Summary
Shanks has been one of Luffy’s greatest allies sinceOne Piecestarted, even going so far as being the primary inspiration for him to become a pirate. Although his appearances throughout the series have been brief, his presence is always felt, whether by Luffy talking about how much he looks up to him or how the rest of the world fears him as one of the 4 Emperors of the Sea.
At the current moment in theOne Piecestory, Shanks and his Red Hair Pirates have finally decided to seek outthe fabled One Piece treasureafter years of putting it off to the side. However, an interesting theory has popped up in the community which states that Shanks has an evil twin who works in direct opposition to what he does, so let’s go over this theory and see why it has enough merit for much of the fandom to see it as a possibility.
Story Arc
Reverie Arc
Before the proper start of the Wano, during the Reverie arc, fans were left utterly confused when Shanks presumablymet up with the 5 Elders. Seeing how the world works with pirates serving as the direct force of opposition to the World Government where they seek to move away from and break its established order, it was shocking to see one of the most powerful pirates in the world talk to the Gorosei and not be treated as a threat.
This meeting happened almost completely offscreen, since all that was shown was Shanks walking into the Elder’s room while veiled. Upon exchanging pleasantries, Shanks wished to speak to the Gorosei about a certain pirate, whom everyone thought to be Blackbeard. However, this is where the speculation started, since many things about this meeting seemed to raise many red flags, most notable of which was the fact that the Elders had allowed this meeting to take place with prior knowledge, which directly implies a method of communication between the 2 parties.
We only made time to talk because it was you.
Although the events ofOne Piece: Redaren’t canon, many things that the film introduced are. One of the most shocking revelations was that Shanks was a Figarland; one of the most powerful families of Celestial Dragons, andhis presumed father, Figarland Garling, is the leader of the Gods' Knights. Although this hasn’t been 100% confirmed to be canon, most already believe this to be the case.
So, this already shows that there is much more to Shanks than was thought towards the beginning of the series. However, the theory states that it was not Shanks who met with the 5 Elders, but rather, a previously unmentioned evil twin brother of his who is allied with the Celestial Dragons. Admittedly, the proof for this theory is very minimal at the current moment, but it is still there. For example, during Marineford, Shanks appeared at the Navy HQ almost instantly, despite being reported at another location shortly before that, prompting fans to speculate.
The most damning evidence for the evil twin theory came at the incredible double-spread at the end of Chapter 1121 during Vegapunk’s broadcast, where he stated the fate of the world depends on whoever finds the One Piece treasure. This spread laysthe most important players of the seriesgoing into the final saga, of which there is one character whose silhouette has never been seen before inOne Piece. Although vague, he does seem to bear some passing resemblance to Shanks, as well as using the same kind of sword that Shanks and his likely father, Figarland Garling, also use, strengthening their connections even more.
Moreover, the meeting with the Gorosei also showed Shanks from the right side, completely obscuring his scar from the reader, which is likely a deliberate choice by Oda if this theory ends up coming true. The main thing here is that there have been views of Shanks from the right side before as well, but even then, the scar on the left side of his face is still visible on his forehead, albeit partially. In the meeting, however, the scar cannot be seen at all.
How Likely Is This Theory?
A Look At The Reality of Shanks' Twin
Just like most things inOne Piece, it would be far too presumptuous to look at them at face value for now. This, along with the pieces of evidence sprinkled throughout the story, does seem to allude to the fact that the person shown meeting the 5 Elders andthe one from the Chapter 1121double spread could possibly be an evil twin of Shanks, or even just a twin allied with him for one reason or another.
Some fans of the series also believe that there is much more to Shanks than what can be seen at first glance and that he may be evil himself, or at least far more villainous than what was previously thought by the fandom. Whatever the case may be, fans are in for a wild ride when any sort of reveal regarding Shanks is eventually made, and, in typical Oda fashion, it will likely be greater than anything they expected.
One Piececan be streamed onCrunchyroll.
One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
