Summary
The captain of the Red Hair Pirates, Shanksis one of the strongest people in the world ofOne Pieceand he also holds tremendous importance in Luffy’s life. Having inherited the Straw Hat from Roger and then passing it on to Luffy, Shanks essentially kick-started the entirety of the story in many ways.
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He is Luffy’s idol and a big part of the story has been focused on the reunion of these two characters when the time comes. While fans know quite a bit about Shanks, especially now, there’s still a lot about him that remains to be a mystery. In fact, Oda recently teased something about Shanks' past that suggests that he could have been in a very deadly incident that was believed to have killed him.
Shanks In The Final Saga
Shanks has not appeared much inOne Pieceand that is something that every fan of the series already knows. He is an exceptionally important character that Oda was savingfor the Final Saga.Previously, Oda has mentioned that when Shanks starts appearing in the manga more frequently, fans can assume that the story is the end game. That is precisely what the current situation inOne Pieceis and, given that the story is in the Final Saga, everything that Oda has said about this character holds true. Shanks started making his move around the time of the Reverie and, shortly after that, when Kaido fell, fans got another glimpse of him. This time, Shanks claimed that he wanted to enter the great pirate game and claim theOne Piecefor himself.
For the longest time, the Red Hair Pirates were not directly involved in the fight for theOne Piece, however, now, it is time for them to show their worth and give everyone an idea of why they are as feared as they are. The final saga ofOne Piecealso sets up the eventual meeting between Luffy and Shanks. After defeating Kaido, Luffy has now ascended to the level of a Great Pirate and has excelled tremendously. Now, it is time for him to reunite with Shanks and show him that he has finally managed to surpass him and his crew. This also opens up room for Shanks' character to be explored more and Oda has already dropped hints about it on Elbaf.
Shanks On Elbaf
In the Egghead Arc ofOne Piece, fans have seen a lot of Shanks. He was seenaround the island of Elbafand it was revealed to the fans that this island is under the protection of the red-haired Yonko. Shanks was seen tracking down the location of Blackbeard around this point in the story and, soon after, news reached him that Eustass Kid, one of the Worst Generation members involved in the fight in Wano, was now gunning for him. Shanks offered terms to him and since Kid did not back down, the two ended up clashing and this resulted in Kid being absolutely demolished.
Shanks used a single swing of his sword to defeat both Kid and Killer at the same time. The entirety of the Kid Pirates was then decimated using the power of the two Giants, Dorry and Brogy. While the biggest takeaway from this clash was Shanks' incredible strength, one thing that nearly every single fan overlooked is the fact that Shanks knew both Dorry and Brogy. By the looks of it, Shanks knows both of these characters and since they have been on Little Garden for over 100 years, it can be assumed that Shanks visited this place and that is where he met them for the first time. They also appear to be friends and that is quite interesting.
Shanks' Presumed Death
On Elbaf, fans got to see Shanks reunite with these two Giants. It appears that their duel has finally ended and they have returned to the land of the Warrior Giants. This is where they finally meet Shanks, who keeps this island protected. However, what is most curious about this reunion is the fact that Shanks mentioned that this reunion was special because it was old friends who thought each other dead to be reuniting. This implies that Shanks thought that the Giants were dead but, at the same time, the Giants thought that Shanks was dead as well.
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The fan translations of the chapter have messed this part up, which means that this very interesting bit of history is lost in translation for a lot of the readers. However, those who read the official version ofOne Pieceknow that there is a quite clear hint for Shanks to have been presumably dead atOne Pointin the story.
The Giants believed that Shanks had diedand the reason for this has not been explained in the story so far. What this does, however, is it adds intrigue to Shanks' past. Fans know already that Shanks has lived quite a dangerous life on the high seas and now, they know that he could have potentially faced death as well. How exactly this happened and why Shanks was presumed to have died is something that every fan wants to know desperately.
What Happened To Shanks?
Shanks is a character who has absolutely no fearfrom what the fans have seen so far. He has been in countless battles and he has always put his life on the line when fighting. There is quite a lot that fans do not know about him, but it is a known fact that his character is deeply tied to only a select few in the world ofOne Piece.These characters would be Roger, his former captain, Buggy, his best friend and sworn brother, Luffy, the one whom he entrusted with his Straw Hat, Mihawk, the person whom he dueled with on countless occasions, and finally, Blackbeard, whose connection to him is not known at the moment.
Shanks was presumed to have died, the threat is likely to come from someone that he fought has in the past. Shanks has fought against Mihawk on countless occasions in the past, however, in his own words, he has had his fair share of fun when fighting these battles. The fact that their rivalry continued for quite a long time right until Shanks lost his arm meant that neither of them could best the other. This only means that the near-death experience that Shanks had came from Blackbeard. This is further backed up by the conversation that Shanks has with Whitebeard.
Shanks mentioned that the scar on his face was not one that he received in his duels with Mihawk. Instead, it was one that he received from Blackbeard, even when he was not being careless. This means that Shanks was actually on guard and Blackbeard still managed to injure him. This incident could have resulted in a fight where Blackbeard bested Shanks or, at the very least, put him in a near-death situation. It is possible that this is the precise moment where Shanks was believed to have died.
Fans must also keep in mind that Shanks' Jolly Roger carries his three scars. Given that Jolly Rogers are created at the very beginning of the pirate journey, it is possible that Shanks met Dorry and Brogy very early into his pirating career. And even before he became a prominent pirate, he faced Blackbeard and received this injury that runs across his face. It is possible that Shanks was believed to have died after this confrontation took place, possibly on an island close to Little Garden. Oda will surely elaborate upon this further in the future and fans should hold tight for that to happen.
One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and theManga Plusapp. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1092, is set to be July 20, 2025.
