This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf arc.
Summary
- Shanks and Luffy's reunion is highly anticipated, with Lodestar Island likely being the fated meeting place.
- Shanks left Elbaf to handle serious matters first, like dealing with Bartolomeo and tracking down Blackbeard.
- Luffy's biggest test will be facing Shanks for the last Road Poneglyph, determining his fate as Pirate King.
Luffy’s reunion with Shanks might just be the most heavily anticipated one in the entirety of One Piece. Fans have seen Luffy get inspired by Shanks right at the beginning of the story, and then follow in his footsteps to become an elite pirate. Everything Luffy is right now is down to Shanks, but his goal isn't just to follow Shanks.
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It is to surpass him and create an even better pirate crew than his. Luffy and Shanks will meet again very soon, and when they do, fans will finally find out the answer to whether Luffy managed to keep his promise to Shanks or if the bet that Shanks made on the new era eventually failed.
Why Shanks And Luffy Didn't Reunite In Elbaf
- Shanks Had Important Things To Tend To
- Luffy Needs To Grow Still
Most fans of One Piece were expecting Luffy and Shanks to finally reunite on Elbaf. The reasoning behind this was quite simple. Shanks is the man who protects Elbaf as his territory, and as such, it would make sense for him to be there when Luffy arrives. However, the Elbaf arc showed the fans that Shanks had other things on his mind. Shanks left Elbaf immediately after arriving on the island. First and foremost, he went to sort out the business with Bartolomeo. After all, Bartolomeo burned his flag down and replaced it with that of the Straw Hat Pirates at Gartel Island. Shanks had to respond to this, and he clearly did, even going as far as destroying his ship and sinking him to the bottom of the ocean.
If I let you without any repercussions, those under me would question my ability to defend them. — Shanks to Bartolomeo
But, his biggest goal after taking care of Bartolomeo was to track down Blackbeard. Shanks has been in the pursuit of Blackbeard for a long time now and fans know that he will continue this pursuit until they eventually clash. Shanks and Blackbeard have a deep history and fans know that they will eventually clash in One Piece, when the time is right. It seems that Oda is building towards Shanks and Blackbeard finally clashing before he meets Luffy, which could certainly be exciting.
The Fated Point Of Reunion For Luffy and Shanks: Lodestar Island
Lodestar Island Is At The End Of The Grand Line
As was made clear by Roger during the Oden flashback, the island that lies at the end of the Grand Line is not the Final Island. There is one more beside it, and that's Laugh Tale. But, there certainly does exist an island at the end of the Grand Line that all routes eventually lead up to. This island is none other than Lodestar Island. On Lodestar Island, Roger and his crew learned all about the Rio Poneglyph, the Road Poneglyphs, and everything else that was needed for the Final Island. Roger then restarted his journey and eventually, located all the red Poneglyphs and made his way to the Final Island, Laugh Tale.
Hey Beck, it's time, don't you think? To claim the One Piece, that is. — Shanks to Ben Beckman
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Coming over to the Luffy and Shanks's reunion, it is highly likely that it'll happen on Lodestar Island. This is because Luffy is continuously pressing forward on the Grand Line, and he most definitely will not have access to the last Road Poneglyph in Elbaf. He needs to be someplace immediately after, and the likely answer is Lodestar Island. The crew might even pick up some important information on Lodestar Island, and that aside, it is also possible that this final island will have a guardian of its own — the Emperor of the Sea, Red Haired Shanks.
Why Luffy vs Shanks Will Be Luffy's Biggest Test
Shanks Will Hold The Key To The Treasure Of The One Piece
It has been established in One Piece that the key to the last Road Poneglyph lies with the Man with the Burn Scar. Now, Elbaf has introduced Scopper Gaban, who has a flame scar on his face. He could very well be the Man With the Burn Scar, and if that's the case, he has the key to the last Road Poneglyph. But, fans also know that Gaban and Shanks met recently in Elbaf.
Gaban could very well have handed over the last Road Poneglyph to Shanks, given that they're family, and now, Luffy might need to battle the Red-haired Emperor for the last Road Poneglyph rubbing. Shanks will be Luffy's biggest test, and succeeding will make him the Pirate King, while losing will see everything stripped from him.
One Piece chapter 1146 will be out very soon, later this week. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on the upcoming Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on April 20. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1146 is April 20, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
