Red-haired Shanks is one of the most powerful characters in the world of One Piece and was officially confirmed to be one of the Four Emperors of the Sea in One Piece Chapter 432, which was released in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #48 on October 30, 2006. Since then, Shanks has only grown in terms of importance, and Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the series, has made big showings of strength for his character. Given that Shanks doesn’t have a Devil Fruit ability himself, he has always relied primarily on his Supreme King Haki in battle as his primary weapon.
However, the Final Saga of One Piece is setting up an even more intriguing upgrade for the red-haired Emperor in the form of a Devil Fruit Sword akin to that of his brother Shamrock’s. Shanks wields the power of a special blade known as Gryphon, which could hold tremendous capabilities that could officially make him the strongest mortal in the world of One Piece at the moment.
One Piece Lines Up A Mythical Zoan Sword Called Gryphon For Shanks, Just Like Shamrock
In One Piece SBS Vol. 87, which was officially released on August 7, 2018, Eiichiro Oda confirmed to us that Shanks has a legendary sword that goes by the name of Gryphon. As is quite evident from the name, Gryphon is a legendary beast with the lower half of a lion, including the limbs, and the wings and the head of a giant eagle. This legendary creature is quite popular in mythologies, and immediately after Eiichiro Oda revealed the name of the sword, quite a few of us started tying the connections between the two. The connections only strengthened after One Piece Chapter 1138 was released on February 3, 2025, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #10.
Q: What’s the name of Red-Haired Shanks’s sword?
A: Apparently it’s called “Gryphon”. We’ve known Shanks ever since the very first chapter, but how does he actually fight?
— Oda teases Shanks’s Devil Fruit blade, Volume #87 SBS
After 4 Years, One Piece Lines Up A New Mythical God Transformation
The climax of One Piece’s Elbaf arc lines up a powerful Mythical God transformation akin to Sun God Nika.
In this chapter, Eiichiro Oda unveiled the Devil Fruit sword ability of Shanks’ brother, Shamrock Figarland. Just like Shanks, Shamrock has a sword based on a creature, and in his case, this sword is called Cerberus. As we’ve seen in One Piece Chapter 1138, Shamrock can use this Cerberus sword, transform it into an actual Cerberus, and then attack his enemies using its powers. The powers of the Cerberus were such that it left deadly injuries on Loki, and when a clean hit was launched, it could potentially have even killed him. This same logic could also apply to Shanks’ own Gryphon sword. Shanks may be a tremendous user of Haki, but on top of that, he could also be a phenomenal user of a Devil Fruit Sword. In his case, he could potentially manifest the power of a Gryphon, making him one of the strongest Mythical Zoan users, although indirectly.
“There’s no need for me to dirty my own hands. You do it, Cerberus! This is my blade. Come kill me if you shall survive this. I will be ready for you.” — Shamrock explaining the powers of his Devil Fruit sword, One Piece Chapter #1138
Why Shanks’s Devil Fruit Sword Could Make Him A Deadly Combatant
Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, has already given us quite a few instances of Shanks’s incredible Haki feats. Be it dropping bodies like flies upon meeting Whitebeard in One Piece chapter 434 on November 13, 2006, Injuring and paralyzing an Admiral of the Marines with a powerful bolt of Conqueror’s Haki from miles away in One Piece chapter 1055 on August 1, 2022, or knocking out both Kid and Killer in a single swing of his blade in One Piece chapter 1079, Shanks has done it all when it comes to the usage of Supreme King Haki. He has already established himself as a top-tier fighter and has a case to be the strongest in the series right now among the mortals. However, on top of all that, Shanks could hold a hidden trump card that he has not utilized so far in the series in the form of his Gryphon blade.
Marco: He has terrific Haki, as always!
Shanks: You’ll have to excuse me. I have trouble staying calm on an enemy ship. I’m not here to fight.
Whitebeard: And yet you bare your Haki without constraint, you fool!
— Exchanging showcasing Shanks’s immense Haki, One Piece Chapter #434
As is quite evident when looking at Shamrock, Shanks could potentially be able to deploy his sword alongside him in combat. The sword could then fight next to Shanks, making him even deadlier, especially when coated in his powerful Color of the Supreme King. Shanks and Gryphon could potentially form one of the best tag teams in the series and work in conjunction against all enemies. While Shanks himself is already above the level of an average Yonko, with Gryphon by his side, he could reach a completely new tier of strength. That is what could make him a deadly combatant that outscales the vast majority in the One Piece world.
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Shanks’s Sword And Haki Powers Combined Make Him The Strongest Mortal In One Piece’s Final Saga
Right now, One Piece is in the climax of the Elbaf arc. With the arrival of Nerona Imu in the Country of the Giants in One Piece Chapter 1179, which was officially released on April 5, 2026, in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19, it has become clear that he is the absolute strongest in the verse right now. That said, Nerona Imu is not technically a mortal. Imu is immortal, thanks to the surgery of the Ope Ope no Mi, and on top of that, due to the immense power that he wields using his Akuma no Mi ability, he is practically unstoppable. When it comes to the mortals and those that are not branded with the Covenants from Nerona Imu, Shanks is by far the strongest that we have seen right now.
“Before Shanks put a stop to Loki 6 years ago, nobody was able to stop him in his path! Do you know the kind of power Loki wields? Or how many casualties there would be at the slight chance of him running amok?” — Scopper Gaban hypes up Shanks’s power, One Piece Chapter #1139
If Shanks’s Gryphon truly functions in the same way as Shamrock’s Cerberus, then he could potentially become the strongest mortal and scale even above the likes of Monkey D. Luffy, who holds the power of the Sun God Nika, as was confirmed in Chapter 1044, which was released in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #17 on March 23, 2022. All things considered, Shanks is an absolute force of nature already and could go on to reach even higher heights once the Elbaf arc is done. We all expect Oda to throw more focus on Shanks once the battle in the country of Giants wraps up, and showcase what Shanks is truly capable of by unleashing his full powers.
All the new manga chapters of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
