By Rei Penber
Shanks could be revealed as being a member of the Celestial Dragons.
One Piece is in its Final Saga currently and Oda has been making some major reveals recently, shocking the fans with each chapter that he has dropped lately. In One Piece chapter 1086, fans found out quite a bit about a family that was previously mentioned in One Piece Film: Red and, that is, the Figarland Family. This family holds tremendous importance in the world of One Piece and now that it has finally been introduced in the manga, fans can expect a lot more information to be revealed about them.
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One character that is deeply tied to the Figarland Family is everyone's beloved Red-Haired Emperor of the Sea, Shanks. Fans have been wondering what significance the name Figarland has when it comes to Shanks, and Oda might finally have given them the answer that they were seeking for years.
The Past Of Red-Haired Shanks
Red-Haired Shanks was first seen aboard the ship of the Pirate Gol D. Roger in One Piece. Fans saw him and Buggy as apprentices very early into the series, during the Orange Town arc. Oda was careful to reveal only bits about Shanks' past to the fans. Decades later, in the Oden flashback, fans got to see more of the Roger Pirates and their adventures across the sea nearly two decades ago. During this time, Shanks was a very young apprentice on Roger's ship, as was Buggy.
Both of them were incredibly close to the Pirate King, and fans got to see how exactly they spent their days aboard the Oro Jackson. It wasn't until One Piece Film Red that fans finally found out how exactly Shanks found his way to Roger's ship. In the Oden flashback, Oda did tease the fact that Roger had kids on his ship at one point. When Momonosuke and Hiyori were babies, Rayleigh and Roger spoke about how it was nice to have babies on the ship once again.
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This implied that there were babies on the ship at some point in the past as well. In One Piece Film: Red, fans got to see the aftermath of the God Valley incident. It was made clear that on the day of the God Valley Incident, 38 years ago, the Roger Pirates found a one-year-old Shanks in a treasure chest that they had plundered in God Valley and this has huge implications for the character that is Red-Haired Shanks.
Shanks' Connection To The Figarland Family
Recently, in One Piece chapter 1086, it was revealed to the fans that God Valley was previously ruled by none other than the Celestial Dragon family, the Figarland Family. The King of God Valley was none other than Saint Garling, who was also introduced in One Piece chapter 1086. What's more, One Piece Film Red also revealed to the fans that Uta could be a member of the Figarland Family if she was the natural-born daughter of Shanks. This was being discussed by the Five Elders shortly after Uta began her live performance and the truth about her being Shanks's daughter was made public.
This is a clear implication that Shanks himself carries the blood of the Figarland Family. If this wasn't the case, the Gorosei would not have discussed Uta being a member of the Figarland Family and carrying royal blood in her veins at all. Shanks is most certainly a member of the Figarland Family and the fact that he doesn't use his last name is likely due to the fact that he doesn't want to be connected to the Celestial Dragons at all. On the day of the God Valley Incident, Rocks and his pirate crew attacked the Celestial Dragons who were on the island. Rocks was then stopped by the combined force of none other than Garp and Roger.
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Together, the two defeated Rocks and the pirate crew that he had under him broke apart as well. Thankfully for the Celestial Dragons, they were somehow saved and it can be assumed that they moved to the Holy Land of Marijoa. Saint Garling Figarland, who was the King of God Valley, moved to the Holy Land too, and if he had any family, they likely moved with him. Shanks, however, somehow stayed behind in a treasure chest, likely because he was kidnapped by the Rocks pirates, and this chest was then found by Roger. Roger ended up raising Shanks on his own ship like his own son. It can be assumed that Shanks is the son of none other than Saint Garling Figarland This also makes sense, given the fact that Garling Figarland doesn't appear to be all that old. 38 years ago, when the God Valley Incident took place, Saint Garling must have been quite young and at a reasonable age to be a father.
Another proof of the Celestial Dragon lineage of Shanks is the fact that he is always given special consideration. Fans already saw this during the Paramount War, when an entire war came to a stop simply because Shanks came to Marineford himself. Sengoku made it quite clear that he was making an exception just because it was Shanks. And the time, fans could not understand what he meant by the statement and many assumed that he simply meant that Shanks is so respectable that he was making an exception for him. However, now it is quite clear that an exception was made for Shanks because he is a celestial dragon and a member of the exalted Figarland Family bloodline.
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This also explains how Shanks was able to get inside the Holy Land of Marijoa and seek audience with the Five Elders shortly before the Reverie began. Shanks, being a Celestial Dragon himself, should be allowed within the Holy Land without much trouble. He is also among the highest ranking families of the Celestial Dragons, given that his presumed father leads the Holy Knights, who can pass judgment over any other Celestial Dragon. At the time, fans were quite confused at seeing Shanks talk to the Gorosei, however, now, it is clear as to how he pulled this off.
One Piece has done a great job in establishing a relationship between Shanks and the Figarland Family, and it'll be interesting to see how it plays out in the future of the story. With characters such as Shanks, Garling, the Five Elders, Imu, the Revolutionary Army, and the Straw Hat Pirates all involved in a major scrap, things are only going to get even more interesting from here onwards. For now, the series is going on a break and when it returns, fans can expect the intensity to be turned up a notch higher.
One Piece returns from its hiatus on July 16, 2023. As always, fans can expect to read the chapter for free on the Shonen Jump, Manga Plus, or the Viz app.
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