This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf arc.
One Piece has absolutely no shortage of overpowered characters and now that the series is in the Final Saga, Oda is doing his utmost best to showcase the might of the elite that he'd been saving for years upon years. In the current pirate era, Oda has made it quite clear that the Yonko stand out on top, with the likes of Shanks and Blackbeard representing those who have already consolidated and maintained a firm grip on their territory, and Luffy and Buggy being the newcomers.
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At the same time, there are Marine Admirals, and now, Oda is also throwing the likes of the Holy Knights into the mix, along with the Five Elders. All of these individuals are special in their own way, but fans always wonder who the strongest of the lot is. At the moment, it seems the answer to that question is Shanks. In fact, Shanks might even be stronger than the previous generation of Pirates, including the likes of Gol D. Roger and Rocks D. Xebec. This might sound like a stretch to some fans, but based on Oda's very own narrative establishment, Shanks might very well be stronger than both of them at his peak, which makes him the strongest pirate of the modern era.
Shanks Could've Surpassed Both Rocks And Roger
Rocks Was Equal To Harald In Strength
- Loki killed Harald after his Domi Reversi buff
- Shanks Defeated Loki
The new generation surpassing the old isn't surprising at all in One Piece. Luffy is destined to surpass Shanks and Roger, and even Blackbeard will go on to surpass his father, Rocks D. Xebec. There is no reason to doubt the fact that it should be possible for Shanks to surpass Roger. The real question is how he could've surpassed him. To put that into perspective, fans only need to look at the narrative that's been established by Oda himself.
Are you that afraid of the new era? — Shanks to Green Bull
First and foremost, when speaking of the old legends of the One Piece world, two characters stand out the most, far more than anyone else, and they are Gol D. Roger and Rocks D. Xebec. Roger was the Pirate King and certainly one of the strongest, while Roger was a monstrous legend, said to be Roger's biggest enemy.
Roger and Rocks were relative in power. In fact, Roger and Garp defeated Roger together after he was Domi Reversi'd by Imu. It is factually stated in the story that Domi Reversi makes a character multiple times stronger. In other words, Roger and Garp couldn't beat buffed Rocks on their own, meaning their base strength must've been close. Another interesting character that was Domi Reversi'd in One Piece is none other than King Harald.
I won't say that's not fair, Navy man. But raiding the worn-out new green leaves that changed the era of piracy forever? Don't you think you're doing too much? Are you that afraid of the new era? — Shanks
Harald is shown to be a big rival to Rocks. In fact, the two were neck and neck in terms of power and Rocks respected his strength greatly. It is clearly said that Loki killed Harald. However, the Elbaf flashback clearly reveals that Loki didn't just kill any Harald, but a Domi Reversi'd Harald, who should be stronger than Rocks. In other words, Loki must be even stronger than Rocks now.
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I met King Harald in Marijoa a while back. — Shanks to Gaban in Elbaf
Coming over to Shanks, the one to finally beat Loki was none other than him. The very same Loki who beat Domi Reversi Harald, who was stronger than Rocks, was beaten by Shanks six years ago. This is a clear indication of the fact that Shanks is stronger than Rocks and even Roger, unbelievable as that may be.
Shanks Might Have Surpassed Roger Already
Shanks's Haki Drew Comparisons To Joy Boy
Shanks having surpassed Roger is very much possible. After all, Roger himself expected Shanks to be the King of the next generation. Another very solid indicator of the fact that Shanks is likely stronger than Roger and Rocks is his Haki. In God Valley, Roger, Whitebeard, Big Mom, Garp, and Rocks all used powerful Haki attacks on Imu, yet didn't manage a single scratch.
When I was a kid, I thought to myself: man I would love to draw a manga with the most hyped final stage! I wonder if I'm up to it! Now, we have only a tiny bit of Wano arc left, the preparations are almost done. Took me 25 years lol. That said, it's fine if you start reading from this point on. Because from this point on...it'll be... The ONE PIECE!! The mysteries of this world, I'll be drawing all of them! It'll be super interesting! Fasten your seatbelt! And please stay with me for a bit longer! — Eiichiro Oda, Author of One Piece, 2022
In Egghead, however, Dorry and Brogy were comparing Shanks's Haki to Joy Boy's, wondering if Joy Boy's was stronger. This Haki sent shivers down Imu's spine and caused terrible pain. If Shanks is on that level, there's no doubt that he's already surpassed Roger.
One Piece's next chapter will be out this week. 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 October 26. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
- 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
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga's popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
- MyAnimeList Score
- 8.72
