- For the chapter of the same name, see Chapter 1079.
The Red Hair Pirates are an extremely infamous and powerful pirate crew ruling in the New World, captained by their chief, Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors and a former apprentice of the Roger Pirates.
The Red Hair Pirates are the first pirate crew to appear in the manga and the second to appear (next to the Alvida Pirates) in the anime. They are the main influences of both Luffy and Usopp's journeys, the former being inspired by Shanks and the latter being motivated to become a great warrior of the sea by his father Yasopp, a member of the crew.
Jolly Roger
The crew's former Jolly Roger.
The former Jolly Roger of the Red Hair Pirates has a realistic looking skull with a pair of crossed sabres behind it. It has two red stripes with black outlines that cross diagonally across the skull's left eye socket, representing the scars that the chief received from Blackbeard. After the Summit War of Marineford, the crew's Jolly Roger was slightly modified to depict the skull's jaw closed shut.[2][3]
Crew Members
- See also the associated category: Red Hair Pirates.
Leadership | ||||
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Senior Officers | ||||
Other Members | ||||
Subordinate Captains | ||||
Allies and Affiliates | ||||
- †: the character is deceased.
- ?: the character's status is unknown.
- ≠: the character is non-canon.
- ‡: the character is no longer part of this group. Hovering the symbol may give further details.
- *: other relevant information. Hovering the symbol gives further details.
Organization
Though much of the crew's hierarchy remains uncertain, Shanks is identified as the group's Chief (
The Red Hair Pirates in general consist of many members with notable bounties themselves, who together share a great deal of trust in their chief, making for a well-balanced and nigh-unassailable crew.[5]
Territories
The Red Hair Pirates have an unknown number of islands under their protection, including Gartel Island.[2][6]
Similar to his subordinate captains, Shanks is very protective of his territories, as his own reputation as an Emperor prevents him from just ignoring those who would disrespect his flag. Anyone who dares to cause trouble on those territories end up punished as a result, regardless of Shanks' own personal thoughts on the transgressors.
Crew Strength
Shanks with his closest officers.
The exact strength of the crew as a whole is unknown, but since their chief is one of the Four Emperors, they are recognized as one of the four strongest pirate crews in the world. According to Marine Commodore Brannew, the Red Hair Pirates are the most balanced and impregnable as a group, showing little weakness overall. They were also recognized as having a high average bounty. Thirteen years ago, they were already strong enough to raid a World Government ship, defeat a powerful CP9 agent, and steal a highly prized treasure that even the World Government feared.
The chief, Shanks, has a bounty of 
4,048,900,000, while his officers, Benn Beckman, Lucky Roux, and Yasopp, are all noted to be big names themselves. Rockstar, who joined Shanks' crew prior to the timeskip, had a bounty of 94,000,000 and is still considered to be a rookie. The bounties of every other crew member are still unknown.
The first hint at the crew's strength came early on in the story from Luffy's past. The bandit leader Higuma tried to threaten Shanks with his 8,000,000 bounty, but Shanks wasn't the slightest bit afraid of the man and even put up with having a bottle of sake and his plate of food being smashed and spilled over him. Later on, Benn Beckman took on the bandit's men and wiped them all out with ease, telling Higuma that if he and the bandits wanted to take them on, they should bring a warship as backup. Moments later, Shanks did something shocking while rescuing Luffy from the sea - he scared away a Sea King just by staring at it, even right after the beast took his left arm.
When Dracule Mihawk, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, brought news of Luffy's rise to fame, the younger, weaker members of his crew appeared to be terrified of the great swordsman and approached him with caution. However, the senior members (including Shanks, Benn Beckman, Yasopp, and Lucky Roux) appeared not to be bothered by his visit.[7] In addition, Shanks did not fear Whitebeard, who was another Emperor and known as the world's strongest pirate, as well as a known rival of his former captain, whereas some pirate captains quiver at the mere mention of his name. Rockstar also used his chief's name to convey to Whitebeard the importance of the letter he delivered to him.[8]
The true depth of the crew's strength is that the World Government greatly feared what would have happened if the Red Hair Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates were to form an alliance. Right after their battle with Kaidou and his crew in the New World, they sailed to Marineford in just one day. Saint Shepherd Ju Peter of the Five Elders believes that the Red Hair Pirates are one of the few entities capable of stopping the Blackbeard Pirates. This faith was proven valid when Shanks and his crew finally showed up at Marineford, they were able to bring the war to a halt with words alone. Blackbeard, who had just strengthened his crew with five extremely dangerous individuals—Sanjuan Wolf, Avalo Pizarro, Vasco Shot, Catarina Devon, and Shiryu—from Impel Down, and stolen Whitebeard's Devil Fruit ability, avoided engaging Shanks' crew, simply saying they were not ready to fight them just yet.
Big Mom also believed that with the combined military force of the Big Mom Pirates and Elbaph's army of giants, which is famed as the strongest in the world, she would have a chance to defeat Shanks and his crew.[9]
Much like the other Emperor crews, the Red Hair Pirates have subordinate crews under their banner, but it is unknown how many they are.[10] However, it was stated that their subordinate crews themselves were notorious and powerful crews known and feared for their strength.[11] The truth to this, however, is that most of the subordinate crews are actually notoriously weak, something that Shanks himself stated, with most of them only still being alive in the New World due to Shanks' protection.
Ships
The former ship of the Red Hair Pirates.
When the crew first arrived in Foosha Village, they were seen with a ship that was similar in design to the ship used by "Crescent-Moon Gally" during Romance Dawn version 1. Not much is known about its capabilities, but it appears to be a standard pirate ship with no noteworthy features.
It was the first ship introduced in the series as well as the first pirate ship. It was on the figurehead that Luffy cut and scarred his face to prove he was a man to Shanks and his crew.[12]
During Shanks meeting with Whitebeard and Summit War of Marineford, the Red Hair Pirates arrived with their current ship, the Red Force.[13][14][15]
History
Past
The Beginning of the Red Hair Pirates
24 years ago, after Roger's execution in Loguetown, Shanks started making plans for his own pirate career. He offered Buggy to join his crew, but the latter refused to work for him, and the two went their separate ways.[16]
22 years before the current timeline, Shanks heard about a skilled sniper by the name of Yasopp and went to Syrup Village to recruit him.[17] After being urged by his wife, Banchina, Yasopp eventually agreed to join, though did have some regrets about leaving behind his wife and his son, Usopp. Despite this, Usopp held no grudge against his father leaving him and instead admired him as both a sniper and a pirate.[18]
Meeting Monkey D. Luffy
The Red Hair Pirates attack a Cipher Pol ship.
13 years before the current timeline, Shanks and his crew had stolen a Devil Fruit, the Gomu Gomu no Mi, from a ship owned by the World Government that was guarded by CP9 agent Who's-Who,[19][20][21] keeping it in a chest guarded by Roux.
Shortly after stealing the Gomu Gomu no Mi, they landed in Foosha Village, where they spent a whole year. There, they met Monkey D. Luffy, who became a friend and fan of the crew, which led to his wanting to become part of it. However, his request to join was constantly rebuffed by Shanks on the grounds that he was too young and weak to be a pirate yet. He was also constantly annoyed by Yasopp, who often bragged about his son, Usopp, which led to Luffy recognizing the young sniper upon meeting him.
The Red Hair Pirates in Foosha Village.
One day, Luffy stabbed himself under his left eye to prove himself to the crew, giving himself his trademark scar. The crew celebrated his bravery at the Partys Bar run by Makino, but still refused to let him join, which angered him. Then Luffy also found the Gomu Gomu no Mi inside Roux's chest and took a bite of it, thus becoming a rubber man. At the same time as that, a group of mountain bandits led by Higuma came into the bar and began hassling the pirates, though they did not retaliate as there was no need for it. Luffy became disappointed by this, but then he and the others realized that he had gained rubber powers from eating the fruit they stole, and Shanks scolded him for it, as eating it cost him the ability to swim.
Sometime later, the bandits showed up again when the crew was away, and Luffy overheard them saying bad things about Shanks and his crew. This caused his temper to flare up, and he started insulting their leader, enticing the bandits to subdue him and attempt to kill the boy. But then Shanks and his crew arrived to save their young friend, and predictably, the bandits underestimated them until Lucky Roux killed one of them with a pistol and Beckman defeated the rest single-handedly. Terrified by their power, Higuma escaped with a smoke bomb, with Luffy as his hostage. The bandit leader takes the boy out to sea and throws him into the water, and he gleefully watches the young Devil Fruit user struggle to swim until he was devoured by the Lord of the Coast. The beast then attempts to eat the helpless Luffy next, but Shanks suddenly arrives in time to save him, but at the cost of his own left arm. Unfazed by this, he then frightened the monster off simply by staring at it and saying, "Get lost", and he comforted Luffy, who was crying over the loss of his savior's limb.
Later, the crew finally decided to leave the island. Luffy then said he did not want to join Shanks and his crew anymore; instead, he would become a pirate on his own, which Shanks then said was still impossible. Angered by this, Luffy immediately declared his intention to become an even greater pirate than Shanks, as well as the Pirate King. The pirate captain became surprised upon hearing these words, as they were the same words that his old captain, Gol D. Roger, said before. Impressed and amused, Shanks then gave Luffy his prized straw hat, which he himself received from Roger, and asked him to give it back once he became a great pirate.[1] And with that, the Red Hair Pirates set off on their ship in search of new adventures, leaving behind Luffy with his dream.
Encounter with Portgas D. Ace
Four-to-five years ago, the Red Hair crew was residing in a cave on a winter island when they were visited by the Spade Pirates led by Portgas D. Ace, who came to thank Shanks for saving his little brother's life in the past. Shanks responded by throwing a party to celebrate, as he did not know Luffy had a brother.
East Blue Saga
Loguetown Arc
Two years ago, after Luffy had defeated Arlong, Shanks and his crew were resting on an unknown island somewhere in the Grand Line when the Warlord of the Sea and greatest swordsman in the world, Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk, paid Shanks a visit, much to the shock of a few of Shanks' weaker crew members. The Warlord brought news that delighted the red-haired pirate, which was Luffy gaining his first bounty of 30,000,000. Hearing that Luffy had finally proven himself a true pirate, Shanks threw another party despite being already hungover from his previous drinking session.[7]
Sky Island Saga
Jaya Arc
Shanks tells his crewmates to prepare to visit Whitebeard.
Later on, the Red Hair Pirates were seen residing on Yukiryu Island. By that time, Shanks sent a message to Whitebeard that was delivered by their newest recruit, Rockstar. Whitebeard refused to read it, since Shanks himself did not deliver it. The message's contents were unknown, though Whitebeard assumed that it was about Portgas D. Ace and Blackbeard.[8]
Water 7 Saga
Post-Enies Lobby Arc
Beckman, Roux, and Yasopp watch as their captain clashes with Whitebeard.
Shanks met with Whitebeard later to request that he call Ace back. Shanks revealed that it was Teach who gave him the scars on his face, stating it was not because he was being careless. The World Government feared that the two crews may decide to form alliance with one another, but simply decided to observe their actions for now.[22]
Summit War Saga
Marineford Arc
The Red Hair Pirates at Marineford.
Later, Shanks and the crew intercepted Kaidou and King when they attempted to travel to Marineford to kill Whitebeard.[23][24] A day later in the Summit War of Marineford, they arrived at Marineford, as Shanks stopped Admiral Akainu from killing Koby, and Beckman stopped Admiral Kizaru from shooting his light laser at Law's submarine, which Luffy was aboard.[25] Due to the presence of Shanks and his crew, the Marines chose not to challenge them as the Blackbeard Pirates left Marineford and Sengoku announced the end of war.[26]
Post-War Arc
Shanks and the crew were later seen at Whitebeard and Ace's funeral.[27]
During the Timeskip
During the timeskip, the Red Hair Pirates fought against the Kid Pirates, resulting in Eustass Kid losing his left forearm to Benn Beckman.[28][29]
Whole Cake Island Saga
From the Decks of the World: the 500,000,000 Man Arc
After the events at Dressrosa, the Red Hair Pirates received the news of the Straw Hats' accomplishment at Dressrosa as well as their increased bounties.[30]
Levely Arc
As the news of Luffy's exploits at Totto Land spread across the world, Shanks read the newspaper.[31] He later went to Mary Geoise to speak to the Five Elders about a certain pirate.[32]
Wano Country Saga
Wano Country Arc
Following Wano's liberation, the Red Hair Pirates were sailing close to Wano's borders. Shanks felt nostalgic about visiting again, thinking about how Momonosuke and Hiyori must be all grown up. The rest of the crew discussed possibly seeing Luffy, but Shanks decided against it. Since Bartolomeo had been causing trouble in Luffy's name on Gartel Island, a friendly meeting with the Straw Hats would be bad for the Red Hair Pirates' image. Shanks then told Beckman it was time for the crew to make their move and claim the One Piece.[33] When Shanks noticed Admiral Ryokugyu's presence in Wano and his fight with Momonosuke, Yamato, and the Nine Red Scabbards, as well as his ambition to take Luffy's head, Shanks sent out a burst of Supreme King Haki, freezing Ryokugyu in place and forcing him to retreat. The Red Hair Pirates then departed from Wano.[34]
The following events are Non-Canon and therefore not considered part of the Canon story.
One Piece Film: Red
The Red Hair Pirates arrived at the island of Elegia in order to stop Uta and her plan to trap many people in a dream world. They fought against the Marines and two Admirals too, Kizaru and Fujitora. In the end, they managed to stop Uta and sail away.[35]
Concludes non-canon section.
Final Saga
Egghead Arc
After departing from Wano, the Red Hair Pirates dropped off Marco at Sphinx. As Marco was getting off the Red Force, Shanks asked him if he was going to join the crew, but Marco dismissed the offer.[36]
The Red Hair Pirates alongside the Giant Warrior Pirates march to confront the Kid Pirates.
Later, the crew was taking a stop at Elbaph to party with the giants and their fleet. However, the arrival of the Kid Pirates forced them to stop partying and prepare alongside the Giants Warrior Pirates to answer their arrival, with Shanks telling Rockstar to send a message to Kid to either leave their Road Poneglyph copies behind and leave or fight and live with the consequences.[37] Before Kid could launch a massive attack, Shanks sensed the impact, and stepped in to stop his attack before it happened striking and defeating him with one attack before taking the copies of the Road Poneglyph.[38]
Elbaph Arc
The Red Hair Pirates confront the Barto Club.
Sometime later, the crew made their way to Gartel, where they quickly subdued Bartolomeo and his own crew for burning their flag. Bartolomeo apologized profusely, and was given a choice by Hongo: he would have one month to poison Luffy, and then all would be forgiven. Bartolomeo drank the poison himself, declaring that his loyalty to Luffy was worth more than his own life. Shanks was impressed by his actions and allowed the Barto Club to go free; however, Yasopp intended to teach them a lesson and fired on their ship, blowing it up.[39]
Trivia
- A couple of the crew have a common tattoo on their bodies. It is seen on the arm of one member and then on the back of a shirt of another. The symbol however has not been seen since.
- Perhaps in line with a "Shank" being a part of an anchor, it should also be noted that a number of his crew also had an anchor on their body (at least 4), a note since Luffy himself also bore a larger anchor on his shirt as a child.
- Sometimes, Oda forgets to put the three scars on the Red Hair Pirates' flag, as stated once in an SBS.
- According to Luffy, it was Shanks and the Red Hair Pirates who taught him the song "Binks' Sake".[40]
- The original ship of the Red Hair Pirates in One Piece seems to be based of the ship of Crescent-Moon Gally from Romance Dawn. Their later ship also continues this style.
- In One Piece Yellow: Grand Elements, the name of the crew is transliterated "Red Haired Pirates", but in the One Piece Green: Secret Pieces, it is transliterated "Red Hair Pirates".
- Interestingly, the four main members (Shanks, Beckman, Roux, and Yasopp) each hail from one of the four seas.
- The Red Hair Pirates are the only Emperor crew in the original lineup to have one user of Supreme King Haki.
- The Big Mom Pirates and Beasts Pirates had two while the Whitebeard Pirates had three.
- According to Volume 4 Billion, none of the current members of the crew have Devil Fruit powers, though Shanks has invited Devil Fruit users, like Buggy and Marco, into his crew.[41][42] This makes them even more impressive as all the other Emperors, past and present, have crews with several Devil Fruit users.
- So far, none of the Red Hair Pirates' subordinate crews have demonstrated any Devil Fruit abilities either.
Cultural References
- A Japanese coast guard vessel, pretending to be a pirate ship during an exercise was caught on video using Shanks' jolly roger.
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Notes
- ↑ Shanks -
4,048,900,000
Benn Beckman -Unknown
Lucky Roux -Unknown
Yasopp -Unknown
Rockstar -94,000,000
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 and Episode 4, The Red Hair Pirates are seen.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 87 Chapter 873, cover story: The Stories of the Self-Proclaimed Straw Hat Grand Fleet Vol. 9 and Episode 1081.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 104 Chapter 1054 (p. 10) and Episode 1081.
- ↑ SBS One Piece Manga — Vol. 104 (p. 64), Oda likens Shanks's relationship with his subordinate crews to that of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 95 Chapter 957 (p. 13) and Episode 958.
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Chapter 1126 (p. 5-9).
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 11 Chapter 96 (p. 17-18) and Episode 45, Mihawk brings news to Shanks.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 25 Chapter 234 (p. 10-15) and Episode 151, Shanks contacts Whitebeard.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 84 Chapter 847 (p. 14-16) and Episode 813.
- ↑ SBS One Piece Manga — Vol. 101 (p. 96), Oda reveals that they have subordinate crews.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 106 Chapter 1076 (p. 16) and Episode 1109, The Kid Pirates mention the Red Hair Pirates' underlings' strength and reputation.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 1 Chapter 1 (p. 4-5) and Episode of Luffy, Luffy cuts himself on the figurehead of the ship of the Red Hair Pirates.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 2) and Episode 316.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 579 (p. 16) and Episode 488.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 580 (p. 2-3) and Episode 489.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 10) and Episode 316.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 0 Chapter 0 (p. 19-20) and Episode 0.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 3 Chapter 25 and Episode 9, Yasopp and Usopp.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 101 Chapter 1017 (p. 17) and Episode 1039, Who's-Who reveals his past.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 101 Chapter 1018 (p. 7) and Episode 1040, Who's-Who confirms that the Gomu Gomu no Mi was stolen by the Red Hair Pirates.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 104 Chapter 1054 (p. 11-12) and Episode 1081.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45 Chapter 434 (p. 2-17) and Episode 316.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 55 Chapter 533 (p. 3) and Episode 434, Momonga's men report the interaction between Shanks and Kaidou.
- ↑ Vivre Card - One Piece Visual Dictionary (Card #1308), King is revealed to have accompanied Kaidou on his way to kill Whitebeard.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 579 (p. 14-17) and Episode 488.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 59 Chapter 580 (p. 2-15) and Episode 489, The Red Hair Pirates arrive at Marineford.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 60 Chapter 590 (p. 8-9) and Episode 505, The Red Hair Pirates attend Whitebeard and Ace's funeral.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 92 Chapter 928 (p. 5) and Episode 923, Kid reveals how he lost his arm.
- ↑ SBS One Piece Manga — Vol. 107 (p. 178), Beckman is confirmed to be the one who took Kid's arm.
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Vol. 83 Chapters 837 and 838, cover story: From the Decks of the World: The 500,000,000 Man Arc Vol. 24-25.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 90 Chapter 903 (p. 15-16) and Episode 879.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 90 Chapter 907 (p. 16-17) and Episode 887.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 104 Chapter 1054 (p. 10-14) and Episode 1081.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 104 Chapter 1055 (p. 15-18) and Episode 1082.
- ↑ One Piece Movie — One Piece Film: Red.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 105 Chapter 1059 (p. 2) and Episode 1087.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 106 Chapter 1076 (p. 12-17) and Episode 1109.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 107 Chapter 1079 (p. 6-15) and Episode 1112.
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Chapter 1126 (p. 5-9).
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 50 Chapter 486 (p. 14) and Episode 378, Luffy talks about where he heard the song from.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 105 Chapter 1059 (p. 2) and Episode 1087, Marco rejects Shanks' offer to join the Red Hair Pirates.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 107 Chapter 1082 (p. 8) and Episode 1116, Shanks offer Buggy to join his crew.
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