Warning: This article contains spoilers from the One Piece manga! The Elbaph Arc in the One Piece manga has finally concluded the God Valley flashback and moved on to focusing on King Harald’s story. The God Valley Incident changed the entire world with a major shift in the balance of power after the death of Rocks D. Xebec. Despite not being on the island, Harald was also deeply affected by it, especially after Xebec’s death, as he grew even more desperate to get into the good graces of the World Government. He was willing to do anything to ensure a better future for his kingdom, and the World Government was more than ready to take advantage of his desperation.
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The latest One Piece Chapter 1167 continues Harald’s journey as he joins the Holy Knights and does everything the Gorosei ask him to. During his endeavors, he even crosses paths with Shanks, who returned to his family after Gol D. Roger’s execution. However, the pirate had other plans for joining the side of the Holy Knights, and one detail directly ties him to an old statement by Eiichiro Oda.
One Piece’s Mysterious Pirate With an Eyepatch Could Be Shanks
One Piece 10th Treasures, a special collector’s book released in 2007, shared many spoilers and pieces of information about the manga, as well as a crossover with Dragon Ball. Since the book was only released in Japan, a few crucial pieces of information were discussed on social media. One of Oda’s comments in the book reads, “A pirate with an eye-patch will appear in the final phase of One Piece.
I’m itching to draw that character as soon as possible. Maybe people have a preconception that many pirates wear eye patches, but actually, I’ve never drawn any pirates with eye patches.” A famous native Japanese fan translator on X, @sandman_AP, shared the English translation of Oda’s statement. For more than 18 years now, fans have been awaiting the appearance of a pirate with an eye patch. However, in Chapter 1167, Shanks appeared with bandages on his eye, which is the closest thing Oda promised to his readers. It’s evident that the bandage is because of the scar he got from Marshall D. Teach, one of the main villains of the story.
Shanks stayed in the Holy Land for a few years, gathering as much information as he could about them before returning to the sea. There’s no doubt about how much importance the creator gives to Shanks, so it’s not surprising he has major plans for the character. In the past, many theorists tried to figure out the identity of the pirate with an eye patch and believed he could be either Joy Boy or Xebec, but none of that was ever confirmed. While there’s no official confirmation that Shanks is the pirate Oda was talking about during that time, at least for now, all hints point toward him.
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