In its most recent chapter, One Piece has set up a rather unexpected fight between two members of the Worst Generation. Since the end of Wano and even during, Blackbeard has been on the move more than ever. Now, it seems that his plans have led him into a confrontation with Trafalgar Law and the Heart Pirates.
Both Law and Blackbeard are considered among the strongest pirates in the New World, which makes this matchup quite exciting. Blackbeard is currently a Yonko who managed to take over most of Whitebeard's territory after killing him in a weakened state and the rest of his crew a year after. On the other hand, Law managed to take down a Yonko when they were at full strength, albeit with the help of Eustass Kid. The victor of this fight is far from certain, but through analysis of their respective Devil Fruit powers and Haki mastery, it's possible to determine the likely winner of their battle.
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Blackbeard's True Power
Starting with Blackbeard, the devious pirate is quite massive with an imposing large figure. With his bulky build, he's essentially a "tank" that can take hits and dish them out even better. Based on the fights he's been part of, Blackbeard seems rather slow but still a capable brawler, likely due to his size. While he carries multiple weapons like his three pistols, in just about every situation, he has stuck to using his bare fists, implying that he is best at hand-to-hand combat, which is further complemented by both of his Devil Fruit powers. It should be noted that he managed to scar Shanks in direct combat, showing that he does indeed have fighting skills.
Blackbeard is a known user of both Armament and Observation Haki and is seemingly quite skilled at both. His Observation Haki was strong enough to detect Luffy's strength and potential when they first met back on Jaya, and he was able to tell that Luffy had gotten even stronger since then when they crossed paths in Impel Down. His Armament Haki is also nothing to scoff at, as he was able to defend against a sword slash from the Dracule Mihawk Seraphim, who was capable of cutting Amazon Lily's large mountain in half. With this level of mastery, it's no wonder he managed to become one of the most feared pirates in the series.
According to the series, Blackbeard is the first person to ever have more than one Devil Fruit power -- in his case, the Yami Yami no Mi and Gura Gura no Mi. The Yami Yami no Mi is a unique Logia-type that lets him generate, manipulate and turn into darkness, though the latter does not make him intangible as all other Logias introduced. Instead, he ends up taking more damage than normal, though the Devil Fruit's special powers more than make up for this drawback.
Blackbeard's darkness has gravitational properties; it's able to pull anything toward it and swallow it into an infinite void. Whatever is swallowed can then be fired out of his darkness with tremendous force. However, arguably, this fruit's greatest power is its ability to disable the powers of any Devil Fruit eater that it touches. The shock of this alone is enough to completely throw Blackbeard's opponents off-balance, which is a huge reason why he was able to beat Portgas D. Ace.
His other Devil Fruit powers come from the Gura Gura no Mi, which allows him to create massive shock waves and earthquakes. The fruit's previous eater, Whitebeard, proved just how dangerous and overwhelming this power was, as he used it to destroy Marineford, beat Akainu into submission and literally tear through the sea, all while he was sick and on the verge of death. With this level of power, it's obvious to see why this fruit is known as the strongest Paramecia-type.
Law's True Power
Even though he's a doctor, Trafalgar Law is also a capable fighter. Rather than brute force and overwhelming strength, Law relies mainly on speed, agility and tactics but is still quite durable when it comes to taking a beating, as could be seen against Vergo, Doflamingo and Big Mom. This makes him something of a "rogue" style of fighter that allows him to make the most of his Devil Fruit powers.
Unlike Blackbeard, Law mainly fights using a weapon -- specifically, a cursed blade, though it is not one of the Meito or "Legendary Blades." Unfortunately, although Law does use a sword, it's hard to call him a swordsman in the same way Zoro or Killer is, as he mainly uses it as an extension of his Devil Fruit powers and not much else. It should be noted that he has proven to be capable enough to fight against other weapon users such as Smoker, managing to beat him in their duel.
Trafalgar Law's Haki prowess is also nothing to scoff at. Just like Blackbeard, Law is skilled in the two main forms of Haki. His Armament Haki was strong enough to overpower and cut through Doflamino's subordinate Vergo, who was considered a master of Armament Haki, as well as an entire facility and mountain on Punk Hazard. He also used it to beat Smoker and was capable of defending himself from one of Doflamingo's strongest attacks that could cut a meteor in half without taking any damage. While not seen as much, his Observation Haki is developed enough that he could sense Luffy's defeat against Kaido on Onigashima, as well as his Devil Fruit's awakening soon after. He was also able to reverse Doc Q's gender-swapping virus by exerting his Haki, proving that it's definitely powerful.
While he only has one Devil Fruit, Trafalgar Law's Ope Ope no Mi should not be underestimated. Its primary ability is that it grants Law the power to create "Rooms," which are essentially portions of space that he has complete control over. In these Rooms, he can move and teleport objects around at will with his mind, cut entire battalions and even mountains in half with a single slice of his sword, and poke out his opponents' organs at whim. Law can even have people in his rooms switch bodies with one another. Beyond that, he can create electrical discharges and blades that can harm a target's internals without leaving an external room, as well as scan people within his room as though they were under an x-ray.
These powers go great with his knowledge of medicine and are said to be at their strongest when used by a skilled doctor. The medical applications of his powers allow him to repair and replace lost limbs and remove harmful substances from any and all tissue due to him having absolute control on a precise level over whatever is in the Room.
Law also has managed to awaken his Devil Fruit, allowing him to apply the effects of his Rooms to specific objects rather than create massive spheres of space. This allows him to focus and completely manipulate these objects and whatever they touch in seemingly any way he wants. Using this technique, named "K-Room," Law was able to extend his sword's length exponentially and even made it impossible for Big Mom to convey messages through speech, effectively muting her. He might only have the one set of powers, but he has proven on multiple occasions that they are more than enough to get the job don
Summary: The person who is superior is still a BlackBeard
Unfortunately for many One Piece fans, Trafalgar Law is most likely set to lose his fight against Blackbeard. While Law definitely has a lot going for him, Blackbeard has him outclassed in too many ways. When it comes to the physical abilities between the two, it's something of a tie. While they can both take a beating, Blackbeard is arguably tougher than Law, though Law is definitely faster. Both employ fighting styles that complement their Devil Fruits well too, making it hard to say that one surpasses the other in this specific regard.
Haki is an interesting power that is said to develop the quickest and most profoundly during the toughest of battles. While he did spend much of his time with the Whitebeard Pirates in the shadows, Blackbeard has had significantly longer to train and master his Haki abilities than Law. His Haki is therefore likely stronger as a result, especially since Blackbeard only had Devil Fruit powers for roughly two or three years and probably had to rely on Haki for most of his life. Law's Devil Fruit powers also have trouble affecting those with Haki stronger than his own. If this is indeed the case, the fight will be much harder for Law. For those reasons, Blackbeard arguably takes the win in this category.
When it comes to Devil Fruits, it's hard to see Blackbeard losing. If Law were facing either one of Blackbeard's sets of powers on their own, the story might be different, but both at once is arguably impossible for him to handle. Law relies heavily on his Devil Fruit powers in combat, which is his biggest weakness. Unlike most Devil Fruit powers, Law's powers drain his stamina, and they do so immensely. This makes it hard for him to maintain his strength the longer a battle rages on, which is a limitation that Blackbeard does not have. Even though Blackbeard is extra susceptible to damage, it still takes an overwhelming amount to bring him down -- a feat even someone as strong as Ace couldn't pull off.
Blackbeard also has the ability to forcibly pull Law closer to him and disable the latter's powers just by touching him, eliminating any chance Law has at victory. While Law has the unique ability to teleport away from Blackbeard in this situation, if he runs out of stamina, there isn't any way for him to avoid the attack. The only edge Law has in this category is a confirmed awakening, but this drains him even more than his standard powers, making it a huge gamble. Blackbeard's shock wave abilities also act as a substitute for having an awakening, giving him offensive power that Law simply doesn't have.
While Law should lose to Blackbeard on paper, any number of things could happen in the fight between the two in the upcoming chapters. One Piece is a series known for surprising its audience, so anything is possible. As unlikely as it is for him to win, Law shouldn't be declared the loser just yet, especially considering their fight hasn't even started. Hopefully, Chapter 1064 will give readers a better idea of what to expect.
