One of the Yonko’s A play, Shanks is an incredibly powerful character who is also of considerable importance to the plot of the series. Shanks was introduced quite early in the story as the man who put Luffy on the path to becoming the Pirate King. Since then, his appearances have been rather limited, however, it wasn’t long before it was clearly established that Shanks was truly a monster in battle and ranked among the four most powerful pirates in history.
While Shanks spent most of his time on the sidelines, A play entering his endgame means now is the time for him to enter the fray as well. In the final arc, Shanks will be a key character and make his presence felt. Since he is a Yonko, every fan of A play knows that Shanks is a very powerful pirate and his main source of strength is his incredible Conqueror Haki.
Although Conqueror’s Haki is a power that was properly explained by Silvers Rayleigh quite late in the story, shortly before the timeskip, Shanks was the first person in the story to demonstrate its use. After saving Luffy from the Coast Lord in East Blue, Shanks used his Haki to intimidate the beast. At the time, fans had no idea of Shanks’ abilities as a Conqueror’s Haki user, however, it wasn’t long before a proper demonstration of this power was given to everyone. After the Enies Lobby arc, Shanks encountered Whitebeard in the New World and gave fans a proper display of his Conqueror’s Haki, which was certainly quite impressive. The likes of Jozu and Marco were well aware of what he was capable of and the former even commented on his incredible power.
Shortly after, Whitebeard, one of the Four Sea Emperors, also made sure to establish the fact that Shanks’ Haki was beyond impressive. The two then clashed with their Haki which ended up splitting the heavens and the heavens themselves. In the Marineford arc, Shanks’ Conqueror Haki was able to intimidate even Akainu and cause someone as strong as Coby to pass out completely. It was already pretty obvious that Shanks was an incredibly powerful user of Conqueror’s Haki based on his portrayal. Also, among the Four Emperors, Shanks was the only person without a Devil Fruit, meaning his Haki has to make up for the other power he doesn’t have. After the two-year timeskip, Oda took it a step further and finally showed fans the true power of his Conqueror’s Haki during the Wano Country arc.
Right off the bat, it was pretty clear to see that Shanks’ Conqueror Haki was very powerful. While visiting Whitebeard, he was able to cause physical damage to the Yonko’s ship while trying to suppress his Haki, which was the very first indication that this power was being used as an offensive ability in physical combat. Oda himself created incredible hype around Shanks’ Conqueror Haki after being asked about this power in an SBS corner. According to him, someone like Shanks could have easily wiped out the 100,000 fish-men in the Fish-man Island arc. Also, Shanks’ ability to intimidate others doesn’t just work on fodder. Instead, he managed to intimidate even the admirals, which is nothing short of stunning. In the Marineford arc, Akainu was seen sweating over Shanks letting go of his Conqueror’s Haki.
At the same time, in A play 1055, Shanks showed the full extent of his Conqueror’s Haki by letting loose against Green Bull. Amazingly, he was able to hit him with his Haki even though he was miles away from him. From the seas around Wano, Shanks’ advanced use of this ability was such that it knocked and paralyzed the Admiral and caused him to sweat quite easily. Additionally, Shanks was also able to communicate with Green Bull using his Haki despite being miles away from him. Whether or not this ability is related to Conqueror’s Haki remains to be seen, however, it’s evident that Shanks’ use of this power is currently the best in the series.
In fact, some of his own crew were knocked out when he unleashed Haki in a fit of rage in A play 1055. His top leaders, like Lucky Roux, were also seen fearing the display of his power and urging him to calm down and not do it all. Above all, Shanks injuring, crippling, and scaring an Admiral miles away is proof enough that he is, in fact, in a league of his own and it’s something even Kaido’s strongest creature has recognized during the arc of the land of the Wa.