One Piece Kickstarts Shanks' Endgame at Last

The red-haired Shanks was set to return for the fifteenth film of the One Piece franchise, but it seems as though the former mentor to Luffy isn't waiting that long to make a comeback. Following the one-month hiatus that Eiichiro Oda needed to work on the Final Arc of the Shonen series, the manga began once again with the 1054th episode that not only gets Shanks in the game but hints at the biggest adventure of the swashbuckler's life. Clearly, this new Shanks quest will have a major impact on the Straw Hat Pirates.

Warning. If you have yet to read the latest chapter of One Piece, Chapter 1054, you might want to steer clear as we'll be diving into some serious spoiler territory.

While the moments with Shanks were quite subdued, the most recent chapter of One Piece began by having Admiral Ryokugyu attack several of the Straw Hat Pirates' allies in Wano Country. With the battle in mid-swing, the chapter explores Shanks' final endgame as he announces to his crewmate Beck that it's time for them to steal the One Piece treasure. At present, the mystery of the One Piece treasure has only continued to grow, with Wano Country taking fans into the past to witness Gol D. Roger's moment in which he came face-to-face with the legendary bounty. 

Shanks' role in the upcoming movie One Piece: Red is just as much a mystery as that of the One Piece, as fans still aren't aware of whether he'll be friend or foe to Luffy when they come face-to-face for the first time in years. Alongside the red-haired swashbuckler's comeback, the fifteenth film of the franchise is also introducing his daughter Uta, who is billed to be the "ultimate diva" and appears to have had a long relationship with Luffy since they were children.

In a recent interview, Oda himself stated that he believed One Piece would run for another three years before coming to a close, so fans will have to wait to see how wild this final adventure becomes for the crew members of the Thousand Sunny.

Do you think the mystery of the One Piece will be revealed sooner rather than later? What role do you think Shanks has in One Piece: Red? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Grand Line.