Updated December 23, 2022 by Ernie
If a character could perfectly describe the word “mysterious”, that would most definitely be Shanks.
Table of Contents
He is one of the most crucial figures of the series and yet his past, and his present as well, is shrouded in darkness.
After triggering the pirate career of our rubbery MC and becoming his role model, he completely fell off the grid and received the award for “most popular character with least screen time ever”.
So many questions are yet unanswered in the One Piece series and I can think of at least four that are directly related to the captain of the Red-Hair Pirates.
How did he get on Gold D. Roger’s ship? Will he turn out to be the awesomest deadliest villain of the series or will he stand as the Straw Hat Pirates’ greatest ally? What is his ultimate goal? If he knows where the One Piece is, why didn’t he go and grab it?
Like I said, so many questions and still, I’m gonna add one more question mark to the lot. Who is he exactly? Where does he come from? What are his origins?
As you start thinking about those, a theory, a possibility might pop up in your head, like it did in mine. What if and that a huge WHAT IF, Shank was actually a World Noble?
All of you are probably like “Nahhh”, doesn’t make any sense. Hold that Nah for a sec and hear me out. Who knows, maybe I’ll manage to blow your mind.
Oh, and I got a tiny Christmas gift for you guys. I’m feeling generous this year, I’ll reveal the truth behind one more mystery. It’s listed above, if you can guess which one it is before we can to the juicy part maybe Santa will grant one of your wishes this year.
So let’s start this rodeo with a crash course on the World Nobles, then move on to a small recap on what we know about Shanks’ past and for dessert, we will go over the hints that we have about his true identity.
SHANKS TRUE ORIGINS?!?!
World Nobles 101
The World Nobles AKA the Celestial Dragons are the nastier kind of snobs you will ever come across in the entire anime universe.
They are the descendants of the man who created the Government and thus they believe that their blood, their being is greater than all else, just like Nazis.
They don’t mix with the lesser beings, they even refuse to breathe the same air as them. The rules don’t apply to them, they are above them, in fact, they make the rules.
Growing up believing that the world is theirs and that only their lives matter, they became cruel, merciless, disgusting human beings who can’t even blow their noses without the help of a slave.
However, even amongst the Celestial Dragon, there is a hierarchy. The untouchable ones, the most important figures of the World Government are the five elders and of course the secret King of the World, Im.
You can never receive the title of World Noble if you don’t possess the blood of the founder, however, you can lose it by falling out of grace…intentionally.
Although it would be unimaginable that anyone, no matter how loose his head may be, would give up such omnipotent privileges, we actually have a president.
He was one of the Seven World Lords of the Sea (One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 25 Chapter 233 (p. 18-19) and Episode 151), a man also known as “Joker” the broker of the underworld (One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 68 Chapter 673 (p. 19) and Episode 599). As if that was not enough, he also took over the throne of Dressrosa (One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 72 Chapter 721 and Episode 651.)
You probably got it, I’m talking about the infamous captain of the Donquixote Pirates, the one and only Donquixote Doflamingo!
Yup, he was World Noble. Guess he got bored and left his perfect life in paradise to join us lesser beings on Earth, or more exactly on the ocean (One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 73 Chapters 722–723 (p. 18-19,10) and Episodes 653–654).
And I’ll stop you right there, Shanks didn’t do the same, try harder next time.
How did Shanks become a Roger Pirate?
Time is up for our little quiz, this is the bonus question that will be answered. Enjoy your surprise! So this is gonna be THE heartwarming tale, really, try not to shed a tear.
So, about 39 years ago, the Roger Pirates found themselves in a small town renowned for producing wine.
There, they managed to put their hands on a treasure chest. Super excited, they opened it hoping to drown under piles of gold and diamonds.
Tough luck, all they got was a first-grade whiny machine, a baby. How did he get there? No one knows, but what’s for sure is that they weren’t about to let a newborn rot to death alone so they decided to adopt him.
The baby grew up and turned out to be a cute redhead that they named Shanks. Little did they know that he would one day end up becoming the strongest Yonko of his generation. I’m sure all his Nakama, and his family couldn’t be prouder!(One Piece Manga: Volume 4000000000 “RED”, Information about Shanks’ background is given)
Shanks, a World Noble or a World Normal?
Come on, open your eyes, and give me all your attention, this is where things are about to go down!
Shanks was found 39 years ago, however, his joining the crew wasn’t the only remarkable event that happened this year. In fact, this can’t even be counted as an event in front of “The God Valley Incident”.
Picture this, The Rocks Pirates have their target in sight. The mission: strip those Celestial Dragons jerks of all their belongings while they are enjoying their little vacation. Kill some of them as well just for the kick of it.
At their head, Rocks D. Xebec, and with him, we have Big Mom, Kaido, and Whitebeard, three badasses that would reign in the future over the Ocean as the unbeatable Yonkos. An unstoppable force aiming at something that should never be touched.
The all-mighty Monkey D. Garp in charge of their protection, was so desperate to stop them that he stooped low enough to accept the help of the Roger Pirate.
An unthinkable temporary alliance formed and one of the coolest battles ever occurred. In the end, the ones who came out of it victorious were of course the D’s (One Piece Manga: Chapter 907)
The World Nobles were all over the place. Terrified about the idea of losing their precious life, they escaped the place as fast as their feet could handle. That must have been the first time they ever sweated.
Now it wouldn’t be so far-fetched that in all the chaos they might have forgotten a child behind. I mean who else would be psychologically damaged enough to put a kid in a treasure chest to serve as a pushchair?
Of course, my theory isn’t just based on that. I mentioned before that the five elders are the most respected figures of the World Government. We might have more chances of requesting an audience from God than them do.
And yet, in chapter 907, Shanks makes an unexpected appearance at Marijoa. He walked in as if the place was his and got to meet with those Five Elders and it also looked like it wasn’t the first time as well.
Not only is he a Pirate, their arch enemy, he is also a commoner with no standing. He got into the most secure fortress on Earth, a fortress dedicated to eradicating his kind. Such privileged treatment, it’s abnormal to say the least and the Elders also said and I quote: “We only made time to talk because it was you.”
They would never treat someone with respect if they don’t have the same standard as them, but they respect Shanks, couldn’t it be because he is actually one of them?
Conclusion
I don’t know about you but I think this is pretty solid evidence. Of course, we can’t say anything for sure without our friend Oda conquering our theories.
Well, with One Piece finally starting to see the beginning of the finish line we might start to get our answers earlier than expected.
References
One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 25 Chapter 233 (p. 18-19) and Episode 151
One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 68 Chapter 673 (p. 19) and Episode 599
One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 72 Chapter 721 and Episode 651
One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 73 Chapters 722–723 (p. 18-19,10) and Episodes 653–654
One Piece Manga: Volume 4000000000 “RED”, Information about Shanks’ background is given
One Piece Manga: Chapter 907
