One Piece: Oda Has Officially Revealed Shanks' Goal

This post contains spoilers for One Piece.

Shanks is the captain of the Red Hair Pirates and one of the Four Emperors of the Sea. He is among the most dominant pirates in the One Piece world, who has made a name for himself with his strength. He is respected by his friends and enemies alike.

For years, Shanks has had a laid-back approach to things. Before Wano, Shanks didn’t even express an interest in claiming the One Piece. For this reason, it was difficult to understand what Shanks’ true goals were.

Shanks Wants To Beat Blackbeard

Shanks Will Fight Blackbeard At Some Point

Shanks and Blackbeard share a rivalry
Shanks wants to become the Pirate King

Many people presume that Blackbeard is Luffy’s final opponent, even when most of the evidence points towards the former being rivals with Shanks. Blackbeard and Shanks have a lot of history. They were apprentices on the crew of two of the greatest pirates in history. Shanks was aboard Roger’s Oro Jackson, while Blackbeard traveled on the Moby Dick. Blackbeard and Shanks first met each other during Whitebeard and Roger’s final fight. But it’s unclear whether they fought as well.

Good Reason or Not, Nobody Hurts a Friend of Mine! —Shanks

At some point, Blackbeard gave Shanks a scar over his left eye. Since then, the latter has despised him. What’s surprising is how Blackbeard managed to hurt Shanks, who was already one of the foremost fighters in the world. He was rivals with Dracule Mihawk, and he likely fought other powerful fighters. It’s quite possible that Shanks was caught off guard by Blackbeard.

After being scarred, Shanks likely realized Blackbeard’s true nature, which is why he has made it his goal to pursue and vanquish him.

There’s also a slight possibility that Shanks is aware of Blackbeard’s special heritage, which could add more fuel to their feud. It’s worth mentioning that Shanks’ and Blackbeard’s bounties are quite close to each other, which further implies that they’re close in terms of strength as well. Another difference between the two is their fighting styles. Blackbeard relies on his two powerful Devil Fruits while Shanks relies on Haki. Keeping all these things in mind, it’s quite clear that Shanks and Blackbeard are sworn rivals.

Shanks Also Wants To Claim The One Piece

Shanks Could Become The Pirate King

the-child-of-destiny — Shanks from One Piece

Shanks has been called the Child of Fate by Scopper Gaban, which indicates that the former is meant to do something big. The Yonko currently has three Road Poneglyphs, two of which he took from Eustass Kid. The third one is probably in Elbaf, and given his close relationship with the Giants, they would certainly have told him about it. Aside from Shanks, Blackbeard and Luffy are the only other pirates who have three Road Poneglyphs.

Shanks has clearly stated that he wants to claim the One Piece, and at the moment, Blackbeard poses the biggest threat to his dream, mainly because he doesn’t see Luffy as an enemy.

If Shanks is missing just one Road Poneglyph, then it’s likely the one in Zou. Blackbeard has the Poneglyph, so Shanks can complete the set if he beats his adversary. However, it won’t be so simple, especially when Blackbeard is so cunning. He is known for planning his every move, so it is almost impossible to get the better of him.

Before Blackbeard and Shanks finally fight, it’s highly likely that Oda will disclose more details about them. For instance, how Blackbeard learned about the Yami Yami no Mi and its importance. He was just a kid when the God Valley Incident occurred, so he certainly didn’t learn about it from Xebec.

Oda also needs to disclose why Shanks is called the Child of Fate and what made Roger entrust the Straw Hat to him. Additionally, it doesn’t make sense for Shanks to pass down the Straw Hat, especially when he wants to claim the One Piece for himself. Clearly, there is still a lot that fans don’t know about the two individuals, so hopefully Oda reveals new information about them soon.

One Piece

Release Date: October 20, 1999
Network: Fuji TV
Directors: Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Writers: Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda