Does Shanks Have a Devil Fruit and Did He Eat Any?

We on Fiction Horizon have already established that Shanks is one of the best characters from Oda’s One Piece series. The red-haired pirate is an epic badass and one of the most beloved characters in the whole series. And that is why we have decided to tell you a bit about Shanks, i.e., to be more precise, about yet another aspect of his amazing story and history. In this article, we are going to tell you whether Shanks ever had a Devil Fruit and whether he actually ate one himself.

Shanks actually had contact with the Devil Fruits during his lifetime, as far as we know. As a member of Roger’s crew, he handled the Bara Bara no Mi, which – by accident – led to Buggy eating it. Later, his own crew found the Gomu Gomu no Mi and wanted to sell it before Luffy accidentally ate it. Shanks himself never are a Devil Fruit, as far as it is known.

The rest of this article is going to focus on Shanks and his story in the series, as we are going to tell you whether he’s had any Devil Fruits and whether he’s eaten any Devil Fruit in the One Piece series. The story in question is quite interesting and rather hilarious at the same time, so if you don’t know the whole story of One Piece, we have to warn you that there are going to be spoilers in the following paragraphs.

Does Shanks have a Devil Fruit?

Shanks actually contact a Devil Fruit on two occasions. One of these was when he carried the Bara Bara no Mi found by the Roger Pirates, while the other was when his crew found the Gomu Gomu no Mi. Let us see what happened on both occasions.

The first story starts with a flashback of Buggy, which begins with Buggy and Shanks, then two young pirates, arguing as to which is colder, at the North Pole or at the South Pole. After being separated by Silvers Rayleigh, their pirate ship attacks another ship. Buggy then defeats one of the people on the ship and finds a treasure map in his shirt, and he keeps the map a secret.

Later, after a party, Shanks and Buggy sit down together, and Shanks tells him that he is going to put together his own pirate crew. He then tells Buggy that the value of the Devil Fruit he just found is enormous. Buggy then hatches a plan to steal it. The next day Buggy eats a fake Devil Fruit in front of everyone, while keeping the real one hidden because he might sell it for 100,000,000 Berrys.

However, Shanks surprises Buggy and he puts the Devil Fruit in his mouth to hide it. After being startled yet again, he accidentally swallowed the fruit. Buggy angrily yells at Shanks. Buggy dives but having eaten the fruit, he can no longer swim. Shanks jumps down to save him.

The second story was shown through a flashback of Luffy’s. Young Luffy is in a bar full of pirates. Shanks mocks Luffy for being a child, but he thinks he is a man. Yasopp notices that he has a child the same age as Luffy. A bandit, named Higuma, comes into the bar, breaks down the door, and orders some sake.

The bartender, a young girl named Makino, says all she has left is in the pirate glasses in the bar. Shanks heartily offers him a bottle, but the bandit smashes it on the pirate, claiming he is wanted for 8,000,000 Berries. They leave the bar, and all the pirates start laughing. Luffy gets angry because Shanks didn’t fight back against Higuma, and so in a fit of anger he spots a purple fruit in a small box, the Gomu Gomu no Mi, and eats it.

When Shanks notices it he shakes Luffy and orders him to spit it out, but it’s too late and the effects are already being felt. Shanks tells Luffy that he ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi, a Devil Fruit and now he is a rubbery man and won’t be able to swim. Later, Luffy finds himself in trouble when he is caught by the bandits. Makino runs to the mayor to call for help and the mayor yells at the bandits to stop.

Higuma decides he’s going to kill Luffy because he pissed him off, but Shanks and his crew arrive. One of the bandits points a gun at Shanks’ head and orders him not to move, but with breakneck speed, Lucky Roux kills the bandit. Everyone is in shock when Shanks explains that they are pirates and not children at heart. All the bandits charge at Shanks, but Ben Beckman hits them all with his rifle.

Higuma, scared, throws a smoke bomb and flees. He flees to the sea in a boat, where he throws Luffy into the water. The young boy, after eating the Gomu Gomu no Mi, is about to drown as he can no longer swim. As the bandit laughs at Luffy’s fate, a sea monster comes up behind him and devours him in one bite. The sea monster then comes back for the little boy but Shanks saves him from the sea monster, and with a look, he fends off the beast.

Luffy starts crying because Shanks’ left arm was eaten by the animal. Shanks replies that it’s okay, as long as Luffy is safe. Later, Shanks and his pirates pack up their business, and they’re ready to go. The young boy decides that he is going to become a pirate and live a great adventure. Shanks then gives his straw hat to Luffy and tells him to give it back to him when he becomes a great pirate.

Did Shanks eat a Devil Fruit?

As far as it is known, Shanks has not eaten a Devil Fruit during his life time, which raises the issue – how is he so strong? 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 believed to be 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, while some pirate captains trembled at the mere mention of the latter’s name.

He was able to swim ten years before Luffy set out on his adventure, which means he didn’t consume Devil Fruits while rivaling Mihawk. It was also stated by the Five Elders that he is one of the few people capable of stopping Marshall D. Teach. His power must be quite large since Admiral Akainu had fought many men and a few Warlords of the Sea in Marineford until he got to Luffy, but didn’t challenge Shanks when the Emperor appeared.

He also appears to be an excellent swimmer, having reached young Luffy in the middle of the sea before the Lord of the Coast could devour him. According to Buggy, Shanks was a powerful fighter at a young age, and if he hadn’t been “naive”, Buggy would have taken him on his crew.

As a member of the Four Emperors, Shanks is not only a key figure in piracy but also one of the most feared in the New World: his mere name exudes great power, as Buggy himself has proven; his assertion that he previously had a “brotherly bond” with Shanks was one of the many things that earned him the respect of ex-convicts at Impel Down.