Need To See It So Bad... It Would Give Us So Many Great Character Moments - Blog Posts

Hello! I'm curious to hear your thoughts on Shanks's morality, especially with regards to Chapter 1126 (also Chapters 1079 and 1) where his crew attacked the Barto Club (also the Kid pirates and the mountain bandits). One observation is that Shanks didn't make the killing blow himself and neither did he give an explicit order to kill. But I think that if Shanks really wanted to, he could have stopped his crew from going too far. So, what do you think goes on in his head during those scenes? Did he mean for his crew to kill those people? And how does he feel about killing people to save his friends?

Thanks in advance for your answer!!!

This is such a great question! Part of what makes Shanks so interesting is how he handles conflict; he has a very even temperament, and his priorities during any dispute are always A.) the safety of those he cares about, and B.) de-escalation. A takes precedence over B, of course, which we see firsthand in the mountain bandits incident.

When Higuma breaks a bottle over his head, Shanks' initial reaction is to be concerned on Makino's behalf, and to take the burden of the conflict off her shoulders by keeping her uninvolved. It's just plain ol' good character writing, because it shows exactly the type of person he is through the subtlety of his actions. Hell, he doesn't even let her touch the broken glass, instead choosing to pick it up himself -- a great visual to sum up Shanks, who is constantly the first to clean up the mess and take responsibility, so long as no one else gets hurt. (Note that Oda draws attention to the very same hand that Shanks ends up losing when he saves Luffy... nice foreshadowing.)

Then of course we get this gem of a one-liner from Shanks, which is just so effortlessly cool. As a pirate, Shanks knows conflict better than anyone, which is why he explicitly tells Luffy not to resort to violence in situations where it is unnecessary. I really like this too, because it shows how Shanks is always walking the middle ground; he's not "above" violence, but he's not going to go around punching every guy he sees, because that proves nothing but incompetence. In a battle of egos, Shanks is the man with the level head; he knows exactly how powerful he is and refuses to stoop any lower for the sake of pride. It's not vanity -- it's just the truth.

However, when the mountain bandits target Luffy, Shanks' crew does not hesitate to use violence in order to protect him, as well as the village. Something I also find interesting is that Shanks does not lift a finger up until the brush with the sea king; his crew is always willing to step in on his behalf when needed, and this is because of who he is as a person and a leader.

Shanks is not hot-headed, but he's certainly no pushover. As an emperor, he knows what he must do when someone invades his territory and burns his flag -- otherwise, he wouldn't have territory to begin with. Note here how he mentions who specifically it would impact if he let Bartolomeo's actions slide: friends and allies. Again, in any conflict, the safety of those he cares about takes precedence. So, naturally, he has no choice but to teach them all a lesson.

As you mentioned, he did not give explicit orders to sink Bartolomeo's ship, but given the nature of Shanks' relationship with his crew, I highly doubt they would ever do something that Shanks actively disagreed with. It's really just a matter of lightening the load by handling certain matters for him. (Which is really thoughtful, actually, when you consider how bogged down by responsibility Shanks is. Gives him one less thing to worry about.)

We should also remember that this is One Piece. If Oda makes it unclear whether or not a character has survived, there's a very good chance they're alive and well. So I don't think that Yasopp was shooting to kill, and I don't think we've seen the last of Kidd or Barto either. But, hypothetically, I do think Shanks would kill to save someone he cared about if he knew there was no other way out of the conflict. While Shanks mostly aims to de-escalate, he does not hesitate to retaliate against anyone who harms friends or allies. But for Shanks, figuratively speaking, I think it's less about the act of killing and more about putting himself in the line of fire. Violence (with the intent to kill) reads as an extension of his self-sacrificial tendencies to me, because Shanks does not enjoy it.

The first time we witness any serious, violent action from Shanks, it is directly triggered by the stress/anxiety from seeing a sudden vision of his allies and crew getting blown to bits. I would say he panics, even, but others might disagree. (Check out chapter one again, though -- Shanks totally freaks out when he loses sight of Luffy, too. He loses his cool when the people he cares about are unexpectedly put in danger.)

So, if Shanks were to kill, I would imagine it would be in a very dire situation where the threat is imminent and the consequence of not acting fast enough would be many, many deaths -- or perhaps just the death of a friend/ally. Then it is likely that he would put himself in harm's way instead, either to deliver the killing blow or die trying.