Of all the characters in mangaka Eiichiro Oda’s best-selling One Piece series, one of the most beloved is Red-Haired Shanks, a true fan-favorite amongst fan-favorites. The source of fans’ love for Shanks can be found in anything and everything— from his role in Luffy’s life, to how enigmatic he is in terms of his goals and true strength.
Yet, due to the mystery surrounding his intentions, One Piece fans have theorized for years that Shanks may be using Luffy to accomplish his own, sinister plans, as the series’ true antagonist. While Shanks may be using Luffy to achieve a specific goal, it may not have the negative connotations fans think it does.
Shanks isn’t using Luffy for his own goals, but to save One Piece’s world while Luffy becomes Pirate King
Some of the biggest reasons why One Piece fans think Shanks could be using Luffy for his own goals stems from the role he’s had in forming Luffy’s life. He’s responsible for Luffy eating the Gum-Gum Fruit, his dream to become the King of the Pirates, and even saving Luffy’s life at Marineford to ensure his journey didn’t end.
Combined with what seemed to be his meeting with the Gorosei, many fans suspected that Shanks was planning to betray Luffy all along.
Yet, some clues suggest this isn’t the case. For one, Shanks didn’t say it was time for his crew to pursue the titular treasure until after Luffy had defeated Kaido. If he was truly planning to swoop in on Luffy at the last second, it’s unlikely he’d have said that so early.
There’s also the fact that Shanks has shown joy for Luffy having progressed to the point of having loyal comrades who serve under him in a larger sense.
While it’s unlikely that Shanks is using Luffy to further his own goals of attaining the One Piece, he is likely using Luffy in some way. Rather, instead of wanting to take the glory for himself, he’s relying on Luffy to achieve his true goal of destroying the World Government.
While Shanks seems to have some sort of relationship with the Gorosei, what fans saw of his meeting with them suggested it to be a precarious and not particularly friendly one.
There’s also the fact that as a member of Roger’s crew, he may know the truth behind the World Government and of Imu’s existence. If this is the case, then it gives him further motivation to aid Luffy and bring Gol D. Roger’s journey— which was said to be too early— to a full close. In turn, this would also explain why Shanks so highly values the fact that Luffy once said the same words Roger did.
Shanks likely knew that Luffy was the one who was meant to fulfill that role, which also explains why he nurtured such a close relationship with the boy at a young age. In turn, it would also answer the question of how Shanks, someone who can even use Advanced Observation Haki, got caught by surprise via Luffy eating the Gum-Gum Fruit. In reality, it likely wasn’t a surprise at all.
Final thoughts
While there’s no concrete answer on whether or not Shanks is using Luffy at all, it seems more likely than not that he’s doing so as a hero rather than a villain.
Shanks’ behavior in the story, attitude towards the in-series authority establishment, and origins all support this idea.
Related links:
- One Piece set up Shanks vs Bartolomeo long ago, and it's in the cover story
- Oda continues to flirt with Shanks being One Piece's final villain, and it may be a sign of things to come
- Shanks and Luffy will battle in One Piece, but now how fans expect