One Piece: Did Shanks defeat Loki in the past? Explored

After a two-week hiatus, the One Piece manga returns in style with a new chapter set on the island of Elbaph. In the previous issue of the pirate-themed series, Monkey D. Luffy sensed a powerful Haki and went to investigate, following the trail until he came face to face with a mysterious Giant held in chains.

The Giant asked Luffy’s name before introducing himself as Loki and claiming to be the “Sun God” who will bring an end to the world. One Piece chapter 1130 went on to reveal Loki as a deplorable, power-hungry villain who killed his own father to steal and eat a legendary Devil Fruit passed down through the generations of Elbaph’s royal family.

Loki is indeed the prince of Elbaph, infamously known as the “Accursed Prince” for his evil deeds. Seemingly combining Kaido’s fearsome might with Doflamingo’s malicious cunning, Loki is so powerful that all of Elbaph’s best warriors had to join forces to subdue him. Things get even more interesting as One Piece chapter 1131 might suggest that “Red Hair” Shanks played a decisive role in his defeat.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1131.

One Piece chapter 1131 all but confirms that Shanks defeated Loki to become a Yonko

The new One Piece chapter’s confirmed spoilers

Loki is the "Accursed Prince" of Elbaf (Image via Shueisha)

One Piece chapter 1131 will be officially released on November 11, 2024, on Shueisha’s MANGA Plus website and app. As of now, it’s possible to get an idea of the content featured in the issue thanks to its confirmed leaks. The narration picks up from where the previous installment left off, with Monkey D. Luffy being face-to-face with the chained Loki.

Loki’s character is officially introduced to the readers, with the narrator’s box revealing his bounty of 2.6 billion berries. Loki tells Luffy that he has been bound for six years, unable to liberate himself as his chains are made of Sea Stone. The Giant then asks Luffy to find the key to his chains and free him, promising in return to crush one pirate crew of his choice.

Luffy in front of Loki (Image via Shueisha)

He also explains that the place where they are now is Elbaph’s “Underworld”, i.e., the prison and execution ground for the Giants who have committed crimes. The so-called underworld is surrounded by fearsome beasts, that Loki claims are his friends. As Loki speaks, five massive beasts come out of the snowy forest and target Luffy.

To the surprise of Loki and his subordinates – some humans who came out of the forest along with the beasts – Luffy effortlessly neutralizes the beasts, using his Conqueror’s Haki to tame them all. Seeing what Luffy has done, Loki’s henchmen mention that “Red Hair” Shanks once used the same power to knock them out.

Luffy expresses curiosity about their ties with Shanks, but Loki mocks the “Red Hair”, calling him a chicken. Enraged by those words, the young pirate activates his Gear 4 transformation and attacks Loki, who dodges Luffy's punch by moving his head. Curious about the connection between Shanks and Loki, Luffy then requires elucidations to the latter, but the Giant refuses to answer unless Luffy satisfies his request to free him.

Shanks became a Yonko at the same time as Loki was imprisoned

Luffy and Shanks have a special bond (Image via Toei Animation)

As soon as Loki mentioned Shanks, he immediately caught Luffy’s interest. This came as no surprise, given that Luffy idolizes and respects Shanks as his role model, childhood hero, and the person whom he dreams of surpassing. Luffy decided to set sail and become a pirate for no other reason than being impressed by the formidable captain of the Red Hair Pirates.

Their connection is founded on a touching bond, as Shanks entrusted Luffy with the straw hat he received from his previous captain, the late Pirate King Gol D. Roger. Right before, he had sacrificed his left arm to protect Luffy – who at the time was just a child – saving him from certain death. Leaving Luffy in tears, Shanks told him not to return the hat until he had become a “great pirate”.

Luffy considers Shanks' hat his most prized possession (Image via Toei Animation)

When Luffy embarked on his own pirate adventure, Shanks followed his exploits with pride and amusement. Now that Luffy has become a Yonko just like Shanks, the two may clash as contenders for the same goal – the One Piece treasure – but the former still maintains a great deal of respect for the “Red Hair”. A testament to this, Loki calling Shanks a chicken was enough to trigger Luffy’s spontaneous rage.

To this day, One Piece has yet to reveal what exactly Shanks is trying to achieve, and much of his character remains a mystery. What’s certain is that whenever something big happens in the series, Shanks is often involved, whether directly or indirectly. With this in mind, it’s not too farfetched to think that he played a decisive role in the events that led to Loki’s defeat and imprisonment.

Shanks became a Yonko six years before the present One Piece narration. Not only Loki has been chained up for the same amount of time, but he also seems to hold a grudge against Shanks, considering that he mocked him without a second thought. Furthermore, Loki’s subordinates have mentioned that Shanks used his Conqueror’s Haki against them, which implies that the “Red Hair” has approached Loki with hostile intentions at some point.

In Elbaf, Shanks feels at home (Image via Toei Animation)

Unfortunately, the spoilers of One Piece chapter 1131 don’t explain whether Shanks met Loki when the Giant was already chained, or before he was captured and imprisoned. That said, the coincidence in time between Shanks’ rise to the Yonko title and Loki’s imprisonment is certainly fascinating.

The World Government has placed a very high bounty on Loki’s head – 2.6 billion berries – which makes it plausible that Shanks, was considered a Yonko after leading the Elbaph warriors to subdue such a dangerous individual.

Combined with his prowess as a fighter capable of matching Dracule Mihawk – the two fought duels that echoed throughout the entire Grand Line, with Whitebeard himself regarding their battles as legendary – and his formidable crew made up of renowned pirates, this further achievement would have been enough to earn Shanks a place among the Four Emperors of the Sea.

The Giants respect Shanks, and his help against Loki may be the reason

Shanks is on friendly terms with the Giants of Elbaph (Image via Shueisha)

Granted, this is only a theory until the One Piece manga confirms it. However, it makes sense for several reasons. In addition to the aforementioned points, it’s also interesting to note that stopping Loki would be entirely consistent with how Shanks acts. Despite his sometimes enigmatic behavior, Shanks undoubtedly hates needless brutality, especially towards the weak or his dear ones. He tries to avoid violence, preferring to resolve conflicts through diplomacy.

Loki is the polar opposite of the “Red Hair”. He killed his father to steal a Devil Fruit and openly declared that Elbaph is a war zone. Speaking of which, Shanks – shortly before his resounding victory over Eustass Kid – explicitly mentioned that he didn’t want Elbaph to become a war zone. Perhaps, Shanks heard about the chaos that Loki was causing on Elbaph and stepped in to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.

In the previous One Piece chapter, it was implied that Jinbe knew who Loki was and what he did, meaning that it would be possible for Shanks to learn about the evil Giant’s actions. Going by this assumption, Shanks, perhaps together with Benn Beckman and his other crewmates, teamed up with the Elbaph Giants to defeat Loki, putting an end to his wrongdoings.

Shanks protected Elbaph from Eustass Kid as well (Image via Toei Animation)

This would explain why Loki called Shanks a “chicken”. Loki may be a villain, but he is still an Elbaph warrior. So, in his twisted way, he may have some pride in his honor as a warrior, and so he may consider it disgraceful for Shanks to face him with the help of many other people rather than confront him in a 1v1 battle.

This would also explain why the Elbaph people love the Red Hair Pirates, happily welcoming them as national heroes. A Giant child looked up to Shanks so much that he wanted to join his crew. Before the one-sided battle that saw Shanks single-handedly annihilate Eustass Kid and his crew, the Red Hair Pirates partied with the Elbaph residents, showing their mutual friendship.

Dorry and Brogy called Shanks their “brother”. As he asked them for their support in the coming battle, they were happy to oblige. It would make perfect sense if all this affection for Shanks was due to his pivotal role in incapacitating Loki, the individual whose evil deeds had brought shame to Elbaph.

One Piece: Did Shanks defeat Loki in the past? Explored

One Piece chapter 1131 all but confirms that Shanks defeated Loki to become a Yonko

The new One Piece chapter’s confirmed spoilers

Shanks became a Yonko at the same time as Loki was imprisoned

The Giants respect Shanks, and his help against Loki may be the reason

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