Blackbeard Pirates

The Blackbeard Pirates (黒ひげ海賊団, Kurohige Kaizokudan), are a group that appears in the One Piece series. They are an infamous and powerful pirate crew led by an Emperor member, better known as "Blackbeard", and are one of the main antagonist groups of the series.

Blackbeard was originally a member of the Whitebeard Pirates (and Portgas D. Ace's subordinate), until he murdered one of his crewmates over a Devil Fruit and defected, heading out on his own and forming his own crew. Blackbeard was Crocodile's replacement among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, having captured the wanted pirate Ace to obtain this position, but resigned after forfeiting the privilege by raiding Impel Down and recruiting notorious prisoners for his crew from Level 6.

During the timeskip, after clashing with the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates led by Marco the Phoenix and emerging victorious, Blackbeard usurped the status of the deceased Whitebeard as one of the Four Emperors. The total bounty is at least worth 2,497,800,000 berries.

"."
 * —About the Blackbeard Pirates.

Jolly Roger
The Blackbeard Pirates' flag is that of three skulls: one looking left, one looking forward, and one looking right. Behind them there are cross intersected set of bones, in addition of the classic two.

While it has never been stated by Oda where the influence of their flag comes from, the image of the 3 heads appears as a classic depiction of Cerberus. The three heads of Cerberus are suppose to see the past, the present and the future and Cerberus was also the guardian of the gates of Hades. It may also be a depiction of the Moirae, the three goddesses of Fate. They also happen to tie in with the crews views of fate and destiny as well as their often deadly methods for seeing how fate plays out and may be the reason behind the three skulls. The four crossbones on the flag resemble the popular eight-pointed Symbol of Chaos, which suits their theme of chaotic destiny.

Crew Members

 * Marshall D. Teach (Blackbeard) - Captain and Admiral, Dark-Dark Fruit user

Ten Titanic Captains

 * Jesus Burgess - 1st Ship Captain and Helmsman
 * Shiryu - 2nd Ship Captain and Swordsman, former Jailer of Impel Down
 * Van Auger - 3rd Ship Captain and Sniper
 * Avalo Pizarro - 4th Ship Captain
 * Lafitte - 5th Ship Captain and Navigator, former West Blue Policeman, Swordsman
 * Catarina Devon - 6th Ship Captain
 * San Juan Wolf - 7th Ship Captain
 * Vasco Shot - 8th Ship Captain
 * Doc Q - 9th Ship Captain and Doctor
 * Stronger - Doc Q's horse, Pet

Others

 * Kuzan

Crew Strength
The Blackbeard Pirates are much stronger than most normal pirate crews that have been shown so far. Even their first appearance, an attack on Drum Island, was overwhelming, to the point that the island's selfish king, Wapol, fled without even attempting to fight back. Also, the fact their captain took a direct attack from Ace and managed to get up afterward is a good measure of the crew's unusual strength. They were also able to break into Impel Down's Level 4 without much difficulty (though Impel Down was, at the time, admittedly strained due to multiple riots). Every member has also taken a direct hit from Sengoku's shock wave attack except San Juan Wolf and got up easily and with only very small amount of trouble. Great endurance and strength aside, each member possesses a special crew position (discounting the new recruits - it is unknown what positions they hold), though how well they perform such jobs is unknown.

The Blackbeard Pirates, Wolf San Juan excluded, had completely dealt the final killing blows to the legendary pirate Whitebeard, taking advantage of Whitebeard's grievous injuries with a nine-against-one attack. Additionally, they captured Jewelry Bonney, one of the Eleven Supernovas, who was then deemed too weak to join their crew and was instead given the option to become Blackbeard's "woman". The crew also managed to overwhelmingly defeat Marco and the remaining members of the Whitebeard Pirates (who had come at them with their full forces) in a ferocious battle a year after the Battle of Navyford. Most recently, Blackbeard and his crew attacked the Revolutionary Army's island base of Baltigo, resulting in it being completely devastated and the status of the revolutionaries currently unknown, followed by doing battle with the Cipher Pol and the Marines before retreating.

Members
Van Auger, the sniper, has incredible eyesight and speed, being able to shoot a flock of seagulls from a distance so far the Straw Hats could not even see the island he was on. He is able to predict where a bullet is going to hit, and can run at an amazing speed to avoid it.

Jesus Burgess, the helmsman, is a wrestling champion who possess incredible strength and won every fight while he was in Mock Town. He is also able to throw buildings with much ease and at impressive distances. Furthermore, Burgess has now (post-time skip) become the captain of Blackbeard's first ship and he is now so infamous that everyone in the Colosseum recognized him immediately and was shocked by his presence. Burgess is now strong enough that he was able to take down all the contestants in Block A without getting a single scratch and be cheered on. He was able to blow away a full grown Fighting Fish with just a blow from his elbow while showing off his new ability of being able to utilize Armament Haki which he used when fighting "Lucy".

Lafitte, the navigator and a former policeman, is very stealthy, and was able to sneak undetected into the World Government headquarters of Marie Jois during a meeting between several high-ranking Navy officials and three Warlord members despite having tap-dance shoes on. He also seems to possess a Devil Fruit ability that allows him to sprout wings on his back that make him capable of flight, as well as possessing the power of hypnosis. Lafitte has now (post-time skip) become the captain of the fifth ship of Blackbeard's fleet and has earned the infamous name "Demon Sheriff".

Doc Q, the doctor, and his horse Stronger have yet to show any notable abilities, and for that matter appear to be weak with sickness. However, Blackbeard himself stated that he does not desire weaklings in his crew. Indeed, despite their illness, Doc Q was still able to help row their raft and wield a double-bladed scythe in combat, and Stronger was still able to carry Doc Q.

Shiryu of the Rain, the former chief Guard of Impel Down, is a very powerful swordsman, said to be equal to the extremely powerful Warden Magellan, who was strong enough to take care of Monkey D. Luffy, hundreds of the other prisoners, and the Blackbeard Pirates alone (though Shiryu noted that the crew had been careless against Magellan's poisonous powers). Shiryu has now (post-time skip) become captain of Blackbeard's second ship. He has also acquired the Clear-Clear Fruit.

After their break-in of Impel Down, excluding Shiryu, the crew recruited four other pirates, their crimes so terrible that their existence was actually erased from history, who had been locked in the Level 6: Eternal Hell of the prison. The ones seen are San Juan Wolf, the "Colossal Battleship"; Vasco Shot, the "Heavy Drinker"; the worst female criminal in history, Catarina Devon, the "Crescent Moon Hunter"; and Avalo Pizarro, the "Corrupt King". Though they have yet to show their full powers, they are some of the most feared legendary criminals in the world. The Navy even said that even just one of the prisoners walking free again is unthinkable. In fact, during the riot at Impel Down, Blackbeard selected them in a "survival fight" among the Level 6 prisoners, stating thus that they are the most powerful prisoners of the entire Impel Down at that time.

However, the true strength of the Blackbeard Pirates lies in their fearsome captain of the crew, Marshall D. Teach, better known as "Blackbeard". Initially a relatively unknown name, Blackbeard has performed the incredible feat of landing a permanent scars on Rex and Red-Haired Shanks, who is famed as one of the Four Emperors in the world, prior to eating a Devil Fruit, as well as defeating two of the Division Commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates, Portgas D. Ace and Thatch. When asked why he had not become one of the commanders of his old crew, Teach claimed that he did not have that "ambition". Teach ate one of the most powerful known Devil Fruits, the Dark-Dark Fruit, and held the position of a Warlord, until he forfeited the title after he used it to reach Impel Down and recruit the prisoners mentioned above. With the assistance of his crew, Blackbeard ganged up on Whitebeard with a barrage of gunshots and stabs and killed him in a rather cowardly fashion (not that he would know or aware it was cowardly).

He somehow acquired the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit from Whitebeard's corpse, the most powerful of the Paramythia Devil Fruits, allowing him to be the only person to wield two Devil Fruit powers at the same time. Along with his extensive knowledge of Whitebeard's sphere of influence, the Five Elder Stars have deemed him the closest pirate to fill in Whitebeard's place in the Four Emperors; a prediction which came true following Blackbeard's devastating victory over Marco and the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates.

After the timeskip it appears they have grown much stronger. According to Jimbei, they have been hunting and stealing Devil Fruit Powers to increase their strength, making them well-known as Ability User Hunters (能力者狩り, Nōryoku-sha Gari). Indeed, Jesus Burgess has shown knowledge on this mysterious method of obtaining powers after death and attempted to do so against Luffy to extract his Gum-Gum Fruit powers.

The crew has also grown in such numbers that it has been organized into divisions. According to Gatz, Blackbeard is supported by Ten Titanic Captains (10人の巨漢船長, Jū-nin no Kyokan Senchō), with Jesus Burgess, Shiryu, Van Augur, Avalo Pizarro, Laffitte, Catarina Devon, San Juan Wolf, Vasco Shot, and Doc Q being nine of them along with only one unknown member among them.

Recently, the Blackbeard Pirates have become allies with the former marine admiral Kuzan, making them even more dangerous.

Saber of Xebec

 * Main article: Saber of Xebec

Blackbeard's Raft
The Blackbeard Pirates possess a giant raft (丸太舟, marutabune) for a ship.

The raft is made up of gigantic trees possibly wound together. Around the sides of the raft are gunports. A large mast is posted in the middle, bearing the flag of the Blackbeard Pirates and three sails. Another sail is placed at the stern of the raft, behind the main sails. The other means of propulsion, other than the wind, seems to be that the crew uses paddles or oars to move the raft along. G. Zass Burgess and surprisingly Doc Q were seen paddling.

The raft was first seen in the Jaya Arc, when the Blackbeard Pirates were chasing after the Straw Hat Pirates. It was broken up by the Knock Up Stream. The raft was eventually repaired by either them or someone else, but they used a stolen Navy ship to sail to Impel Down, as opposed to their own ship.

After the war, the ship was nearly broke down, due to the extremely large giant, San Juan Wolf. Because of this, the Blackbeard Pirates were trying to exchange the prisoner Jewelry Bonney for a Navy battleship; Shiryu commented that it was foolishly impractical for the crew to travel through the New World with the raft alone, but Burgess claimed that they were rather attached to the raft. They were, however, surprised through unexpected event by Admiral Akainu's arrival and fled. Since the exchange did not take place, it can be assumed that they used the raft to flee from the Navy.

After the time-skip they obtained numerous ships, as Burgess is now captain of the Blackbeard Pirates' first ship, Shiryu the second, and Raffit the fifth. Currently two ships have been seen, and they now resemble actual battleships, although they have a large log on each side, which resemble the original raft.

Protected Territories
Following Whitebeard's death and the events of the Payback War, Teach went on to conquer most of Whitebeard's former territories, with the known exception of Fish-Man Island, which originally became part of the Big Mom Pirates' territory after Whitebeard's death but later became part of the Straw Hat Pirates' territory. Foodvalten was also briefly under the Brownbeard Pirates' control, but after being overthrown by the Hawkins Pirates, it is unknown if Foodvalten became part of Blackbeard's territory.

Pirate Island seems to be under their protection as they favor the festivities there.

Past
The first time the crew is mentioned, they are said to have ransacked the kingdom of Drum Island. Upon seeing their immense power, the cruel and cowardly king, Wapol, fled without even fighting back. In Alabasta, when the Straw Hats met up with Portgas D. Ace, it was revealed that Ace was hunting down the captain, Blackbeard, for killing a crewmate as a Whitebeard Pirate and fleeing.

Jaya Arc
Laffitte marks the first official visual appearance of the crew by appearing at Marie Jois to recommend Blackbeard to replace Crocodile as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The other crew members are first seen in Mock Town on the island of Jaya, playing several "games" to see how their fate works out. When Luffy meets Blackbeard himself in a tavern, they at first seem to have the exact opposite opinions on the bar's food and beverages. While Luffy hates the bar's pie, Blackbeard loves it, and while Luffy loves one of the bar's drinks, Blackbeard hates it, which leads to them challenging each other to a fight, but they decide not to go through with it when Nami points out that they are fighting for no reason.

Later on, after the Bellamy Pirates taunt them for believing in Sky Island, Blackbeard assures the Straw Hats that it does exist and in response to the notion of the "New Age", states that people will never stop dreaming. Because of this, Blackbeard's true motives are a mystery. When Blackbeard finds out about Luffy's high bounty, he and his crew try to capture him, but the Straw Hats are launched into the sky by the Knock Up Stream before they can make an attempt.

Post-Enies Lobby Arc

 * Main article: Duel at Banaro Island

Blackbeard learned that Luffy had "destroyed" Enies Lobby which resulted in his bounty being increased. Since Blackbeard is plundering an island close to Water 7, he decided to hunt down Luffy and bring him to the World Government to prove himself as a worthy candidate for Crocodile's vacant Warlord position. However, Ace finally catches up with Blackbeard on Banaro Island, and after learning Blackbeard's intentions to harm his little brother, engages him in a fierce battle from which Blackbeard finally emerges victorious. Blackbeard then turns Ace, instead of Luffy, over to the Marines in order to acquire the position in the Seven Warlords of the Sea. This event also triggers the start of the war with Whitebeard, as the Marines publicly announced Ace's execution.

Amazon Lily Arc
During the preparations for the war, Blackbeard is seen sitting along with his fellow Warlords.

Impel Down Arc
However, roughly five hours before the execution, he and his crew steal a Marine ship from Marineford and set off to Impel Down, where they planned to break in to recruit several inmates from Level 6. After dispatching several guards and encountering former chief guard Shiryu (mistakenly identified as Magellan), they appear on Level 4, where Blackbeard eliminates Hannyabal's backup team before crushing Hannyabal personally. The five then face off against the breakout crew that includes Jimbei, Crocodile, Inazuma, Daz Bonez, Bentham, and Luffy.

As time is running out for Ace, the breakout army simply runs around Blackbeard, who allows them to pass through. The Blackbeard Pirates are then confronted by Magellan, who proceeds to drench them in poison with his Hydra attack. They are saved by Shiryu, who presents them with an antidote. Shiryu, who was only released temporarily because the jailers required his help in managing the chaos in Impel Down, is offered a position in the crew by Teach as Shiryu cites that he had been waiting for a person like Blackbeard and accepts the proposal to join his crew in order to avoid being imprisoned once again by Magellan.

With Shiryu on their side, the crew make their way to level six where Blackbeard had the inmates fight to the death with the survivors becoming part of his crew. It's not known how many inmates were killed but the Blackbeard Pirates gained four new members before they fled the prison while not knowing or caring there were some inmates who survived and escaped as well.

Marineford Arc
After the Battle of Marineford has reached its pinnacle point, the Blackbeard Pirates returned to Marineford with several of the most legendary and feared prisoners from Impel Down as their new recruits. Teach informs Sengoku that he only wanted the Warlord title so he could break into Impel Down, and is then assaulted brutally by Whitebeard. The Blackbeard Pirates then attack Whitebeard all together, defeating and brutally killing him. After that, the Blackbeard Pirates cover Blackbeard and Whitebeard with a black cloth, inside which Blackbeard somehow steals Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit powers by an unknown method, and then declares that the new era belongs to him with his powers of darkness and earthquakes.

When Blackbeard states he will sink Marineford, Sengoku retaliates by hitting the entire crew with a shockwave. They later leave on account of Shanks and his crew arriving on the battlefield.

Post-War Arc
Some time later on a burning island in the New World, Blackbeard defeated the Bonney Pirates and kept them as compensation for their transaction with the Marines. The deal was to hand Jewelry Bonney to them in exchange for a Marine battleship to replace their raft, which was on the verge of breaking down with San Juan Wolf's weight being at fault. They also taunted the Bonney Pirates for being beaten so easily.

When Blackbeard asked Bonney to be his woman, she kicked him, causing Blackbeard to get angry while the rest of the Blackbeard Pirates laughed. The crew waited impatiently, with the newer members complaining over trivial matters. However, when they discovered that the Marines were not interested in dealing with them as they sent Admiral Akainu after them, the Blackbeard Pirates quickly fled the island, leaving the Bonney Pirates to be arrested.

During the Timeskip
A year after the Battle of Marineford, Blackbeard and his crew engaged Marco and the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates in a ferocious battle that has been referenced as the "Payback War", which ended in an overwhelming defeat for the Whitebeard Pirates. Due to this victory, Blackbeard successfully arrogated the vacant Emperor position formerly held by Whitebeard, as the Five Elders had feared. Teach, knowing his former superior's territory all too well, annexed his territory with ease. According to rumors, the Blackbeard Pirates have also been searching for people with strong Devil Fruit powers, in order to absorb them.

The crew's size has expanded being increased to ten divisions, led by warriors known as the "Ten Titanic Captains". Jesus Burgess is currently the captain of the first ship of the Blackbeard Pirates and has become a very notorious pirate known as Champion and is powerful enough to take down a block full of competitors in the Dressrosa Colosseum. His fellow crewmates, Shiryu and Laffitte, had become the captains of the second and fifth ships, respectively. Other crewmates Avalo Pizarro, Catarina Devon, Vasco Shot, and San Juan Wolf also became captains of their own ships as well.

During the timeskip, the crew recruited into their ranks a former Marine Admiral, and at least one pirate crew.

Dressrosa Arc
After the battle royale of Block A in the Corrida Colosseum tournament for the Flame-Flame Fruit had ended, it was announced that a participant called Mr. Store had won. It was quickly revealed that Mr. Store was in fact Jesus Burgess, and was now one of the four qualifiers.

During the battle between Luffy (as Lucy) and Chinjao, Burgess goes to the observation deck and comments that Block C has got interesting. He then wonders who Lucy is. After witnessing his victory in his group's battle royale, Burgess realizes that the man is in fact Luffy and gets excited.

After Block C ended, Burgess converses with Blackbeard via Transponder Snail. Teach was discussing the possibility of recruiting Kuzan to join their crew, but Burgess asserted that the former admiral cannot be trusted. When Luffy stopped by, Burgess handed the Transponder Snail to him, allowing him to speak to Blackbeard. Teach then greeted the young pirate and voiced surprise that he was a combatant as well. Knowing why Luffy entered the tournament, Teach assured him that Burgess would be the champion and obtain the Flame-Flame Fruit and that it would be the same as having Ace join his crew, since the latter rejected his previous offer. When Luffy declared that he would not allow the Blackbeard Pirates to get Ace's power, Burgess merely laughed.

After Lucy acquired the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit and demolished the arena, Burgess fell into the underground trade port. Burgess then noticed that Lucy was not Luffy and was frustrated that he was deprived of his opportunity to acquire the Devil Fruit.

During the final battle between Luffy and Doflamingo, Burgess is on top of the royal palace watching as the events unfold while wondering what to do next. After Luffy's Gear Fourth wore off, Burgess took an opportunity to kill him for the Gum-Gum Fruit. He jumped down from the palace and pursued him. But, before he could strike Luffy, Sabo intercepted him.

Sabo then informed him of his relationship to Luffy and Burgess realized that Sabo was the Lucy who fought in the colosseum final. With Sabo standing in his way, Burgess decided to take his Devil Fruit and the two subsequently clashed.

Despite his efforts, Burgess was eventually defeated by Sabo. The Blackbeard Pirate attempted to goad the Revolutionary into killing him, but was unsuccessful. As Sabo walked away, Burgess taunted him about Ace's final words before being handed over to the Marines. Sabo subsequently lost his temper and grabbed Burgess by the head, telling him that he's spent every night thinking about how Ace felt when he died. Burgess then attempted to stab Sabo with a combat knife hidden behind his back, scoffing that Sabo must surely feel regret for not being there to save Ace. Sabo angrily replies that he won't have any more regrets before finishing off Burgess with a fiery point-blank attack.

The newest associate of the Blackbeard Pirates was later revealed to be Kuzan, during the meeting between the Five Elders and Sakazuki. His status within the crew is unknown.

Zou Arc
Laffitte and Shiryu received a call from Burgess, who had stowed away on a ship and had reached Baltigo, the location of the Revolutionary Army headquarters. Burgess told Laffitte to tell Blackbeard to bring everyone and attack, as they could obtain a lot of weapons. The Blackbeard Pirates later attacked the Revolutionary Army's base and destroyed it before the Marines and Cipher Pol arrived, but the Revolutionary Army was able to escape. The crew retreated after briefly clashing with Cipher Pol.

Reverie Arc
As the news of Luffy's exploits at Totto Land spread across the world, Teach read the newspaper at some unknown location and laughed while commenting that it was too soon for Luffy to be called an Emperor. The other members of the Blackbeard Pirates stood nearby as they listened.Meanwhile, after the Lulusia Kingdom's royals and stationed Marines left for the Reverie, the Peachbeard Pirates attacked the seemingly defenseless kingdom, only to be easily defeated by the citizens and the newly arrived Revolutionary Army's commanders.

Wano Country Arc
On Pirate Island, Gecko Moria and his zombies attacked the island, demanding Blackbeard. Moria was searching for his subordinate Absalom who landed at the island a few days ago. Avalo Pizarro was notified of Moria's attack by some underlings. Catarina Devon had masqueraded as him long enough to distract Moria for him to be struck from behind by an invisible Shiryu who had taken Absalom's powers after killing him. Blackbeard then invited Moria to join his crew while also mentioning that the bloody fight between the powerful had started for the throne.

Trivia

 * All of the crew members (except for Doc Q and Stronger) share their names with real world pirates, sailors, or piracy related places.
 * Van Augur is the only crew member who kept his character from the flashback shown of the Blackbeard Pirates' assault on Drum Island.
 * A model of the Blackbeard Pirates' raft is presented in One Piece Super Ship Collection.
 * During the Impel Down Arc, Emporio Ivankov describes Level 6 prisoners to Mr. 2, aside from Avalo Pizarro, those described join the Blackbeard Pirates.
 * A fan asked Oda why he did not make any of the crew members beautiful, and Oda answered that they correspond to "pirate themes".