Ever since Shanks surprised us all by appearing in front of the Gorosei, we have wondered at his motives for doing so. Some even believe now that Shanks is evil. The biggest potential clue we have is Shanks’ mention of a ‘certain pirate’. But who could this be?
There are quite a few possibilities as to who this ‘certain pirate’ could be, so the best way to determine who is most likely is to consider all of the potential candidates. So, let’s start with the seemingly most obvious candidate – Blackbeard.
Shanks’ warning to the Gorosei, seems very much like Shank’s warning to Whitebeard. Shanks tried to warn Whitebeard of Blackbeard’s intention to usurp him and those fears turned out to be justified. Blackbeard now sits among the Emperors.
It would be unsurprising then, if the pirate that Shanks is referring to is, Blackbeard. We don’t know what his next move is yet but it seems that Blackbeard is going after something that the Navy wants. This would track with Shanks warning them about him.
However, Blackbeard of all people should be and is very much already on the World Government’s radar as a threat. It doesn’t make much sense for Shanks to bring him up. So who else could it be? The next most seemingly obvious candidate is Rocks D. Xebec.
The most notorious pirate in modern history, Rocks was the mastermind of the God Valley incident. An event was so catastrophic that the World Government literally censored it from history. It would make sense if Shanks wanted to discuss this history at this time.
Most notably, he might want to discuss the reason for Rocks’ invasion of God Valley. The ‘taboo subject’ that was earlier evaded by Sengoku. “Do you really want to know?” The significance of this may tie directly to current events.
However, if there was a threat posed by the history of Rocks, the World Government would likely be most aware of it as a threat. This makes Rocks also less likely. But there are still plenty of candidates. Such as The Golden Lion Shiki.
Once a member of the Rocks Pirates and a rival to Roger up to the Ed War. Shiki raided Marineford after the announcement of Roger’s execution and even after he was captured. He escaped.
The events that followed were Shiki meeting with Whitebeard and mentioning his, ’20 year plan.’ In canon, we do not know what that is. As Strong World, itself is not part of the canon. Shiki’s face has appeared recently in Wano.
However, it’s currently been 24 years since Roger and 22 years since Shiki’s ’20 year plan’. It seems it’s not very likely that Oda has had time to make this canon, despite perhaps having earlier intentions to. The possibility remains that Shiki is the fabled, ‘Lurking Legend.’
If Shiki’s ’20 year plan’ were to come true, whatever it might be in canon. It is likely something that Shanks would be able to obtain knowledge of, & something that evades the WG’s radar. Given the current state of instability in the world. The threat this poses could be huge.
Shiki is probably a stronger candidate than Blackbeard or Rocks. But who else could it be?
Now we get to a fan favorite possibility is Eustass ‘Captain’ Kid.
A member and leader of the Worst Generation, Kid has been making waves throughout his entire career. He was the first to enter the New World and has since then, already challenged and fought against, 3/4 of the Yonko. Kid’s ambition could not be clearer.
Kid’s original target among the Yonko was Shanks himself. Before forming his alliance, he had already attempted to fight Shanks, this being how he lost his arm. Does Kid have a personal vendetta against Shanks?
Like Luffy & Law, Kid is set to be one of the pioneers of the ‘New Era’. Oda has already made direct reference to the collapse of ‘the tower’, representing the fall of the established order. Kid is about to defeat Big Mom!
Kid is likely then to have caught Shanks’ attention and this would make sense if Shanks became concerned about the threat that Kid poses to the stability of the world. Shanks may have found Kid’s lineage, which many theorize may be a relation to Rocks or Calgara of the Shandorian.
So far, Kid is the most likely candidate for this, ‘certain pirate.’ But there are still others.
These next few would certainly be subversions of expectations. This time, it’s Buggy the Clown.
Formerly a Warlord and now a Kingpin of the Underworld, Buggy has flown under the WG’s radar his whole career. Even after his capture, it wasn’t until the break out of Impel Down, that they finally realized his significance.
An apprentice of Gol D. Roger, the sworn brother of Yonko ‘Red Hair’ Shanks, a rival of Monkey D. Luffy, member of the Worst Generation! Buggy’s connections run deep. It’s amazing that he managed to stay under the radar for so long. But is that where his connections end?
Buggy notably has the same power as Luffy, which was described by Mihawk at Marineford, the power to attract everyone to becoming an ally. This power has allowed him to stumble his way into great and greater heights of succession. Where does he get this from?
The first thing we know of Buggy is that he is a kid on Roger’s ship, alongside Shanks, at around 10 years old. Where did they both come from? This was around 10 years after God Valley.
Many would say that Shanks is the secret son of Rocks, but now that we know that he has the sway to gain an audience with the Gorosei, this seems less likely. It’s more likely he’s part Celestial. In the case of Rocks’ son, who could suspect the clown?
Buggy is actually a very good candidate for the ‘certain pirate’. Not only was he an apprentice of Roger, is the brother of Shanks, and a rival of Luffy. He also has the power to convert people to his allies and has been gaining increasing influence. And he may be the son of Rocks!
There are still a few more candidates to discuss but I will be adding them in the second part of this theory. Let me know in the comments who you think is the “Certain Pirate” that Red-Haired Shanks was talking about.
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