One Piece: No, Shanks and Buggy Are Not Brothers! Here’s How They’re Connected!

The story of One Piece’s Shanks and Buggy is a very interesting one, and while the two of them have not been featured together that much in the present timeline, they actually have a shared history that shows that they were really close when they were younger. This is why fans sometimes think that the two are related, but they are not. In this article, we will explain the relationship between Shanks and Buggy so you will know exactly why they are not brothers.

No, Shanks and Buggy are not brothers in One Piece; they are unrelated. Shanks was actually born in God Valley, probably to a family of World Nobles, while Buggy’s origins are unknown, but he was not even born in West Blue, like Shanks, but rather on the Grand Line, and he is certainly not nobility. They met each other as kids, as both of them were apprentices on Roger’s ship, and they grew up together. And while they had their quarrels occasionally, they ended up becoming friends in a way, although their friendship is by all means very unconventional.

The rest of this article will basically, be about the relationship between Buggy and Shanks. The two of them do, indeed, have a shared history, and in this article, we are actually going to explain the nature of that relationship, as well as how that relationship evolved and what became of it. People sometimes think that, due to their closeness, Buggy and Shanks are related (brothers, even), and in this article, we will provide you with the details related to that theory. Of course, spoilers will be present, so we advise you to consider your approach to this article and its paragraphs.

Are Shanks and Buggy related at all? No, they are not!

Shanks and Buggy were both born 39 years before the present timeline, meaning they are the same age. Shanks was born in West Blue, on God Valley, probably into a noble family (this is a theory that Oda has yet to fully explain), while Buggy was born somewhere on the Grand Line, definitely not to a noble family. Shanks was found in a chest that Roger took from God Valley and was taken in by him when he was just a year old, while Buggy joined the crew at an unspecified moment, and the two became apprentices on the ship.

After Buggy joined the crew, they bonded because they were of the same age and became close friends. Still, the two often argued with each other, and Rayleigh often separated them. One day, he argued with Buggy about which was the coldest pole, convinced that it was the south one, until Rayleigh hit him on the head, telling them that they were just continuing to argue and that if they wanted to know which of the two was the coldest they should go there, concluding to stop to make a mess.

Sailing resumed, an enemy ship was sighted to the north-northeast, and the crew prepared to fight. Shanks asked Buggy if he was happy, to which Buggy replied that he was, since the boat was a treasure and for them, stealing meant getting rich. He told him that he was right in a certain sense, so his friend shouted to him that he was right about everything.

Later, while sitting with him to look at the horizon, Buggy told him that one day they would leave that ship, and Shanks confirmed it, revealing that he wanted a ship of his own and that, once he had it, he would travel the world as a pirate. Buggy laughed and called him a fool but told him that he had faith in his abilities and that he would have made him his follower if he wasn’t a child. He then asked him what interesting things they had found, so he told him about the Bara Bara no Mi.

Shanks told him that it was said to be the reincarnation of the sea devil, which is why anyone who ate it gained the devil’s ability, but the sea no longer accepted it. He further added that the captain had said that if anyone wanted, they could eat it and that the fruit was worth 100,000,000 Berrys, which left Buggy stunned.

The following day, Buggy ate the Devil Fruit in front of the rest of the crew. Shortly afterward, Shanks joined him, asking him what he was doing, noticing that his face was strange and his mouth was full. He left, telling him to stop eating; otherwise, he would gain weight.

However, he suddenly came back to tell him more, but then Buggy screamed, broke out in a cold sweat, and grabbed him by the shirt. Shanks noticed a piece of paper fly away, asked his friend what it was, who claimed it was his map, and jumped in the water to get it.

Shanks saved his life then, but Buggy was angry at him because he believed that he had tricked him into eating the Devil Fruit and that he was indirectly responsible for the map’s loss. This is basically what their relationship was like, but it shows that they were not related, although they sometimes fought like siblings.

What is the relationship between Shanks and Buggy?

Now that we have clarified their story,, let us quickly tell you how their relationship functioned. When they were children, Shanks spent most of his time with Buggy, who was, as we have said, also an apprentice of the crew, with whom he argued about everything. Although Buggy blames him for making him swallow the Bara Bara no Mi by mistake and causing him to lose a treasure map, Shanks seems to have always cared about him.

After the public execution of their captain, Shanks asked Buggy to join his crew, but the latter refused. During the meeting with Whitebeard, Shanks thought back with nostalgia to his old friend Buggy, and even once he met him again in Marineford, he greeted him friendly, not caring about his invectives against him. On the other hand, Buggy reiterates to the emperor how angry he still is with him and then tries to exploit his presence and crew to leave the island safe and sound.

As you can see, Buggy is angry at Shanks because he feels that Shanks had betrayed him when he gave up on attaining One Piece for the simple life of a pirate, but he still cares about him despite that anger; also, he was not above exploiting his “friendship with Shanks” for his own benefit, which he did on more than one occasion.

The two of them can be considered friends, and Shanks, especially, holds no grudge against Buggy and communicates with him in a very friendly manner. Buggy’s attitude is more complex, but we can still agree that he cares about Shanks even though he won’t openly admit it in public.