One Piece manga confirmed Shanks’ ulterior motive, but no one noticed

Shanks is one of the most mysterious One Piece characters. The manga confirmed his ulterior motives a while back, but they were lost in translation.

Even though the layers of mysteries in One Piece are finally beginning to unravel in the Egghead Arc, there’s still so much we don’t know yet. This is especially true when it comes to Shanks, one of the most important characters in the series.

Shanks was introduced in the East Blue Saga but rarely appears in the story. When we do see him, it’s always a big moment. The legendary One Piece treasure is something the entire world wants, including Shanks, as confirmed in Chapter 1054.

As soon as Shanks sees Luffy’s new wanted poster, he tells Beck that it’s about time they make their move and claim the One Piece. However, an important detail in this scene was lost in translation.

What was Shanks implying in One Piece Chapter 1056?

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According to a Japanese native speaker on Twitter/X, “The kanji in that scene is used for “take by force” (奪う), suggesting that Shanks plans to steal One Piece from its legitimate possessor. He likely knows who the true owner of One Piece is, which is why he chose this wording.”

The chapter also implies that Shanks had been waiting until Luffy awakened his devil fruit before actually making a move.

He also met with Gorosei and talked about a certain pirate, which is even more bizarre considering he stole Luffy’s devil fruit from them.

This eventually leads Luffy to mistakenly eat the devil fruit and gain the same powers as Joyboy. As a Yonko, Shanks’ appearance in a small village in East Blue was already out of the ordinary. However, things were meant to play out that way, regardless of whether that was intentional or not.

Additionally, in Oden’s flashback, Roger tells Shanks something that has yet to be revealed. Much about Shanks confirms that his goal has never been simple from day one.

Furthermore, it’s unclear whether his desire to take the treasure by force is selfish. Shanks has never shown any indications of being an evil character, but he’s a pirate nonetheless. Oda’s got room to put some real twists and turns into the story with Shanks’ character.

For more Straw Hats shenanigans, look at the One Piece Chapter 1117 release date and spoilers. Also, check out why Roger Pirates didn’t act after learning the truth and what is Vegapunk’s message.