One Piece's latest spoilers tease Loki and Shanks as closer than fans think

Modified Nov 20, 2024 19:59 GMT

Following the end of mangaka Eiichiro Oda’s two-week hiatus, fans of the One Piece manga were delighted to see chapter 1131’s initial spoilers finally be leaked. Excitingly, they didn’t disappoint, claiming the issue primarily focuses on continuing Loki and Luffy’s conversation before also setting up other aspects of the Elbaph Arc.

However, fans are understandably honing in on Luffy and Loki’s interaction in the latest One Piece spoilers, especially given a comment from Loki about Shanks being a chicken. While fans are taking this to mean that Loki disapproves of Shanks, the scene’s full context paints a different picture given currently available information.

One Piece likely to reveal major history between Shanks and Loki, with Luffy’s Devil Fruit at the core

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Per the latest available One Piece spoilers, Loki seems to casually call Shanks a “chicken” during his conversation with Luffy. This prompts Luffy to go into Gear 4 and attack Loki, to which Elbaph’s prince responds by saying he only said that to upset Luffy. He cites how obvious their strong bond is and wanted to crack a joke to elicit Luffy’s reaction likewise. However, there are some issues with this statement.

For one, it seems unlikely that the pair’s first conversation would immediately begin heading in the direction of Shanks. Furthermore, Loki’s eyes are covered by a bandage, so he shouldn’t have been able to view Luffy’s straw hat with enough detail to confirm it as Shanks’, even with Observation Haki. Even if he did, it’s also unlikely that he’d begin bad-mouthing Shanks in front of Luffy, someone who is clearly Shanks’ ally, when he needs Luffy’s help to be free (even as a joke).

This is further supported by the addendum to the One Piece spoilers, which explains Loki was just trying to rile Luffy up. This is obviously playful, but also speaks to a certain knowledge; in other words, Loki was sure badmouthing Shanks would rile Luffy up. Given this, he would’ve needed to know Luffy by name and be aware of the full context of his relationship with Shanks prior to their conversation.

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This interpretation is further supported by the final pages of chapter 1130. Luffy introduces himself by saying he’ll be King of the Pirates, a phrase that Loki refrains from as if in awe. Coincidentally, Shanks is known for repeating or discussing Luffy’s proclamation to or with people he meets and talks about the young pirate with. With all of this in mind, it’s more likely than not that Loki and Shanks are actually quite close, or at least were quite close.

The caveat of their potentially being estranged from one another comes from Luffy’s Devil Fruit, which is likely the Legendary Devil Fruit Loki thinks he has. Such a twist would not only explain why Loki may dislike Shanks contemporarily, but also explain how Shanks stole the Gum-Gum Fruit in the first place. This both adds further emotional context to Luffy and Loki’s presumed opposition to each other in the Elbaph Arc and explains one of the series’ greatest mysteries.

Final thoughts

Loki's relationship with Shanks likely soured when the latter stole the Mythical Zoan-type Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika from the former (Image via Toei Animation)

However, all of the above is speculative and could easily be undone by full summary spoilers, which will give a fuller look at the overall conversation. That being said, it seems very likely that this is the direction Oda is headed in considering what it answers, what it adds to the story, and the entirety of Loki and Luffy’s meeting so far.