One Piece's Red-haired Shanks is one of the most intriguing characters in the entire story. Introduced to the fans in the very first chapter of the series, Shanks has had somewhat of a limited role in the role since. Although his importance to the plot remains paramount, Eiichiro Oda is yet to show the fans what the man is capable of and what role he'll play in the story going forward.
So far, Shanks has made some big appearances in some of the arcs and, being as loved as he is, made a huge impact on the fans. From East Blue, all the way to Marineford before the timeskip and then the Wano Country arc following the two-year gap, he's made some key moves that have affected the plot drastically, however, his strength still remains unknown to this date. Fans do know, however, that he's mainly reliant on his Haki in combat, but how strong is Shanks' Haki, really?
Shanks Main Weapons In Combat
Shanks is an incredibly powerful pirate and that was established quite early into the story. Although his exact level of strength was not known for quite a while, it was during the Enies Lobby arc that the fans got an idea of how powerful Shanks is for the very first time. Through Garp, fans found out that Shanks was actually one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, also known as the Yonko, and a pirate of the very same caliber as the great Whitebeard himself. Despite not having a Devil Fruit power, Shanks is an extremely powerful pirate with skill that far surpasses most in the One Piece world.
In combat, Shanks doesn't seem to rely on much. He carries a sword with him and, although not confirmed, it appears to be one of the Saijo o Wazamono grade swords. Shanks' trusted blade is known as Gryphon and with the sword, he dueled "Hawkeyes" Mihawk in the past. Other than his blade, Shanks doesn't rely on any weapon in combat, however, it is unknown how he actually fights and what techniques he incorporates in his fighting style while in combat.
Despite having lost his dominant arm while saving Luffy, Shanks is still extremely powerful as he managed to rise to the position of Yonko only after the incident. Since Shanks doesn't rely on any Devil Fruit power, it is only natural to assume that he makes use of high-level Haki in combat, which has been alluded to on several occasions in the story so far.
How Strong Is Shanks' Haki?
Shanks' Haki is, more likely than not, extremely powerful and perhaps even the strongest in the world right now. After all, Shanks has risen to the position of Yonko without any Devil Fruits. In one of One Piece's recent chapters, Kaido clarified that Haki is essential for the conquest of seas and that Roger brought the whole world to heel with this power. Similar to Roger, Shanks relies solely on his Haki in battle. What's more, Shanks has also lost his dominant arm yet he became a Yonko four years before the beginning of the story, once again, implying that his skills are incredibly refined.
During his meeting with Whitebeard, Shanks caused physical damage to the Moby Dick while trying to suppress his Haki, which just goes to show that if he let his Haki out, the very ship could've been destroyed. Diamond Jozu, the Third Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, went on to call his Haki "incredible." Shanks then went on to clash his advanced Conqueror's Haki with that of Whitebeard's and the two split the skies, showing that they were pretty close in terms of power level at the time.
From amongst the Yonko, Kaido and Big Mom are going to go down in the Wano Country arc, leaving behind the two more important ones – Shanks and Blackbeard. While the latter makes use of overpowered Devil Fruit abilities like the Gura Gura no Mi and the Yami Yami no Mi in combat, it would make sense for Shanks to have overpowered Haki to counter that. It's also quite interesting to note that Shanks has a bounty of 4,081,900,000 berries despite becoming a Yonko only six years ago. All this was achieved without being a notorious or ruthless pirate, like Kaido.
Without a doubt, this just goes to show that Shanks' ability is what the World Government fear and that his power is something truly spectacular. All things considered, Shanks' Haki could be the strongest in the current timeline, and with the Wano Country arc finally wrapping it, it is a given that the story will focus on him soon. Shanks' true Haki strength can be properly gauged as soon as fans get an arc centered around him in the manga.