Edward Newgate aka Whitebeard will definitely go down in history as one of the most loved anime characters of all time. Newgate was given the title of ‘Strongest Man in the World‘ despite never becoming the Pirate King really speaks volumes of his character.
There are a lot of loose ends in the world of One Piece and one of them is the true heritage and identity of the captain of Red Hair Pirates, Shanks. However, there is this one fan theory that might explain a lot about his heritage and the connection of the character with the World Government.
Whitebeard dropped a hint about Shanks’ heritage on their very first meeting
Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece is one of the most popular anime and manga series of all time with an ever-expanding universe. Even after almost 27 years of mangas, we’re still nowhere near the end and there are a ton of loose ends in the world of this anime.
When it was first shown that Shanks went on to meet the highest authorities of world government, the 5 elders at the Holy land of Mary Geiose, a lot of fans started questioning how a notorious pirate like Shanks was welcomed to the land of Celestial Dragons. However, after a wait of years, it seems like Oda has finally dropped a hint about Shanks’ heritage.
When Whitebeard and Shanks meet for the first time in the series in chapter 434 on Whitebeard’s ship, Newgate talks about a massive scar on his chest and says,
“Just seeing your face makes the scar given by that bastard ache again.”
The bastard mentioned in the conversation was allegedly The God’s Knights Commander, Saint Figarland Garling.
Shanks might be the son of the Celestial Dragon, Saint Figarland Garling
In chapter 1086, Saint Figarland Garling was introduced in the manga and was seen sentencing another celestial dragon to death. Saint Farling Garland was shown once again in a flashback of the God Valley Incident and the resemblance in appearance of Shanks to a young Saint Figarland Garling just cannot be ignored.
The resemblance in appearance definitely hints that Shanks might be a son of Saint Figarland Garling but to make this theory even more plausible, all of these characters were present on the God Valley island at the time of the infamous God Valley Incident.
At the God Valley Incident, the pirate king, Gol D. Roger allied with Monkey D. Garp to beat the Rock Pirates of which Whitebeard was also a member. In chapter, 1095, Saint Figarland Garling was also shown on the God Valley island as he was participating in a Population eradication tournament at the same time.
Therefore it makes complete sense that during the chaos of the battle Whitebeard and Saint Garling might’ve faced off against each other and Garling could’ve ended up giving Whitebeard that nasty scar on his chest.
As was shown in the movie, Red, Gol D. Roger found Shanks in a little wooden chest at God Valley Island after his battle with the Rock Pirates and went on to adopt him as a kid. Maybe Saint Garling abandoned Shanks at the God Valley island for some reason.
Although the movie was non-canon, we have seen in the past that some original details from the manga canon are imported into these movies. Shanks being a son of a celestial dragon also makes sense as despite being a notorious pirate, he was left alone to interact with the 5 Elders at the Holy Land of Mary Geiose.
One Piece is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
