In the Final Saga of One pieceShanks stands tall as one of the strongest characters. Introduced at the very beginning, fans have waited decades for Oda to shed some light on the red-headed Shanks character. Finally, in the last part of the story, Shanks gets the attention he deserves. It is very clear to fans that he is easily one of the strongest characters in the entire story, with Haki being monstrously powerful.
Shanks does not control Devil Fruits and as such the vast majority of his abilities come from Haki. In terms of overall Haki manipulation, it goes without saying that Shanks is one of the strongest in the world One pieceand hardly anyone could compete with him. However, over the course of the Elbaf arc, Oda officially introduced another character with Haki that rivals the red-haired Shanks. This character is none other than Shanks' own twin, Shamrock Figarland, and evidence suggests that he is even more powerful overall than the red-haired emperor, thanks to powers from Im.
One Piece: All Powers and Abilities of Advanced Conqueror's Haki Explained
Advanced Conqueror's Haki is one of the most powerful abilities possessed by the highest level fighters in One Piece and grants them great abilities.
Shanks is currently one of One Piece's strongest Haki users
When it comes to Haki manipulation, it goes without saying that Shanks is easily one of the strongest in the One Piece world. He has no Devil Fruit ability, but still stands at the top of the One Piece world. Shanks has tremendous Haki control and can use advanced forms of all three types of Haki, but his greatest strength is using his Conqueror's Haki.
As always, his Haki power is astounding. — Whitebeard on Shanks' Haki, One Piece Chapter 434
Shanks has performed feats with Conqueror's Haki that no other character in the world has. He can use Conqueror's Haki from miles away and completely paralyze someone as strong as the Admiral. More than that, Shanks can even deliver Conqueror's Haki shockwaves so strong that he can destroy pirates with a bounty of over 3 billion with a single swing of the blade. In addition, Shanks can use his Conqueror's Haki to kill his enemies' Observation Haki, and this is what makes him truly special. In the world of One Piece, there is hardly anyone as skilled with Haki as Shanks. In fact, in the Egghead arc, Oda directly compared Shanks' Haki to that of Joy Boy, showing how dangerous he truly is when it comes to manipulating Haki.
One Piece's Elbaf Arc confirms that Shanks and Shamrock have the same skills
Interestingly, in the Elbaf flashback that fans recently received, Oda confirmed that Shamrock Figarland is just as skilled and talented as Shanks. Both Shamrock and Shanks were born together and are linked by fate itself. While Shamrock was raised by the Sky Dragons, Shanks was raised by those of the Roger Pirates. This means they were both born with the same amount of talent and skill, as confirmed by Garling Figarland in the Holy Land of Marijoa in the Elbaf flashback. It was said that if Shanks received the power of the Shallow Sea Pact from Imu, he would be able to match Shamrock as they both had similar skill levels. Basically, Oda was trying to portray Shamrock to be a step above Shanks at the time.
He passed the gauntlet of the lower world. But if he were to join Depths Covenant, he'll be an instant boost, probably on the level of Shamrock. — Garling, One Volume Chapter 1168
When Shamrock and Shanks interacted, it was also quite clear that they were of a similar rank in terms of power. Added to this is the fact that the Five Elders deeply respect Shamrock Figarlan, going so far as to speak to him with great respect, which may be due to his incredible skills.
One Piece: Shamrock Figarland's Power and Abilities Explained
Shamrock Figarland, Shanks' twin brother, has powerful abilities and powers.
It should also be remembered that in the Elbaf arc, Shamrock was clearly portrayed as even stronger than Loki, and a single attack from him put the legendary giant at death's door. What's more, when Loki was asked to join the Holy Knights, he was to work under the command of Shamrock Figarland.
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When Shamrock faced Loki, he openly exclaimed that if Loki survived his attack, he should seek him out to fight him, implying a very high level of power. Considering Luffy was only defeated by Shanks, this was clearly Oda's attempt to compare Shamrock to him again.
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Shamrock has immense power, and since he doesn't have a devil fruit but instead relies on his sword Cerberus, the vast majority of his own powers come from Haki, just like Shanks's.
Shamrock Figarland should be a top haki manipulator and potentially stronger than Shanks
If Shamrock and Shanks are canonically declared equal, that means they must be equally skilled in the utility of Haki. In fact, it wouldn't be a surprise if Shanks used the Devil Fruit sword, just like Shamrock. It should be noted that Shanks' sword is called Gryphon, while Shamrock's sword is called Cerberus. One sword could have the power of a Gryphon and the other has the power of a Cerberus, meaning they would both have a similar skill set as well. The only difference would be that Shanks is a pirate while Shamrock fights for the government.
In both cases, it was clearly stated in the story that Shanks and Shamrock were comparable in overall strength, meaning that Shamrock's Haki should be on par with Shanks. Primarily, what confirms Shamrock as someone with high-level Haki manipulation skills comparable to Shanks is that he has the ability to completely erase his presence. According to One Piece 4 billion, this is an advanced Conqueror's Haki skill called Observation Killing, and besides Shamrock, only Shanks can do it in One Piece.
Then when you look at the fact that Shamrock is just as skilled as Shanks, but also has a Profound Pact with Imu that gives him even more superhuman strength, regeneration, and immortality, a very strong case can be made that Shamrock is even stronger than Shanks. Shamrock has everything Shanks has, but the reverse isn't necessarily true. As hard as it may seem to believe, Shanks may actually end up being the inferior of the two, and that's something Oda will surely showcase in the Final Saga as the story moves forward. The confrontation between these two brothers could happen in the Final Saga and fans absolutely cannot wait for it.
One Piece is available to read on Manga Plus.
- Release date
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October 20, 1999
- Network
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Fuji TV
- directors
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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 Imayomura, Yashiôhiro Mayuū Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
- Writers
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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)
