Luffy faced many tough opponents on the way to becoming A pieceof the Pirate King, but his toughest opponent will be Gol D. Rogers’ intended successor. One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has been gradually revealing more about Roger and other pirates of previous generations in the most recent installments of the manga, so this revelation makes a lot of sense. Thematically, it also ties into the first chapter of the series in some great ways.
Chapter 1082 features a flashback to Buggy the Clown, where he remembers talking to Shanks after Roger’s death. They were both in Roger’s crew, but Shanks was found by Roger’s crew as a kid, so he’s almost like Roger’s son. Buggy confirms that Roger feels the same way by stating that Roger intends for Shanks to be his successor. However, Shanks didn’t want to prioritize finding One Piece or becoming the Pirate King, so instead, he built his fleet and achieved Yonko status. Now, however, Shanks is starting to make moves, implying that he may soon become one of Luffy’s enemies in his quest for One Piece.
One Piece Confirms Shanks as Roger’s True Successor
This has the potential to wreak havoc on Luffy’s emotions. Shanks was Luffy’s idol as a child, Luffy wanted to join his crew so much that he stabbed himself in the face. Shanks then sacrificed his arm to save Luffy and gave the boy his pirate hat, telling him to return it when he became a powerful pirate. This is one of Luffy’s main goals in the series and will therefore cause Luffy to take out Shanks as a serious enemy.
Of course, there are more gentle ways their confrontation could end. One popular fan theory has even suggested that they could get into a fight with Davy Back, which probably wouldn’t involve much emotional turmoil. This will also make the rather disliked Long Ring Long Land arc much better in retrospect. But on the other hand, Shanks could become much less interested in Luffy than he expected, leading to some major disillusionment. Given how mysterious Shanks is throughout the series and how little is known about him by fans, there are countless possibilities.
The battle for One Piece could be Luffy Vs. foot
No matter how their confrontation plays out, it is certain that Shanks will be extremely difficult for Luffy to defeat. Even ignoring Luffy’s emotional connection to the man, Shanks is one of the strongest Haki users in the series making him very powerful and difficult to fight (a fact the crew have of Kidd was unfortunately learned directly in One Piece). On a thematic level, this will also be an extremely important battle, pitting Luffy against the Pirate King’s intended heir. But all this only makes the prospect of Luffy And foot‘ the final confrontation is even more interesting, and if A piece Given its incredible potential, it could turn out to be the best fight in the series.