People said that despite Shanks and Shamrock having the same genetics, Shanks had to be stronger because he grew up with the Roger Pirates and fought against other pirates , but this chapter completely debunks that logic. Garling states that the hardships Shanks went through as a pirate would only make him equal to Shamrock, not above him. In Oda’s view, the challenges Shanks faced while travelling and fighting match the training and hardships Shamrock experienced as a Holy Knight.
So if Shanks’ past with the Roger Pirates does not give him an advantage over Shamrock, then nothing that happened afterward does either. Fighting Mihawk or becoming a Yonko made Shanks stronger, but Shamrock kept growing stronger through his own training. Oda considers consistent training to be just as effective as travelling the world and fighting different opponents. This is the same reason Coby keeps getting stronger through training alone. He does not need to travel like Luffy to improve.
People have created this headcanon, that Shamrock’s purpose is to explore nature versus nurture, and that Shanks should be stronger because he was raised as a pirate under Roger. This is complete nonsense. If that was the point of Shamrock’s character, Oda would have introduced him much earlier in the story. Shamrock’s purpose is to serve as an endgame antagonist alongside Garling. He was placed in the One Piece contender panel for a reason. After Imu is defeated, Garling will move to take control, and it will become clear that he is the true final enemy among the Celestial Dragons. Shamrock will be Garling’s right hand, which means he must be extremely powerful as well. Garling is the strongest Figarland, above both shamrock and shanks whom are equals.
