Eichiro Oda is known as a master of worldbuilding, withOne Pieceboasting a cast of characters so diverse and distant from one another, yet somehow still intertwined into the overarching story. If any other author uses a trope as old as the existence of an evil twin, it’d almost be a joke. What exactly does Oda have planned when he reveals someone who looks almost like a direct copy of Shanks, one of One Piece’s most important figures?

Shamrock’s very existence changes much of what we know about our favorite characters. Shanks being a Celestial Dragon, the identity of the man we saw at Reverie, and much more. Does this lookalike stand just as tall as Shanks, and will our gang of pirates be able to surpass him?

Closeup of Shamrock’s face in the One Piece manga.

Who Is Shamrock?

Figarland Shamrock is a One Piece villain who stands out forlooking identical to one of the show’s most important characters, Shanks. He was introduced officially in theElbaf arcwhen he used thesame teleportation portals, now named Abyss, as theFive Eldersdid in Egghead Island.

Apart from looking like Shanks, Shamrock’s indifferent nature to all around him also stands out. This greatly contrasts the Shanks we know, who always has an exaggerated expression, be it one of joy or tears rolling down his cheeks.

Closeup of the front of Shamrock’s face.

The main visual difference between Shanks and Shamrock is the lack of scars on Shamrock’s face.

He’s also a World Noble (or Celestial Dragon) and commands the Holy Knights. This is the only group in the entire world that’sallowed to punish the Celestial Dragons, but is also tasked with their protection.

close up of shanks from one piece

Is Shamrock Shanks’s Brother?

The Elbaf chaptersofficially confirm that Shamrock is indeed Shank’s brother,with Shamrock mentioning how Shanks somehow disappeared when they were younger. What happened to Shanks and why he ended up leaving and joining the Roger Pirates is unrevealed.

The Holy Knights are also called God’s Knights in certain translations.

Saint Figarland Garling sitting with his hand wrapped around his sword in One Piece.

Furthermore, Shamrock mentions thatShanks came to Mary Goeise later on in life and was accepted as one of their own.However,Shanks left again,preferring a life of freedom over the luxuries that being a World Nobel provides. When or why this happened has not been revealed yet.

Is Shanks A Celestial Dragon?

One of the most renowned pirates in the One Piece world belonging to the Celestial Dragons, the vilest group of people Oda has portrayed, is something not many expected. If the resemblance wasn’t enough proof, we now have confirmation that Shanks is not only Shamrock’s brother, butthe two are also related by blood.

Shanks and Shamrock areboth sons of Saint Figarland Garling, the Supreme Commander of the God’s Knights,as well as one of the Five Elders.

Shamrock from One Piece turning his sword into Cerberus.

Is Shamrock Commander Of The God’s Knights?

When we first get to see Shamrock in person,the title associated with him is Commander of the Holy Knights.This may be confusing to many, sinceSaint Figarland Garling was shown to possess this title earlier on.This can be explained in one of two ways.

First, Figarland Garling’s exact title was Supreme Commander of the God Knights. It could be thatthese are different positions,with Shamrock commanding the God Knights directly on the field and Figarland Garling supervising their actions as a whole,similarly to how the Fleet Admiral watches over the Marine Admirals.

Cerberus emerging from Shamrock’s sword in One Piece.

Another explanation could be that after Figarland Garling became part of the Five Elders, he no longer possessed the Supreme Commander title. With Firgarland Garling now gone, Shamrock, the highest ranking and strongest Holy Knight,might have filled the position left vacant by his father.

How Strong Is Shamrock?

Shamrock is extremely strong, being a parallel to Shanks and the son of one of the Five Elders. He possesses an amount ofHaki so intense that just from his arrival at Elbaf, Scopper Gaban reacted to his presencefrom miles away.

Scopper Gaban used to be the left wing of the former Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.

Abyss being used to teleport God’s Knights to Elbaf in One Piece.

As for what he’s personally capable of, nothing has been shown so far. All we know is that he possesses a special sword with attacks that arecapable of damaging Loki,someone it took the entirety of Elbaf alongside Shanks to subdue.

What Devil Fruit Does Shamrock Have?

Shamrock hasn’t been shown to possess a Devil Fruit so far into the story. However, he does have asword with the Mythical Zoan devil fruit, Cerberus.This lets Shamrock turn his sword into a ferocious, giant, three-headed dog.

Apart from functioning as a normal beast, Cerberus also possesses an ability that lets it shoot out its three heads as projectiles, with blades coming out from their mouths.

Shamrock or Shanks with the left side of his face covered, talking to the Five Elders in One Piece.

The only instance of this transformation we’ve seen is against an imprisoned Loki, so we don’t know how strong it really is. Still, it harmed Loki enough that Luffy believed he’d die if left alone.

What’s Shamrock’s Role In One Piece?

Shamrock was introduced in Elbaf in a chapter aptly titled “Shamrock’s Arrival.” This set Shamrock up to beone of Elbaf’s main threats. He was sent alongside Gunko to recruit Loki to be part of the Holy Knights. However, after Loki’s firm refusal,Shamrock used Cerberus to greatly injure Loki.

Afterward,Shamrock is called back to Mary Geoisedue to something that has happened. What happened back at the Holy Land, and if Shamrock actually went back, we have no confirmation of either.

Shamrock In Early One Piece

Shamrock made his debut in chapter 1137 as an entirely new antagonist. However, fans had beentheorizing about an evil Shanks twinfor a long period of time before that. There were a couple of reasons for this, but the main event brought up for these theories was the Reverie.

Currently, we have no confirmation about whether this person at the Reverie was Shanks or Shamrock.

In said arc, we saw who we assumed to be Shanks meet with the Five Elders. However, part of his face was covered,specifically the part with his trademark scar.This choice to hide his scar was suspicious.

Upon seeing his face, the Five Elders remarked how it was surprising that someone like him is getting into the world’s political matters.

This made many conclude that either Shanks is working with the World Government orthis person wasn’t Shanks at all, and instead another person entirely. This other person may very well have been who we now know as Figarland Shamrock.