeard himself is a Buccaneer, and possesses majestic strength, resulting from his bloodline.
The only thing that goes against Whitebeard being a Buccaneer is the fact that he absolutely never mentioned Nika even once in the story. However, at the same time, fans have not even seen enough of Whitebeard in order to see what his thoughts on Nika and the Sun God were. Perhaps, his final conversation with Roger, which Oda will likely reveal at some point in the future, will reveal the answer to the fans. For now, Whitebeard being a Buccaneer is a very real possibility, which would then mean that his son, Edward Weevil, could end up having Buccaneer genes as well. Since Weevil is also an active figure who is currently seeking out Vegapunk, fans would actually get confirmation on Whitebeard being a Buccaneer very soon.
One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. Since One Piece is going to be on break, the release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1099, is set to be November 26, 2023.