Shanks has been getting some new developments in One Piece, and the shift in his character has been a hot topic in the community for some time now. He became one of the most beloved characters in the series early on. He hasn’t appeared much in the series. However, all his appearances were highly anticipated.
As Luffy looks up to him, even his fans admire this enigmatic character. He was considered to be Luffy’s well-wisher however, with recent theories surfacing, it seems like that isn’t the case anymore. There are some theories that elaborate on evil Shanks and explain the reason behind his collecting Devil Fruits.
Why is Shanks collecting Devil Fruits in One Piece?
Shanks is the only Yonko in One Piece without a Devil Fruit, which is quite a weird ordeal. Along with that, there isn’t even a single Devil Fruit user in his crew. We also know that Buggy is Roger’s crew’s only confirmed Devil Fruit user. However, it was hinted that he didn’t consume his Devil Fruit voluntarily and wasn’t happy that Shanks made him do it.
If we’re to keep Shanks’ situation side by side with what Blackbeard is doing, the theory suggests that he is doing the same thing but in a different way. His way is more stealing the Devil Fruit powers and using them for his crew members like Whitebeard, Absalom, and himself. Judging from this, the theory summarizes that Shanks collects the Devil Fruits to keep them in a safe place, minimizing their use for villainous activities.
What were the fan reactions to this theory about Shanks?
A YouTube video discusses why Shanks might be collecting Devil Fruits on the Doronsworld channel. His take on this ordeal addresses that Shanks tries to keep the balance between piracy and stability.
Fans seemed to be having diverse reactions regarding whether they should judge Shanks’ character as a good guy or a villain. A user by the handle of Belwinuy commented, “Shanks is a very mysterious character we are not capable of understanding if he is a villain or simply a good person.”
Another person by the username Camino added under the video, “Imagine how much more broken these characters would be with a devil fruit, lol.”
What was particularly interesting is that a user by the name of Nakumezm1369 came up with their own theory, which started like this, “I’ve always liked to think that Shanks has been saving the Gum Gum No Mi to himself, but Luffy accidentally ate it so that’s actually why we see him shocked- not because he saw him ate A devil fruit, but because he saw him eat HIS devil fruit.”
They also delve further into the theory explaining why Shanks gave Luffy his hat. They also speculated that Shanks was “waiting this entire time so that the fruit could awaken itself inside Luffy.” As the time is correct, Luffy might be clashing with Shanks soon.
