Things are heating up in the anime of One Piece. Two strong pirates face off, including one of the most popular characters from the series. The fight doesn’t last long, but it hints at how intense the Pirate King really is.
Warning, this article discusses the current episode 1112 of the anime One Piece. If you do not want to know the outcome of the fight or the participants involved, you should not read further.
Which characters are facing off? In the new anime episode, Eustass Kid, a pirate from the Worst Generation, encounters Shanks, one of the reigning Pirate Kings.
Shanks is one of the most popular characters from the franchise. In a recent ultimate survey, he ranked 12th among the most popular characters (via soranews24). Given the over 1,000 characters in One Piece, this is an excellent placement.
Eustass Kid challenges Shanks and his pirate crew in Elbaf. He seeks revenge for an earlier fight in which Kid lost one of his arms. However, Shanks’ response comes swiftly, leading to the first battle where Shanks is seen in action.
Eustass Kid appears in the film One Piece Stampede. You can watch the trailer here:
Epic fight in One Piece that is unfortunately far too short
What happens in the fight? Unfortunately, the fight between the two lasts less than 1.5 minutes. Kid is just about to shoot when Shanks charges at him. Before he can launch his attack, Shanks’ Haki creates a gigantic hippogriff.
Shanks then prepares to strike with his sword. He slices through Kid’s weapon, which then explodes. The heavy blow has even broader consequences: it destroys a ship, knocks bystanders unconscious, and sends Kid flying several meters away.
You can watch the scene in the following video by newworldartur on X:
Is this Shanks’ first fight? Although we have known Shanks since the start of the anime 25 years ago, we have never seen him in action in the series. There have only been two moments when he demonstrated the strength of his Haki:
- With his gaze, he scared away a Sea King. These are feared monsters that can sink entire ships. Shanks lost an arm to one of them.
- He frightened a Marine Admiral just by his mere presence. His Haki caused Aramaki to flee.
This fight probably doesn’t show what potential Shanks really holds. He only needed one attack to defeat Kid. Against a stronger opponent, Shanks would likely have had to use his entire repertoire.
We are all the more curious to see what Shanks’ next fight will look like and what he has to offer. Shanks is one of the few pirates we believe has the potential to find the One Piece and become Pirate King: 5 pirate crews that have a chance at the One Piece
