This article contains spoilers for the Final Saga of One Piece.
The Yonko are the four most powerful pirates in the world One piece. They are said to rule the New World as kings and their influence over the oceans One piece the world is absolutely unrivaled. The Yonks control huge territories and have great influence in the underworld as well. In addition, the Yonks are known to form massive alliances, so they can even rival the forces of the World Government on their own.
One Piece: Oda has already confirmed who is stronger between the Admirals and Yonk
Fans have always wondered how the Admirals compare to Yonk in power. Oda already confirmed this in One Piece.
Quite clearly, these four pirates are key to maintaining the balance of power in the world of One Piece, and they also pose a huge threat to the government. In the final saga of One Piece, the Yonko will truly get the shine they deserve, given that a massive war is brewing here, as confirmed by Oda himself. With this war many dead will follow and it's time for fans to accept the possibility that the strongest of the Yonks, the Red Shanks, will most likely die here toohowever unfortunate it may be.
Oda doesn't like killing characters unless absolutely necessary
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Oda wants to hold big banquets after each arc
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The Final Saga will still see some big deaths
The very first thing fans will have in mind when it comes to character deaths in the Final Saga is that Oda doesn't really like killing characters at all. after all Oda himself has stated that the reason he doesn't like killing characters is because at the end of each arche wants to draw huge parties. Banquets are a common recurring theme in One Piece, and if characters keep dying, then Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates can't have big banquets at all, or even celebrate at the end of the arc. Oda wants to put smiles on people's faces, and that's hard if the characters end up falling left, right and center.
However, that doesn't mean Oda doesn't kill off characters at all. Fans know that the deaths of Whitebeard and Portgas D. Ace were shocking to witness in the Paramount War arcbut since then after skipping time, Oda has actually killed many of the main characters and these include Vergo, Monet, Ashura Doji, Yasuie, Izo, Mjosgard, Stella, Kaido and even Big Mom.. After the time skip, Oda mainly started killing other characters, and in the final saga, fans even saw the death of Emmet, the ancient robot, as well as the original body of Vegapunk.
quite clearly Oda is more overtly killing off the main characters in the final saga, and as the Great War begins, fans should expect many major deaths to follow. This includes the redheaded Emperor Shanks and you can tell Shanks is actually wearing some of the biggest death banners because of the journey he has taken and the rivalries he has created over the years. Shanks is one of the most important characters in One Piece and it goes without saying that he will play a huge role later on. After all, he is Luffy's own idol – someone Luffy aspires to be like. But that doesn't stop Oda from killing Shanks.
Shanks could die in the final saga of One Piece
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Shanks faces danger from Blackbeard
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Imu looks at Shanks
Oda previously told fans that he won't involve Shanks as much in One Piece until the final saga of the story begins. Now that the Final Saga is here, fans can really see Shanks getting more involved in the world and putting his own stamp on the era. Specifically, Shanks is said to have waited until after Nika to make his own move.
What do you say, Blackbeard? do you want to fight — Shanks
Obviously, she will be more active in the story now than ever before and after the Elbaf arc, fans should expect a lot of focus on him. But given how high the stakes are right now and how dangerous the events will be, it's no surprise that Shanks is wearing massive death flags.
Shanks' rivalry with Blackbeard and Im has put him in danger
For starters, fans are well aware that Shanks has a rivalry with Blackbeard. It was Blackbeard who scarred Shanks long before he even went to Marijoa. Shanks's scar has been hurting him ever since. Shanks and Blackbeard will continue to fight at some point in the story, and Oda himself teased this in the Paramount War. The two almost clashed during Marineford, but Teach realized that it was not yet time for them to fight, as he was not ready.
One Piece: Oda has already revealed the strongest pirate in the Final Saga
The strongest pirate in the Final Saga has been revealed and it's not Luffy from One Piece.
Now Teach has slowly built up his power and will continue to do so as the Final Saga continues. Once Teach believes he is ready, he will most likely attack Shanks as he is one of the main competitors for One Piece at the moment and Teach would want him out of the way. Given how sinister Teach is, fans shouldn't expect Shanks to win this battle.
Even if Shanks is a monstrously powerful individualTeach is someone who often relies on dirty tactics and could very well end up tricking Shanks and then killing him. The fact that Teach also rivals Luffy makes this even more likely. After all, if Teach managed to kill Shanks and then attack Luffy, the stakes in the fight would be much higher and the intensity would also be absolutely incredible. as such Oda could have sacrificed Shanks here for the sake of the plot.
Imu vs Shanks is a big possibility
There's more to Shanks' death than just Blackbeard. As seen recently in the story, Shanks also has a great rivalry with the likes of Ima. Shanks was tagged to Imu using the Shallow Sea Pact in Marijoa as he tried to find out more information about the ruler of the world. After finding out all he could, he grew to hate the life of the sky dragons. However, in doing so he certainly made enemies out of his own father Saint Garling, his brother Shamrock, and of course the world ruler Saint Imu.
There you are, blaming your birth again. What happened to Harald was not your fault. You still have a big role to play. — Scopper Gaban
Gaban clearly told Shanks that he was to play a role in the battle against Imo in the futureand that clearly means that Shanks might even continue to confront them at some point. Considering how strong Imu is, it shouldn't surprise anyone that Shanks might actually die here.
Eiichiro Oda's One Piece focuses on the journey of Monkey D. Luffy and the straw pirates who sail the seas to claim the great treasure known as One Piece. The manga is currently in its Final Saga. One Piece will be featured in Weekly Shonen Jump this week. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1172 is February 1, 2026. In Japan, One Piece drops on Monday at 12:00 PM JST, which is 11:00 AM EST or 8:00 AM PT. Fans can read this chapter for free on Manga Plus and Shonen Jump apps. This ensures that fans will always support the author.
