Whitebeard vs. Madara

I appreciate Con’s acceptance of this debate. As a side note, I will be abbreviating Whitebeard as “WB” from now on. Let us begin. C1) Strength & Destructive Power Although WB certainly has physical stats that far surpass anything Madara has shown, his strength will be his greatest asset; thus, I will go in-depth on this topic. With just two simple movements of his fists, WB was able to casually create two tsunamis that dwarfed the island of Marineford at the beginning of the war [1]. Shortly afterward, Aokiji had frozen them in place, but WB was easily able to make them shatter to pieces [2]. It should be noted that Aokiji’s ice is far harder than steel, as even Zoro (who demonstrated his ability to cut steel back in Alabasta) was unable to cut his saber, which was made using several pieces of grass and some ice [3]. So for WB to be able to destroy what essentially were entire mountains of that same ice was an extremely impressive feat of strength, and is one that has not been matched by Madara. Using his abilities, WB could shatter Madara’s Susano’o in a similar way to how he shattered the mountains of ice. In addition to creating and destroying tsunamis, Whitebeard can literally control the very fighting ground that he and Madara are fighting on. This was shown in his brief encounter with John Giant, where he tilted not only the entire island, but the very ocean itself by simply moving his hands through the air [4] [5]. While this certainly is a testament to WB’s strength, it should also be realized that WB can use this as a tactical maneuver to make Madara lose his balance or redirect incoming projectiles, as he did with John Giant. On the topic of giants, WB also easily demolished a giant of large proportions during the war at Marineford [6]. Although the fact that he was able to casually defeat a giant is impressive, the real significance of this event is the fact that the giant was a vice admiral of Navy HQ. Vice admirals are incredibly strong and could likely even trouble or significantly injure Madara himself in a fair fight. Although a less impressive feat than the others, WB was also able to stop an entire ship moving at full speed with just one hand after having been heavily injured, and later on during the war, WB managed to make Marineford start crumbling without even touching the actual structure [7]. WB’s most impressive display of strength, however, occurs when he splits the entire island of Marineford in half after punching Akainu into the ground [8] [9]. Despite his rage behind the attack, WB was still holding back, as he did not wish to sink the entire island along with his crew, Ace, and Luffy. The fact that he was holding back simply shows that WB was capable of far more than he has shown in the war, and this is even suggested by Sengoku himself, when he states that WB has the power to destroy the entire world [1]. Although this sounds absurd and it may not be entirely true, it should be taken into account that Sengoku is an incredibly intelligent tactician and general who would not make baseless claims that would otherwise demoralize his own soldiers. It wasn’t just Sengoku, however. In one scene before the war, a man was clearly concerned that the world would no longer be in existence after the war was over [10]. In another scene, WB’s tremors were shown to reach distant islands in other parts of the world [11]. Even Vice Admiral Tsuru suggests that WB’s attacks can cause mass destruction over the entire world by stating that no matter where she went in the world, she would not be safe [12]. Clearly, WB’s true strength far surpasses what he demonstrated at Marineford, and one of the primary reasons he did not reveal his true strength is due to the fact that his crewmates were on the same island as him, and he did not want to harm them. In his fight with Madara, however, he will have no such impeding factor. In sum, Whitebeard’s strength far surpasses what Madara has shown us. If Madara gets hit by even one of WB’s attacks directly (or indirectly), he will likely either get knocked unconscious or die. C2) Extreme Durability Although WB’s feats of strength were all impressive, what is even more impressive is that he managed to sustain a myriad of wounds in battle … and still perform the said feats above. Throughout the entirety of the war, WB suffered 267 sword wounds, 152 bullet wounds, and 46 cannon wounds [13]. Of the more notable injuries, he received one from Squardo, a New World captain who stabbed WB straight through his body. Later on, he was frozen by Aokiji, shot by Kizaru’s laser beams several times, and was punched by Akainu’s magma fist both in the chest and in the head, which effectively destroyed half his face, brain, and fried most of his internal organs. Despite such injuries, he was able to continue fighting, and was even able to split the entire island of Marineford in half. It should be realized that WB will start off perfectly healthy in the beginning of the match and will not have these factors impeding him, allowing him to unleash his full damage on Madara’s body. It is unlikely Madara will be able to survive such attacks, and it is also unlikely Madara will be able to deal any attacks that will put WB down for good. Lastly, WB had his sickness impeding him during the fight. We know he was sick because he was constantly attached to intravenous tubes, was surrounded by nurses, and was usually hooked up to some kind of oxygen tube when not in battle; however, in accordance with rule number 1, “both characters will be at full health and will have no injuries at the start of the fight.” Consequentially, he will be able to fight at full strength against Madara. C3) Haki Utilization In this situation, the most useful type of haki will be observation haki. This form of haki allows the user to predict what their opponent will do next; however, this is fundamentally superior to Sharingan, because the user can actually see in the future what their opponent will do and the consequences of their actions. This was shown when Luffy fought against Mihawk in Marineford, or when Enel used observation haki to know exactly what moves Luffy was going to do next (e.g. throw a kick from the left). Sharingan, on the other hand, simply gives the user enhanced eyesight, allowing them to just predict what their opponents will do next based upon slight movements in the body. This will be invaluable in WB’s fight against Madara, as he will know exactly what Madara will do and when he will do it, allowing WB to react accordingly. Armament haki will also be of aid in the fight, as it allows WB to further strengthen his attacks (even though they are already incredibly powerful) and even form an invisible armor around himself to reduce the effects of other’s attacks. Conclusion – C1) WB’s strength is too much for Madara too handle, and will allow WB to break through his defenses. C2) The feats of endurance and durability WB has displayed are far superior to what Madara has shown us. C3) WB will be able to predict Madara’s moves and react accordingly, will be able to strengthen his own attacks, and will be able to form a defense to make Madara’s attacks less effective.Sources - [1] http://www.onepiecebay.net... [2] http://www.onepiecebay.net... [3] http://www.onepiecebay.net... [4] http://www.onepiecebay.net... [5] http://www.onepiecebay.net... [6] http://www.youtube.com... [7] http://www.onepiecebay.net... [8] http://www.onepiecebay.net... [9] http://www.onepiecebay.net... [10] http://www.onepiecebay.net... [11] http://img.mangastream.to... [12]http://static2.mangainn.com... [13] http://www.onepiecebay.net...