One Piece chapter 1107: Is Blackbeard a Buccaneer? Explored

The recent flashback of Bartholomew Kuma introduced One Piece fans to a new, unique tribe, the Buccaneers. Like the god-like Lunarians, the members of the Buccaneer race are nearly extinct. They also seem to have a bad history with the World Government, which accuses them of committing a terrible crime.

Based on the manga's latest installment, a prominent character might be part of the mysterious Buccaneer tribe. One Piece chapter 1107 featured a conversation between Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, Catarina Devon, and Van Augur. It was textually stated that Marshall D. Teach "Blackbeard" is part of an unspecified special lineage.

Following this reveal, many fans have started speculating that Blackbeard is a descendant of the Buccaneers, just like Kuma. This hypothesis is undoubtedly fascinating, especially because Blackbeard's body was stated to be different from the average human's.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1107.

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One Piece chapter 1107 certifies that Blackbeard comes from a special lineage

A mysterious bloodline that several people are aware of in the One Piece World

Sent flying away by Luffy’s new Gear 5 attack, the Dawn Gatling, Saint Saturn ended up crashing into some buildings. As he got on his feet again, he noticed Van Augur and Catarina Devon nearby. After seeing the two officers of the Blackbeard Pirates, Saturn lamented that Teach managed to gain followers even among the infamous criminals from Impel Down’s Sixth Level.

Called into question, Catarina Devon answered,

“Teach is special.”

Upon hearing this, Saturn commented,

“As his lineage…”

Devon wasn’t stupefied to hear that Blackbeard isn’t an average human but descends from some unspecified tribe. Hence, it’s pretty clear that she and all the other Blackbeard crew members know that their captain belongs to a particular bloodline of the One Piece world.

The conversation tone changed as Saint Saturn asked them what the Blackbeard Pirates' real goal was, considering that they have always been on the move. Calmly, Van Augur replied,

“The world.”

Enraged by the arrogance, Saturn attacked Devon and Augur, but the two escaped as the latter used his Warp-Warp Fruit to teleport both out of danger.

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Blackbeard is a true enigma

The founder and captain of the Blackbeard Pirates, Marshall D. Teach "Blackbeard," is the only known person in the story to use two Devil Fruits and is one of the very few people who carry the initial D. in their name. Despite owning the rare trait of the Will of D, which distinguishes the bravest people, he fears death almost hysterically.

Deceptive, greedy, and extremely power-crazed, Teach has a weird behavior, as at times he looks fearsomely strong while also often appearing pathetically weak. The oddities don't end here, given that Teach's nature is dichotomic, a bizarre blend of ambition and cowardice.

Blackbeard started his pirate career in the Whitebeard Pirates, leaving that crew several years after murdering a comrade to steal the Dark-Dark Fruit.

A very peculiar Logia power, the Dark-Dark enables the user to create and control darkness, using it to devour everything, including the effects of the other Devil Fruits, which can be nullified upon mere contact. However, unlike the other Logia-class items, the Dark-Dark doesn’t grant intangibility.

Attacked by Portgas D. Ace, who wanted to avenge the slain crewmate, Teach used his newfound abilities to beat and capture the former. Selling the defeated Ace to the Navy, Teach obtained the status of Warlord, which he used to enter Impel Down. He recruited several new formidable members for his crew there, including the vicious Shiryu.

Teach, and his followers then headed to Marineford, where they ganged up on Whitebeard, who was already nearly dead, to kill the legendary pirate and steal his Quake-Quake Fruit, whose immense destructive power needs no introduction.

During the timeskip, Blackbeard and his men crushed the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates, led by Marco, and seized their territories. This achievement granted Teach the status of Yonko. Subsequently, the Blackbeard Pirates have always been on the move.

Teach attacked Amazon Lily to seize the Love-Love Fruit from Boa Hancock, but his attempt was stopped by Silvers Rayleigh’s timely appearance, who forced him to leave. As Teach abducted the young and talented Marine officer Koby, Monkey D. Garp, despite his old age, assaulted the Blackbeard Pirates’ lair to free his beloved disciple.

After fending off multiple enemies, including former Marine Admiral Kuzan “Aokiji,” now allegedly a member of Teach’s group, Garp sacrificed himself to facilitate Koby and the others’ getaway.

Meanwhile, Teach attacked and defeated Trafalgar Law, taking over his Road Poneglyphs. As if that wasn’t enough, Teach had previously sent Kuzan and Augur to storm Whole Cake Island to kidnap Charlotte Pudding, one of the few people who can read the Poneglyphs.

Teach deliberately kept a low profile, but his combat prowess was insane even before obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit and the Quake-Quake Fruit. A testament to this, he could fight Shanks, wounding the latter grievously enough to inflict a permanent scar on his body.

Shanks admitted that the injury wasn’t the result of a surprise attack, implying that Teach’s fighting skills were already substantial back then.

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Blackbeard's points in common with the Buccaneers

Buccaneers are humans who carry the blood of the Giants, which grants them large and durable bodies and uncommon physical strength. Most notably, Buccaneers have massive torsos with thick arms and square-shaped heads. They are taller than average humans but smaller than Giants.

Blackbeard's torso is massive, while his limbs, especially his legs, are thin. Being 344 cm tall, Blackbeard is much larger than an average human. However, this might not mean much, as Bartholomew Kuma, a confirmed Buccaneer, is 689 cm tall.

So far, it’s unknown whether members of the Buccaneer race must be as big as the almost 7-meter-high Kuma or not. What’s certain is that it’s pretty difficult to distinguish Buccaneers from particularly tall humans without a blood test.

Physical might is a distinctive trait of the Buccaneers, and Teach stands out. His raw physical strength is enough to seriously injure Ace, a Yonko Commander-level fighter able to withstand a prolonged battle with a brawler of Jinbe’s caliber. Despite Ace’s toughness, Teach almost broke his collarbone with a single blow.

Blackbeard’s body isn’t exceptionally durable, but his immense endurance and pain tolerance make up for it. Even after being struck with tremendously powerful attacks, he can stand on his feet, ranging from Ace’s Logia-powered fire techniques to Whitebeard’s bisento and Quake-Quake Fruit.

A testament to his exceptional endurance, Teach could move and fight as if nothing happened despite suffering a direct hit from Trafalgar Law’s Shock Wille. This technique uses the Ope-Ope Fruit’s Awakening to inflict internal damage on the target.

Teach’s Dark-Dark Fruit has the side effect of amplifying the pain from his injuries, meaning that his endurance is simply extraordinary. Interestingly, the Buccaneer Bartholomew Kuma also has remarkable endurance. Although at the cost of tremendous suffering, Kuma could handle the pain of the Sorbet Kingdom’s older people every week.

While some One Piece characters, such as Roronoa Zoro, owe their outstanding physical prowess to their harsh training regime, it’s hard to see Blackbeard working out. In all likelihood, his absurd endurance and strength stem from his genes, whatever special bloodline they might be.

It’s important to remember that, according to Marco, Teach can wield two Devil Fruit at once because his body has a unique structure substantially different from that of ordinary people. Admittedly, Teach belonging to the Buccaneer race would explain his abnormal physique.

While fascinating, Saint Saturn’s own words probably prove the theory wrong. Despite being fully aware that Blackbeard belongs to a “special lineage,” Saturn called Kuma the last living Buccaneer. This logically implies that Blackbeard’s tribe differs from Kuma’s unless Saturn contradicts himself, which wouldn’t make much sense.

Possibly, in their conversation about Teach’s bloodline, Saturn and Catarina Devon were referring to the former being one of the very few people who carry the Will of D. in their names. The initial D. seems to be a hereditary trait, so it’s possible that Teach inherited it from his parents, and it would make sense for Saturn and Devon to discuss that.

Even though the reveal featured in One Piece chapter 1107 is only partial and probably raises more questions than the ones it answers, it’s still quite significant. Interestingly, it fuels the theory according to which the “certain pirate” Shanks went to talk about with the Five Elders was none other than Teach himself.

Shanks and Teach are sworn enemies who first met many years ago while still young apprentices. They are bound to fight someday, and it’s well known that Shanks deems Teach the greatest threat to the One Piece world’s stability.

It remains a mere conjecture, but Saturn may know about Teach’s special lineage because Shanks revealed it when he met the Five Elders right before the Levely.

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