Summary
Shanks is one of the most belovedOne Piececharacters who has held a special place in the fans' hearts from the very first chapter of the story. It was quite clear from the very beginning that Shanks was an extremely important character and that he would come into play further as the story progresses. While there was certainly a dearth of Shanks content towards the beginning ofOne Piece, as fans got closer to the end of the story, Shanks received more pronounced roles.
Now thatthe story is in the Final Saga, Shanks will receive a major role as he enters the great game for claiming the One Piece. This makes him an active participant and a potential rival for many other characters. From the very beginning, Shanks has been revealed to be an incredibly powerful character, however, with that also come many death flags that he has had on his head for quite a while now. There is a decent chance for Shanks to die in the Final Saga and the fans are holding their breath.
Shanks' Role In One Piece So Far
Shanks has played two major roles inOne Pieceso far, and both of them are intertwined. The very first role that Shanks played was to put Luffy on the path to becoming the Pirate King. This happened at the very beginning of the story whenhe stole the Gum Gum Fruit from the World Government.As soon as he stole it, he was seen setting camp in the East Blue. It was quite clear that Shanks had some plans for this Devil Fruit, even though he did not want to eat it himself. Perhaps, he intended to find the child of Gol D. Roger and feed this Devil Fruit to him. Perhaps, he had something else in mind.
Regardless of that, the person who ended up eating this Devil Fruit was none other than Luffy and, given that Shanks had already seen something in him, he entrusted him with his trusty Straw Hat and asked him to meet him at the very top where he could one day return the hat to him. This is, by far, the biggest role that Shanks has played in One Piece so far. There is also another role that he has consistently played, at least until up to the Wano Arc of the story, and that is the role of a peacekeeper.
Shanks has consistently tried his very best to avoid conflict and to prevent the era from spiraling into chaos. This was seen in the early parts of the story when he met Whitebeard and asked him to call back Ace and, later, when he entered the Paramount War and attempted to stop it. He was also seen meeting with the Five Elders, warning them about a particularly dangerous pirate and, he was also seen around Wano, preventing Greenbull from causing any harm to the country. It was quite clear for the fans to see that Shanks wanted to maintain peace, that is, until a certain point in the story.
Shanks In The Final Saga
In the Final Saga, fans were surprised to see the character of Shanks take a very interesting turn. Fans already know that Shanks would be extremely relevant in the Final Saga, given that Oda had himself mentioned this in the past. According to Oda, when Shanks started to appear in the story frequently, fans could assume that the end of the story was now close. The fact that Shanks has appeared quite a lotand the Final Saga alreadyall but confirms the fact that One Piece only goes to reaffirm the fact thatOne Pieceis in the Final Saga now. However, his appearance is not what is surprising. It is the shift in goals that he has shown recently.
Immediately after the fall of two of the Four Emperors in Kaido and Big Mom, Shanks decided that it was time for him to move for the One Piece. In a conversation with Beckman right outside of Wano, he mentioned that it is time for them to enter the great game and claim the One Piece for themselves. While some of what he said can be lost in translation, it is believed that, in Japanese, the way Shanks refers to claiming the One Piece is much more aggressive than any person in the story has ever done before. This means Shanks is serious about getting his hands on this treasure and giving Luffy a run for his money.
He will certainly not be holding back.
The Danger Shanks Faces
Shanks is one of the strongest piratesinOne Pieceand that goes without saying. He is an incredible fighter who is proclaimed to be one of the shining stars in the New World, which is why he is one of the Yonko of the Sea currently. Fans have seen his power on several occasions before and it is quite clear that he can hold his own against the vast majority of the pirates. In fact, he also has quite a decent shout to be the strongest in the entire world right now. With the fall of Kaido and Big Mom, shanks possesses the highest known bounty on the seas. In fact, even with those two present, Shanks was never actually revealing his true strength. He was biding his time and not going for theOne Piece, yet, despite all that, he possessed a tremendous bounty that was incredibly close to these two figures. Had Shanks always been in the game for theOne Piece, perhaps, he would be the one declared as the strongest.
Going for theOne Piecealso means that Shanks will attract more dangers towards himself. After all, in the great game for theOne Piece, Shanks will have many enemies. These enemies start with the World Government. Shanks is a member of the Figarland Family and that only means that he is privy to some secrets that should not be out there. Perhaps, the Government itself will make an enemy out of him. However, the biggest enemy that he faces is none other than his old rival, Marshall D. Teach, also known as Blackbeard.
Will Shanks Die In One Piece?
In the Final Saga, fans will most definitely see the major pirates on the move. In fact, they have already engaged in major battles in the Egghead arc. For instance, Shanks was seen crushing the Kid Pirates all by himself and, at the same time, Blackbeard was seen crushing the Heart Pirates by himself. These two characters are major players for the One Piece. Buggy is also a dark horse in the race for the One Piece and might as well claim it in the end, however, fans can rest assured that he is not going to die as his character simply does not have any death flags. Luffy is the main character and he certainly cannot die anytime before he becomes the Pirate King and throws a great party at the end of it all.
The only main character that can die is Shanks. This death won’t come out of the blue either. Shanks has had death flags on him ever since he confronted Blackbeard for the very first time. This meeting left him with three scars running across his face and, to this day, he knows that this scar aches.
During the Paramount War, these two pirates almost confronted each other. However, Blackbeard mentioned that it was not time for them to fight just yet. In fact, even in Wano, when Shanks appeared, he was on the lookout for Blackbeard. In Elbaf, when Shanks destroyed Kid, he was about to set out to some place, likely related to Blackbeard as well. Everything that Shanks does concerns Blackbeard because he knows the danger that this person possesses.
Fans might not consider Blackbeard to be dangerous at the moment, however, it is quite clear that he’s one of the most dangerous people in the entire world, and what better way to showcase that than by killing the beloved red-haired pirate, Shanks. If these two characters end up fighting, Shanks will definitely not win, even if he’s stronger. This is simply down to the fact that Blackbeard is an enemy for Luffy to take on and not Shanks. A confrontation between these two characters is inevitable and, when that happens,Shanks will either be defeated heavily or potentially even killed off.
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 1094, is set to be June 24, 2025.
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