Shanks’ Ability and Destiny

As One Piece readers and fans, we all know how the story goes. In the first chapter of One Piece, Luffy end up being captured by Higuma and Shanks had no choice but to save him, losing his arm in the process. Or did he?

This theory and analytical reading cover why I didn’t think he really lost his arm, but gave it away purposely instead. It also tries to discover who Shanks really was and why he made that choice to sacrifice his arm for Luffy that day. You’ll also learn what is Shanks’s power and what really is behind his personal relation with Blackbeard.

It’s a long read, but if you like Shanks and think he’s one of the main key to One Piece mystery, I’m sure you’ll like reading this.

I – Who and what is Shanks ?

Shanks power-level when he saved Luffy is an important point of the discussion and a central piece of the whole theory. Even if we – the readers – never saw Shanks fighting seriously, we all suspect he was one of the strongest character in the One Piece universe at some point. Many hints suggest it to be the case, the biggest clue being that he was Mihawk’s rival at some point. Mihawk, the powerhouse and fearsome fighter everybody respect, even Doflamingo to some degree, was Shanks’s rival at some point in the story. Mihawk also happens to be the person Roronoa Zoro still dream to beat to this day (let that sink for a minute). If Shanks current power-level is up in the air, because of his missing arm, there are no doubts he was among the top fighters of his generation before losing it. I read and heard about how he wasn’t that powerful back then or how he maybe wasn’t a Yonkou yet, but don’t be fooled, he was already a beast more than ten years ago.You might wonder though : “If he was already that powerful back then, how did he still lose his arm by saving Luffy?”

Many people argue that Shanks, being who he already was at that time, could have avoided to lose its arm while saving Luffy. It’s true that he was already a powerful individual back then, it’s also true the Sea King that ate his arm was kind of weak. If Shanks could have avoided the situation, why did he still lost his arms saving Luffy? At this point, there are many theories out there. Some think he had a short laps of time for saving Luffy and was put in a panic state. Some others think that he had to cover a large amount of distance in the water, in a short time and thus couldn’t avoid the bite from the Sea King… but to me, it’s clearly something else. I think many people underestimate the importance of this exact scene and Oda foreshadowing abilities. Shanks clearly decided to give his arm away in that precise moment, I have no doubts about it. The real question is: why? Why did he decide to gave his arm away?

Before trying to answer this question, we have to understand who and what Shanks exactly is, as a person and as a character.

First, let’s speak about Shanks as a character. Shanks’s past or adventure have rarely been featured in the manga and he has never been the central character of an arc like Doflamingo, Moria or Ace have been. He is and has always been considered by the author and the readers as a side character. He’s clearly important, but he’s always doing his things mostly outisde of the main plot and don’t partake in the main character’s adventures. Yet, if you really think about it, we know a lot about him and his past. Oda made sure that readers could draw the outline of Shanks’s past and what made him the man he is right now, even if the exact events were rarely featured in the manga. In that regards, he is a rare case among important characters and share this trait with Monkey D. Dragon, another key character, which is pretty telling of Shanks’s importance.

Then, in order to understand his choice to give his arm away for Luffy, we should consider about him as a person. Who exactly was Shanks before losing his arm? We already established Shanks was a powerful individual back then and while we only know small bits of his past, we know two key things about Shanks. The first is, he already fought Blackbeard before losing his arm. We know this because he already had his famous scar more than ten years ago. Keep this in mind as it’s an important piece of Shanks’s life. The second thing we know about him is that he was wearing Gol D. Roger’s strawhat during his time around Eastblue. We knew about those Shanks’s features since chapter 1, but Oda waited more than 400 chapters to reveal what those features were and considered them as big reveals. Those two key elements – Shanks’s scar and Roger’s strawhat – are clearly Oda’s messages to the readers. You can read them as Oda telling us something important.

Shanks in the first chapter of One Piece. Wearing Roger’s hat and bearing his famous scar.

Now, let’s deep further in the Rabbit hole. The first important thing to wonder is why was Shanks wearing Gol D. Roger most personal item and an item that seems to hold a special importance in the universe of One Piece ? What Oda was trying to tell to us by making Shanks wearing it and by revealing much later that it was Gol D. Roger personal strawhat before he made it big ? Also, consider this : of all the persons that was close to him, Gol D. Roger chose the young Shanks to wear his strawhat. He didn’t chose Rayleigh (his second-in-command), Ace (his own son), Garp (his well-respected arch enemy), Crocus (his personal medic), Whitebeard (a respected friend and rival) or anyone else. He did chose Shanks of all of them. You may wonder why I’m so sure that Gol D. Roger gave his hat to Shanks personally ? Oda himself gave it away by showing us Shanks wearing Roger’s hat during the battle against Shiki’s fleet, but also at the moment of his execution. Oda seems to have put a lot of effort to suggest us, readers and fans, what Shanks was supposed to be at some point and how important the man still is to this day.

Young Shanks wearing Roger’s strawhat during the famous Ed War. Roger was alive and well back then. He didn’t stole it, he didn’t pick it up when Roger was executed, which hint at Roger giving it to him himself.

I’ll take a risk here, but my assumption is that Shanks wasn’t a random lad on Roger’s crew. Shanks wearing Gol D. Roger’s strawhat wasn’t a coincidence at all. At some point and during some time, Shanks was supposed to inherit Gol D. Roger will or at least thought so himself. Shanks was strong, Shanks was inspirational, Shanks was loyal, Shanks was young, Shanks was kind-hearted… He also was part of Roger’s Crew. Shanks was the Pirate King prime candidate for some years.One of the biggest hint we have about this assumption is that Shanks was – and still is – Luffy’s role model. The future Pirate King, Luffy, looks upon Shanks and he always did. Why ? It’s not because Shanks is an chill guy or a pirate, it’s because Shanks represented what Luffy dreamed to become : a strong contender for the title or Pirate King, if not the Pirate King himself. That’s what Luffy saw in Shanks and probably what a lot of people thought back then when meeting him. Remember Luffy never said he wanted to be like Roger. Shanks he’s the person he looks upon. Luffy is after Roger’s title, but Shanks is his source of inspiration at a personal level.

Oda own’s words : Luffy wanted to be exactly like Shanks in the future. Shanks is established by the author himself to be Luffy’s role model, not just a figure he respects, like Rayleigh, Ace or Roger.

I think it’s clear Shanks wanted to be the next Pirate King after Gol D. Roger. He seemed to like Roger a lot, being one of the rare individual Oda did show us to cry at Roger’s execution. There are no doubts to me he wanted to pursue Roger’s will at some point and that implies being the next Pirate King himself. We can see it in the way Oda depicted Shanks at Roger’s execution. He’s wearing Roger’s hat and touching it, all the while having his fist closed on his chest, exactly where his heart is. You all know what that means, Shanks decided to carry Roger’s will from this point.

Oda’s clue about Shanks’s drive, goal and destiny after Gol D. Roger’s execution.

That’s not all, of course. We have another hint about Shanks’s past ambition to be the next Pirate King. This hint is coming from Rayleigh himself. He gave it away when he was speaking to Luffy back in Shabondy. Rayleigh told Luffy that Shanks was one of the few people still alive today that “took something from what Roger said that day”. By “that day” Rayleigh means Roger’s execution. We know Shanks was here and thanks to Rayleigh, it confirms that Shanks decided something on that day, thanks to Roger’s words. To me, there are no doubts he decided to be the next pirate king that day.

Rayleigh speaking about Shanks’s past ambition. Again, is it a coincidence ? You decide.

Oda threw one last hint at Shanks’s past ambition. It’s subtle, but it tells a lot. In the chapter 0, we can see a young Shanks searching for comrades and talking to Yassop. It’s only one panel, but it’s a very important one. Like I said, it’s a subtle hint, but that panel should remember you two things : Roger meeting Rayleigh and Luffy on the first day of his adventures. On the respective start of their own adventures, Roger, Shanks and finally Luffy started the same way : close to sea, with the same strawhat, searching for comrades. Sure, that’s probably how most pirates started their own adventures, but still, Oda decided to draw an obvious parallel and this small hint adds up nicely with the two above. Oda is telling us Shanks was in Roger’s steps, just like Luffy was at the start of his adventures. He wanted to conquer Grand Line and be the Pirate King, just like Roger did and just like Luffy wants to do.

“There is not such thing as coincidence in this world. As though it was always meant to be… Towards becoming a man worthy of that hat he wears” – Rayleigh own words, chapter 603.

The second important point about Shanks is less a risk and more an analytical reading. Oda made it sure that readers knew Shanks already had his famous scar in the first chapter of One Piece, more than ten years ago and before losing his arm. Remember that Oda waited 434 chapters before revealing the meaning behind this scar and Shanks’s own relation to Blackbeard. It’s not a random piece of the lore, it’s an important piece of the puzzle and was considered as a big reveal by Oda. Why is it important ? Keep reading and you’ll know.