In the world of anime, Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece is known as the master of foreshadowing. He has foreshadowed so many mysteries and truths about the storyline and other aspects of the series, which has ultimately helped the series grow and become one of the most popular anime and manga series of all time.
One mystery that many One Piece fans talk about is the lineage of Shanks. Not much is known about the character except him being a part of the most legendary pirate crew in the One Piece world, The Roger Pirates. Apart from that, not much is known about him but still, he holds a strong position in the story as evidenced by his role in the war of Marineford.
However, a recent One Piece revelation confirms the theory about Shanks being a Celestial Dragon and in turn explains his crucial role in the Marineford war. Shanks was the one to stop the war against the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines. However, the reason behind it was never explained.
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Shanks’s Role in the Marineford War in One Piece
Shanks is one of the characters in One Piece with the least amount of screen time, despite being a crucial part of the narrative. Shanks’ most screen time came during the Marineford arc when he declared the end of the war and entered the battlefield. Marineford’s arc is one of the best narratives in the history of One Piece.
It narrates the epic battle between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates and how Shanks reaches Marineford and stops the war. If it weren’t for Shanks’s intervention, they would have destroyed every pirate. After arriving at Marineford with the rest of the crew, Shanks orders everyone to cease fighting because there have been too many casualties.
Present at Marineford, Blackbeard decides to depart after realizing he cannot defeat Shanks and his crew. Shanks ends the Marineford War, and Sengoku honors his request by declaring the conflict to be over. He not only stopped the war, he also blocked Kaido and his crew’s path who were also on their way to cause mayhem in Marineford. However, no one truly knows the reason behind Shanks doing all this.
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One Piece Confirming a Major Theory About Shanks Explains His Role in Marineford
A lot of fans thought that Shanks was descended from the ruthless nobles known as the Celestial Dragons, who ruled the world of One Piece. This theory was verified in One Piece Volume 4 billion, a special booklet authored by Oda and given to viewers of the film One Piece Film: Red.
The volume tells how, following their battle in God Valley, Roger and his crew discovered Shanks as a young boy in a treasure chest. Furthermore, a statement from the same film, in which the Five Elders identify Shanks as a member of the “Figarland Family,” demonstrates that Shanks is descended from the Celestial Dragons.
This could also explain his role in stopping Kaido and ending the Marineford War. If Shanks is a descendant of the Celestial Dragons and is aligned with their motives too, he wouldn’t want pirates to destroy a world government building that is too close to Mary Geoise, but at the same time, he cannot attack them as it would hurt his identity as a Yonko of the sea. However, all of this is just speculation and no one except Oda himself knows the secret of Shanks.
