Oda had mentioned Shanks' twin a long time ago

This article contains spoilers about the Elbaf Arc of One Piece.

Summary

• Oda revealed that Shanks has a twin brother in One Piece 113

• Previous clues that Shanks had a twin were just silhouettes.

• Oda refused to answer whether Shanks was two people, fueling speculation about Shanks' twin.

The one from One Piece recent developments have shocked fans, and a lot of that has to do with a very emotional plot point that saw Shanks' twin brother appear in the Elbaf arc. It's safe to say that this is one of the biggest twists fans have seen in the story to date, and this twist will have huge repercussions for the Elbaf Arc going forward. Excitement is already running high, and while some questions have been answered, even bigger questions have been raised, which fans intend to get answered in the coming chapters.

What matters most right now, however, is the newly introduced character One piece who happens to be Shanks' twin brother. Interestingly, Shanks' twin brother was not introduced One piece absolutely out of nowhere. Oda, in fact, had already mentioned the presence of this individual in history some time ago.

Oda reveals that Shanks has a twin brother

• Oda just revealed a Shanks lookalike in One Piece 1134

• Finally the mystery of One Piece 907 is answered

In One piece chapter 1134, Oda officially reveals to fans that Shanks has a twin brother. This development came as a shock to some fans. Shanks was always going to be an important character in the Final Saga of One piece. Every fan expected to hear the biggest secrets about Shanks here, but one thing they definitely didn't expect in this story arc was being introduced to Shanks' brother. In One Piece chapter 1134, the story took a truly exciting turn. As Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates continued their meeting with Saul in the Owl Library, a huge threat arose in Elbaf. Just as the Giant Warrior Pirates, along with the Giants, were preparing for the big party they had planned to throw with Luffy, a huge black bolt of lightning struck the castle right next to Elbaf Village. It appears that this is the same castle from which King Harald ruled. It appears that this castle is completely empty, which would make sense, as Elbaf hasn't had a king in quite a while, meaning there are no royals in it at the moment.

Inside the castle, fans could see a huge summoning circle, and this summoning circle was surrounded by huge flames. It was clear to fans that this flaming circle was very similar to the one Saturn emerged from in the Egghead arc. When the other Elders were called to Egghead by Saturn, this same summoning circle also then appeared. This time, however, no elders appeared outside the summoning circle. Instead, two individuals in evening dress showed up with their faces completely covered.

In the last panel of the chapter, fans could clearly see the faces of these characters. One of them appears to be an unknown woman, who has a bandage over half her face and one eye covered, while the other character looks exactly like Shanks. In fact, even the side profile that fans got in this chapter was actually the same one they got in One Piece chapter 907, when Shanks was supposed to have met the Five Elders.

Like Oda mentioned that Shanks had a twin

Oda left a hint about Garling's children

Oda had already mentioned that Shanks had brothers. This shouldn't surprise any fan with a keen eye. The first thing to say is that Oda kept insinuating into the story that there was a character who looked just like Shanks. The first hint of this came after the events of the Wano Country story arc, in which Dragon first talked about the Knights of God. Clearly, an individual with a silhouette similar to Shanks appeared and, at the time, fans didn't pay much attention to it, simply because it was a silhouette, and Oda's silhouettes are known for being largely inaccurate. But readers have been asking questions about this silhouette matching Shanks'.

This happened once again, when the Knights of God were imagined rather recently in One Piece, and once again they were all in silhouette. This time, the character also matched Shanks, which led many fans to believe that the leader of the Knights of God will have something to do with the Figarland Family.

In fact, the supreme commander of the Knights of God had already been revealed to be Saint Garling Figarland, Shanks' father, and his son would also be a member of the Knights of God. Things were taken a step further in the Egghead, where Oda revealed an individual with a sword just like Shanks, and with a face, covered in silhouette, that also matched Shanks'.

Look carefully, children! – St. Garling Figarland

If all that wasn't enough, the Kuma flashback fans got in the Egghead Arc clearly showed a younger version of Saint Garling Figarland in God Valley. There, Garling had his sons with him and asked all of them to continue to watch him carefully as he fought. The fact that Garling was referring to more than one child was proof that Shanks had siblings in One Piece and for this reason it should come as no surprise to fans that an individual who looks just like Shanks made an appearance.

Oda refuses to answer a big question about Shanks

Oda purposely avoided a question about Shanks' secret

While it only became clear to fans that Shanks has brothers, some fans were curious about Shanks' brothers long before the Final Saga even began. In fact, some had asked Oda that Shanks was actually two people a long time ago, and Oda refused to answer that question. The idea was that Shanks had stopped Kaido long ago and therefore appearing in Marineford on the same day was impossible. Yet, somehow, he made it. Here's what Oda was asked about Shanks' twin long ago:

F (Q): You may have been asked this a thousand times already, I'm not sure, but is Shanks two different people? F: You know, since Shanks is sometimes drawn without the scar, plus he got to the Paramount War so quickly with incredible speed (despite just fighting Kaido)…

O: (censored)

Clearly, Oda refuses to answer the question here, which adds fuel to the fire that Shanks is actually more than just a person. But it must be said that the person who fought Kaido was definitely Shanks and this is clear from the fact that Kaido has Shanks at the top of the list of people he fought. At the same time, Shanks' brother would have had no reason to stop Kaido, especially when he intended to intercept Whitebeard and prevent him from participating in the Paramount War. This would have actually helped the government, meaning the fake Shanks would have had no reason to do so.

Regardless, it's interesting to see that some fans have noticed inconsistencies with Shanks' character, such as his scar, among other things, and have wondered for years whether he had a twin brother. Now, Oda has finally given everyone an answer and fans are waiting to see what developments come next.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and Manga Plus apps. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1135, is scheduled for January 5, 2024.