This article contains spoilers for the One Piece manga.

Summary

  • Shanks is a bigger prodigy than Luffy, being referred to as the Child of Destiny.
  • Shanks reached the title of Yonko without a Devil Fruit, showcasing powerful Haki and tactics.
  • Fans can expect Shanks to shine in the Final Saga as the World Government makes their move.

The One Piece story is not lacking when it comes to prodigies. There are quite a few of them, but some definitely have a higher ceiling than others.

One Piece_ Elbaf Is Zoro's Most Important Arc, And Oda Has Already Confirmed It (1) (1)
One Piece: Elbaf Is Zoro's Most Important Arc, And Oda Has Already Confirmed It

Many fans thought Wano would be Zoro's arc, but Oda confirmed it will be Elbaf in One Piece.

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Luffy is the main character of One Piece, and many would consider him the biggest prodigy the series has ever seen, especially because he's shown tremendous growth in two years. However, one character might surpass him in that regard, and it’s a very beloved character that is yet to showcase their full strength in the story.

Luffy is Very Talented in One Piece

Luffy is a Prodigy in His Own Right

The One Piece manga has been following the main character, Luffy, for almost three decades now. Ever since the start of the series, Luffy has been growing exponentially with every arc, and after every new enemy he faces.

Luffy's first major power-up was during the Enies Lobby arc, when he made use of his Gears 2 and 3 against CP9 to free Robin. Developing these amazing power-ups really showed how much of a prodigy Luffy was when it comes to fighting.

Later on during the timeskip, Luffy was able to learn how to use all three types of haki with the help of Rayleigh. He learnt about Observation, Armament, and even Conqueror’s.

Luffy also then unlocked Gear 4. Gear 4 is powerful, and has many forms, each with its own use and advantages.

Currently, in the story of One Piece, Luffy’s strongest power-up is actually one that he unlocked during Wano — Gear 5. Gear 5 is the awakening of his Devil Fruit, previously known as the Gomu Gomu no Mi.

Luffy was able to overcome many obstacles by pushing himself beyond all limits and coming up with solutions instantly, making him a real prodigy. However, there’s one character who’s even more of a prodigy than Luffy.

Shanks is the Biggest Prodigy in One Piece

He Is The Child of Destiny

Shanks was one of the first characters to show up in the One Piece story, yet he has yet to make a major move in the series. Despite all that, Oda has hyped up Shanks quite a lot, and he continues to do so even today. While fans already knew Shanks was strong, Oda has now confirmed that he's a bigger prodigy than even Luffy. In fact, Shanks might be the biggest prodigy in the One Piece world. After all, he is even referred to as the Child of Destiny.

One Piece Oda Has Already Confirmed He Will Draw The Most Legendary Battle For The Elbaf Arc (1) (1)
One Piece: Oda Has Already Confirmed He Will Draw The Most Legendary Battle For The Elbaf Arc

An insane battle is about to happen in Elbaf. This battle will be legendary in One Piece.

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In the One Piece story, Shanks is the only character to reach the title of Yonko without even possessing any Devil Fruit abilities, which is more than impressive. Shanks has some of the most powerful Haki ever seen in the story, possibly on the level of Joy Boy’s Haki. He learned to control his Haki before even 15, as confirmed by Oda. He even mimicked Roger's strongest techniques by simply observing them. Oda himself calls Shanks a big prodigy.

Shanks was such a genius that Roger Pirates were all surprised that Shanks learned Divine Departure by himself without instruction from Roger, and no one else in Roger's pirates could even mimic it. — Oda

Now, in the Final Saga, fans will definitely get to see this legendary character in action, especially once the World Government makes their first move.

Where To Read One Piece?

Available on Manga Plus

One Piece Chapter 1153 will be out this week. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on June 29. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1152 is June 29, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.

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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
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  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Mayumi Tanaka
    Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Kazuya Nakai
    Roronoa Zoro (voice)

WHERE TO WATCH

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Studio
Toei Animation
Creator
Eiichiro Oda
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV