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 to showcase the power of the elite that he had saved for years after years. In the current age of piracy, Oda has made it abundantly clear that the Yonko stand out at the top, with the likes of Shanks and Blackbeard representing those who have already consolidated and maintained a firm hold on their territory, and Luffy and Buggy being the newcomers.
Meanwhile, there are naval admirals, and now Oda throws the Holy Knights into the mix as well, along with the five elders. All of these individuals are special in their own way, but fans always wonder who is the strongest of the lot. For now, the answer to that question seems to be Shanks. In fact, Shanks can even be stronger than the previous generation of Pirates, including the likes of Gol D. Roger and Rocks D. Xebec. This may sound like a stretch to some fans, but based on Oda's own narrative establishment, Shanks may well be stronger than either of them at his bestmaking him the strongest pirate of modern times.
Shanks could have 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 is not at all surprising 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 that it should be possible for Shanks to surpass Roger. The real question is how he could have surpassed him. To put that into perspective, fans need only look at the story that has been established by Oda himself.
Are you so afraid of the new era? — Shanks to Green Bull
First of all, when talking about the old legends of the One Piece world, two characters stand out the most, much more than any other, and that is 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 greatest 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 actually says in the story that Domi Reversi makes a character several times stronger. In other words, Roger and Garp couldn't beat buffed Rocks on their own, meaning their base strength must have been close. Another interesting character who was Domi Reversi'd in One Piece is none other than King Harald.
I'm not saying it's not fair, Navy. But raid the worn new green leaves that changed the era of piracy forever? Don't you think you are doing too much? Are you so afraid of the new era? – Shanks
Harald has proven to be a great rival to Rocks. In fact, the two were neck and neck in terms of power and Rocks respected his strength greatly. It is clearly stated that Loki killed Harald. However, Elbaf's flashback clearly reveals that Loki killed not just any Harald, but one Domi Reversi'd Haraldwhich should be stronger than Rocks. In other words, Loki must be even stronger than Rock's now.
I met King Harald in Marijoa a while ago. — Shanks to Gaban in Elbaf
Coming over to Shanks, the one who finally beat Loki was none other than he. The same Loki who beat Domi Reversi Haraldwho 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, as unbelievable as that may be.
Shanks may have already surpassed Roger
Shanks Haki Drew comparisons to Joy Boy
Shanks has surpassed Roger is very possible. Roger himself expected after all Shanks to become the next generation king. Another very solid indicator 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, but failed to make a single scratch.
When I was a kid, I thought to myself: I would love to draw a manga with the most hyped ending! I wonder if I can take it! Now we only have a small piece of the Wano arc left, the preparations are almost done. Took me 25 years lol. That said, it's good if you start reading from now. Because from now on… it will be… THE ONE PIECE!! The mysteries of this world, I will draw them all! It will be super interesting! Fasten your seat belt! And please stay with me a little longer! — Eiichiro Oda, author of One Piece, 2022
In Egghead, however, Dorry and Brogy compared Shank's Haki to the Joy Boyswondering about The Joy Boys were stronger. This Haki sent shivers down Imu's spine causing excruciating pain. If Shanks is at that level, there is no doubt that he has already surpassed Roger.
One Piece's next chapter comes out this week. As usual, One Piece will be released on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece releases at 12pm JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on October 26th. 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
- Author
-
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
-
Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
-
Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)