Okay so I've been thinking a lot about Shanks….
I had a version with music. But I uploaded this one by accident. Oh well. lol
I have a theory about Shanks and the mystery of God Valley. I know this reads a bit stilted because it's an exact transcript of what I said in the video, but it is what it is.
38 Years before the story of One Piece began, the future Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and Marine Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp united to take down the Rocks Pirates, a group consisting of many who would go on to accumulate power and gain significant notoriety, including Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaido – three of the Four Emperors who ruled the New World at the time Luffy’s adventure began.
Roger and Garp together defeated this group’s Captain Rocks D. Xebec on the island called God Valley, where Xebec is believed to have been killed. Xebec united this eponymous group on Pirate Island, a location first mentioned in chapter 306 as a Pirates Paradise and the place of the Davy Back Fight.
At God Valley, Rocks targeted a group of Celestial Dragons, seemingly living outside the holy land of Marijoa. Xebec’s unrealized ambition was to ascend to the throne of World King, a position we now know to be secretly occupied by the enigmatic Lord Im.
Many have theorized that Marshall D. Teach / “Blackbeard”, currently one of the Four Emperors, is the child of Rocks and I think this makes a ton of sense. Teach is 40 years old, meaning he was born just two year prior to the incident on God Valley. He has chosen Pirate Island, the location where the original Rocks Pirates formed for his base of operations. As revealed in the Vivre Card sets, Teach has named his ship the ‘Sabre of Xebec’, which implies some degree of reverence for the fallen Rocks.
Xebec and Teach, both carry the middle initial D, which we know is passed on from parent to child. Luffy inherited the name from his father and grandfather. Both of Ace’s parents, Roger and Rouge, also bore the name D. Trafalgar Law inherited the name from his father, while his other middle name, Water, was passed on from his mother. However, it’s worth noting that Teach does not have the same family name as Xebec – Rocks. It’s possible Teach took the name Marshall to mask his true identity, given the particular level of infamy previously achieved by the Rocks Pirates, which could betray his true ambitions. Teach maintained a relatively low profile aboard Whitebeard’s ship, choosing to remain inconspicuous until the opportune moment arose to steal the darkness fruit from Thatch. It is also possible that Teach has taken his mother’s family name, which would create an interesting parallel to Portgas D. Ace, who also took the name of his mother Portgas D. Rouge, rather than his father, Gol D. Roger, in order to honor the sacrifice she made to protect him as an infant. After emerging victorious from their fateful duel, Teach’s machinations precipitated Ace’s death at the battle of Marineford and set Blackbeard on a collision course with Luffy in pursuit of the treasure One Piece. That Teach, the son of Xebec, targeted Ace and Luffy, the son and grandson of Roger and Garp respectively, responsible for the demise of Rocks, in pursuit of a position among the Seven Warlords would make sense from a narrative perspective given the prominent role played by destiny or, the guiding hand of fate, in the lives of those who carry the name D.
God Valley is notable in that it is the only known location outside the Holy Land, Marijoa, where reside Celestial Dragons on a permanent basis. It is not yet known why Xebec specifically chose these nobles as the target of his attack, but it would imply there is something unique or special about the previous inhabitants of God Valley. After the defeat of Rocks, God Valley has seemingly vanished from all maps, and the incident has largely come to be regarded as folklore. We saw during the Ohara Incident the lengths to which the World Government would go to erase an uncomfortable truth of its own history and rise to power. We later see a conversation unfold among the Five Elders during the Reverie concerning a great cleansing to restore balance. We also learn that Im designates Vivi as a target of attack when her father Cobra, King of Alabasta, opens a line of inquiry with the Elders concerning the defection of Alabasta’s monarch 800 years prior during the formation of the World Government. From this we can deduce the Government may have taken drastic action to erase all traces of God Valley, including perhaps, any orphaned children. \
It is also significant that almost all of the most powerful pirates in the One Piece world, including the Four Emperors have a connection to the incident on God Valley. Roger, Whitebeard, Linlin, and Kaido were all directly involved in the conflict. Luffy’s grandfather, Garp fought alongside Roger, while Xebec, potentially the father of Blackbeard, incited the battle. All of the emperors are thus accounted for except for one…
Red-Haired Shanks, the pirate who served as both herald and mentor in the first stages of Luffy’s hero’s journey, imparting special power in the form of a devil fruit and issuing the call to adventure, is the only member of the Emperor class to have no obvious ties to the battle on God Valley at this point in the story.
I believe Red-Haired Shanks is a child of God Valley, born of the Celestial Dragons. He is 39 years old, meaning he was born one year prior to the battle between Roger and Rocks. Roger left the Grand Line for 10 years after the God Valley Incident, returning for his final voyage with Shanks, now wearing the Straw Hat which once belonged to Roger and was later passed on to Luffy, aboard the Oro Jackson. It is not yet clear where Roger was or what he was doing during this time, but I believe he may have been watching over Shanks, a baby he rescued from God Valley. As mentioned, all traces of God Valley and the battle between Roger and Rocks have been erased from history by the World Government. Sengoku tells the Marines that Roger and Garp united to defend the Celestial Dragons and that they together defeated Rocks, but he does not state that they were successful in preventing any casualties. The death of a Celestial Dragon, a world noble, at the hands of a pirate, would certainly be sufficient cause for the Government to erase all traces of the incident and the island where it took place.
When Shanks meets Whitebeard in chapter 434, “Whitebeard and Red-Hair”, he brings wine from the town where he grew up in the West Blue. Although this is the place where Shanks grew up, nowhere is it stated that this is also the place where he was born. As mentioned previously, Roger took a ten year hiatus from his voyage in the Grand Line after the incident on God Valley. Roger began his voyage anew after discovering the importance of the Road Poneglyphs on Lodestar Island. But then stepped back for a full decade, only returning when his time began to run short as a result of a terminal diagnosis. What was the real reason for Roger’s departure from the Grand Line? I believe Oda gave us a clue in chapter 966.
Two years after Roger’s final voyage began, he battled Whitebeard on a certain island. Kozuki Oden decided to join Roger for the final leg of his voyage in order to decipher the Poneglyphs, guiding Roger to the Final Island. When Oden comes aboard the Oro Jackson, he is joined by his wife Toki and two children Momonosuke and Hiyori. As the crew celebrate their new companion, Rayleigh and Roger hold the two children and Rayleigh remarks that it reminds him of the ‘old days’, which strongly implies Momo and Hiyori were not the first children to voyage with the Roger Pirates.
During Luffy’s formative years on Dawn Island, Shanks had taken up Windmill Village as a sort of base of operations. It’s unclear what kept Shanks in the East Blue for so long before finally setting out on the voyage which made him a member of the current cadre of Emperors which rule the New World. However, I believe it is a reasonable hypothesis that Shanks was remaining in close proximity to Goa Kingdom in order to watch over Portgas D. Ace who was being raised by Dadan and the Mountain Bandits. It would seem no small coincidence that Shanks was frequenting a harbor on the same island where the child of his former captain is hidden away from the World Government, especially when coupled with the conversation between Roger and Rayleigh in chapter 968 during which Roger expresses his belief that a yet to be born biological heir will inherit his will and take up his mantle following his imminent passing. If Shanks learned about Ace, he likely would have wanted to ensure his captain’s legacy live on, watching over Ace from a distance; remaining close enough to intervene if he were ever to be discovered by the World Government.
If this is in fact the case, we could then perhaps here draw a parallel between Roger and Shanks. I believe Roger may have been watching over Shanks as he grew up on an island in the West Blue, waiting for a day when Shanks was old enough to take to sea. Similarly, Shanks may have been watching over Ace in the East Blue when he unexpectantly happened upon a local village boy who embodied the will of the former Pirate King better than Roger’s son ever could. Shanks came to believe so strongly in this boy that Shanks would sacrifice his arm and entrust his treasured Straw Hat for safe keeping. Ace was around 10 when Shanks departed from Dawn Island for the last time, which is just about the same age Roger would have taken Shanks aboard his ship to sail for the Grand Line. While Shanks never took Ace to sea with him, this may have been a result of his fateful encounter with Luffy in whom he saw Roger’s will reflected.
There is further evidence to suggest Shanks noble heritage. During the Battle of Marineford, Shanks arrives to end the war between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates. Sengoku agrees to the truce on the basis of Shanks stature. Similarly, during the Reverie, we see Shanks is able to enter Pangea Castle and command a meeting of the World’s Highest Power, the Five Elders. On what basis could a pirate, even one as powerful as Shanks, command such authority? Also worth noting that Shanks most notorious rival, Dracule Mihawk shares the same iris pattern as Lord Im. All of this suggests that Shanks may have ingratiated himself to the World Government despite his infamy as one of the most notorious pirates in the World.
And so, we come to the point that, from birth, Shanks and Blackbeard may in fact be fated enemies. This is a theory largely built on speculation, but I do believe there is strong evidence to suggest this to be the case. A popular theory among One Piece fans is the idea that Blackbeard will be responsible for the death of Shanks and this is with good reason. The death of the mentor is a common facet of classic hero myths. In a future video I want to take a deeper look at the mythic hero’s journey onto which Luffy’s journey maps quite well. I’m not convinced that Teach will be responsible for Shanks death if only because it is so widely predicted.
That said, Shanks and Blackbeard rarely appear separately in the manga. Shanks and Blackbeard appear in back to back double page spreads in chapter 234 where the Blackbeard Pirates are formally introduced into the series. Shanks and Whitebeard’s meeting in 434 is soon followed by Blackbeard’s battle with Ace in chapter 440. Both of these pairs of scenes build to the Paramount War which concludes the first part of the series. Blackbeard’s arrival at Marineford which escalates the conflict is soon followed by Shanks who restores peace. Blackbeard’s parting words ominously portend a future battle between the two. Both Shanks and Blackbeard appear on the covers of volumes 25, 45, 59, 95, and 96. Neither has appeared on a volume cover absent the other. In the years following Roger’s death, before he settled in the East Blue, when Shanks rivaled Mihawk, he crossed paths with Blackbeared, receiving the distinctive scars which cover his left eye. Shanks warned Whitebeard of the danger Teach represented to Ace and it would seem likely the subject of his meeting with the Five Elders is similar.
We have seen in the Dressrosa arc the manner in which bloodline and personal history shape present conflicts in One Piece. Luffy and Law, both bearers of the Will of D., clashed with Doflamingo, a fallen Celestial Dragon. Under the current regime, the Celestial Dragons have elevated themselves to the position of gods to live above ordinary folks. Pirates who carry the name D. are branded as devils, the fated enemies of the gods. Where the world nobles are ‘devil’s living as false gods, those who call themselves pirates, live free from the tyrannical societal structure. doing what’s right, when it’s right. In early drafts of One Piece, Oda distinguished morally upstanding pirates like Luffy who use this freedom to help others as peacemains, while those who do evil, he referred to as morganeers. Though this nomenclature was not used in the final version of the story, Oda chose the simpler and more elegant approach of allowing the reader to intuit the morality of a character based upon their actions. The distinction between upstanding and cutthroat pirates is made apparent with Luffy and Blackbeard occupying opposite extremes of the spectrum.
In a world where the institutions of power have been corrupted, freedom from said institutions in the form of piracy may be seen as a virtue. Thus, the one to take up Roger’s mantle of Pirate King and shoulder the burden of history, bringing the light of the New Dawn, may be considered a hero if they utilize the freedom this position bestows for the betterment of others. The will of D., those called devils, is not to do evil, but to do good – to oppose the real devils who call themselves gods.
Shanks and Teach may have had a date with destiny from the very beginning when Xebec, in his pursuit of Global domination, struck down Shanks parents on God Valley. Here Shanks, a criminal, a ‘devil’, is in fact noble, a false god by birth. Yet, he does not embody the ethos of the Celestial Dragons because he was instilled with the values espoused by Gol D. Roger who spoke the words, “An inherited strength of will, one’s dreams, the ebb and flow of the ages. As long as people hunger for freedom, these things will exist…”. In this manner, the values of a pirate better represent the qualities of a righteous and just leader. Paradoxically, Shanks thus embodies the qualities which should be common to those who hold power. Xebec, though a bearer of the will of D., meant to represent freedom from abuse of power, instead embodies the ethos of the Celestial Dragons and the Dark forces which presently control the world. If Teach has inherited Xebec’s will, he and Shanks would thus represent a diametrically opposed pair – natural born enemies by blood and perfect thematic foils. At the same time, both represent an inversion of the original mandate of the groups from which they descended and thus defy fate. For Shanks, the influence of Roger would have been instrumental in preventing him from inheriting the qualities of his noble forebears. Similarly, Xebec’s corrupting influence would thus be responsible for Blackbeard’s deviation from the noble path intended for those who carry the name D.
Perhaps the conflict between Shanks, Teach, and Luffy will come full circle on the island of God Valley. I don’t feel confident predicting the exact shape the conflict will take, though I will hazard a guess. After Wano, the Straw Hats will possess three of the four Road Poneglyphs needed to reach the final island Laugh Tale. The one which is presently missing was on Fishman Island 25 years ago when Roger completed his voyage. During the intervening years between Roger’s execution and the present day, those most likely to have moved the Road Poneglyph, Whitebeard and Shanks, would both have ties to God Valley. Where better to hide the last piece of the puzzle needed to conquer the Grand Line than an island lost to time? A battle between the D. who has inherited the will of Roger and Joy Boy before him to end the darkness which has engulfed the world for 800 years to bring about a New Dawn against a pirate who abuses freedom to aggrandize self would be the most fitting way to determine who will discover One Piece and become the next Pirate King.
This still leaves us with a ton of questions. If Shanks is in fact of noble birth, when was he made aware of his ancestry? In chapter 968, after Roger’s revelation on Laugh Tale, he converses with Shanks, bringing the young apprentice to tears. While it’s possible Roger simply communicated his intent to hand himself over for execution, the fact that he had this conversation with Shanks privately implies some personal significance to Shanks. What then of Buggy, Shanks counterpart and fellow apprentice aboard Roger’s ship? Was Buggy also rescued from God Valley as an infant? Could Buggy be the one truly of noble lineage while Shanks is the child of Rocks or one of the slaves kept by the Celestial Dragons? While I personally think Shanks fits this role much better, it’s worth noting that Buggy also tends to return to the story around the same time as Shanks and Blackbeard. To play devil’s advocate, Buggy exhibits the moral characteristics of the world Nobles. Regardless of Buggy’s origin, his connection to Roger and Shanks and his search for the legendary treasure of Captain John, a former member of the Rocks Pirates may also draw him into a potential conflict between Luffy, Blackbeard, and Shanks. It would certainly be fitting for Buggy, the first true pirate rival Luffy faces on his adventure, to be present on the final island before reaching Laugh Tale, where he will discover One Piece and become the Pirate King.
Returning lastly to the question of why Rocks targeted the Celestial Dragons of God Valley, rather than those living in the Holy Land of Marijoa, in his quest to become World King, perhaps this implies those he slew were not ordinary nobles, but of particularly extraordinary lineage. Could Shanks occupy a role similar to Aragorn from Tolkien’s Middle Earth series? A born king, living as a ranger or a pirate, whose destiny is to reclaim a throne abandoned or lost many centuries ago. The World Government was founded by 20 Monarchs from around the world and though the institution they created was corrupted by time and perhaps a deal with a true devil in the form of Lord Im, perhaps their original mandate was pure. I mentioned previously that I am not convinced Shanks will be killed by Teach and so I would suggest that an alternative fate may involve Shanks being restored to a position previously occupied by a noble ancestor of upstanding moral character. Throughout One Piece, the Straw Hats, the light of the New Dawn, have repeatedly unseated those who abuse their positions of power, but do not leave a vacuum in their wake. Instead, they help restore the rightful and just rulers like the Nefertari family of Alabasta. What then will replace the corrupt World Government in the aftermath of the final war which will be precipitated by the treasure One Piece? At the Battle of Marineford, Shanks negotiated peace between the pirates and Marines in order to restore peace, demonstrating the qualities desired in moral and just leadership. Could Shanks role at the end of the series then be to preserve the harmony restored by the Straw Hats in completion of their fateful voyage?