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Unless Whitebeard can somehow use his Haki to survive it, or make his Quake Fruit Devil Fruit powers to shake apart the cold, I don't see him stopping Absolute Zero. I mean, it's vibrations, apparently, & has worked on tsunamis, but still....
Incidentally, I'm curious about his stamina. Part of his Stamina rating on our wiki says: "Weaker characters with less endurance were also able to continuously battle one another for ten days."
Does this mean Whitebeard could fight at his peak continuously for 10 days? Mind you, the One Piece wiki's page for him does bring up his poor health.
"Whitebeard appeared to have debilitating health problems, possibly stemming from his advanced age and excessive drinking. When not in battle, he was always surrounded by nurses, used oxygen tubes, and was hooked up to intravenous tubes and life support systems; despite this, he used to literally drink sake by the barrel. However, Marco noted that Whitebeard's health had gotten worse, and he no longer possessed the reflexes to avoid Squard's surprise attack, which was, in the past, something easy for him to achieve."
They cite: One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 25 Chapter 234 (p. 12-13) and Episode 151, Whitebeard is introduced. And One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 58 Chapter 563 (p. 11) and Episode 472, Marco notes that Whitebeard's health has deteriorated.
If we ignore the likely possibility of OHKO, frankly, I could see this being a fair, if arduous fight. For the sake of argument....
Whitebeard has possibly higher AP & Dura. This can be even moreso thanks to his Color of Armaments Haki, which can augment both offense & defense.
Both have powerful ranged attacks, Quake Quake Fruit attacks & Articuno's Blizzard, Ice Beam, Hurricane, Ancientpower, Ice Shard, & Freeze-Dry.
Both have means of keeping damage from attacks down. Whitebeard can likely break apart attacks with his Quake Quake Fruit's intense vibrations, which may disrupt Articuno's ranged assaults. Articuno has Reflect, halving damage from Physical/Non-special attacks to it. However, I doubt Haki or Quake Quake Fruit attacks are considered "Physical" rather than Special.
Both have means of detecting one another. Whitebeard through Color of Observation or Mantra Haki to find Articuno's location, & Articuno through Mind Reader. It could be likely Articuno's may be more practical, however.
Articuno's ability makes some difference here. With Pressure, Whitebeard's stamina use is doubled. With Snow Cloak, it has more evasion in Hail, which it can summon via the move of the same name.
(Lol, my memory was horribly off, earlier, lol. Snow Cloak, not Snow Warning.)
Some advantages Articuno has are its Blizzards, Hurricane & Mist giving it plenty of cover, although Haki sensing may make this less useful. It also has True Flight against a mostly grounded opponent.
Assuming Whitebeard's weapon is Steel, combining it with Haki, he'd almost certainly have an advantage in close combat, possibly even with Reflect, considering he may be the more adept melee combatant.
Whitebeard supposedly doesn't do much dodging, as he can block & tank a lot, & chooses to. Supposedly. His Devil Fruit's defensive utility helps here.
Articuno can also heal using Roost, if it finds chances to, which its cover helps. The ice it would be launching could also chill Whitebeard, & the Hail could add residual damage, likely further challenging his "failing health", posisbly along with Pressure. Likely slowing blood flow, & numbing his body.
And Whitebeard did suffer a heart attack against Akainu during a fight....
Ultimately, if Whitebeard can't be OHKO'd, I think the two would spend a lot of time sensing each other & launching ranged attacks.
I don't know if there's precedent for Articuno fighting at peak power for 10 days or more, so if Whitebeard has that kind of stamina, if he keeps Articuno from Roosting enough & can block & split attacks away enough, he might be able to outlast it....
The biggest non-OHKO problem for him, though, happens when he takes a hit, however.
Blizzard, Ice Beam & more can freeze him. With Blizzard's wide range, even with his Devil Fruit, too many hits may be tough to avoid.
Assuming we don't consider it game mechanics, Hurricane can also inflict Confusion, possibly negating the advantages of his Haki sensing, Devil Fruit defenses & other defensive options.
Ancientpower may also not need to connect to have the chance of amping Articuno's AP/SS & Dura, too.
I also question if being freeze dried with... Freeze-Dry could further challenge his health issues, as he's already shown precedent for being a victim of cardiac arrest in combat.
It's somewhat a matter of luck, but not entirely. He's facing an opponent with true flight, cover through weather manipulation, mind reading, & powerful ranged attacks. It may not be so easy to track an opponent or their attacks, even with his Haki.
Even with his Haki sensing & splitting attacks via vibrations with his Devil Fruit powers, he may not be able to avoid taking a hit.
And if Whitebeard gets Frozen or Confused, Articuno can almost certainly capitalize on that to pile on even more attacks & status on him or Roost. He'd also be at risk of Hail damage being added.
Ultimately, it comes down to matters of if Whitebeard really does have the stamina to outlast, &/or has the skill at keeping attacks from hitting him & inflicting status while fighting an intelligent, flying, mind reader that can summon dangerous weather that doubles as cover.
In a battle of just trading blows, however, he has the higher raw stats, can amp his own AP & Dura & sense where his evasive opponent is with Haki without the need for a random chance Ancientpower boost, & almost certainly has an advantage in close combat, at the very least because his weapon could likely be Steel or Rock-Type.
Sorry about all the words, but ultimately, I'm not too sure. Articuno likely wins easily via OHKO if we're allowing that. Otherwise, Whitebeard might have a win via trading of attacks because of stats, but depending on skill & maybe luck, Articuno could win by pummeling him with ranged attacks if it gets a status on him, & it has situational healing with Roost.
....MAYBE Articuno High Difficulty, if I had to vote?
I have to vote Articuno. In part because of reasons stated above.
Since when did Articuno get Snow Warning? Anyways, Whitebeard is at risk if he does go to close quarters combat because of Frostbite possibly freezing him. Not only can Articuno confuse via Hurricane but Water Pulse too. Steel Wing may raise its defense and in tandem with Reflect and possible Ancient Power boosts may allow it to stand a better chance at close range. Also the evasion boost from Snow Cloak makes the cover from Hail even handier and Mist can help with that.