How Oda Can Pull Off The Greatest Betrayal In Fiction

The One Piece series would not be as beloved or popular as it is today if it wasn’t for the incredible worldbuilding that Eiichiro Oda is known for. It’s a story famous for vaguely introducing concepts early on, only for them to lead to a massive payoff many years and hundreds of chapters later. Because of this, the franchise is rife with fan theories and rampant speculation around the community about almost everything that the world has to offer.

As a result of this, Shanks has risen to the top as one of the biggest unanswered mysteries in all of One Piece. Although he can be credited as the main inspiration behind Luffy’s entire journey to be the Pirate King, perhaps the biggest theory around him is that he may end up being a villain that Luffy eventually has to defeat, paving the way for Oda to pull off the greatest betrayal in the entire anime industry and, maybe even, across all of fiction.

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The Theory Of Shanks Betraying Luffy

What Does This Theory State?

Shanks is one of the oldest characters in all of One Piece in terms of how he has been one of the biggest players in the world since the very first chapter of the series. Here, he is seen as nothing more than a deceptively powerful pirate captain who clearly values his friends very highly, as was seen with how he got revenge on Higuma for hurting Luffy instead of when he humiliated Shanks at the bar, and then again when he was willing to sacrifice an arm to save Luffy.

Throughout the series, he has always been a character existing at the back of everything, quietly rising in power to become one of the 4 Emperors of the Sea. All this time, Luffy considered him to be his hero and someone who he wished to meet again on the Grand Line, this time as equals. Very clearly, Shanks has been built up as a mentor and hero to Luffy.

However, he has always been surrounded by a ton of mystery as well. In Chapter 907, Shanks is seen meeting with the Gorosei in their Room of Authority to talk about ‘a certain pirate’. While he’s making his way inside the room, the Elders seem to greet him with respect and state that they made an exception to meet him due to his standing, which definitely goes to show that there is far more to Shanks than meets the eye. Although One Piece: Red is not canon, some aspects of it are, and one that is generally considered to be canon is the fact that Shanks is a defected Celestial Dragon belonging to the Figarland family.

There’s a very real possibility for this to end up being true, as his more recent actions have some fans debating about his true allegiance. In Chapter 1079, Shanks completely decimated every member of the Kid Pirates, who were one of the greatest allies of the Straw Hats during the events of the Wano arc, prompting some to believe that this character is truly villainous. If true, it could make for the greatest and most unexpected betrayal in not only One Piece, but also one of the most shocking in all of fiction.

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Just How True Is This Theory?

Could Shanks Be A Villain?

In all probability, it’s unlikely that Shanks will end up being an outright villain. However, it is possible for him to still hold the role of an antagonist for the main characters, considering his own goals and motivations to find the One Piece, which goes directly against Luffy’s ambitions. While he may not be evil in the sense of supporting the regime of the World Government, he is definitely hiding some plans behind the scenes.

As for how Shanks dealt with the Kid Pirates, he had no choice but to eliminate them. Using his Future Sight, he found that Kid was going to decimate the entire fleet of the Red Hair Pirates that was present at the time. In order to defeat someone who has always been out for his head as well as protecting all the far weaker pirates who loot to him as a leader, Shanks did what he had to do.

As for the meeting with the Gorosei, it’s quite likely that this may just be a twin of Shanks who is allied with the World Government as a member of the Gods’ Knights; a theory that has been at the forefront of fan discussions for quite some time now. There are a few examples of why this may end up being true, such as the lack of a visible scar on his face in the meeting, as well as the mysterious silhouette in Chapter 1121 seeming to have the same sword as Shanks.

The last panel of Chapter 1134 also seems to hint at Shanks’ evil twin as it shows someone who is similarly cloaked and looks identical to him, but has arrived on Elbaf through a summoning pentagram. If this is the case, then the entire One Piece world is about to get turned upside down, since Luffy’s first meeting with who he believes to be Shanks since becoming a pirate will likely end up in a battle between the two, adding a tragic layer to it all.

One Piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

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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.

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Creator

Eiichiro Oda

Number of Episodes

1122