With One Piece confirming Shanks as Roger’s true successor, he is established as Luffy’s hardest fight both thematically and emotionally.

Luffy has faced many tough opponents on his journey to become One Piece‘s Pirate King, but his hardest opponent will be Gol D. Rogers’s intended successor. One Piece‘s author Eiichiro Oda has been slowly revealing more about Roger and other pirates of the previous generations in the manga’s most recent arcs, so this revelation makes a lot of sense. It also thematically ties back to the series’ very first chapter in some brilliant ways.

Chapter 1082 features a flashback for Buggy the Clown where he remembers talking to Shanks after Roger’s death. Both of them had been in Roger’s Crew, but Shanks had been found by Roger’s crew as a baby, so he was almost like Roger’s son. Buggy confirms that Roger felt the same way by saying that Roger intended for Shanks to be his successor. Shanks however, didn’t want to prioritize searching for the One Piece or becoming the Pirate King, so instead he built up his fleet and attained Yonko status. Now however, Shanks is beginning to make moves, implying that he may soon become one of Luffy’s enemies in the quest for the One Piece.

One Piece Confirms Shanks is Roger’s True Successor

This has the potential to be emotionally devastating for Luffy. Shanks was Luffy’s idol as a child, with Luffy wanting to join his crew so badly he stabbed himself in the face. Later Shanks sacrificed his arm to save Luffy and gave the boy his pirate hat, telling him to return it when he became a strong pirate. This serves as one of Luffy’s main goals in the series and thus would make it devastating for Luffy to have to take down Shanks as a serious enemy.

Of course, there are more lighthearted ways their confrontation could end. One popular fan theory even proposes that they may engage in a Davy Back fight, which likely wouldn’t involve much emotional turmoil. This would also make the rather disliked Long Ring Long Land arc much better in retrospect. But alternatively, Shanks could turn out to be much less caring of Luffy than he expects, leading to some major disillusionment. With how cryptic Shanks has been throughout the series and how little fans have gotten to see of him, a myriad of possibilities are possible.

The Battle For the One Piece Could Be Luffy Vs. Shanks

No matter how their confrontation goes, it is certain that Shanks will be incredibly difficult for Luffy to defeat. Even ignoring Luffy’s emotional connection to the man, Shanks is one of the strongest Haki users in the series making him very powerful and difficult to fight (a fact that Kidd’s crew learned regretfully firsthand in One Piece). On a thematic level, this would also be an incredibly important fight, pitting Luffy against the Pirate King’s intended heir. But all of this just makes the prospect of Luffy and Shanks’ eventual confrontation even more exciting, and if One Piece delivers on its incredible potential, it may become the best fight in the series.