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With One Piece chapter 1080 set to be released next week after a series break, fans have taken to discussing recent events and their impact on the overall narrative. Unsurprisingly, much of this discussion is centered around what was seen in chapter 1079, which was officially released on Sunday, March 26, 2023.
The issue had plenty of developments which will certainly become a focal point in One Piece chapter 1080 and beyond, especially the Blackbeard Pirates’ imminent arrival at Egghead. However, what fans are primarily talking about is the Elbaf-based conflict between Shanks and Eustass Kid, which reached an unsurprising conclusion in a truly shocking manner.
Following Shanks’ one-shot of Kid in their fight, fans are now certain that the former is the strongest character in the entire series. However, there may be one largely hidden presence that could dispute this claim.
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Follow along as this article fully explores Shanks’ alleged status as strongest in the series as of One Piece chapter 1080.
One Piece Chapter 1080 set to move Egghead Island arc forward as Shanks-obsessed fans look to the past
Given everything that fans know as of One Piece Chapter 1080, it’s truly difficult (and nearly impossible) to argue against Shanks being the strongest in the series. His history and upbringing in a pirating context, combined with his known feats and abilities are simply too great to ignore.
Shanks is the protege of the former King of Pirates, Gol D. Roger, and has since gone on to become a Yonko in the current series. His Conqueror’s Haki is so great that a ranged application of it was able to scare an Admiral away from Wano. Likewise, canonical series materials claim that he not only has some of the strongest Observation Haki, but is also a negator of said Haki.
Combining all of this and more with his recent one-shotting of Eustass Kid of the Worst Generation, it’s clear that Shanks is incredibly powerful. As of One Piece Chapter 1080, he’s certainly one of the strongest characters in the series, and could very arguably be the strongest overall as far as fans know thus far.
However, there is one looming threat which many fans feel could be the sole person in the series stronger than Shanks is. This is none other than the enigmatic Im-sama, whom fans know very little about. Im-sama is currently considered the true leader of the World Government, given the Gorosei subordinating themselves to him during the Reverie arc.
Furthermore, as of One Piece Chapter 1080, fans have only seen one kind of offensive use of Im-sama’s power. Likewise, it’s not even sure if this is actually their own power, or Devil Fruit ability, or the use of an external weapon. Regardless, all fans know is that Im-sama has the power to completely and utterly eliminate entire islands, as seen in Chapter 1060.
While the predominant fan-theory is that Im-sama was using the sky-battleship Pluton here, there’s simply no way of telling if this is true or not as of this article’s writing. Furthermore, it’s highly unlikely that Im-sama could maintain control over the World Government, superseding even the Gorosei in authority, unless he himself was incredibly strong, weapons excluded.
As a result, the possibility still exists (as of One Piece Chapter 1080) that the attack used to destroy the Lulucia Kingdom is something Im-sama can use independent of an extra weapon. If this is proven to be the case, this would, at the very least, challenge Shanks’ status as the strongest character in the series.
Likewise, there could be additional powers and abilities at Shanks’ disposal which fans haven’t seen yet. This would merit even further evaluation of the two’s comparative strength, and quite possibly even allow Shanks to keep his position as the strongest character in the series once Im-sama’s power is fully known.
However, this is purely speculative, with simply too little known about Im-sama as of One Piece Chapter 1080 to legitimately argue against Shanks taking home the gold. As a result, it seems certain that with the information fans currently have, Shanks is indeed the strongest character in the series (for now).
Follow along for more One Piece anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
