Nightmare Luffy vs. Whitebeard: Who Would Win in a Fight?

One Piece is an anime that certainly has its fair share of strong and powerful characters. And while its protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, is certainly among them, some characters might be even more powerful than the cheerful and quirky protagonist of the manga. In this article, we will analyze one such potential character, as we will pit Luffy against Whitebeard, but with a twist. Namely, we won’t be simply using the regular Luffy, but rather a special version of Luffy known as Nightmare Luffy, which we’ve seen in the series. In this article, you’ll find out whether Nightmare Luffy could defeat Whitebeard.

Despite all the enhancements, Nightmare Luffy could not defeat Whitebeard. First of all, there is the fact that he could only fight Whitebeard for 10 minutes in this state, which wouldn’t be enough, but regardless of that, he was nowhere near the amazing level of power possessed by the late Emperor, who was one of the strongest characters in the whole series by far.

The rest of this article will further elaborate on the above-given answer, as we will compare Nightmare Luffy and Whitebeard in more detail. Through several categories, you will see who the stronger of the two is and why our answer is like it is, i.e., why Whitebeard would, according to our analysis, win against Nightmare Luffy regardless of his enhancements.

Physical powers

Luffy is endowed with immense physical strength, enough to lift gigantic boulders and shatter steel with his bare hands. His physical strength derives in part from the workouts his grandfather Garp subjected him to as a child, where he survived critical circumstances and used to face huge ferocious beasts. Even as a child, he defeated grown-ups and endured Polchemy’s torture.

His physical strength is to overwhelm the strongest fugitives of the eastern sea and rival even that of the fish-men, as demonstrated in the battles against Arlong and Hody Jones, whose strength was even higher than that of the average of their race. In particular against Hody, after two years of training, he showed himself clearly superior, so much so that he defeated him despite being powered by Energy Steroids.

When in Nightmare mode, Luffy combined his own strengths and powers with those of the 100 shadows within him, gaining a massive power boost in terms of strength (and speed). Using these powers, he could stop a giant Gomu Gomu no Rifle attack delivered by Oars with just one hand while countering simultaneously.

Whitebeard was known as the strongest man in the world. He had been the strongest for more than twenty years, and despite getting older, his physical strength was still far bigger than a giant’s.

He also had immense stamina, which allowed him to survive being stabbed by Squard, hit by Akainu, who used the same weapon Ace used to kill him, a bolt from Kizaru, and innumerable gunshots, cannonballs, and sword slashes from the Marines while still being able to beat the Admiral. When he was at his peak, he could engage Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, in a three-day, three-night hand-to-hand battle.

Despite his failing health, Whitebeard was still considered the strongest and most dangerous pirate in the world, which begs the question of how powerful he must have been in his prime. He could move at considerable speeds, having managed to sneak up on Akainu, with the latter only noticing once some soldiers warned him to look behind him. The fact that he launched a surprise attack against the Admiral, who had a very keen hearing, shows that Whitebeard could be impressively stealthy, despite his gigantic size.

Regardless of the fact that Luffy gained a significant power boost here, he was still not on Whitebeard’s level. Whitebeard could withstand bullets and swords, and Luffy couldn’t really pack a punch strong enough to bring down Whitebeard.

Points: Nightmare Luffy 0, Whitebeard 1

Devil Fruit

Luffy ate Gomu Gomu Devil Fruit which made him rubber, allowing him to stretch his body parts and hit enemies from a long distance. Although, as a child, he had problems in fully controlling his power, after intense training of over ten years, Luffy could use the fruit to exponentially improve his physical strength and agility, thus making him a dangerous opponent. It was later revealed that his Gomu Gomu no mi is actually the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, which gave Luffy even more powers and abilities.

Despite his fighting style sometimes appearing improvised, it is precisely his creativity that makes him an unpredictable opponent, capable of overturning critical situations by adapting from time to time to combat. His rubber body also makes him extremely durable and immune to marine bullets, normal punches, and even electricity. However, he is not immune to swords and knives, as well as to dehydration or poison, although, after the fight with Magellan, he becomes immune to a wide variety of these.

While in Nightmare mode, Luffy also received some powers of the Kage Kage no Mi. Although he could not use the Devil Fruit’s powers to the full extent, he was still able to use them partially. This allowed him to contain 100 shadows within himself for a limited time and to combine their powers with his Gomu Gomu no Mi powers.

Whitebeard acquired the ability to slice through the air and anything in his path of attack after consuming the Gura Gura no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit. Then, by grabbing the air with his fingers and slicing very wide regions of land and sea, he could make them shudder and unleash earthquakes and tsunamis. By combining it with his Bisento, he could also use this ability to make cutting attacks. It can also resist the freezing of Aokiji thanks to its noisy tremors. Additionally, the Sabaody Archipelago has seen tsunamis thanks to Blackbeard, who never mastered the fruit’s powers and abilities after stealing Whitebeard’s powers.

Nightmare Luffy has the combined power of two Devil Fruits, but their combined power is still not superior to Whitebeard’s Devil Fruit, so we have decided to split the points here.

Points: Nightmare Luffy 1, Whitebeard 2

Haki

Rayleigh trained Luffy to become an expert Haki user. He knows how to use the Observation Haki, which he instinctively used for the first time against Mihawk, avoiding a swing that would have cut off his arms. He also mastered the Armament Haki at high levels, making it an essential part of Gear Fourth. Using this ability combined with the powers of his own devil fruit, Luffy can also ignite his fists thanks to his friction.

He also knows how to use the rarest form of Haki, the Royal Haki, which is the one he prefers. With it, he could knock out fifty thousand fish-men at once. During his confrontation with Kaido, he proved to be one of the very few individuals able to use her to enhance his attacks. His third fight against the emperor also ripped through the sky.

Whitebeard expertly mastered all three varieties of Haki. His highly developed mastery of Observation Haki is shown in flashbacks with Ace, where Whitebeard easily defeats him while he dozed off. Additionally, it appears that he could fit his Armament Haki into his Bisento, allowing him to demolish boats or even small settlements. Whitebeard has frequently utilized his Armament Haki against Admirals. Whitebeard was using the Conqueror’s Haki at the time of the Battle of Marineford, according to Fossa. They utilized it when Newgate and Gol D. Roger clashed while traveling together.

Nightmare Luffy didn’t seem to have any changes when Haki is concerned, so we can only tell you what we’d tell you in any other case – however skilled, Luffy was nowhere near Whitebeard’s level when Haki is concerned.

Points: Nightmare Luffy 1, Whitebeard 3

Weapons

Luffy rarely uses weapons in combat, mostly due to his inexperience and inability to use them. In his childhood, he wielded a metal pipe, which is probably the most sophisticated weapon he successfully handled. In Arlong Park, Luffy briefly tried to fight with swords but failed miserably. But, Nightmare Luffy could use weapons, which was a major improvement for Luffy as a fighter, as he could now freely use a sword without looking hilarious.

Edward Newgate’s favorite weapon was his Bisento, a huge Japanese halberd, which he used constantly and called Murakumogiri. Murakumogiri was an exceptionally large weapon that fit Whitebeard’s nearly five-meter height. By concentrating his Haki in his Bisento, Whitebeard can send dozens of opponents flying with a single blow. The Bisento is a wholly fear-inducing weapon, but when combined with Whitebeard’s enormous strength and combat talents, it is nearly fatal for everyone. As proof, this one allows him to measure himself against Shanks’ saber, which caused an atmospheric-type tear in the sky during their exchange of blows.

And while Luffy could suddenly use weapons, his skill and mastery was nowhere near Whitebeard’s level, so despite the improvement, the Emperor gets this final point.

Points: Nightmare Luffy 1, Whitebeard 4

Regardless of the obvious power boost, Nightmare Luffy still loses to Whitebeard easily

This analysis was quite easy; we have to confirm that. Sure, Nightmare Luffy was an enhanced version of the original Luffy, but despite all of these improvements, he was nowhere near Whitebeard’s level, as the former Emperor is one of the strongest characters in the whole series.