Kid Pirates’ massacre was obviously the main event of Chapter 1079 but a small detail that I feel like no one’s talking about is the one panel where someone says that Shanks’ grand fleet is actually notoriously weak.
Now “weak” is relative of course, but it really comes with the vibe/implication that Shanks’ grand fleet is less of a military force and more of a bunch of other pirates under his protection. Now Emperors generally protect their crews/territories, sure, but it seems like a slightly different dynamic than that of Emperors we’ve seen so far, and I find it super interesting.
Shanks’ fleet seems definitely weaker than Luffy’s. The Straw Hat grand fleet is comprised of people who were the representative fighters of their clans and countries who came to fight in the colosseum. There’s actual mercenaries in Luffy’s fleet. Shanks’ fleet has grandpas and princesses from what we’ve seen. It feels like they would be totally vulnerable if Shanks wasn’t constantly in the New World protecting both his territories and fleet.
What’s interesting is that it’s notoriously weak, which means the other Yonko knew it was full of weaklings. I think the reason Shanks avoided fighting them was because they could use that weakness against him.
It also seems like his fleet is meant to be the polar opposite of Buggy’s delivery, which is made up of powerful people who do the fighting for the leader.
*by PackOfManicJackals/Specialist-Low8198
