People always speculate about Shanks’ abilities. Sure he’s a powerful swordsman but you’d need more than that to be an Emperor, right? And we know little about his motivations.
But when you look at what he’s done in the series, it’s almost like he knows what will happen in the future (not just a few weeks, probably more like months or years) and tries to prevent the worst outcomes. So I’m thinking Shanks can see the future, and I mean pretty far into the future.
Evidence #1: He goes to warn Whitebeard to stop Ace.
Sure, at first glance you might just think he did it because he was scared Ace would get hurt. But would two Yonko really meet over the possibility of someone getting hurt? And this is someone Shanks met once.
More likely: He knew Ace would lose and it would trigger a war that would destabilize the world. He even says something like “The rampaging era can’t be prevented”. He’s less mad at Whitebeard and more frustrated that he sees a bad future and can’t prevent it despite his best efforts.
Evidence #2: The encounter with Kaido.
We don’t know for sure what happened but it’s pretty clear that they didn’t get into a protracted battle, even Shanks would’ve had some scratches if that happened. But if not that, then how would Kaido be dissuaded from coming to Marineford?
Likely: Shanks just convinced Kaido not to go because in a few years he’d get an even bigger war. Kaido knows Shanks can see the future and believed him.
Evidence #3: Shanks dialogue when he saved Coby.
He said something like “The moments you bought have changed the future”. Did he just think Luffy would be a great pirate?
More likely: No, he literally knows it because he’s able to see possible futures and knows that Luffy staying alive makes a critical difference.
Evidence #4: Warning the Gorosei.
We don’t know who he’s warning them about, but either way it’s yet another instance of Shanks seemingly knowing what will (or at least is likely) to happen in the future and trying to do something about it.
Thoughts? I think this is a lot of what makes Shanks so feared, maybe thanks to the most Advanced Observation Haki in the series he can see into the future at will, be it seconds or years.
*Theory by MYJC
