Here’s Why Shanks Ultimately Left Luffy in One Piece!

Shanks and Luffy had a very interesting relationship, which is a well-known fact to all series fans. But, while the two of them share a deep bond, we also know that Shanks left Luffy as a kid and did not want to accept him into his crew while giving him his trademark straw hat. In this article, we will talk about the relationship between Luffy and Shanks and explain why Shanks ultimately left Luffy at the time and did not accept him into his crew.

Shanks ultimately rejected Luffy because he saw how much potential Luffy had. Initially, he is skeptical of Luffy’s wishes and finds Luffy to be amusing, but when he finally notices Luffy’s sincerity and determination, he grows to respect him more and ultimately realizes that Luffy really wants to become the King of Pirates. That is why he gave him his Straw Hat, an important symbol, and why he allowed him to go on his own journey, as Luffy wouldn’t have evolved in the same way had he become a part of Shanks’s crew. But the two of them are going to meet again, as they agreed, once Luffy does his part of the agreement.

The rest of this article will be about Shanks and Monkey D. Luffy, their shared story, and their relationship, as it happened on the pages of the One Piece manga. We have given you a general answer above, and in the article below, we will provide you with more details about them, their relationship, and their shared story. The reason why Shanks did not want to take Luffy into his crew is quite interesting, so we’ll have fun presenting it here to you. Of course, the article might also contain some spoilers, so we must warn you to be careful how you approach it.

Shanks did not take Luffy with him because he believed that Luffy could, indeed, become Roger’s successor

We all know that Shanks is Luffy’s role model and that since he was a child, he wanted to surpass Shanks and become the Pirate King, i.e., the successor of Shanks’ former Captain, Gol D. Roger. Shanks initially laughed off Luffy’s desires, but as he understood how sincere and determined he was, Shanks believed him and supported him in the best way possible – by allowing him to grow by himself and become the best pirate he could be.

Now, we shall first explain what kind of relationship the two of them had. During his time in Foosha, Shanks became particularly fond of Luffy. In fact, he used to make fun of him because he could not swim and told him many of his adventures, so much so that he inspired him to become a pirate. Also, knowing that traveling by sea is very dangerous, he tried to make him understand that he wasn’t ready to do it yet.

During the incident with Higuma’s bandits, Shanks saved Luffy from a Sea King even at the cost of losing his left arm, and when the child later declared that he would become a pirate capable of surpassing him, Shanks decided to give him his hat, of which he was very fond, with the promise that he would return it to him once he became a great pirate. Since then, Shanks began to see the future of piracy in Luffy, and every time he received good news about him, Shanks threw a party to celebrate the event, waiting for the fulfillment of their promise.

As you can see, a pretty deep bond was formed between Shanks and Luffy, which was almost like the bond between a father and his son. Shanks really valued Luffy’s sincerity, and he cared a lot for him, so much that he willingly sacrificed his own arm to save Luffy’s life, which showed how much he cared for the young boy.

Of course, he still thought that the sea was too dangerous for the young Luffy, but he also believed that Luffy had enormous potential, which is why he rejected him, but – at the same time – gave him his straw hat, with Luffy promising that he would give it back to him once he had fulfilled his goal.

So, this might seem confusing, as Shanks, at the same time, rejected Luffy’s pleas to make him a member of his crew and gave him a motivational gift, claiming that he believed in himself and his future. And he wasn’t lying – Shanks really did believe Luffy, which is why, as we have said, he was so happy each time he heard about Luffy’s success.

So, why did he leave him, ultimately? There doesn’t seem to be a valid reason for Shanks to leave Luffy in Foosha with his straw hat, but knowing Shanks and the relationship between them, we can actually assume that the reason is as follows.

If you thought we would be going that way, we don’t think it was simply in order to protect him. Shanks knew that Luffy was young and that he was dangerous, but he also knew that he himself started off in the same way – he was a defenseless baby when Roger took him in, and Roger protected him from the dangers of the sea for years before Shanks actually became his own man.

There was no reason to think that Shanks couldn’t have or wouldn’t have protected Luffy while he was with him on his ship, so we don’t really think that is the reason. Shanks could’ve taken Luffy in; he could’ve cared for him, trained him, and he would have made him into a great pirate; there’s absolutely no doubt about that. But there is a catch – Luffy wasn’t just a great pirate; he had the potential to become the best one.

And that is the catch – that is the reason why Shanks left Luffy to become the best all by himself. Namely, had Shanks taken Luffy in, he would have made him into a great pirate, but Luffy would never have the freedom to evolve as he did. He would work under Shanks and look up to Shanks, whereas in this case, Luffy had the freedom to do whatever he wanted, and in that aspect, his story became even better.

So, Shanks left Luffy because he wanted Luffy to become the best he could be, all by himself, without anyone holding or supporting him. He believed Luffy could do it; he saw it in him (Luffy was, on more than one occasion, compared to Gol D. Roger), and that is why he deduced that leaving Luffy would do the boy better than taking him with him.

And he was ultimately right, as that was the right thing to do. The two of them will meet again, as Luffy still has to keep his promise to Shanks, and until then, we can just enjoy the ride.