One Piece Foreshadowed Shanks’ Brother Over Two Decades Ago

The One Piece manga has finally entered its highly-anticipated Elbaf Arc. The crew arrives on the fabled kingdom Elbaf, home to Giants, the strongest race in the world. After the battle with Admiral Kizaru and Gorosei, the crew continues their adventure. This time, they visit the place Luffy and Usopp have been dreaming about since the Little Garden Arc. Dorry and Brogy aside, all the other Giants are just as happy to welcome the crew into their home. Usually, the Straw Hats will have to hide their identity when visiting a new island. As outlaws, they often run into trouble.

However, since Elbaf isn’t affiliated with the World Government, they are free from that hindrance. Luffy and his crew look around the island and visit the villages. They see the Walrus School and Owl Library as the arc explores the beautiful and peaceful kingdom. As the Giants welcome the crew with a huge banquet, Shanks’ brother and another Holy Knight invade the underworld to meet Loki. Shanks’ brother is a Knight and a swordsman. While this plot twist is surely surprising to fans, Eiichiro Oda decided this before the manga even began serializing.

Warning: Spoilers from One Piece Chapter 1137 ahead!

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Oda Drew Shanks as a Knight Before One Piece Began

In one of the early prototypes, Oda drew Shanks as a knight leader three years after the war. The drawing was likely included in Kantai Shinroku, the Monsters 103 official guidebook. This particular piece of information resurfaced after Oda introduced Shamrock Figarland in One Piece Chapter 1137. He is the leader of the Holy Knights, just as the creator envisioned over two decades ago. Shamrock took over his father, Garling’s position after the latter became a Gorosei.

Additionally, Shamrock looks exactly like Shanks, so fans believe they are twin brothers. He was first introduced in Chapter 907, creating quite a stir in the fandom. Many believed Shanks was working for the World Government while others noticed the missing scar and determined he was a lookalike, most likely Shanks’ twin brother. The chapter was released in June 2018 and Oda has finally solved the mystery.

What Is Shamrock Figarland’s Goal in Coming to Elbaf?

Shamrock first tries to recruit Loki as one of the Holy Knights members. The position is only reserved for World Nobles and Loki is the only one to have been given the offer despite not being a Celestial Dragon. However, when the Elbaf Prince rejects and insults them, Gunko resorts to violence. She kills Loki’s wolf, a monster from the underworld, and tortures him as well. Seeing that Loki is still not yielding, Shamrock orders Gunko to contact Mary Geoise.

They will likely bring more reinforcements. If Shamrock summons the rest of the Holy Knights in Elbaf, a war will soon break out. His primary goal is to force the Giants to affiliate with them. The Giants are the strongest race in the world and are known for being brave and honorable warriors. The World Government has been eyeing their powers for a long time. Thanks to Shamrock’s devious plans, the peaceful kingdom of the Giants will soon turn into a battlefield.

H/T: Shueisha