Shanks saving Luffy and using his Conqueror’s Haki in One Piece was a sign to Imu that he was choosing Luffy’s side, cutting off ties with Imu.
In the Shanks saving Luffy remake scene in One Piece, we see how Shanks’ Haki rings twice. Once, right before Luffy is about to be eaten, and then again when he scares off the Sea King. The first ring was Future Sight, which made him decide that he couldn’t let Luffy die.
But the second Haki ring was surely Conqueror’s energy. As a popular theory suggests, by siding with Luffy, Shanks was telling the World Government, essentially Imu, that he’d made his choice. He’s putting everything on the line for Luffy, breaking whatever hidden ties he had. Before this, it is almost certain he was working for Imu.
Shanks, Using His Conqueror’s Haki, Terminated the Contract With Imu
When we saw Shanks lose his arm, it wasn’t just some cliched act of heroism – it represented him cutting ties with the World Government. But that alone didn’t end his abyssal contract. If that were the case, he’d probably still have the ability to regenerate, just like Somers did.
What really ended it was Imu stepping in. It’s possible that once you’re a Holy Knight, you don’t have full control over your own will, especially when it comes to Conqueror’s Haki. That kind of power might be linked directly to Imu’s authority, as long as you have his trust.
So when Shanks used his own Conqueror’s Haki in that moment, that must’ve been seen like a rebellion – an act that automatically broke the contract. This might even explain why Mihawk doesn’t have Conqueror’s Haki. Maybe he never truly had his own will to begin with.
Either way, whether it was Shanks or Imu who officially ended that bond, it’s wild to think that it essentially means the very first person Luffy ever liberated was Shanks himself!
How Shanks Lost His Duplicitous Persona as Both a Pirate and a Holy Knight
As of now, it’s quite evident that Shanks was carrying two faces in the early storyline of One Piece. However, his ulterior motive isn’t clear. But when Shanks sided with Luffy, Imu cut the contract with him.
Even the fact that St. Sommers was able to regenerate his arm with the Abyssal tattoo after Gaban cut it off, but Shanks couldn’t after the Sea Beast took his, means the Abyssal power doesn’t actually come from the tattoo itself. It comes from Imu.
So when Shanks lost his arm, it was Imu testing him one last time to see where his loyalty truly stood. Siding with Luffy made him lose Imu’s favor. So, the Sea King incident wasn’t random at all.
The same man who once loved being a pirate under Roger, acting as both a Holy Knight and a pirate, eventually became a caring father figure to Luffy. That final choice to save Luffy was him breaking free from both, choosing his own path once and for all. So, do you think this theory holds?
