The Whitebeard Pirates were one of the strongest crews in One Piece. Their captain, Edward Newgate, was an orphan desiring companionship, and viewed his crewmates as his own children. He accumulated a number of affiliate crews, and even enough pirates in his main crew to make splitting them up into divisions a necessity. Another aspect that added to their power was the Devil Fruits that certain crew members obtained. A handful of the highest ranked pirates in the crew have consumed some of the most powerful and rare Devil Fruits in the series. However, between fatalities during the Summit War and the subsequently more definitive loss the Whitebeard Pirates suffered during the Payback War, the extent to which each Devil Fruit is connected to the crew has differed.