While fans were still in shock from all the new revelations about Harald and Rocks, One Piece just gave fans yet another mind-blowing lore drop, and this time it’s about Shanks. Despite serving as one of the main catalysts for Luffy’s journey and One Piece’s story, there’s still very little that fans know about the so-called “Red-Haired” Shanks, be it his backstory or what his ultimate goal is. That said, One Piece’s Elbaf has gradually been diving further into Shanks’ character, starting with the revelation not too long ago that Shanks is a supposed “child of fate,” and now They bakee has also finally answered one of the biggest questions about Shanks’ origins.
Surprisingly enough, Chapter 1158 takes fans back to God Valley, this time to a year before the infamous God Valley Incident and the Native Hunting Competition. The chapter partially reveals Shamrock and Shanks’ mother, a woman with long red hair much like her sons. Though fans do not get to see Shanks’ mother’s face, given that the twins are seen in a stroller and are only a year old at this point in time, it is likely that the two were born on God Valley. Shamrock also mentions visiting God Valley exactly a year prior in the latest chapter, implying Shanks and Shamrock were born and raised on God Valley by their mother from the very start. If so, then this might finally explain how the infants were present on the island amidst the dangerous Native Hunting Competition and how Shanks inevitably ended up in the treasure chest that made its way onto Roger’s ship.
One Piece Finally Explains How Shanks Ended Up at God Valley
Given how little fans know about Shanks, it’s no surprise that One Piece Film: Red drew so much attention just because it focused on Shanks. That said, while the film revealed Shanks’ Figarland lineage, the real revelations came in One Piece Volume 4 Billiona special pamphlet distributed to select attendees at the time of the film’s release. It was in Volume 4 Billion that fans first learned how Shanks ended up in Roger’s care, with the release even including a rough draft of the Roger Pirates finding baby Shanks in a treasure chest following the God Valley Incident. And, interestingly enough, the depiction of baby Shanks from Chapter 1158 is taken almost directly from these discarded rough drafts from Volume 4 Billiondown to the wide smile on Shanks’ face and his outstretched arms.
The Egghead Arc would go on to reveal that these chests were what contained the prizes for the Native Hunting Competition, including the devil fruits that would later come into Kuma and Kaido’s possession. It is still unclear how Shanks ended up in one of these chests and whether he and Shamrock were meant to be one of the “prizes.” In Chapter 1096, a young Figarland Garling is even seen saying, “Watch this, children” as the competition kicks off, though it’s unclear whether he was addressing Shanks and Shamock or the very young-looking World Nobles taking part alongside him.
That said, the biggest question at the time was why Shamrock would bring his children to such a dangerous environment at all, and Chapter 1158 finally gives fans an answer in this regard. Of course, there are still many more questions left to be answered, such as how Roger knew Shanks’ name when it was his biological mother who named him and his estranged twin. While this is only speculation, it is possible that it was Shanks and Shamrock’s mother who hid the two away in the treasure chests, and it was by complete chance that one ended up aboard the Oro Jackson.
After all, even being raised by pirates would have been a better fate, as the Celestial Dragons were seen not sparing even children during the Kuma flashback. At the same time, perhaps the reason Shanks and Shamrock were selected as the valuable prizes for the competition has something to do with Shanks being the child of fate. Either way, it hopefully won’t be too long till One Piece gives fans the answers they so desperately desire, along with a whole new perspective on the God Valley Incident, as the flashback does seem to be inevitably building up to a big God Valley reveal.
One Piece is available to read on Manga Plus and Viz Media.
Do you have any of your own theories about how Shanks made it into the treasure chest at God Valley? Tell us in the comments below!
