Kind-hearted, at least when it comes to his friends. He loves to party, stops Yonkos like a badass, and even stops wars.
He talks to the World Government behind the scenes.
There are many aspects to Shanks that are peculiar, especially that one of the most notorious pirates would meet with the leaders of the World in secret, or that he would hold the respect of Sengoku, the former Fleet Admiral of the Marines.
It all comes down to this: Shanks is acting as best he can, knowing what he knows about the Void Century, to avoid innocent people from being dragged into it, while waiting for the man that would fulfill Roger’s will.
In that regard, Shanks is an independent agent, and therefore a threat to the World Government, but at the same time, his power solidifies him as a temporary asset at times of war, as we see when he stops Kaido from joining the Marineford war, and actually stops the Marineford war by challenging the Whitebeard pirates, Blackbeard pirates, and the Marines, to fight them if they want to keep fighting someone. So officially, because he’s a pirate, he has a bounty, but I don’t think the World Government is actively chasing Shanks because of what he stands for.
This all points me to one conclusion: Shanks is stalling. He knows the people who can make the world free is currently growing up, but are not yet strong enough to take on the world. We all know who those people are, the Straw Hat Pirates.
