Okay, I'm not really rooting for this idea to turn out to be true. And I don't think I even really believe it, myself. But...I thought of it. And it won't leave me alone. I kind of needed to work through this train of thought, even though it completely goes off the rails by the end. So...Join me on this little detective mystery I've created for myself.
So, in the latest chapter, we get to see the Gods Knights arrive on Elbaph via Summoning Circles similar to what the Gorosei used on Egghead.
But on Egghead, it seemed like you needed someone at the desired location physically in order to act as a “anchor” to bring over the other people you were summoning. Otherwise, what was the point of Saturn sailing all the way to Egghead on a ship? If the Summoning Circles could just teleport you ANYWHERE, why not just use them to teleport all the Gorosei to Egghead directly? I mean, the Marines were useful to have as backup. But, the Gorosei don't usually bother to go to the "Lower Realm". Why stay there longer than they absolutely need to? What was the point of Saturn going to Egghead physcially, if these Summoning Circles can teleport you anywhere you wish? This at least indicates that you do need someone to act as a physical "anchor" in order to summon others.
But, on Elbaph, we don't see anyone here working as a "anchor". These two Gods Knights just teleport in. It’s almost literally a “locked room” mystery!
Now, it seems as though Big Stein Castle has basically been abandoned. Elbaph hasn't had a King for 6 years, ever since Loki killed King Harald. And no one seems to be living there anymore, judging by how dark it is.
So just about anyone could sneak in there, if they wanted to. No one seems to be guarding the place or even keeping it maintained. The throne still has a giant gash where it looks like Loki attacked King Harald. It's basically the perfect place to do something in secret.
So, here's the big question:
Is it possible that Shanks could have prepared the God’s Knights’ Summoning Circle back when he was on Elbaph? Is it possible that Shanks snuck into Big Stein Castle and prepared the Summoning Circle in order to let the Gods Knights into the “back door” of Elbaph?
We know Shanks was on Elbaph right before the Strawhats reached Egghead. So, he would have had a opportunity to place the Summoning Circle, in theory, if he wanted. No one seems to be guarding the empty castle, so it probably wouldn't have been a problem to sneak in.
We don't know for sure how long Shanks was on Elbaph. But, it seems like he was still on the island dealing with Kid during the events of Egghead. Egghead only took place over the course of two days. And we learn in Chapter 1126 that it took two more days for the Giants to sail from Egghead to Elbaph. So at present, it's likely been 4 days since Shanks left the island.
But, right after he left, he made sure to go straight to deal with Bartolomeo. In a very public and memorable display. Almost as if he was trying to establish a alibi for where he was, while the Strawhats would be on Elbaph. Everyone on the island would be able to vouch for Shanks' whereabouts. Meanwhile his "evil twin" runs rampant on Elbaph. Shanks gets to keep his name clear, by establishing dozens or hundreds of witnesses.
While dealing with Bartolomeo, he also tries to make a deal with him to poison Luffy. Now, this could have been Shanks "testing" Bart's loyalty to Luffy. But, we don't know what his motives were for sure. What we do know is, Shanks offered someone a chance to kill Luffy for him. And then made sure to eliminate that person after he refused to do so. That right there is suspicious behavior. If nothing else, it shows that Shanks has Luffy coming to harm on his mind. It's hard to say if he wants to cause Luffy harm or prevent harm from coming to him, though.
We also know that Shanks does have a connection to the Gods Knights, through his "evil twin". Which...I guess I have to call "Pranks" due to not having anything better to call him. Now, Shanks was found by Roger as a baby. So, it's entirely possible that Shanks isn't even aware of "Pranks". But, it is also possible that "Pranks" has approached Shanks at some point off-screen and formed some sort of relationship with him. We have no proof one way or another.
But, what we do know is that Shanks does have a motive to hurt Luffy. Shanks wants to claim the One Piece. And Luffy is very public about having the same goal. While we don't know what Shanks would be willing to do, it does make sense to get rid of a potential rival for a treasure that you want to have for yourself. The motive isn't strong, but it's there.
Is it possible that all this time, Shanks was actually laying a trap for Luffy? Manipulating events to bring him to Elbaph and then set him up to be assassinated by the Gods Knights? Shanks has been said to be able to see the future with Observation Haki and Future Sight. Only briefly. But, this likely also aids him in making long term plans. I believe Shanks is capable of crafting a plan like this. Whether or not he'd actually do so is another matter.
The biggest hole in this idea is that we just don't know how these Summoning Circles work. We can make observations and deductions. But, we don't know for sure if they work the way I think they do. Or if they even work consistantly. Oda might just be writing them inconsistently.
Plus, for this theory to work, it would mean that the Summoning Circles can just be "painted" on a object and still work days later. Without the "anchor" physically being there to start the Summoning Ritual. Which, again, runs counter to what we observed with Saturn and the Gorosei on Egghead. Shanks has been gone from Elbaph for at least 3 days at this point in the story. So, if he is working as the "anchor" for the Gods Knights, he's doing it via long distance. It's possible that Shanks' large amount of Haki makes this possible. But, again, we just don't know.
And Shanks isn't the only potential suspect who could have done it, either.
It's possible that one of the Gods Knights snuck into Elbaph and just summoned "Pranks". We don't see any proof of that, either way. But, we do know that humans sometimes end up on Elbaph and usually get corralled into "holding cells" like with Legoland. The Giants don't seem to pay very close attention to these human "guests". So, it would probably be fairly easy for a Gods Knight to pretend to be a normal human, then sneak out of these holding cells and into the castle. Quiet as a mouse. It's possible our "Bandaged" Gods Knight summoned "Pranks" on her own.
We do see the Elbaph Silhouette guy move about fairly freely, who seems to be a normal-sized human. Now, a lot of people have been speculating that this guy could be Shiki, due to having similar clothes and the animals from Strong World being on Elbpah. I've been resistant to this idea. But, if it was him, it would provide us with a motive. Revenge could be a strong motivator, and Luffy did ruin his big plan. And Shiki is described as being a planner, coming up with grandiose long-term plans. So, it is possible that he could also be behind manipulating events in order to bring the Strawhats to Elbaph, in order to get revenge on them. He was also imprisoned in Impel Down. Which means, he may have had an opportunity to meet with the Gorosei or the Gods Knights or some other high-ranking Government official, in order to help set up this team up between him and the Gods Knights. We also know that the Elbaph Silhouette appeared to be waiting for the Strawhats to arrive on Elbaph. It’s possible that this could be keeping watch so they could signal the Gods Knights to come through the Summon Circle at the right moment. This Silhouette might have been working as a lookout for the Gods Knights so they could get the drop on the Strawhats. So, “Shiki” is possible.
Now, there is also Road to consider. He doesn't seem like a character who could have planned or set this all up himself. But, we do see him wearing a Skull in a VERY similar way to one of the Gods Knights that we saw during the God Valley flashback. It's possible that there's a connection there that we don't know about. Does Road potentially harbor admiration for the Gods Knights? Could he possibly even want to join their ranks? It's not impossible, but unlikely, I feel.
Kidd...is unlikely. Not only are we not sure that he even is still on Elbaph. But, he has no known ties to the World Government or the Gorosei. He most likely just doesn't have the means to accomplish something like this.
Loki? I think that if there’s anyone who couldn’t have done it directly, it’s probably Loki. As far as we know he’s been tied to a tree for the past 6 years. So, that’s a pretty rock-solid alibi. Now, those masked men who seem to be working with Loki? Those are potential suspects. But, there’s a problem here. If Loki was working with the Gods Knights and knew they were going to be coming relatively soon, why would he bother making a deal with Luffy? I mean, maybe you could say that Loki was trying to get Luffy to go to the castle to pick up the key for his chains, and the Gods Knights could be lying in wait to ambush him in the castle. But, this just doesn’t seem likely, to me.
It's also possible that it's not Shanks himself, but a member of his crew who possibly set all this up. Shanks's entire crew was on Elbaph at the same time he was. Any one of them could have been approached by the Government and bribed to do this. But, again, they're all off the island right now. And none of them seem as strong as Shanks. If using strong Haki long-distance is what's allowing someone to act as a "anchor" for the Gods Knights, the most likely suspect on Shanks' crew would be Shanks himself.
So what have we learned?
Nothing! We've learned nothing! This has all been a giant waste of time!
There's a lot of evidence against Shanks. He has the means, motivation, and opportunity have set Luffy up for a assassination plot. But, all the evidence is circumstantial at best. There's no hard evidence to link Shanks to this Summoning Circle. And the fact that Shanks is not currently on Elbaph to work as the “anchor” for the Summoning points against Shanks working with the Gods Knights.
No, I believe the culprit is…*Strikes a dramatic accusatory detective pose*
"Shiki"the Elbaph Silhouette!
He's apparently been living on Elbaph for years, if the Strong World animals are any indication. So, it's possible the Giants know him and may even trust him. The Strong World movie premiered December 12 2009. Right around Chapter 567 of the manga, so it's Pre-Time Skip. So, if "Shiki" survived the events of Strong World, then he's possibly been on Elbaf for around two years.
He would have had access to the castle, same as everyone else. And he would want revenge on Luffy. He's got the means, motivation, and opportunity.
And the major point in favor of this over Shanks is that this guy is at least still on the island. He'd probably make for a better "anchor" than Shanks would, being miles away.
It’s entirely possible that the reason why this guy is wandering around Elbaph is so that no one can find him and knock him out, thusly cancelling the Summoning, like what happened with Saturn and Joyboy’s Haki Knot.
If anyone is secretly working as a agent for the Gods Knights on Elbaph from the inside, I think it’s most likely to be “Shiki”.
So...I have to admit it. Shanks is most likely innocent of the crimes I, myself, accused him of. Shanks dodges the accusations once again! The light of justice reveals the truth!
…I think I’ve earned myself a good, strong cup of joe…
So, in the latest chapter, we get to see the Gods Knights arrive on Elbaph via Summoning Circles similar to what the Gorosei used on Egghead.
But on Egghead, it seemed like you needed someone at the desired location physically in order to act as a “anchor” to bring over the other people you were summoning. Otherwise, what was the point of Saturn sailing all the way to Egghead on a ship? If the Summoning Circles could just teleport you ANYWHERE, why not just use them to teleport all the Gorosei to Egghead directly? I mean, the Marines were useful to have as backup. But, the Gorosei don't usually bother to go to the "Lower Realm". Why stay there longer than they absolutely need to? What was the point of Saturn going to Egghead physcially, if these Summoning Circles can teleport you anywhere you wish? This at least indicates that you do need someone to act as a physical "anchor" in order to summon others.
But, on Elbaph, we don't see anyone here working as a "anchor". These two Gods Knights just teleport in. It’s almost literally a “locked room” mystery!
Now, it seems as though Big Stein Castle has basically been abandoned. Elbaph hasn't had a King for 6 years, ever since Loki killed King Harald. And no one seems to be living there anymore, judging by how dark it is.
So just about anyone could sneak in there, if they wanted to. No one seems to be guarding the place or even keeping it maintained. The throne still has a giant gash where it looks like Loki attacked King Harald. It's basically the perfect place to do something in secret.
So, here's the big question:
Is it possible that Shanks could have prepared the God’s Knights’ Summoning Circle back when he was on Elbaph? Is it possible that Shanks snuck into Big Stein Castle and prepared the Summoning Circle in order to let the Gods Knights into the “back door” of Elbaph?
We know Shanks was on Elbaph right before the Strawhats reached Egghead. So, he would have had a opportunity to place the Summoning Circle, in theory, if he wanted. No one seems to be guarding the empty castle, so it probably wouldn't have been a problem to sneak in.
We don't know for sure how long Shanks was on Elbaph. But, it seems like he was still on the island dealing with Kid during the events of Egghead. Egghead only took place over the course of two days. And we learn in Chapter 1126 that it took two more days for the Giants to sail from Egghead to Elbaph. So at present, it's likely been 4 days since Shanks left the island.
But, right after he left, he made sure to go straight to deal with Bartolomeo. In a very public and memorable display. Almost as if he was trying to establish a alibi for where he was, while the Strawhats would be on Elbaph. Everyone on the island would be able to vouch for Shanks' whereabouts. Meanwhile his "evil twin" runs rampant on Elbaph. Shanks gets to keep his name clear, by establishing dozens or hundreds of witnesses.
While dealing with Bartolomeo, he also tries to make a deal with him to poison Luffy. Now, this could have been Shanks "testing" Bart's loyalty to Luffy. But, we don't know what his motives were for sure. What we do know is, Shanks offered someone a chance to kill Luffy for him. And then made sure to eliminate that person after he refused to do so. That right there is suspicious behavior. If nothing else, it shows that Shanks has Luffy coming to harm on his mind. It's hard to say if he wants to cause Luffy harm or prevent harm from coming to him, though.
We also know that Shanks does have a connection to the Gods Knights, through his "evil twin". Which...I guess I have to call "Pranks" due to not having anything better to call him. Now, Shanks was found by Roger as a baby. So, it's entirely possible that Shanks isn't even aware of "Pranks". But, it is also possible that "Pranks" has approached Shanks at some point off-screen and formed some sort of relationship with him. We have no proof one way or another.
But, what we do know is that Shanks does have a motive to hurt Luffy. Shanks wants to claim the One Piece. And Luffy is very public about having the same goal. While we don't know what Shanks would be willing to do, it does make sense to get rid of a potential rival for a treasure that you want to have for yourself. The motive isn't strong, but it's there.
Is it possible that all this time, Shanks was actually laying a trap for Luffy? Manipulating events to bring him to Elbaph and then set him up to be assassinated by the Gods Knights? Shanks has been said to be able to see the future with Observation Haki and Future Sight. Only briefly. But, this likely also aids him in making long term plans. I believe Shanks is capable of crafting a plan like this. Whether or not he'd actually do so is another matter.
The biggest hole in this idea is that we just don't know how these Summoning Circles work. We can make observations and deductions. But, we don't know for sure if they work the way I think they do. Or if they even work consistantly. Oda might just be writing them inconsistently.
Plus, for this theory to work, it would mean that the Summoning Circles can just be "painted" on a object and still work days later. Without the "anchor" physically being there to start the Summoning Ritual. Which, again, runs counter to what we observed with Saturn and the Gorosei on Egghead. Shanks has been gone from Elbaph for at least 3 days at this point in the story. So, if he is working as the "anchor" for the Gods Knights, he's doing it via long distance. It's possible that Shanks' large amount of Haki makes this possible. But, again, we just don't know.
And Shanks isn't the only potential suspect who could have done it, either.
It's possible that one of the Gods Knights snuck into Elbaph and just summoned "Pranks". We don't see any proof of that, either way. But, we do know that humans sometimes end up on Elbaph and usually get corralled into "holding cells" like with Legoland. The Giants don't seem to pay very close attention to these human "guests". So, it would probably be fairly easy for a Gods Knight to pretend to be a normal human, then sneak out of these holding cells and into the castle. Quiet as a mouse. It's possible our "Bandaged" Gods Knight summoned "Pranks" on her own.
We do see the Elbaph Silhouette guy move about fairly freely, who seems to be a normal-sized human. Now, a lot of people have been speculating that this guy could be Shiki, due to having similar clothes and the animals from Strong World being on Elbpah. I've been resistant to this idea. But, if it was him, it would provide us with a motive. Revenge could be a strong motivator, and Luffy did ruin his big plan. And Shiki is described as being a planner, coming up with grandiose long-term plans. So, it is possible that he could also be behind manipulating events in order to bring the Strawhats to Elbaph, in order to get revenge on them. He was also imprisoned in Impel Down. Which means, he may have had an opportunity to meet with the Gorosei or the Gods Knights or some other high-ranking Government official, in order to help set up this team up between him and the Gods Knights. We also know that the Elbaph Silhouette appeared to be waiting for the Strawhats to arrive on Elbaph. It’s possible that this could be keeping watch so they could signal the Gods Knights to come through the Summon Circle at the right moment. This Silhouette might have been working as a lookout for the Gods Knights so they could get the drop on the Strawhats. So, “Shiki” is possible.
Now, there is also Road to consider. He doesn't seem like a character who could have planned or set this all up himself. But, we do see him wearing a Skull in a VERY similar way to one of the Gods Knights that we saw during the God Valley flashback. It's possible that there's a connection there that we don't know about. Does Road potentially harbor admiration for the Gods Knights? Could he possibly even want to join their ranks? It's not impossible, but unlikely, I feel.
Kidd...is unlikely. Not only are we not sure that he even is still on Elbaph. But, he has no known ties to the World Government or the Gorosei. He most likely just doesn't have the means to accomplish something like this.
Loki? I think that if there’s anyone who couldn’t have done it directly, it’s probably Loki. As far as we know he’s been tied to a tree for the past 6 years. So, that’s a pretty rock-solid alibi. Now, those masked men who seem to be working with Loki? Those are potential suspects. But, there’s a problem here. If Loki was working with the Gods Knights and knew they were going to be coming relatively soon, why would he bother making a deal with Luffy? I mean, maybe you could say that Loki was trying to get Luffy to go to the castle to pick up the key for his chains, and the Gods Knights could be lying in wait to ambush him in the castle. But, this just doesn’t seem likely, to me.
It's also possible that it's not Shanks himself, but a member of his crew who possibly set all this up. Shanks's entire crew was on Elbaph at the same time he was. Any one of them could have been approached by the Government and bribed to do this. But, again, they're all off the island right now. And none of them seem as strong as Shanks. If using strong Haki long-distance is what's allowing someone to act as a "anchor" for the Gods Knights, the most likely suspect on Shanks' crew would be Shanks himself.
So what have we learned?
Nothing! We've learned nothing! This has all been a giant waste of time!
There's a lot of evidence against Shanks. He has the means, motivation, and opportunity have set Luffy up for a assassination plot. But, all the evidence is circumstantial at best. There's no hard evidence to link Shanks to this Summoning Circle. And the fact that Shanks is not currently on Elbaph to work as the “anchor” for the Summoning points against Shanks working with the Gods Knights.
No, I believe the culprit is…*Strikes a dramatic accusatory detective pose*
"Shiki"the Elbaph Silhouette!
He's apparently been living on Elbaph for years, if the Strong World animals are any indication. So, it's possible the Giants know him and may even trust him. The Strong World movie premiered December 12 2009. Right around Chapter 567 of the manga, so it's Pre-Time Skip. So, if "Shiki" survived the events of Strong World, then he's possibly been on Elbaf for around two years.
He would have had access to the castle, same as everyone else. And he would want revenge on Luffy. He's got the means, motivation, and opportunity.
And the major point in favor of this over Shanks is that this guy is at least still on the island. He'd probably make for a better "anchor" than Shanks would, being miles away.
It’s entirely possible that the reason why this guy is wandering around Elbaph is so that no one can find him and knock him out, thusly cancelling the Summoning, like what happened with Saturn and Joyboy’s Haki Knot.
If anyone is secretly working as a agent for the Gods Knights on Elbaph from the inside, I think it’s most likely to be “Shiki”.
So...I have to admit it. Shanks is most likely innocent of the crimes I, myself, accused him of. Shanks dodges the accusations once again! The light of justice reveals the truth!
…I think I’ve earned myself a good, strong cup of joe…
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