How Did Shanks Lose His Arm in One Piece?
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 because of his friendship with Luffy, people generally like him a lot. He is going to be the star of the upcoming One Piece Film: Red and while we’re waiting for the premiere, we have decided to tell you a bit about Shanks. In this article, you’re going to find out how Shanks lost his arm in the story.
After Luffy had been kidnapped, Shanks caught up to Luffy, who had been thrown into the ocean by Higuma, and defended him from the monstrous Lord of the Coast, whom he scared away with a simple glare, using his Haoshoku Haki. The Lord of the Coast tried to eat Luffy but bit off Shanks’ left arm instead. This is the story of how Shanks lost his arm in One Piece.
The rest of this article is going to focus on Shanks and his story in the series, as we are going to elaborate on how he actually lost his left arm in the One Piece series. The story in question is quite sad and heartwarming 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.
How did Shanks lose his arm (so easily)?
One day, Shanks was partying at a bar with his crew, still refusing to recruit Luffy. Shanks told the boy that they were going to leave the village after two or three trips. Higuma and his men arrived in the bar and demanded sake, which Shanks and his crew had drunk all but one bottle. Shanks offered the last bottle to Higuma but Higuma smashed it over his head and threw food at him, telling him he was a coward.
Following this, when the bandit left the bar, Shanks and his crew burst out laughing. Luffy, not understanding why Shanks hadn’t tried to fight back, got angry and told them that they weren’t behaving like pirates. To console himself, he ate a piece of fruit from a crate of Shanks. That’s when Shanks found out he had eaten the Gomu Gomu no Mi. Shanks told Luffy that he would never be able to swim again.
A few days later, Shanks and his crew set out to sea, leaving Luffy behind once again. At the same time, Higuma returned and kidnapped Luffy to make him a hostage. As the bandit planned to kill Luffy, Shanks returned with his crew. Shanks taunted Luffy for claiming to have punches as powerful as a pistol. Higuma told Shanks to stay where he was however Shanks stepped forward.
A brigand under Higuma’s orders pointed his gun at the boy’s head. As Shanks told him not to point a gun at anyone except to shoot, Lucky Roo killed the bandit with a bullet to the head. When the other bandits said it was horrible to kill like that, Shanks declared that they were pirates before telling Higuma that he could have food thrown at him or be humiliated, but he would never let anyone hurt his friends, no matter the reason.
It is following this that Benn Beckman will defeat all the bandits himself. It was then that Higuma disappeared after throwing a smoke bomb. Shanks started screaming that he didn’t know what to do. Shortly after, Shanks arrived at Luffy, who had been thrown into the water by Higuma, and saved him from the Lord of the Coast who he scared off with a look.
However, as Shanks comforted the kid, Luffy was crying and screaming as Shanks had lost his left arm to protect him. Shanks tells him that it was only an arm and that the most important thing was that he was saved. Later, Shanks and his crew prepared to leave the village permanently. When Luffy declared that he no longer wanted to join the Red-Hair’s crew, because he wanted to join his own crew that he was going to create.
Shanks tells him he doesn’t have what it takes to become a pirate. Frustrated, Luffy told him that he was going to create a very powerful crew and that he was going to be so powerful that he could compete with Shanks and find the One Piece to become the Pirate King. Smiling, Shanks gave the Straw Hat to Luffy, asking him to return it when he became a great pirate.
What episode does Shanks lose his arm in?
The events described above took place in Episode 4 of the One Piece anime series, which was titled “Luffy’s Past! The Red-Haired Shanks Appears!”. The episode premiered on December 8, 1999, while the remastered version debuted on April 28, 2012. It adapted elements from the very first chapter of the One Piece manga.
Did Shanks lose his arm on purpose?
Absolutely not. Shanks lost his arm while saving Luffy, he had no intention of losing his arm to the Lord of the Coast, but it was a necessary aspect to save Luffy. Shanks was a great man, a man of principle and he actually made an effort to save the young Luffy, even if it meant losing an arm.
Why didn’t Shanks use Haki to save his arm?
Well, we don’t really know why he did not do it in the first place as he normally used his Haki to scare away the beast, but we assume that Shanks simply had no time. He had arrived just in the nick of time, and he probably did not have the time to use the technique before saving Luffy. That is the probable reason.
Did Shanks become weaker after losing his arm?
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.
He was able to swim ten years before Luffy set out on his adventure, meaning he didn’t consume Devil Fruits while rivaling Mihawk. It has also been stated by the Five Elders that he is one of the few people capable of stopping Marshall D. Teach. His power must be quite significant since Admiral Akainu had fought many men and a few Warlords in Marineford until he got to Luffy, but did not 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. Shanks was powerful enough to end the war in Marineford with just words; when he said there should be no more fighting, no one stood up to challenge him.
When Shanks offered Blackbeard a fight, the latter declined and decided to leave, as it was too early for him and his crew to fight Shanks. Furthermore, when Shanks demanded that the dignity of Whitebeard and Portgas D. Ace not be violated following their deaths, Sengoku himself also decided to end the war and took responsibility for it
Shanks is usually depicted with a sword. Although its use was only briefly displayed, the fact that it was able to match a Whitebeard strike with one arm is a clear indication of the strength of its attacks. Shanks is also strong enough to stop Akainu’s Magma Fist using his sword and Armaments Haki.
Mihawk is ranked as the greatest swordsman in the world, and Shanks is an old rival of the latter which speaks more than enough about Shanks’ true powers and abilities. Shanks seems to have favored the use of his left arm before losing it, as he is still seen holding his sword with his left hand during flashbacks. He is presumed to have been left-handed.
