One Piece
One Piece
One Piece
One Piece
Shanks gave Luffy his straw hat and his dreams — and the series has spent over a thousand chapters asking whether Luffy will one day surpass him. Post-Gear 5, Luffy defeated Kaido — one of the most durable characters in One Piece's history. Shanks demonstrated against Eustass Kid that his Conqueror's Haki alone can end fights at Emperor level. Most analysts place Shanks ahead of current Luffy — his full power has never been shown, and his casual display against Kid suggests a ceiling that Gear 5's feats don't definitively exceed. The fight Oda is building toward will answer this — the debate is whether it happens and what the outcome means narratively.
One Piece
Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates and future King of the Pirates, Luffy's rubber body and mastery of all three forms of Haki make him one of the most unpredictable and powerful fighters in the world.
Key abilities
One Piece
In One Piece, Shanks is a legendary Yonko known for his calm presence and immense power — a pirate who values balance over chaos, his mastery of Haki and influence across the seas make him one of the most respected and mysterious figures in the world.
Key abilities
The matchup between Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece and Shanks from One Piece is one of the most discussed battles in anime fandom. Both characters represent the peak of power in their respective universes — Monkey D. Luffy is known for Gear Fifth, while Shanks counters with Advanced Conqueror’s Haki. Cast your vote above and see where the community stands.
Most analysts favour Shanks in the current timeline — his full power has never been shown and his casual demonstrations suggest a ceiling above Gear 5 Luffy's confirmed feats. The gap is the smallest it has ever been post-Gear 5, and the fight Oda is building toward will determine whether Luffy has caught up. For now, most analyses give Shanks the edge.
Not yet canonically. Gear 5 Luffy defeating Kaido placed him closer to Shanks than at any previous point, but Shanks' subsequent casual display against Kid demonstrated a power output that maintains separation. Oda has not shown Shanks' full power, keeping the gap's size deliberately ambiguous.
Shanks' power stems from his mastery of all three Haki types — particularly Conqueror's Haki, which he has used at a level that incapacitated entire fleets. He is also a former rival of Dracule Mihawk, placing his swordsmanship at a historically elite level. His decades of experience as an Emperor and his deliberately concealed true power make him One Piece's most enigmatic fighter.
Kamusari is Shanks' signature sword technique — a Conqueror's Haki-infused slash that he used to casually destroy Eustass Kid's named attack in a single stroke. The technique was originally used by Gol D. Roger and the name means 'Divine Departure.' Its casual application against Kid — who was an Emperor-level fighter — demonstrated a power output that contextually places Shanks at or above the series' current ceiling.
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