According to last year’s Jump Festa, Eiichiro Oda might have confirmed Shanks battling against Blackbeard in One Piece, which is much awaited.

SUMMARY

As One Piece is in its final saga, a lot of battles are going to take place that will change everything.
One such battle will be between Shanks and Blackbeard, the two Emperors of One Piece.
Their duel was already hinted by Eiichiro Oda in last year’s Jump Festa.

Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece has taken an entirely new shift ever since the final saga has started and taken the narrative to an unexpected route. The recent developments in the One Piece manga series have hinted that many big battles are underway that will change the course of history for the One Piece world in ways that fans can’t even imagine.

One Piece | Credit: Toei Animation

These battles will involve all the heavy league hitters from the series who have made it to the final saga and see the series to its end. Out of these anticipated battles, the one that fans are most excited about is the duel between Blackbeard and Shanks, the two strongest Emperors of the One Piece pirate world.

Their battle has been much awaited by fans as it was already hinted at by Oda during last year’s Jump Festa when he teased the future events of the storyline, which included Luffy landing in Elbaph. Considering the current developments in the One Piece narrative, it looks like the duel between the two Emperors will be taking place soon.

Eiichiro Oda might have confirmed Shanks vs. Blackbeard

Last year, during the Jump Festa, Oda decided to share some major details about the One Piece franchise and what he had planned for the series in the future. He talked about One Piece Film: Red and the live-action adaptation by Netflix. Not only that, he also pointed out the success of the Wano arc and the 25th anniversary that the series celebrated this year.

Apart from all this, the One Piece mangaka dropped some major hints about the upcoming narrative, which included Egghead and what will happen once Luffy leaves Egghead.

Oda already hinted that once Luffy leaves Egghead, he will go to Elbaph, and there will be a struggle of some kind that is extremely crucial to the Elbaph storyline.

Shanks in One Piece | Credit: Toei Animation

Not only that, the manga creator also explained that once the Elbaph arc starts, there might be a battle between two characters that will lead to unexpected results. As One Piece has now brought Shanks into the spotlight since the Wano arc, it is certain that he will be one of those characters. And his only adversary within the storyline as of now is Blackbeard.

Blackbeard vs Shanks could lead to unexpected results

As mentioned above, Eiichiro Oda has specifically stated that the battle between the two characters will lead to unexpected results. Thus, if the hinted battle does involve Shanks and Blackbeard, it will certainly change the course of One Piece in a major way. This is because Shanks and Blackbeard are two of the most powerful characters in the series.

Blackbeard in One Piece | Credit: Toei Animation

The two characters have had a past together that goes back to when they were apprentices of Gol D. Roger and Whitebeard. Shanks was always doubtful of Blackbeard’s character, and he even got into a battle with him earlier in the One Piece story, and this battle resulted in him getting a scar on his face. Not only that, he even warned Whitebeard about Blackbeard’s plans.

Thus, it is safe to say that the two characters are destined to meet each other in the final saga, and their battle will result in the defeat of one of them. Both Shanks and Blackbeard hold a lot of significance in the One Piece narrative, and because of this, the result of their duel will change the course of the story in a major way.