The latest One Piece episode shows Shank's dark side

For years, One Piece fans have believed that Shanks is a kind-hearted person who would never do anything that unnecessarily threatens another person's life. But perceptions have begun to change, especially since Yonko stated her desire to claim One Piecewhich shocked the entire fan base. Since Shanks is no longer a neutral person, he will do anything in his power to achieve his goal. Aside from his personal ambitions, Shanks is quite protective of his territories.

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Shanks beat Bartolomeo to a pulp in the last episode

• Bartolomeo saved the people on Gartelön

• Shanks beat Bartolomeo and his crew

In One Piece Episode 1156, it was revealed that Bartolomeo had traveled to Gartel Island, where his crew beat up the thugs who were harassing the locals. Not long after, the Bartoklubben tried to sell straw hat merchandise to the natives. However, no one was willing to buy the goods, confusing Bartolomeo's crew. Eventually they learned that Gartel Island was under the protection of the Red Hair Pirates.

Bartolomeo responded in the worst possible way by destroying the flag. Shortly thereafter, word of the incident reached Shanks, who wasted no time heading to the island. Yonko and his crew beat Bartolomeo to a pulp. They gave Bartolomeo an ultimatum – to poison Luffy within a month or pay with his life.

After hearing the order, Bartolomeo immediately took the poison vial and consumed every drop of it. The plot showed Bartolomeo's loyalty to the Straw Hat Pirates. Bartolomeo thought his fate was sealed, but it was revealed that the bottle did not contain any kind of poison. Turns out Shanks was just testing Bartolomeo and his devotion to Luffy. Yonko was impressed by the Bartoklubben's loyalty. Finally, Shanks allowed Bartolomeo to leave. As the Bartoklubben began to sail away, Yasopp took aim and destroyed the ship. Shanks could have stopped Yasopp, but he knew the latter made the right call.

Shanks wants to claim One Piece

Not too long ago, it was confirmed that Shanks is firmly in the running to claim One Piece. Some fans were surprised by his desire to claim One Piece since, for the majority of the series, he showed absolutely no desire to find the treasure. Now with Shanks in the running, it's much more complicated for the other individuals who want to become Pirate King.

Shanks is arguably the strongest character in the One Piece world. He has all three types of Haki, and he can also use their advanced versions. In fact, Shanks can use his Conqueror's Haki to prevent his opponent from using Future Sight, putting them at a significant disadvantage. Shanks doesn't have a Devil Fruit, but his Haki more than makes up for it.

It will be interesting to see how Luffy reacts to Shank's strong desire in the future. He has always considered Shanks his role model, maybe even part of his family.

However, most fans agree that Shanks will likely fight Blackbeard at some point. The two have a lot of history, so it makes more sense for them to fight. Blackbeard was the one who gave Shanks the scar over his eye, and the latter has not forgiven him for it. They stared down at Marineford, but Blackbeard realized that his crew was not ready and would likely be annihilated by the Red Hair Pirates. But their next meeting will not end so peacefully.

Shanks and Blackbeard are actively searching for the One Piece, and they will do anything in their power to achieve it. Blackbeard is known for his deceit and treachery, so it's possible he won't beat Shanks in 1v1. Blackbeard will likely formulate an underhand strategy that will give him the victory.

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 Ma Shihi Endo, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, 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

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)