At Proxymité Japon, we've already established that Shanks is one of the best characters in Oda's One Piece series. The red-haired pirate is an epic badass and one of the most beloved characters in the entire series. Shanks is beloved by many, if not all, One Piece fans, which is why his fate in the series is a hot topic among fans. And even though Shanks is still very much alive in the series, many fans continue to speculate whether he will die in One Piece or not, and in this article, we'll analyze the possibilities.

It's currently unclear whether or not Shanks will die in One Piece. Oda is known for being a rather unpredictable author. It's difficult to talk about these things when it comes to him, as any prediction is essentially impossible. However, we're certain that Oda would only kill Shanks if absolutely necessary and if he had a really good story related to his death.

The rest of this article will focus on Shanks and his future in the world of One Piece. The question of Shanks's future in the series is intriguing, and we will discuss the possibilities in this article. If you are not familiar with the entire story of One Piece, we must warn you that there will be spoilers in the following paragraphs.

Will Shanks Die in One Piece?

Shanks's role and story in One Piece are very intriguing. He is undoubtedly one of the most powerful characters in the entire series, but he also represents a huge enigma. Despite all this, Shanks' true abilities remain unknown, as he has yet to be seen seriously engaged in battle. However, as a member of the Four Emperors of the New World, his raw physical power is considered immense, and he is known to be one of the four most powerful pirates in the world. Shanks did not fear Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world, and even had enough strength to oppose him.

When Shanks offered Blackbeard a fight, the latter refused and decided to leave, as it was too early for him and his crew to fight Shanks. Furthermore, when Shanks demanded that Whitebeard and Portgas D. Ace's dignity not be violated following their deaths, Sengoku himself also decided to end the war and took responsibility for it.

Shanks is usually depicted with a sword. While its use has only been briefly demonstrated, the fact that he is able to match a strike from Whitebeard with a single arm is a clear indication of the strength of his attacks. Shanks is also strong enough to stop Akainu's Magma Fist using his sword and Armaments Haki.

Mihawk is ranked as the greatest swordsman in the world, and Shanks is an old rival of the latter, which reveals more than enough about Shanks' true powers and abilities. Shanks seems to have preferred using his left arm before losing it, as he is still seen holding his sword with his left hand in flashbacks. It is presumed that he was left-handed.

From this perspective, we see how powerful Shanks is and how relevant his role is, and from this perspective, it seems unlikely that he will die. Namely, with Roger and Whitebeard dead, the only two characters who could potentially be stronger than Shanks are Blackbeard and Luffy. The former continues to avoid Shanks in every way possible, while the latter is his loyal friend, and the prospect of them fighting is practically minimal. From this perspective, it doesn't seem realistic that Shanks would die fighting someone stronger than him, as there aren't many candidates for that position, but that doesn't fully guarantee Shanks' survival in the series.

The main problem here is that Eiichiro Oda is a very unpredictable writer. Sure, few One Piece characters—at least not the important ones—have died, but we've seen Whitebeard and Ace, probably the two most notable examples, die during One Piece's plot. In this regard, Oda could find a reason to kill Shanks.

This could be a climactic battle against Blackbeard or the combined Marines (but that would mimic Ace's death too much, so we're not really sure), where Shanks dies either due to tragic circumstances or while protecting Luffy. It wouldn't be his happy fate, but it could work from a narrative perspective.

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Another possibility could be that Shanks actually has to fight Luffy, meaning that Shanks prevents Luffy from becoming the Pirate King. This would be a truly heartbreaking possibility and doesn't seem plausible, but it also comes to mind when discussing Shanks' potential death in the series. Of course, there's also the possibility that Oda simply invents something completely unexpected, which would be normal for him and would be completely expected because the problem with Oda is always expecting the unexpected.

These are just a few of the possible theories surrounding Shanks's death in the series, but in all honesty, we don't think Shanks's death is likely. He's a very important character, and his story is so deeply intertwined with Luffy's that losing Shanks, like he lost Ace at one point, would be a bit of a stretch. Furthermore, there's no indication that Shanks could be killed in the story or die of natural causes.

Shanks isn't one of the main characters in One Piece. However, he's an exceptionally important character and one who's quite closely tied to Luffy in a very emotional way, which is why, ultimately, we don't think Oda is going to simply kill him off. But no, we don't know anything for sure at the moment.