Chapter 1134 of One Piece could go down as one of the series’ most important for several reasons. Not only was this chapter filled with big reveals, but it also had some incredible character moments, such as Luffy and Saul meeting for the first time and Robin going to Elbaf’s Owl Library to find that the research of the scholars of Ohara survived, meaning that their legacy and life’s work endures to this day.
However, nothing in Chapter 1134 lives up to the jaw-dropping reveal of Shanks’ twin brother, seemingly confirming one of One Piece’s most prevalent theories. Although it’s still not 100% confirmed if this is Shanks’ twin or just the Emperor himself, it’s more than likely to be the former since that just makes the most sense. In this article, let’s go over why this mysterious character has the potential to be the strongest villain fans have ever seen up to this point.
The Strength Of Shanks’ Twin
Why He May Be One Of The Series’ Strongest Characters
First Appearance: One Piece, Chapter 1134, “The Owl Library”
Debut Date: December 23, 2024
Story Arc: Elbaf
Upon officially entering the Final Saga with the Elbaf arc, fans had always known that the characters at the end of the series were going to be the strongest of them all. Shanks’ twin is the perfect character to further accentuate this point, since his overwhelming power may already have been hinted at through the insane feats that Shanks has shown over the years.
Now, to confirm his strength, one must first look at Shanks’ Lineage Factor. Although the events of the One Piece: Red movie are largely non-canon, many aspects of it are said to officially be canon, especially those pertaining to the overall world-building. The most famous example of this is Shanks’ lineage as a Celestial Dragon from the Figarland family, which, along with their resemblance, most likely puts him as the son of St. Figarland Garling; former Supreme Commander of the Gods’ Knights and one of the current Gorosei.
The world will be thrown into chaos on a level we have never seen before. Let us do the utmost to improve it together, my fellow Elders!
Right off the bat, this puts Shanks and his twins’ power through the Lineage Factor at an incredibly high level. While Shanks, through his adventures on the seas, definitely built up his strength to be Yonko-level, he already had a proclivity to be very powerful due to the importance of his blood. As such, his twin is likely to be on the same tier as him in this regard.
Shanks also has the most powerful Conqueror’s Haki in the current setting that fans have seen, so it can also be surmised that his twin’s Haki may be around the same level of potency, if it isn’t equally strong. Perhaps the greatest quality that a user of this ability needs to have is incredible ambition, which would also work for the twin. Figarland Garling used to be the Supreme Commander of the Gods’ Knights before his promotion to a Gorosei, so for him to be adept at using Conqueror’s Haki is all but confirmed.
Besides, at the meeting between Shanks and Whitebeard in Chapter 315, Newgate remarked how each time he sees the young Emperor, the massive scar across his chest aches, reminding him of a certain someone. People always considered this to be Roger, but with further context, Whitebeard may have been alluding to Garling, who likely would have scarred Whitebeard during their confrontation on God Valley. It was here that Roger supposedly found Shanks to take him in and also where the biggest powers of the day clashed.
At this point, Garling was the Supreme Commander of the Gods’ Knights and to permanently injure Whitebeard in his prime may be one of the greatest feats in the series, as even Roger wasn’t able to do this. Moreover, it also shows that something like this is almost impossible to do without Conqueror’s Haki. The point here is that with Garling now appointed as a Gorosei, the role of Supreme Commander of the Gods’ Knights is likely filled by his son, pretty much confirming him as being a user of Conqueror’s Haki as well.
At the end, a strong Devil Fruit power isn’t enough to conquer these seas… Because only Haki can transcend all!
It also seems that the mysterious silhouette that the entire fandom went crazy over from Chapter 1121 might just have been the twin, as many had theorized. This had to do with the vague similarity it had to Shanks as well as the sword he used being of the same style as that of Shanks too, which is especially curious as many believe that this blade may just be a Supreme Grade Weapon as well.
With the Lineage Factor giving him insane levels of power, him being the leader of one of One Piece’s most powerful factions, him possibly having a Supreme Grade Sword and him likely having Conqueror’s Haki on a similar level to Shanks easily makes this evil twin one of the series’ most powerful characters. At this point, barring the Gorosei on Egghead, he seems to be the greatest threat the heroes have ever seen before in the series and will likely be the main enemy on Elbaf.
What This Means For The Future
Where The Story Could Go From Here
Although Oda hasn’t 100% confirmed that this is Shanks’ twin, this is the most likely scenario. If this does end up being true, the story potential is incredibly exciting to think about, considering that this is an opponent who is directly tied to Shanks, making him a person of interest to Luffy as well. From here, some fan theories state that he could, somehow, play a role where he deceives the heroes to further his own goals.
However, the most probable storyline regarding this twin is his inevitable clash with Shanks, since this is something that Oda is subtly hinting towards. As for how this fight plays out, no one can yet say, but the prevailing theory is that he will somehow kill Shanks, prompting Luffy to get even stronger to eventually face him and the Gorosei down the line. There is another theory about how it was actually the Gods’ Knights who ended up killing king Harald and pinning it on Loki, so it’s very likely that if this is the case, Loki will join Luffy and the giants to take down Shanks’ twin and the remaining Gods’ Knights.
