Chapter 1095 confirms Garling is the Father of Shanks
Since his introduction, Saint Figarland Garling has been associated with Shanks. Many have also theorized that Figarland is the one who scarred Whitebeard.
Saint Figarland Garling is a World Noble of the Figarland Family and the Supreme Commander of the God’s Knights. He was formerly active as a “champion” on God Valley. As Supreme Commander of the God’s Knights, Garling can pass judgment upon even his fellow World Nobles for behavior deemed intolerable.
Shanks being a former member of the Figarland Family would provide an easy explanation for why the Five Elders granted him a private audience.
As we know Shanks was found by the Roger Pirates at God Valley, back when he was just an infant.
With God Valley being the same exact place where Celestial Dragons, and, most notably, Garling Figarland, are strongly connected, the concurrences are beginning to be too many and too significant to be ignored. In chapter 1095 we finally see young Garlic. He is literally identical to Shanks.
-There are also other similarities:
-They are both conventionally handsome, pretty even.
-They both carry a sword.
-They both elicit fawning and adoration in the gullible masses.
-They both can be ruthless when they deem it a necessity.
-They both care about a certain type of fairness (equality): Garling points out that the point deduction he received is ‘good enough of a handicap for other Celestial Dragons contestants to have a shot at winning’ – basically, he did something that put him on equal footing with others. His skill of hunting and slaughtering defenseless people (the God Valley King was unarmed) is obviously superior to that of his fellow Celestial Dragons, so now that he got that point deduction, other players are not at a disadvantage anymore. Shanks also made a big deal out of Kid Pirates being at no disadvantage due to their recent fights in Wano (‘have they recovered fully?’).
