One Piece Cliffhanger Sees Shanks Making His Big Move

One Piece has finally returned with the final saga of Eiichiro Oda’s long running manga series, and the first chapter of the final phase has kicked off with Shanks declaring that he’s finally making his move towards his main goal! After a short hiatus over the last few weeks, the series has officially kicked off the final saga of the series. While right now it is currently unclear just how much longer the series will last (with Oda himself aiming to end the series in three or so years), what is clear is the fact that the series truly is moving towards its grand finale at last.

While each of the arcs thus far have been big in their own right, one thing fans have been hoping to see is Shanks actually making some moves in the plot itself. Following a previous tease from Oda following the Reverie that Shanks would be moving soon (originally teasing it for 2021, funny enough), and following Shanks having a surprise key role in the One Piece Film: Red feature film, now Shanks has finally returned to the manga to shake things up. The final moments from the newest chapter see Shanks declare that he’s now heading for the One Piece at last. 

Chapter 1054 of One Piece starts moving all of the pieces towards the grand finale as Shanks returns to the series, and it’s revealed that he also found out about Luffy being crowned one of the new Four Emperors. He thinks back to the time he snatched the Gum Gum Fruit in the first place and his time with Luffy as a kid, and ultimately is roused for their eventual reunion. But he’s also in no rush to do so. When the rest of his crew ask to go reunite with Luffy, Shanks reveals he’s not interested and instead wants to keep focused on their own territory. 

But the real tease comes soon after as Shanks tells Beck, “I think it’s time we make our move. Let’s claim the One Piece.” With this major declaration, Shanks has now made a huge move towards the grand finale at the end of the series. It’s yet to be seen how this will intertwine with Luffy’s own future (along with the other Emperors), but it’s an exciting move nonetheless as it really feels like a monumental shift forward compared to moves in previous arcs. 

How do you feel about Shanks making his move towards the One Piece? What do you think it means for Luffy? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!