Shanks is one of the Four Emperors of the Sea in the world of One Piece and also among the strongest characters in the entire series. Introduced at the very beginning of the series as a character who put Luffy on the path of the Pirate King, Shanks holds tremendous importance in the story.
Although he has remained a mystery for the vast majority of One Piece, especially fighting-wise, Shanks has finally received some focus recently in the manga. With the story now finally in the final saga, fans are going to see a lot more of the Yonko Red-Haired Shanks, which is extremely exciting. In One Piece 1079, fans got to see Shanks in combat for the very first time where he demonstrated the ability to see the future.
What Is Future Sight Haki?
Readers were introduced to the power of the Future Sight Observation Haki during the Whole Cake Island arc. Essentially, this power is an extension of the Color of Observation. Fans know that the Color of Observation is one of the two main facets of Haki that everyone possesses. The Color of Observation allows the user to perceive incoming attacks, as well as do things such as measure power levels, feel the emotions of other beings, and sense presence, among other things. This power can be called a sixth sense ability as well, making it extremely useful in the world of One Piece.
While it is very layered, as seen over the years, this power can be trained to a degree where it allows the user to see the future itself. Fans were introduced to this ability through Charlotte Katakuri during the Whole Cake Island arc. According to Bege, Katakuri had trained his Observation Haki to a level where it allowed him to see slightly into the future. He demonstrated this ability throughout the entirety of the Whole Cake Island arc and it proved to be quite a pain for Luffy to deal with. The application of this technique is rather straightforward. It lets the user not just perceive an incoming attack but also see how it plays out in their mind. Accordingly, they can deal with incoming attacks and avoid that outcome, giving them a great edge in battle.
Users Of The Future Sight Haki
While Katakuri was the first user of Future Sight Color of Observation in One Piece, there are other users as well. Luffy picked the skill up during the fight against Katakuri and managed to see into the future as well. However, his usage of this power differs from Katakuri's. While Katakuri specializes in keeping it active almost all the time, Luffy only activates it in instances. That said, Luffy can see the future better than Katakuri, and that is evident from the fact that he was able to fight Kaido and dodge his attacks such as Thunder Bagua with his Future Sight Observation Haki. Other than him, Kaido himself is also a user of this ability. He showcased it in his Drunken Thief form where he saw the future and copied Luffy's Jet Culverin technique.
Kaido is, seemingly, also a great user of Future Sight Observation Haki and he was able to not just keep up with Snakeman but also completely outpace and surprise him, which just goes to show that his level of the skill is, at least, on par with that of Luffy and likely much better as well. The last user of Future Sight Observation Haki that the fans know of is none other than the Red-Haired Yonko, Shanks. Shanks demonstrated this ability in the latest chapter of One Piece during his fight against one of the members of the Worst Generation, Captain Kid.
Shanks' Future Sight Haki
When it comes to the Color of Observation, Shanks is completely in a League of his own, by the looks of it. This was evident from his little scrap with Eustass Kid when the two met in the New World right outside of Elbaf. In an attempt to destroy the nine ally ships of Yonko Shanks, Kid unleashed his strongest attack, Damned Punk. With this technique, he planned on blasting every single one of the ships in front of him, completely killing everyone onboard in a single attack. Kid mentioned that he would do this in 10 seconds flat. Before he even launched his attack, Shanks triggered his Future Sight Observation Haki and saw the entire future, which spanned over 10 seconds, in his mind. In this future, Shanks saw Kid destroy every single one of the ally ships and kill their captains as well.
Shanks called this a great catastrophe and immediately jumped into action, preventing Kid from destroying his allies. By coating his sword, Gryphon, in the Color of the Supreme King, Shanks unleashed a technique that the fans are very familiar with, known as Divine Departure. This technique was formerly used by the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. While Divine Departure was able to destroy the entirety of the Kid Pirates in a single attack, Shanks' Future Sight Observation Haki was just as impressive. He can easily see 10 seconds of the future without breaking a sweat and it is very likely that he can see even more than just that. This would make him the best user of the Future Sight Observation Haki so far and a threat to anyone in the world of One Piece.