This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf arc.

Summary

Shanks possesses the strongest Haki in One Piece, compared to Joy Boy himself.
Garling Figarland, the new Five Elder, may be stronger than Shanks due to his impressive abilities.
Garling, Champion of God Valley, fought legendary pirates successfully, making him possibly the second strongest character after Imu.

One Piece is currently in the Final Saga, where all the major characters that Oda has introduced over the years but kept on the sidelines are going to get the shine. Of course, when one speaks of these characters, Red-haired Shanks comes to mind. Fans know that Shanks is an incredibly powerful character in One Piece, whose true ambition remains to be seen, but is surely intertwined with the Will of D in one way or another.

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By Rei Penber

Right now, Shanks stands tall as one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, with immense power up his sleeve. In fact, Shanks might even be the strongest pirate in the story right now, but that doesn't make him the strongest character in the entire series. Undoubtedly, One Piece is going to start focusing on the likes of Shanks now, but there is a character in the story that's already stronger than him, by the looks of it.

Why Shanks Is The Strongest Pirate Right Now

Shanks Has The Strongest Haki Right Now
Shanks Is Roger's Protege

When it comes to the pirates of the One Piece world, there aren't many that can be compared to the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, but if there's one man with the same pedigree as him, it is Shanks. Fans know Shanks to be incredibly powerful, despite not having a Devil Fruit. Shanks served under Roger as a member of the Roger Pirates and lense whatever he could from him. Shanks has become incredibly strong over the years and even losing an arm didn't stop his growth. Six years ago, Shanks became one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, and he's reached such a level of strength that even Kaido considers him to be one of the five strongest pirates in the world.

Before Shanks, nobody was able to defeat Loki. — Scopper Gaban

Much of Shanks's strength comes from his Haki, and fans know that he possesses the strongest Haki right now. In fact, Shanks's Haki is so strong that it can be compared to that of Joy Boy itself. Truly, out of all the characters in the One Piece world right now, Shanks has the strongest Haki of them all, which is what makes him extremely special.

But, while Shanks is clearly the strongest pirate right now, that doesn't mean he is the strongest character in One Piece. There are those within the World Government who possess abilities far beyond the comprehension of the regular people, and this includes those of the Five Elders. But, one and say that Shanks is weaker than just any Elder in the story. Logically, there is only one Elder in One Piece who could be stronger than Shanks, and that's his own father, Saint Garling Figarland.

Garling Figarland Might Be Stronger Than Shanks Right Now

Garling Is The Champion Of God Valley Who Has Just Gotten Even Stronger

When it comes to Five Elders, Garling Figarland stands out on top as the most impressive one for many reasons. Most of the Elders are strong, but they're not necessarily in their primes anymore. In fact, the Elders have all stopped aging in their old ages, which certainly does take a certain amount of their strength away from them.

Let's get along then, fellow Elders. — Garling Figarland

On the other hand, Garling Figarland was active as the strongest sword of the Celestial Dragons up until recently. Garling served as the Supreme Commander of the Holy Knights, meaning that he is stronger than all of them, even his own son, Shamrock Figarland, who himself drives comparison to Shanks. Garling being active and far younger than the Elders means that he has a big advantage over them.

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What's more, Garling Figarland has now been promoted to the position of Five Elders, which means that he'll likely be bestowed with even greater power by Imu. If Garling has his own Yokai, then, one simply cannot ignore the fact that he's stronger than Shanks, and possibly the second strongest character right now after Imu.

Garling Fought Monsters On God Valley

It must also be noted that another testament to Garling's strength is the fact that he fought against the likes of Rocks Pirates and Roger Pirates on God Valley and successfully came out of it all without even a single scratch. Garling was declared the Champion of God Valley, so it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that he's strong enough to stand alongside legends such as Roger and Whitebeard. If on top of everything, Garling is immortal, then one simply cannot deny the fact that he's stronger than Shanks right now.

One Piece chapter 1148 will be out soon, in two weeks' time. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on May 11. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1148 is May 11, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.

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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