Highlights
- Shanks is Luffy’s idol, a pivotal character in One Piece.
- Despite holding the Gomu Gomu no Mi, Shanks never ate it.
- Shanks plays a protector role, safeguarding the fruit for the next Joy Boy.
Shanks is a character who holds tremendous importance in the world of One Piece. He was introduced for the very first time in the Romance Dawn arc, where he played perhaps the most important role in the entire story, which was to motivate the protagonist to set out to the seas in search of the One Piece. Shanks is Luffy’s idol, and that alone places tremendous importance on his head.
He is easily among One Piece’s most influential characters, and as the final saga continues to explore him, fans will most definitely only come to appreciate him more. This is largely because even though fans already like him, quite a lot of things about him remain to be a mystery even now. One of the biggest mysteries pertaining to this character is his curious role so far. Shanks held the Gomu Gomu no Mi at one point in the story, however, he never ate it, despite this Devil Fruit having the power to perhaps make anyone who masters it, the strongest character alive.
Shanks As Roger’s Successor
Shanks Was Touted As The Next Roger By Many
Shanks was always destined to be an incredibly important character. In fact, right from the get-go, it was clear to see that Shanks would reach the pinnacle of the One Piece world, and this was largely due to his lineage as a celestial dragon. Shanks belongs to a royal family, most likely being the child of Saint Garling Figarland. He was present in God Valley, where Saint Garling ended up taking part in the Native Hunting Games. In the end, it was the Roger Pirates who found Shanks, and Roger decided to raise him as his very own apprentice. As was claimed by Buggy himself at one point in the story, Shanks was destined to be the next Pirate King. Shanks himself wanted to look for the One Piece at one point. This was confirmed in the story when Shanks and Buggy missed out on going to the final island, Laugh Tale. Shanks wanted Buggy to go to the final island with him on his ship. However, as the series progressed, Shanks’s role in the story changed.
Despite being the successor to Roger, Shanks was no longer going to be the pirate to claim the One Piece. On the day of Roger’s execution, Shanks decided that he did not want to go for the One Piece, at least not at the time. Even though Buggy called him Roger’s very own successor, Shanks decided to become a pirate, but not do as was expected of him. This was quite curious, and it clearly hinted at something happening between Roger and Shanks that ended up changing his mind.
Why Shanks Never Ate The Gomu Gomu no Mi
Shanks Has The Role Of A Protector In One Piece
Shanks clearly had the intention of claiming the One Piece at one point in the story. In fact, even right now, Shanks is in the race for the One Piece, as he claimed himself. However, right after Roger was executed, he decided to take a very curious path. Shanks did become a pirate and sailed the seas. He made a great name for himself and even had a rivalry with Mihawk. Eventually, Shanks made it as a veteran pirate, and by the time he was in the East Blue again, he decided to attack a Government vessel. This vessel was guarded by the CP9, and on it, the Gomu Gomu no Mi was being guarded. Shanks knew about this, which means that he had to have had prior information about this fruit holding the power of Nika, the Sun God.
That’s the Gomu Gomu no Mi. One of the Devil Fuits and rarest treasures of the sea. Whoever eats this will turn into a rubber man and will neve rbe able to swim.
At the time, this fruit was guarded by Who’s Who and potentially other members of the CP9. Shanks easily took them down and stole the Gomu Gomu no Mi, which meant that he had now gotten his hands on one of the most incredible powers in the entire story. Yet, he chose to not eat this amazing Devil Fruit. Had he eaten it, perhaps, he would have become the undisputed strongest in the entire history of the One Piece world. Fans already know how strong Shanks is at this point in the story, and this level of strength has been achieved by him without even having a Devil Fruit power. If, on top of that, Shanks had a devil fruit, he would have had enough power to conquer the entire world.
Shanks never decided to do that and the reason for this is quite simple. Shanks already had information about Nika, the Sun God, and knew that the person who is destined to be Nika is not him. This is evident from the fact that Roger himself knew that he was not the next Joy Boy and that he had arrived too early. Similar to Roger, Shanks knew that in over 20 years from the time when Roger was looking for the One Piece, the next Joy Boy would be born. The Sea Kings in Fishman Island knew this too, as did Roger.
Roger himself had a son because he too wanted his child to be the one to fulfill this centuries-long promise. Of course, Ace was not the one who ended up becoming the Pirate King, but Roger was certainly planning for it. In the meanwhile, Kozuki Oden, the Shogun of Wano, was preparing for the arrival of Joyboy in 20 years’ time as well. He knew that 20 years from the day he was executed, Joy Boy would remerge in the land of Wano on the night of the Fire Festival.
Shanks’s True Role In One Piece
Shanks Will Involve Himself Greatly In The Final Saga
Clearly, some individuals in the One Piece world already knew that the Straw Hat Pirates, or, to be more specific, Joy Boy would show up in 20 years, following the death of Oden. Roger knew that he was way too early, as did the vast majority of the Roger Pirates. Oden was preparing to open up Wano for Nika, and at the same time, Shanks knew that despite him being touted as Roger’s successor, he was not the one to get the job done and that the person who would be born later down the line, and go on to awaken to the powers of the Gomu Gomu no Mi.
Hey, Beck. Isn’t it about time to go and claim it? The One Piece.
As such, Shanks’s role was quite an interesting one. He wanted to acquire this devil fruit and safeguarded it for the next person who it was destined for. Clearly, Roger intended for this fruit to reach his son, since he wanted his son to be the one to find the One Piece next. It is possible that Shanks wanted to take this Devil Fruit to Ace, or whoever he believed Roger’s child was. That is most likely why he never ate the fruit himself and saved it for someone else. Shanks knew that this power was not his but that of the next Joy Boy.
This is exactly why Shanks reacted to Luffy’s Gear 5 bounty poster in a very specific manner, almost as if he was waiting for it. It is only after seeing Nika that Shanks decided to move for the One Piece, signifying that this was exactly what he was waiting for.
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 the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1112, is set to be April 21, 2024.
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