Wano has been an absolute clusterfuck of retcons, overambitious cameos, shameless name-dropping and overcomplicated plotlines. The most egregious example however has to be chapter 999, in which it was revealed that Whitebeard was indeed aware of the dire situation in Wano, but simply chose not to act on it. Some have argued that this was perfectly in-character for Whitebeard, that his decision made sense or more amusingly, that his conflict with Oden somehow equates to telling an entire country to get fucked. Today, I will be debunking some common arguments I've seen from those who tried to defend Whitebeard's betrayal of his own values in chapter 999.
Argument 1: Oden was already dead.
Apparently, all that matters is that Oden died some time ago and this means that Wano is no longer of any concern to Whitebeard, or at least not worth investing his precious fodder army. Fuck Izo's sister Kiku whose death has not been confirmed, fuck Momo and Hiyori who were literally born on the Moby Dick, fuck all of those guys because MUHHH prophecy. Even if they had all died, however, this should not have made any difference to Whitebeard!
Regardless of whether or not Ace was alive, his capture and imprisonment was enough for Whitebeard to send his entire allied force into what was very clearly a deathtrap; an enclosed bay area requiring the pirates to storm through siege walls and an open space lined with artillery is nothing short of a suicidal bumrush, even for a yonko crew. In this case, Kaido had captured or possibly murdered two young children in cold blood, children that had been born on Whitebeard's very ship. If Momo and Hiyori are not family, then who is? Hiyori grew up watching her caretaker starve and ended up raised by a gangster as a prostitute in Wano, but fuck her I guess, no need to confirm her safety or anything because the unhinged ramblings of a dying woman will take care of everything amirite?
I've seen people compare Oden's situation to Thatch's murder, with Whitebeard choosing to let it go. All I have to say is, if you cannot see the difference between the death of a pirate and the potential murder and enslavement of two orphaned children, please consider taking up an ethics class or two.
Argument 2: Whitebeard believed that Oden could take care of Wano
This argument is beyond stupid. Ace clearly saw that Wano had become a lawless zone with poisoned land, starving people and children being kidnapped. Whatever Oden was doing was not working out. Yes, Whitebeard. Let the people suffer and starve just like your hometown for 20 years because MUHHH prophecy amirite? Anyone who dies within that twenty year time period was just weak or a worthy sacrifice for the greater good... whatever that is.
Argument 3: Fighting Kaido would be a bad idea
You know what else is a bad idea? Throwing your entire fleet into battle against the Marines and Shichibukai on their own turf, but I digress. If WB truly meant to fight Kaido, doing so while he was weaker would have made the most sense. We know that Kaido has fought Whitebeard in the past, and that his deal with Doflamingo and Caesar is a relatively recent affair.
Whitebeard should have been aware of Kaido's strength and the fact that he is indeed vulnerable. Actually, fuck that shit, give the dude 20 years to build up his strength while Whitebeard himself wastes away from illness, that ought to do it. 10/10 strategic thinking, dumbasses.
Because sending the WB pirates into battle against Babanuki and Holdem has the potential for too many casualties, but let's go ahead and throw them into the meat grinder that is Akainu and Mihawk because reasons. Then again, I am not surprised that people think this considering that there are those who believe that the admirals are commander level or below.
Argument 4: Whitebeard argued with oden (And???)
Of all the arguments defending 999 Whitebeard, this has to be the dumbest. So Whitebeard's beef with Oden was so serious that this meant telling Kiku, Momo, Hiyori and the entire country of Wano to go fuck itself? Do people arguing this even realise that this makes Whitebeard look even more like a petty scumbag? Furthermore, this goes against Whitebeard's entire character; the scene where Whitebeard forgives Squard shows that he is magnanimous and loyal, not some dimwit who would hold a stupid grudge for decades.
In short, the flimsy excuses offered by Oda and the fandom simply do not hold up with what we know of Whitebeard's character. If anything, the man who treasured family more than anything else should have tried to save or avenge Momo and Hiyori. There were other options open to him, like contacting Shanks and Rayleigh to march on Onigashima and demand the whereabouts of the children. How he could ever justify leaving an 8 and a 6 year old in a lawless zone is beyond me. The only explanation is that Oda's attempts to name-drop have gone the way of Rey being Palpatine's granddaughter. It's unnecessary, it doesn't make sense and if anything, it only ruins the established characters whose arcs were perfect as they were.
Argument 1: Oden was already dead.
Apparently, all that matters is that Oden died some time ago and this means that Wano is no longer of any concern to Whitebeard, or at least not worth investing his precious fodder army. Fuck Izo's sister Kiku whose death has not been confirmed, fuck Momo and Hiyori who were literally born on the Moby Dick, fuck all of those guys because MUHHH prophecy. Even if they had all died, however, this should not have made any difference to Whitebeard!
Regardless of whether or not Ace was alive, his capture and imprisonment was enough for Whitebeard to send his entire allied force into what was very clearly a deathtrap; an enclosed bay area requiring the pirates to storm through siege walls and an open space lined with artillery is nothing short of a suicidal bumrush, even for a yonko crew. In this case, Kaido had captured or possibly murdered two young children in cold blood, children that had been born on Whitebeard's very ship. If Momo and Hiyori are not family, then who is? Hiyori grew up watching her caretaker starve and ended up raised by a gangster as a prostitute in Wano, but fuck her I guess, no need to confirm her safety or anything because the unhinged ramblings of a dying woman will take care of everything amirite?
I've seen people compare Oden's situation to Thatch's murder, with Whitebeard choosing to let it go. All I have to say is, if you cannot see the difference between the death of a pirate and the potential murder and enslavement of two orphaned children, please consider taking up an ethics class or two.
Argument 2: Whitebeard believed that Oden could take care of Wano
This argument is beyond stupid. Ace clearly saw that Wano had become a lawless zone with poisoned land, starving people and children being kidnapped. Whatever Oden was doing was not working out. Yes, Whitebeard. Let the people suffer and starve just like your hometown for 20 years because MUHHH prophecy amirite? Anyone who dies within that twenty year time period was just weak or a worthy sacrifice for the greater good... whatever that is.
Argument 3: Fighting Kaido would be a bad idea
You know what else is a bad idea? Throwing your entire fleet into battle against the Marines and Shichibukai on their own turf, but I digress. If WB truly meant to fight Kaido, doing so while he was weaker would have made the most sense. We know that Kaido has fought Whitebeard in the past, and that his deal with Doflamingo and Caesar is a relatively recent affair.
Whitebeard should have been aware of Kaido's strength and the fact that he is indeed vulnerable. Actually, fuck that shit, give the dude 20 years to build up his strength while Whitebeard himself wastes away from illness, that ought to do it. 10/10 strategic thinking, dumbasses.
Because sending the WB pirates into battle against Babanuki and Holdem has the potential for too many casualties, but let's go ahead and throw them into the meat grinder that is Akainu and Mihawk because reasons. Then again, I am not surprised that people think this considering that there are those who believe that the admirals are commander level or below.
Argument 4: Whitebeard argued with oden (And???)
Of all the arguments defending 999 Whitebeard, this has to be the dumbest. So Whitebeard's beef with Oden was so serious that this meant telling Kiku, Momo, Hiyori and the entire country of Wano to go fuck itself? Do people arguing this even realise that this makes Whitebeard look even more like a petty scumbag? Furthermore, this goes against Whitebeard's entire character; the scene where Whitebeard forgives Squard shows that he is magnanimous and loyal, not some dimwit who would hold a stupid grudge for decades.
In short, the flimsy excuses offered by Oda and the fandom simply do not hold up with what we know of Whitebeard's character. If anything, the man who treasured family more than anything else should have tried to save or avenge Momo and Hiyori. There were other options open to him, like contacting Shanks and Rayleigh to march on Onigashima and demand the whereabouts of the children. How he could ever justify leaving an 8 and a 6 year old in a lawless zone is beyond me. The only explanation is that Oda's attempts to name-drop have gone the way of Rey being Palpatine's granddaughter. It's unnecessary, it doesn't make sense and if anything, it only ruins the established characters whose arcs were perfect as they were.
. Oden wasn't blackmailed, he joined Roger cause...
