Red Hair Pirates in One Piece: Who’s in Shanks’ crew?

❘ Published: 2024-09-14T09:33:29

Eiichiro Oda/Toei Animation

Shanks, along with the Red Hair Pirates, is set to play a major role in the Final Saga of One Piece – here’s everything we know about the crew so far.

We meet the Red Hair Pirates quite early in One Piece. They often visited Foosha Village, where they met little Luffy. It’s thanks to this crew that the protagonist dreamed of becoming a pirate himself and set out on a grand adventure.

Despite their bond, Luffy and the Red Hair Pirates haven’t met each other for a long time. But we know their reunion is coming as the crew, led by Shanks, will play a big role in the final war, and possibly the Elbaf Arc. However, we don’t know which side they’ll be on at this point.

While the group is very important in the plot, we hardly know anything about him. Shanks and his crew appear very little in the story. But when they do, it’s impactful enough to remind us of their stature, which is why we must discuss them at length.

One of the most dangerous crews in One Piece

As Shanks is one of the Yonko (aka Four Emperors), his crew is one of the most dangerous groups in One Piece.

The Yonko are some of the strongest characters in the series. Before the time skip, the Four Emperors used to be Whitebeard, Kaido, Big Mom, and Shanks. After the Marineford War, Whitebeard was replaced by Blackbeard. Eventually, Kaido and Big Mom are defeated, too.

That means only Shanks remains from the old group, and thus, may just be the most dangerous. It seems to be the case, too, as he and his crew are notorious in the pirate world. Even Marine Admirals are weary of the Red Hair Pirates.

Shanks and his crew’s influence became apparent during the Marineford War. When the clash was at its peak, just their presence on the battlefield was enough to stop it all. We later see more examples of their infamy when they destroy Kid Pirates during the Egghead Arc.

In One Piece Chapter 1126, the Red Hair Pirates give everyone another reason to fear them. When Barto Club, led by Bartolomeo, stumbles across one of their territories, they’re caught in a twisted loyalty test and eventually, their ship is destroyed by the Yonko’s crew.

Who’s in the Red Hair Pirates?

The Red Hair Pirates is full of infamous individuals and led by the mysterious Shanks.

While the size of the crew is pretty large (still smaller than most Yonko crews), we only meet a few of them. Aside from the Chief (captain), there’s a first mate and eight Senior Officers.

Here are the known members of the Red Hair Pirates:

Benn Beckman – first mate
Lucky Roux – Senior Officer and cook
Yasopp – Senior Officer and sniper
Bonk Punch – Senior Officer and musician
Monster – Senior Officer and musician
Building Snake – Senior Officer and navigator
Hongo – Senior Officer and doctor
Limejuice – Senior Officer
Gab – Senior Officer
Rockstar – crew member

Aside from the Senior Officers, there are plenty of nameless crew members in the Red Hair Pirates. The world-famous musician and Shanks’ adopted daughter Uta – introduced during One Piece Film: Red – was also a part of the team as a child.

Being a Yonko, Shanks has a lot of influence over the New World. He grants protection to several pirate crews in exchange for their loyalty (similar to Luffy’s Straw Hat Grand Fleet). We meet some in One Piece:

Puddle Pirates – led by Gerotini
Social Club – led by Fugar
Bourgeoise Pirates – led by Pururu
Night Butterfly Pirates – Linaria
Unnamed pirate crew – Oli

They all have high bounties

Aside from their ship, the crew is also known for their hefty bounties. We only know the numbers for two members – Shanks and Rockstar – but given their infamy, it’s clear that Beckman and the Senior Officers also have high bounties on their heads.

Shanks’ current bounty is 4,048,900,000 bellies, which is one of the highest bounties in One Piece. Rockstar, at the time of his joining, had 94,000,000 bellies on his head and was still considered a rookie. So, the rest of the members’ bounties must be above 100,000,000 bellies at the minimum.

The Red Hair Pirates sail across the New World in their ship Red Force. Though it’s unclear when they got it, since they had a different ship during their visit to Foosha Village, it must’ve been before the Marineford War.

Shanks is a huge influence on Luffy

As we all know, Luffy was greatly influenced by Shanks during the latter’s time in Foosha Village. He was awed by the adventures of the Red Hair Pirates and wanted to sail with them. Shanks, in turn, saw his former captain Gol D. Roger inside Luffy.

Though the two didn’t get to spend a lot of time together, they both made permanent marks on each other’s lives. Shanks sacrificed his arm to save Luffy from a Sea King and later gave the boy his beloved straw hat, believing in Luffy’s dream to become the King of Pirates.

Luffy still doesn’t know that the straw hat originally belonged to Roger. To him, it’s a treasure since it was given by Shanks. His love and protectiveness over the hat clearly state how much the red-haired pirate means to him.

Despite Shanks’ dubious motives, he’s always looked out for Luffy and celebrated the boy’s increasing bounties. He also met Ace and saw to give him a proper burial after the Marineford War. Recently, he tested Bartolomeo’s loyalty to Luffy in Chapter 1126.

Other than Luffy and Shanks, the Straw Hat Pirates have another connection with the Red Hair Pirates. Usopp is Yasopp’s son, but he left Usopp’s mother at Syrup Village for a life on the seas. When the two crews finally converge, the father and son will meet each other for the first time in years.

Since we’re now deep into the Final Saga of One Piece, we’ll see the Red Hair Pirates more from now on and get to learn more about them. We’ll also finally discover Shanks’ roots and the mysteries surrounding him.

To know more about the wonderous world of One Piece, check out our guides to the Void Century, Bonney’s Devil Fruit, and Imu. You can also find out what’s up with Netflix’s The One Piece reboot.