Shanks Was a Traitor – But Not to Who You Think: One Piece’s Big Twist Explained

One Piece just blew the lid off years of speculation about Shanks. Chapter #1167 has finally confirmed what hardcore fans have debated for ages: yes, Shanks was a traitor – but he didn’t betray the pirates or join forces with the World Government. Instead, he pulled off a double-cross that nobody saw coming.

For over seven years, the fanbase has obsessed over the mysterious scene from chapter 906. Back then, a man resembling Shanks met with the Five Elders, sparking endless theories about him secretly working for the World Government. But a curveball in the new arc introduces Figarland Shamrock, hinting the man wasn’t Shanks at all but his twin brother. The “Shanks is a traitor” idea seemed dead in the water, until now.

Shanks’ True Target: Betraying the World Government From Within

Chapter #1167 makes it official: Shanks did turn traitor, but against the World Government. It’s revealed that fifteen years ago, Shanks made his way into the Holy Land itself, working his way up to become one of the so-called Devoted Blades of God. He even forged a chilling contract with Imu, the shadowy figure at the highest rung of the World Government.

The timeline is wild. This secret stint began about nine years after Gol D. Roger’s death, and just two years after Shanks set up his own crew. That was around the time he recruited Yasopp (about 17 years ago), making his Celestial Dragon role a tightly kept secret from the pirate world. Most readers figured that was the end of Shanks’ pirating days, but the truth is messier.

As chapter #1167 lays out, Shanks didn’t just infiltrate the government; he actively sabotaged them. He played a direct hand in one of the most daring escapes in One Piece history: Fisher Tiger’s liberation of the Holy Land’s slaves. It turns out that armory, suspiciously left open during the raid, was no accident; Shanks was the inside man.

Even more, Shanks is depicted grilling Shamrock for details about the Holy Land, turning his “traitor” status into a full-fledged espionage saga. Was this all reconnaissance? Was he planning to undermine the Celestial Dragons from the start? The answers are still hidden, but the deception ran deep.

The Mystery of Shanks: Crying Over Roger and Plotting His Own Path

Everything about Shanks seems wrapped in secrets. His time as a Celestial Dragon agent was brief, just about a year, before he was spotted meeting out on Elbaph with Gaban on the day of Harald’s death. That short period was enough to leave the fandom with more questions than answers.

The big question: Why? Why would Shanks, who formed his own pirate crew and showed little interest in seizing power or treasure, get involved with the Celestial Dragons in the first place? There’s one scene that keeps coming up; Roger’s return from Laugh Tale.

In chapter #968’s flashback, Roger says something to Shanks that reduces him to tears. Since then, Shanks has done everything but act like the standard pirate. He’s held back from pursuing the One Piece, operated from the shadows, tangled with the World Government, and even played a secret role with the Nika Fruit. Every step hints that he’s playing a game nobody else can see.

Maybe it all traces back to whatever Roger told him on that ship. Maybe Shanks’ actions are tied to a bigger plan still unfolding. Fans now wonder if even his earliest moments, like saving Luffy as a boy, were part of a larger, secret agenda.

What’s certain: Shanks isn’t the traitor fans feared. He didn’t sell out his crew or the pirate world. Instead, he turned on the World Government itself, setting up the possibility for the character’s first true spotlight after years of lurking in the story’s corners. With so many loose threads connecting him to past and present mysteries, expect Shanks to become more central than ever as One Piece barrels toward its endgame.