The Future of Dark King Rayleigh | Why It’s Luffy, Not Shanks
Why It’s Luffy, Not Shanks
Rayleigh clearly sees a reflection of Roger in Luffy and has shown favoritism towards him. When he sent Luffy off from Sabaody Archipelago, he told him to “reach the top,” indicating his hopes for Luffy to become the next Pirate King.
The reason Rayleigh is so invested in Luffy is likely because Luffy shares the same dream as Roger and Joy Boy, possesses an admirable personality and strength, and because he ate the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, as Shanks informed him. Rayleigh also personally witnessed Luffy destroy Enies Lobby to save his friends and punch a Celestial Dragon for a friend.
It’s clear that Luffy is the reincarnation of Joy Boy, and Rayleigh’s support for him makes sense. But Shanks is also an interesting figure to consider. As Buggy believed, Shanks has the qualities and qualifications to be Roger’s successor. Shanks even obtained the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, at one point.
It would seem natural for Rayleigh to place his hopes in Shanks as the one to surpass them, but Shanks isn’t the one, perhaps because of his Celestial Dragon lineage. Shanks is currently aiming for the One Piece, and he has greatly influenced Luffy’s character. He is still, in many ways, superior to Luffy in terms of capacity and strength.
After returning from Raftel, Shanks likely asked Roger something, and after Roger’s response, he made a decision—to observe the world until the time was right and not to pursue the One Piece. Perhaps Shanks holds a different ideology from Roger and Luffy. And if Shanks didn’t eat the Nika fruit, it might be because the fruit chooses its eater, and it might have “escaped” Shanks if he attempted to consume it.
So many questions arise, but perhaps Shanks decided in his youth that he wouldn’t be the one to change the world and chose a different role for himself. Rayleigh likely understands Shanks’ decision without needing to be told, and perhaps he knows that Shanks has a role to play in defeating the Celestial Dragons.
I also suspect that this is the same role Dragon and the Revolutionary Army intend to play. As the story progresses, we are likely headed for a full-scale war between the Celestial Dragons and the opposing forces. This could be the “great battle” we’ve been anticipating, where Luffy’s role will not be to lead the war but to defeat the “root cause”—likely Im-sama.
While Shanks and Dragon fight the Celestial Dragons, Luffy may find himself battling Im-sama. Perhaps Rayleigh knows that Shanks has chosen to focus on eliminating the Celestial Dragons…
But there’s another possibility…
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