One Piece chapter 1189 finally puts a name to the goal Shanks has been chasing for twenty-five years: he intends to kill Nerona Imu, the King of the World. The revelation arrives not as a shock but as confirmation of what the narrative has been building since the Oden flashback — Shanks inherited Roger's will not to find the One Piece, but to dismantle the power sitting atop the Empty Throne.
The Flashback That Changes Everything
The scene unfolds in a brief exchange between Shanks and Loki on Elbaf. Loki wants revenge for his father Harald; Shanks stops him cold. The Government's move on Elbaf wasn't an endgame — it was preparation for war. Imu manipulated Harald like a puppet, then had him killed. Shanks knows the King's power is immeasurable, and he's spent the last fifteen years, since his return to Marijoa in chapter 1167, positioning pieces for a strike he knows cannot be rushed.
"The Government was trying to take control of Elbaf. That's not their end goal… it's preparation for War!"
The line reframes every passive moment in Shanks' history. He didn't save Ace at Marineford because the timing was wrong. He didn't liberate Wano because Luffy needed to become Nika first. Every "absence" was actually patience.
Why Oda Waited This Long
Eiichiro Oda told readers in 1999 that Shanks would only appear frequently toward the end. That promise has held across 1,189 chapters. The payoff works because Oda understands the difference between mystery and withholding — Shanks' goal was hinted in chapter 968 when Roger returned from Laugh Tale and Shanks wept. The tears weren't grief. They were the weight of a mission Roger entrusted to him: find the one who could become Sun God Nika, then use that awakening as the opening to strike at Imu.
Luffy's Gear 5 transformation in chapter 1044 was the signal Shanks had spent decades waiting for. "Hey Ben, it's time… to claim the One Piece" wasn't about the treasure. It was about the war.
The Power Gap No One Talks About
Here's the uncomfortable truth: Shanks admits Imu's power is impossible to measure. The strongest mortal in the world — a man who stopped Kaido and Big Mom from clashing, who made Admiral Ryokugyu retreat with a glance — believes he cannot win a straight fight. That admission should terrify readers more than any villain monologue.
Oda has written himself into a corner that only narrative logic can solve. Shanks cannot beat Imu through haki or swordsmanship alone. The solution will almost certainly involve the very thing Roger found at Laugh Tale: knowledge. The Rio Poneglyph. The true history. Imu's authority rests on controlling information; the only weapon that matters is the truth Shanks has been hunting for fifteen years.
The Death Flag Flying Over the Red Hair Pirates
Let's be honest about what this setup implies. Shanks is Luffy's north star — the man who gave him the hat, the dream, the scar that proves he survived. Oda has spent the Elbaf arc reinforcing their bond in quiet moments. In shonen storytelling, that level of emphasis on a mentor figure this late in the game serves one purpose: making the fall hurt.
Shanks dying at Imu's hands would be the ultimate catalyst for Luffy's final ascent. It would also complete the Roger parallel — Roger died to launch the Great Pirate Era; Shanks dies to end the World Government's reign. The narrative symmetry is too clean to ignore.
But Oda loves subverting death flags. Pell survived. Sabo survived. Pedro's sacrifice meant something because it stuck. If Shanks lives, the victory must cost him something irreparable — his crew, his arm (again), his ability to fight. A pyrrhic win that passes the torch without the clean closure of martyrdom.
What the Final Saga Actually Looks Like Now
Chapter 1189 clarifies the endgame structure. The Straw Hats race for Laugh Tale and the One Piece. The Red Hair Pirates wage a shadow war on Marijoa. The Revolutionary Army, the Cross Guild, and whatever remains of the Worst Generation converge on the same target. Imu sits at the center, pulling strings through the Gorosei and the Holy Knights.
The Elbaf arc isn't a detour — it's the staging ground. Loki's crew, the Giants' military might, and Shanks' intelligence network all align here. When the war starts, it won't be pirates versus Marines. It will be everyone who knows the truth versus the lie that holds the world together.
The Twenty-Five Year Payoff
One Piece has trained its readers to trust the long game. We've waited for Jinbe to join, for Vegapunk's broadcast, for Sabo's return, for the Revolutionary Army to move. Every major setup has paid off with interest. Shanks versus Imu is the biggest bet Oda has ever placed — the mysterious mentor versus the unseen king, with the protagonist caught between them.
The chapters ahead will test whether that trust was earned. But for the first time in decades, we know what Shanks is fighting for. The waiting is over. The war has begun.
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