Shanks vs. Bartolomeo: Who Would Win in a Fight?

One Piece is a source of numerous powerful and intriguing characters. Eiichiro Oda’s manga series has given us some powerful pirates and in this article, we are going to compare two of them to determine who the stronger one is. One of them is an Emperor (one of the Yonko) and one of the most powerful characters in the franchise, while the other is a very intriguing character called Bartolomeo. We are going to compare the powers and abilities of these two characters to determine who would win in a fight, Shanks or Bartolomeo.

Shanks would easily win this one, without a question. He is one of the strongest characters in the whole series, whereas Bartolomeo is, at best, an intriguing opponent and nothing more. Shanks wouldn’t even have to try that hard to defeat Bartolomeo and would definitely defeat him without using all of his powers and skills.

The rest of this article will further elaborate on the above-given answer, as we are going to compare Shanks and Bartolomeo in more detail. Through several categories, you are going to see who the stronger of the two is and why our answer is like it is, i.e., why Shanks would ultimately be able to defeat Bartolomeo in a direct fight.

General overview

Little is known about Shanks’ power. According to Buggy, Shanks is a mighty warrior. What is known is that, as one of the Four Emperors of the second half of the Grand Line, his power is similar to that of Whitebeard (who is considered the strongest man in the world). Also of note is the fact that Kaidou, who is known as “the Most Powerful Creature”, thinks that Shanks would be one of the few people capable of facing him in combat.

Before losing his arm, he had constant duels with Dracule Mihawk. With Mihawk being the best swordsman in the world, it can be assumed that Shanks is an extremely brilliant swordsman with superb skill. Also, the fact that he was able to match Whitebeard’s strength with just one arm, suggests that Shanks possesses excellent physical qualities.

The fact that Shanks has lost an arm doesn’t seem to have weakened him in any way. Although he has yet to show his full power, it is highly likely that Shanks is one of the most powerful characters in the entire series. After saving Luffy from a Sea King, Shanks was able to drive the monster away using Haki. He does not have devil fruit powers, as he is able to swim.

He appears to be an excellent swimmer, saving Luffy just as the Sea King was about to devour him. Later, when he boards Whitebeard’s ship, some of Edward Newgate’s crew are knocked unconscious by the redhead’s powerful aura and even the ship takes some of the damage. Whitebeard’s men attribute this to Shanks’ superior Haki. Also, when Shanks and Whitebeard clashed their weapons, the sky above them parted, hinting at the incredible power of both Emperors.

As a pirate captain, Bartolomeo has authority over all of his subordinates. He is a rookie who comes from another generation with Cavendish, Caribou, and Coribou. Moreover, even before he revealed his abilities, we could immediately see that he was very strong by easily defeating Vice-Admiral Maynard. He was able to win the Block B battle royal, without a scratch. He also has a katana or knife; he used it against Gladius to slit his throat but it was Gladius’ shoulder that he slit.

In the past, he was a mobster who ran 150 towns then as a pirate captain he has the power to run his crew. Bartolomeo is among the pirates whose bounty does not exactly reflect his level of power. Despite the fact that he had a bounty of 150,000,000 Berrys, it is evident that his power is much greater than what the Marines have attributed to him in his bounty.

As one of the Yonko and one of the most feared captains in the whole world, Shanks easily wins this category. Bartolomeo cannot really compare to him in any way here.

Points: Shanks 1, Bartolomeo 0

Physical abilities

Shanks’ actual abilities remain unknown, as he has yet to be seen seriously engaged in battle. However, as a member of the Four New World Emperors, 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 even Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world, and even had enough strength to stand against him, while some pirate captains trembled at the mere mention of his name.

Bartolomeo appears to be in good physical condition and has brute strength; on the other hand he hasn’t been seen wielding Haki yet. In fact, he spends most of the match in the Colosseum lying on the ground watching the battles. He possesses a large amount of durability, as shown that he took minimal damage after being bombarded as shown when he took a point-blank blast from the attack not only was he still conscious but was able to defeat the officer.

Yeah, while we never actually found out about the full extent of Shanks’ powers in the series – although we probably will – there is absolutely no doubt that the red-haired pirate is stronger than Bartolomeo and would, thus, easily take this one as well.

Point: Shanks 2, Bartolomeo 0

Devil Fruit

Shanks is the only one among the Four Emperors that doesn’t have Devil Fruit powers, as he has never eaten one; from what we can gather, it seems that Shanks never had any desire to eat a Devil Fruit whatsoever.

Bartolomeo ate the Bari Bari no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that makes him a barrier man. Thus, he has the power to form defensive barriers to protect himself from attacks but he can only use them for a limited amount of time. He can also throw them toward his opponents to attack them, as seen when the pirate used the “Barrier Crash” technique, and can also use them to immobilize his opponents.

The barriers apparently seem extremely strong, since attacks from powerful individuals such as Hack or Bellamy were unable to destroy it. They were the ones who were seriously injured. One of the walls even managed to block the famous punch of Elizabello II.

Okay, this one has to go to Bartolomeo simply because Shanks never ate a Devil Fruit in his life. On the other hand, he has – despite that – become one of the most powerful characters in the series, so he would definitely be able to counter Bartolomeo’s powers.

Point: Shanks 2, Bartolomeo 1

Haki

Shanks can use all three types of Haki. Even Whitebeard complimented him on his Haki when he used it during his “visit”. He demonstrated the use of Royal Haki and Armament Haki. When Shanks and Whitebeard clashed, the “heavens” above them split apart, showing the incredible power of Armament Haki that both Emperors had imbued on their weapons.

During the Battle of Marineford, he imbued Armament Haki onto his sword in order to block a Logia-type attack from Akainu. Shanks can use Observation Haki, and at a fairly strong level since he spots a strange presence among the people of Wano Country. Shanks can also use Royal Haki, an ability only one in a million can use.

After saving Luffy from a sea monster, he scared the monster away with an angry look using his Haki. Later, as Shanks boards Whitebeard’s ship, many of Whitebeard’s men (experienced men who survived in the New World) have been knocked out by his super-powered Royal Haki and the ship itself even began to take physical damage from the mere presence of Shanks, indicating that he exudes great power.

Oda mentioned in an SBS that Shanks could have eliminated the 100,000 pirates and fish-men opposed to the Straw Hats during the Fishman Island Arc with his Royal Haki, while Luffy managed to eliminate “just” 50,000 of them.

As far as it is known, Bartolomeo cannot use any of the three Haki. He has never shown any Haki skills nor has it been said by anyone that Bartolomeo can use Haki.

Since it is not known that Bartolomeo can use even one Haki, whereas Shanks can use all three, Shanks easily wins this one. On top of that, Shanks is one of the most powerful Haki users in the world, which makes him a formidable foe in this aspect.

Point: Shanks 3, Bartolomeo 1

Weapons

Shanks is usually portrayed as a great swordsman. Ten years ago he was able to swim, so it was assumed that he did not have any fruit and to date there is no indication that he has consumed any. Before losing his arm, his fights against Mihawk were famous, even reaching the ears of Whitebeard himself. Although he has not been seen fighting with his sword long enough to know any of his techniques thus far, he has been seen in situations where he needed to show his true strength, such as when he clashed swords with Whitebeard, appearing practically at his level, despite having only one arm.

Since Mihawk is ranked as the best swordsman in the world and Shanks is his old rival, it can be assumed that he is a very proficient swordsman. It is believed that the redhead favored his left arm before losing it, as he is always seen holding his sword in his left hand during flashbacks, although there is also speculation that he used to use dual swords, which would explain Mihawk’s disinterest. for fighting him after losing his arm and would match the double swords of the redhead’s Jolly Roger.

Bartolomeo carries a dagger with him, though he has only been seen using it twice. The first time was when he cut out the tongue of the nobleman who insulted Luffy, and the second time was when he tried to kill Gladius, in an attempt to save Nico Robin.

Shanks has only one arm, but he is nevertheless an amazing swordsman and one of the most respected sword wielders in the whole series. He cannot beat Mihawk, but he can easily defeat Bartolomeo in this category, which is why he wins this point as well.

Point: Shanks 4, Bartolomeo 1

Shanks vs. Bartolomeo – Who would win?

As the points clearly state, Shanks is the clear winner here and there was no doubt about this at any moment of our analysis. Namely, Shanks is so powerful that Bartolomeo doesn’t even have anything to compare with him. Sure, he has a Devil Fruit and that is a powerful source of power for him, but Shanks could easily counter that.

Even with one arm, you mustn’t forget, Shanks is considered to be one of the best swordsmen in the world. His Haki is exceptional and unmatched by almost anyone. He also has enormous physical strength, and all of that puts him levels above Bartolomeo and anything the latter has to offer. This is why the outcome was so clear.

Ultimately, Bartolomeo would stand no chance against Shanks and this would end up being a quick fight. Shanks would only need to figure out how to properly counter Batrolomeo, and since that wouldn’t be an issue for the red-haired pirate, Bartolomeo would go down relatively quickly. Everyone fears Shanks, even the Navy and the strongest captains in the world, so Bartolomeo really has nothing to show against Shanks, who takes this one easily, as we have elaborated and analyzed in our article.