One Piece fans are only half-right about Shanks' innocence

In One Piece chapter 1134, the existence of Shanks' alleged twin was unveiled. This twin arrived at Elbaph along with a woman wrapped in bandages and was searching for the giant Loki. The cloak worn by this doppelganger also matches the one Shanks wore during his meeting with the Five Elders during Levely.

This revelation suggests that it wasn’t Shanks who met with the Five Elders but rather his alleged twin. This mysterious individual appears to be working for the World Government and is one of the Holy Knights. A popular theory speculates that Shanks might have a "vanishing twin", leaving open the possibility that he could still end up being a traitor to the pirates.

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The possibility of Shanks having a vanishing twin in One Piece casts doubt on his innocence

Shanks as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Shanks is one of the most enigmatic characters in One Piece with very little information about his past. He possesses the strongest Conqueror's Haki in the series, powerful enough to bring an Admiral like Ryokugyu to his knees. Shanks stopped Kaido from reaching Marineford and arrived just in time to end the battle, forcing both Akainu and Blackbeard to back down rather than face him and his crew.

He effortlessly defeated Eustass Kid with a single slash from his sword—a pirate who, alongside Trafalgar Law, had previously defeated Big Mom. Shanks also bears an uncanny resemblance to a young Saint Figarland Garling, the former Supreme Commander of the Holy Knights and now one of the Five Elders.

This suggests that he might be Garling’s son, a Celestial Dragon, which could explain his powerful Haki and why he's likely one of the strongest characters in One Piece.

However, everything about Shanks was put into question as in the recent chapters of One Piece, it was revealed that he likely has an identical twin who is currently at Elbaph searching for the giant Loki. The true extent of the twins' power is yet to be revealed, but his appearance has made fans believe that Shanks might not be the one working with the World Government after all.

A new theory circulating in the One Piece community suggests that the identical twin many believe Shanks has could actually be a "vanishing twin," meaning he was twin souls in his body. Vanishing twin syndrome is a real-life phenomenon where one twin is absorbed by the other during pregnancy.

Soul dualism is a popular belief that a person can house two or more souls within their body. According to soul dualism, a person has a body soul and a wandering soul, with the wandering soul residing in the person's head and can be defined as the spirit of the dead. Thus, in Shanks' case, this could allude to the fact that he is being possessed by the soul of the twin he absorbed while in his mother's womb.

A concept such as this has already appeared in the series, with Cavendish turning into Yakubo when his dominant personality sleeps. Soul dualism states that these free souls leave the body and journey to the spirit world during trance-like states such as sleep, delirium, insanity, and death. Thus, Shanks could awaken his twin similar to Cavendish when he gets drunk and falls asleep.

Shanks might not be the only one with multiple souls residing within him; a strong case could also be made for Marshall D. Teach, aka Blackbeard, having multiple souls inside his body. Buggy once mentioned to Shanks that Blackbeard had never slept, which could only be possible if he possessed multiple souls. This could also shed light on how he was able to wield two Devil Fruits.

Shanks has fought many powerful opponents in his life, including juggernauts like Mihawk, Whitebeard, and Kaido. However, the only one to leave a scar on his face was Blackbeard. This could mean that their battle was triggered by the awakening of their free souls, causing them to clash with each other.

This could be the reason Shanks hasn't gone after the One Piece all this time. He might've been focused on controlling his other self and uncovering his origins. It’s possible he hasn't fully mastered this control, and when he loses it, he becomes a pawn for the World Government and Imu. While this theory may be a long shot, the idea of a dual personality adds an intriguing layer to Shanks' character.

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