Why did Shanks in One Piece lose his arm?

One Piece's Elbaf chapter delves into the lives of many characters through flashbacks to Loki, including Harald, the legendary king of Elbaf, considered by many to be the greatest king ever.

At the same time, this part also sheds light on some other characters in the series, such as Shanks, who, as fans know, has a deep connection to the Giant Country and all its inhabitants. What surprised fans was that Oda specifically revealed a very interesting bit of information about Shanks in chapter 1152 of One Piece, and explained why he lost his left arm in the first part of One Piece .

Shanks lost his arm in the first part of One Piece.

One of the biggest shocks Oda brought early on in One Piece was the scene where Shanks lost his left arm. Despite being a very popular character and also extremely powerful, Oda did not hesitate to show Shanks losing his left arm and his main arm to the Sea King in the East Blue. This happened after Luffy was kidnapped by Higuma and was on a boat out at sea. The Sea King attacked them immediately, and while Higuma was eaten alive, Luffy was left behind. Thanks to his Devil Fruit powers, Luffy could do many things but could not struggle, just like that he slowly sank, and he would have died if it weren't for Shanks.

Although Shanks succeeded in saving Luffy, it came at a price. For a short period of time, Shanks could only save Luffy by sacrificing his left arm, and this is what made Luffy the pirate he is. To Luffy, Shanks is God, and he will never forget what Shanks did for him.

Shanks' left arm bears the mark of the World Government.

At the beginning of the Elbaf chapter, it was clear to fans that Shanks would play a major role here. When Shamrock appeared, he revealed shortly after that Shanks was his twin brother, and that at some point he was also a Celestial Dragon on Marijoa. This most likely happened after Roger's death, when he returned to the Holy Land to reunite with his family, possibly as part of a larger mission.

Regardless, it was here that Shanks received his mark on his left arm, and this allowed him to travel through the Abyss, and also the ability to achieve immortality and reincarnation. Apparently, Shanks has since given up this power.

Luffy frees Shanks from his bond with the Celestial Dragons

In One Piece chapter 1152, fans finally learned that the arm that Shanks lost was the one that Imu had marked. It's not that Shanks wanted to remove the mark and couldn't. It's just that saving Luffy accidentally ripped the World Government seal off of Shanks. In other words, Luffy freed Shanks from his burden right after eating the Nika no Mi, making Shanks the first person he freed as a Liberation Fighter, just like Shanks saved Luffy.

Kareem Winters

Update 24 June 2025