One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda sets up Shanks' legendary Joan Devil Fall

of Elbaf arc a piece Much attention has been focused on the character of the red-haired Shanks, who was introduced by Eiichiro Oda in the first chapter of the story on July 19, 1997. Elbaf's Loki flashbacks, which began in 1997. a piece Chapter 1152 in Shuisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #30 on June 23, 2025 introduces King Harald, Rox D. Jabek, and Loki, but also focused heavily on the twin brothers Shanks and Shamrock on the fateful island of God's Valley. This flashback was completed in 2015 a piece Chapter 1171 in WSJ Issue #8 on January 19, 2026.

Thanks to it's heavy focus on red-haired Shanks, Ichiro Oda has now established a unique Devil Fruit power for the red-haired emperor, which many fans were adamant he didn't have. This new power could officially take Shanks to a whole new level in terms of overall power, and make him the strongest in the current era.

One Piece Chapters 1138 and 1167 officially set up the Devil Fall ability for the red-haired Shanks.

Ever since he was introduced to the wider story a pieceEiichiro Oda has always made sure to portray Shanks as a powerful user of Haki. Be it his confrontation with Whitebeard a piece Chapter 434, which was released in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump issue 50 on November 13, 2006, or his brief entry in Paramount Battle, where he stopped Admiral Akanu in chapter 580 of the story, Shanks has always used powerful Haki and has never relied on Devil Furu's abilities. However, that doesn't mean the red-haired emperor doesn't have Devil Fruit abilities. The Elbaf arc of One Piece opens up the prime possibility of him holding such a power, starting with One Piece Chapter 1138.

In Piece 1138, which was officially released in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump issue #10 on February 3, 2016, Eiichiro Oda revealed Shamrock Figarland's powers for the first time. In his brief confrontation with Loki, Shamrock uses the power of his Cerberus sword for the first time. While Shamrock does not display any devil's fruit abilities, his Cerberus Sword exhibits the power of an awakened Cerberus, a legendary Joan, possibly Inu Inu no Me, Model: Cerberus. This awakened power was so strong that a single blow from it could potentially kill Loki.

Loki: Hey, what is it?

Shamrock: That's my sword. Come kill me if you survive this. I will be ready for you.

– Exchange between Shamrock and Loki, One Piece Chapter 1138

Even though Loki survived, the power Shamrock displayed with his Cerberus sword was clear to see. Furthermore, when Shamrock returned to the Holy Land, Eiichiro Oda once again confirmed in One Piece Chapter 1179 on April 6, 2026, that Shamrock was primarily responsible for stopping the chaos in Marijoa's Holy Land, once again highlighting the power of his awakened legendary spirit.

in a piece Chapter 1167, which takes us to a Loki flashback from 15 years ago, sees Shanks and Shamrock together in Marizoa. Garling Figarland officially states in this chapter that Shanks fell behind Shamrock due to Nerona not having the Depths Covenant with Emu. At this point, Shanks had a completely different sword with him. Interestingly, the sword he currently carries seems to have been wielded by the Celestial Dragons, specifically his brother Shamrock Figarland and his father Garling Figarland. The implication here from chapters 1167 and 1138 is that Shanks received a powerful sword from none other than his Figureland family that carries a unique Devil Fruit power.

Why Shanks' Sword Griffon can hold a Devil's Fruit power in parallel Shamrock

The biggest setup for Shanks having a Devil Fruit sword comes from the naming of his blade, which Eiichiro Oda officially revealed in SBS Volume 87, August 17, 2018. In this SBS, Eiichiro Oda was asked about Shanks' sword, and he confirmed to us that his sword is actually named G.

Like Shamrock, Shanks has an animal-themed sword, while Shamrock's sword is called Cerberus, highlighting the power his sword wields, while Shanks' sword is called Gryphon. In mythology, the gryphon is a creature with the body, tail, and hind legs of a lion, as well as the head and wings of an eagle. Like Cerberus, this would be a legendary Joan power that Shanks could potentially harness through his sword.

Q: What is the name of red haired Shanks' sword?

A: Apparently it's called “Griffon”. We've known Shanks since the first chapter, but how does he actually fight?

— An Exchange between Oda and a Fan, One Piece Volume 87 SBs

Shanks' legendary Joan Sword could potentially take him to a whole new level of power and set him apart from the vast majority of existing fighters in the world. a piece. This sword Devil Fruit will probably parallel Shamrock's awakened Cerberus power, and when that is combined with his incredible control over Haki, Shanks will officially be one of the most powerful in the Sea of ​​Fragments world.

Shanks' potential devil fruit sword sets him apart from traditional one-piece swords

Shanks, wielding the Gryphon sword with the power of an awakened legendary Zoan, will solve a great mystery in a fragmented world related to his status as a swordsman. As officially confirmed in a piece, the title of strongest swordsman belongs to none other than Dracul Mihawk. Shanks, on the other hand, is still considered the stronger of the two, which makes no sense to many. However, Mihawk is said to have notably better swordsmanship than Shanks. This means Mihawk wields a sword better and has more proficiency with a blade.

Hawkeyes Mihawk!! Former Royal Warlord of the Sea, with greater sword skills than the Red Haired Emperor!! As the strongest swordsman in the world, he is worth 3.59 billion berries! – Marines, One Piece Chapter #1058

If Shanks has an awakened legendary Joan Griffon, that would explain why he might be stronger than Mihawk, and he might have inferior blade skills, solving one of the world's greatest mysteries. a piece. This would also explain why Shanks isn't a traditional swordsman and why he fits into a completely different category of his own, where his sword itself comes to life in battle and fights side by side with him – something traditional swordsmen in one piece usually don't.

In both cases, we are eagerly waiting to see what kind of power Shanks' sword has, as Ichiro Oda himself has teased this ability on various occasions, and the final saga of the story is sure to answer this question.

The latest One Piece manga chapters by Eiichiro Oda are available to read through Manga Plus and Viz Media.