You know that gigantic twist in the story of One Piece? It got even bigger with the bombshell revelation about Shanks, that red-haired guy who put Luffy on the path to piracy. Then, we discovered that he was connected to 220 about the mystery of the Devil Fruit of Gomu Gomu no Mi from the beginning.
The crowd already had a chip on their shoulder, thinking that when Shanks attacked the World Government’s Devil Fruit, he knew it wasn’t just an ordinary fruit, but something much more powerful and dangerous. And the manga came and confirmed all of this, forever changing the vibe between Luffy and Shanks.
At the beginning, in the first chapter, Luffy ends up eating this Devil Fruit that Shanks and his gang had stolen, gaining elastic powers because of the Gomu Gomu no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit. This one is seen as the least powerful compared to the Logia, which are based on elements, and the rare Mythical Zoan.
But then, twenty-five years later, the manga gives a plot twist like that: Luffy actually ate the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, a Mythical Zoan related to a “Sun God Nika”. This guy was like a hero to people who were enslaved in the past. The World Government, with a lot of shit about this Devil Fruit, tried to hide its existence and even changed its name. But when they went to put his hand on it again, Shanks had already gone ahead and grabbed it for him, making it seem like it was just a coincidence and that he had no idea what he was taking.
Now, in chapter #1054 of One Piece, the penny drops: Shanks knew all this all along. There’s a flashback showing the Red-Haired Pirates beating up the World Government ship that had the Devil Fruit, even though they knew that CP9, that special agent agency, was on their tail. And then it shows a member of CP9 mad, not understanding why Shanks was after a fruit that “only turns you into rubber”. The flashback still gives that wink, with Shanks smiling before losing his arm saving Luffy from a sea monster, as if he knew that that sacrifice was necessary for the kid’s destiny.
This discovery only reinforces what people already suspected: Shanks was in on the secret of the Gomu Gomu no Mi. This also explains why he trusted Luffy so much, a boy from a village far from East Blue, to the point of leaving him his most valuable treasure, the straw hat that belonged to the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger .
Nika was known for being a guy who spread joy wherever he went, and eight centuries ago, Joy Boy, who is now said to be Luffy’s successor, ate this Devil Fruit. The World Government is terrified of Nika’s legacy, afraid that he will overthrow their tyrannical scheme. If Shanks is aware of all this, it just shows that he is one of the most important guys in the series, with the answers to several mysteries.
And the relationship between Shanks and Luffy? Ah, this one is deeper than we imagined. It’s still up in the air whether Shanks let Luffy find that Devil Fruit knowing the kid’s destiny as one of the heirs of the “Will of D.”, the mortal enemies of the Celestial Dragons. Now that Shanks has said he wants to get his hands on One Piece’s treasure, many of these doubts should be clarified when he and Luffy meet again – but this time as rivals
