Can the current Luffy finally defeat Shanks?

Summary

• Luffy and Shanks are the powerful One Piece Emperors.
• Shanks may be slightly stronger than Luffy in combat.
• Emotional factors can help Luffy defeat Shanks.

Although Luffy started out as Luffy's mentor and idol One Piecesince the events of Wano, for the first time, the two are now on equal footing. With Luffy becoming one of the Sea Emperors, Luffy finally begins to become a great pirate and may be able to reclaim the Straw Hat for the first time as he promised years ago. During the current arc c One PieceElbaf Arc, this could be a possibility as many fans predict that Luffy will finally reunite with Shanks on this island.

However, Luffy is now on the same level as One Piece A red-haired pirate captain, many fans wonder if Luffy has reached Shanks' level of strength. Even though Luffy has defeated the Emperor in the past, in a straight 1v1 fight without help, Luffy can fight much more. This leaves many fans wondering: Can the current Luffy finally defeat Shanks in a fight?

Luffy and Shanks are powerful emperors of one part

After his travels across Wano Earth, Luffy finally reached what many fans consider to be the Emperor level. With his mastery over Haki, as well as the incredibly powerful Devil Fruit, the prototype of the human-human fruit: Nick's Sun God, Luffy was able to face and defeat Kaido, one of One Piece the strongest characters. While it's still hard to say which of the two characters is stronger, Luffy is definitely on par with the Emperor at the very least.

Do me a favor, keep that hat for me. – Shanks to young Luffy

Shanks, on the other hand, has been the Sea Emperor for years and has shown how strong he is on several occasions. In addition to having a very strong team, Shanks himself is an excellent swordsman with incredible abilities One Piece Hack skills. ​​​​​​While Shanks doesn't appear too often, when Shanks does appear, he is able to take down his enemies quickly with some remarkable Haki feats, including destroying Captain Kidd's ship with a single attack.

Shanks might be a bit stronger than Luffy

However, strength is not the only thing needed to win a battle

• In terms of power, Shanks is stronger than Luffy
• Emotional factors can help Luffy win

Now, since Captain Kidd was on the same level as Luffy on Wano, Shanks might still have a slight advantage over Luffy in battle. Although Luffy could stand up to Shanks at this point in the story, Luffy needs a bit more training to withstand Shanks' incredible Haki-based attacks. However, that being said, strength isn't the only thing that decides a battle.

Luffy might have a few advantages over Shanks considering their relationship is strong One Piece symbols. First, Shanks and Luffy, if they were to fight, would most likely have a friendly battle. If neither character is looking for immediate victory and if they are just sparring, Captain Straw Hat may have a few more opportunities to pull off an amazing victory. Also, because of their past, a fight between Luffy and Shanks could be more of a test than an actual battle, with Shanks potentially holding back to see how far Luffy has come.

Shanks still wins the fight against current One Piece Luffy

In a fight without external factors, Shanks will win

However, in a normal 1v1 fight, with no outside factors, emotional or otherwise, Shanks would likely still win against Luffy. However, if Luffy is given a chance to get a little stronger during his adventures on Elbafa, the results of the fight could be very different. Also, at the end of the series, Luffy will most likely surpass Shanks and become one of the strongest pirates in One Piece.

Having experienced both victory and defeat, running away and shedding tears, a person will become a person. – Legs

Ultimately, while it's fun to speculate on who would win in a fight between these characters, seeing Luffy and Shanks in a serious battle would be one of the One Piece the most emotional moments. These characters have a deep respect for each other and want the other to succeed. An all out fight would have completely undermined the purpose of their relationship if it wasn't just friendly sparring. Because of this, it's more than normal that viewers will never see a serious fight between Luffy and Shanks in the story One Piece.