Everyone who waited to learn about the origins of Shanks is in joy as Oda is currently unraveling Shanks’ tale along with the history of the Elbaf nation. Even before all this happened, Oda gave us a glimpse of Shanks visiting Elbaf on the fateful day of King Harald’s death. The red-haired pirate actually came on a mission to warn the king of Elbaf about something before it was too late in One Piece chapter 1152. While we were bewildered by what Shanks wanted to convey back then, we finally learn the truth behind this incident in One Piece chapter 1168.
Spoilers Warning:
This article contains spoilers about Shanks and Harald. Proceed with caution.
Shanks Tried to Warn King Harald About Imu’s Abyss Contract
The day when King Harald was brutally murdered, Shanks arrived on Elbaf with a mission to warn the king about something. Shanks returned to his family around the same time King Harald enrolled in the God’s Knights. One Piece chapter 1168 has now confirmed that Shanks left the Holy Land when he was only a mission away from becoming a full-fledged member of the God’s Knight by making the depths covenant with Imu.
The reason for his sudden disappearance is indirectly answered in the next panels. Since Shanks abandoned his position, King Harald, who was the next in line, was selected as the new God’s Knight member. Thus, King Harald met Imu, and the ruler upgraded his Abyss Mark from Shallow Covenant to the Depths Covenant. At this time, the Five Elders said that this only granted him an increase in his powers and immortality.
When King Harald returned to Elbaf to celebrate the news of Elbaf becoming a World Government-affiliated nation, Imu telepathically contacted him and ordered him to prepare an army of giant warriors. Of course, King Harald refused the offer as he was against the violence associated with the giants. That was when Imu revealed the trump card move that there was a secret price to pay for anyone who made a Depths contract with them.
It was none other than becoming a slave to Imu. Yes! Whoever made a Depths contract with Imu must obey Imu’s commands, no matter whether they like it or not. Thus, Imu used this chance to make King Harald enslave all the warriors of Elbaf. This was exactly what Shanks wanted to warn King Harald about previously.
In the Holy Land, Shanks couldn’t spill the truth to Harald, as he was maintaining a facade and acting like a Celestial Dragon. He must have learned the truth about Imu’s Devil Contracts from his brother or father and absconded from Mary Geoise, as he would have eventually become Imu’s slave if he stayed. Unfortunately, even after escaping from the Holy Land and coming to Elbaf to inform Harald, it was too late already.
Shanks knew about the result of King Harald becoming a slave to Imu and tried his best to avoid that future. But Imu took control of King Harald already, and he was eventually killed later on. However, we will get to see how King Harald’s death played out, which we haven’t seen yet in the upcoming chapter. In the meantime, do you think Shanks could have saved Harald earlier? Let us know in the comments below.
