Oda Finally Answers A Major Mystery About Shanks After 6 Years

This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Elbaf Arc.

Summary

• Shanks did not actually meet the Elders in One Piece chapter 907, despite assumptions.
• Shanks has an evil twin, possibly raised by the World Government as a member of God’s Knights.
• Oda hinted at Shanks having family secrets, including a twin, through subtle clues in past arcs.

Shanks is one of the most mysterious characters in One Piece, and also one of the most beloved ones. Having been introduced at the very beginning of the series, fans knew that Shanks had a major role to play, especially because he set Luffy out on his path to becoming the Pirate King. Ever since then, fans have been waiting to see more of Shanks, but Oda certainly kept him for something bigger much later in the story. In fact, Oda Once stated himself that Shanks will only start appearing more frequently in the story when One Piece enters its final phase.

Now, One Piece has entered the Final Saga, which means all mysteries about Shanks are going to be revealed one by one. One of the biggest mysteries pertaining to the character of Shanks stemmed from One Piece chapter 907, which is on the very last page of the chapter, fans saw Shanks meet up with certain intriguing individuals. As to why this meeting was being conducted, fans did not know but it was shocking nonetheless. Finally, Oda has revealed the answer to this question to the fans after 6 years.

How Oda Showed Shanks Meet The Elders In Chapter 907

• Shanks was assumed to have infiltrated Marijoa
• Shanks met the Five Elders

One Piece chapter 907 was absolutely massive. Every chapter in the Reverie Arc of One Piece was full of massive revelations, but few chapters managed to shock fans as much as One Piece chapter 907 did. This is because at the end of this chapter, Shanks appeared in a hooded garb and barged into the Room of Authority in Pangea Castle, within the Holy Land of Marijoa. This was an utterly chaotic scenario in the manga, because fans absolutely could not make sense out of it. For one, Shanks is a pirate. For a pirate to directly walk in the stronghold of the World Government and seek an audience with the highest authority of the world without facing any issues is unprecedented.

I want to talk to you about a certain pirate! – Shanks’s Twin

Secondly, Shanks would have had no reason to meet up with the Five Elders, even if he could. This led to many ideas floating around. The most plausible idea here was that since Shanks was of Celestial Dragon lineage, he could have arranged a meeting with the likes of the Five Elders. However, even then, it did not make sense as to why Shanks would meet with them, given that he is, in every way, opposed to the World Government.

Many fans started to theorize that Shanks was actually evil and that he was collaborating with the World Government for some grand scheme. Of course, this idea held little ground, because Shanks is not written like an antagonist in One Piece at all. The proper answer to this question was not given to the fans, but, what was clear was that this was a very intriguing and controversial page in the story that fans were desperately waiting for an answer to. Finally, in One Piece chapter 1134, this question has been answered by Oda and all dots are finally connected.

Oda Finally Confirms The Character To Not Be Shanks

Shanks Never Visited The Holy Land Of Marijoa

One Piece chapter 1134 confirms to the fans that the character who met the Five Elders inside the Room of Authority in One Piece Chapter 907 was actually not Shanks. This might sound bizarre to the fans, and it most certainly is to an extent, but, it makes a lot of sense when one thinks about it. One Piece chapter 1134 gave fans a second look at the same hooded individual. This time around, this individual popped through a summoning circle in Elbaf Village, which is in the Sun World of Elbaf. Clearly, this individual cannot be Shanks. As fans know, Shanks is with the Red Hair Pirates and is currently sailing the seas. He recently went out to exact revenge on Bartolomeo, and is currently seeking out Blackbeard. There is absolutely no way for this individual to be Shanks, which means that whoever this other character is, is a look-alike of the red-haired emperor.

This then ties directly into Shanks’s Celestial Dragon lineage, and gives fans an idea of whether Shanks has some intriguing family members that they don’t know much about.

I bet it on the new era! – Shanks

To make sense of this, fans simply need to look back at One Piece’s Egghead arc, where the Kuma flashback was shown to them in great detail. This flashback was certainly exciting, but one small detail that fans might have overlooked was Saint Garling Figarland talking to his children during the Native Hunting Games. This is a very small panel where he clearly asks his children to watch him carefully.

Clearly, he wanted them to learn from watching him, and what stands out more is that he speaks as if he has multiple children.

Watch carefully, Children! – Garling Figarland

As to how many children Garling has, fans don’t know. But, at the very least, there are two, and there could even be more. Shanks is not an only child, and it is highly likely that he has a twin that fans were introduced to in One Piece chapter 907. This very twin has presented himself in Elbaf now, and it is interesting to see how things pan out from here onwards.

Who Is Shank’s Twin?

Shanks Has An Evil Twin

Shanks’s twin is most likely the child of Saint Garling Figarland and possibly the new leader of the God’s Knights. As fans know, Shanks was separated from the Celestial Dragons on the day of the God Valley Incident. He ended up being accidentally looted by the Roger Pirates, and he was raised by Roger and Rayleigh on the Oro Jackson. It is likely that the other children, or potentially just a single child, were successfully saved by the World Government. This child was likely raised by Garling to stand as a powerful member of the God’s Knights.

Now that Saint Garling has become a member of the Five Elders, this Shanks look-alike might have risen to the position of the Supreme Commander of the God’s Knights. Given that this character sides with the World Government, it is highly likely that he is evil and works for the World Nobles. Fans don’t know what relationship he shares with Shanks, but everything will be revealed in due time. At the very least, fans can now be sure of the fact that Shanks is not truly evil, and his family holds many intriguing secrets, some of which will be revealed to the fans soon enough. This character is going to be deeply involved in the Elbaf arc, and fans absolutely cannot wait to see his conversation with Luffy, and later, potentially even Shanks.

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 apps. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1134, is set to be December 22, 2024.