One Piece: Luffy and Shanks' next meeting set for Lodestar Island and could be crashed by other Yonko

One Piece's next encounter between Luffy and Shanks is one of the most expected events in the entire series because of how much the former has grown and how little the audience really knows about the latter. These two characters have a relationship that goes all the way to the first chapter of the manga and now there is a theory in social media that suggests that Lodestar Island could be the next point of encounter for them.

Of course, One Piece theories come in all shapes and forms and don't guarantee that these events are going to happen but they do make sense and can give a greater perspective on some themes in the story. Furthermore, this theory also points out that Luffy and Shanks could meet in Lodestar but one of the Yonko could crash their reunion.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the One Piece series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda.

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Explaining the One Piece that suggests that Luffy and Shanks could meet in Lodestar Island

This theory points out that Lodestar Island, as mentioned by several characters throughout the series, is the point people need to reach to get to Laugh Tale, which is the island where the One Piece treasure is. That is confirmed by Crocus, who was part of Gol D. Roger's crew, in chapter 105 of the manga, stating that the Log Pose and the routes become one when reaching Laugh Tale, which supports the theory that people will probably have to reach Lodestar first.

It also points out that Lodestar could be the Emerald City that Bellamy mentions in chapter 224 and could be connected to the Sapphire Scale disease, which has been recently revealed in the manga as the cause of death of Bonney's mother, Ginny. The theory points out that Lodestar could have been the Ancient Kingdom and that Imu threw a disease, which would be the Sapphire Scale, to kill all the citizens, turning the place into the aforementioned Emerald City.

Therefore, since Shanks and Luffy are both after the One Piece, it would fit a lot of different plot points in the story for them to meet there, with the Redhair Pirate serving as a gatekeeper of sorts after finding out the truth of the Ancient Kingdom and the treasure itself. Of course, this could also mean that Blackbeard and his men could show up, thus resulting in a very interesting conflict, although this last part is even more speculative than the aforementioned theory.

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Shanks' role in the story and his intentions

Shanks in the anime (Image via Toei Animation).

One Piece is a series with a lot of different plot points and mysteries and the ones involving the character of Shanks are often the most fascinating in the entire story. Shanks has been fundamental in inspiring Luffy to become a pirate and even gave him the Nika Devil Fruit, which would have a lot of ramifications on this series' world over the years.

However, much hasn't been revealed about Shanks, including why he is on good terms with the World Government and his true intentions. This is further emphasized by the way he goes about things, with some people claiming that he has been manipulating Luffy to cause havoc and thus being in a better position for his Redhair Pirates to claim the One Piece.

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Final thoughts

A new One Piece suggests that Lodestar Island will be the final stop for pirates before reaching Laugh Tale, with Luffy and Shanks bound to meet in that place. Furthermore, the theory points out that Lodestar could be the land of the Ancient Kingdom and that it was turned into the Emerald City by Imu through the Sapphire Scale disease.