Shanks has a special Haki ability where he can prevent others from seeing into the future. He even gained the nickname "Killer of Observation Haki." This could explain why he escaped detection back in Mary Geoise. Future Sight is a very rare ability, but it's extremely useful for combat purposes.
Shanks' strength mainly lies in his Haki as he doesn't have any Devil Fruit power that the fans know of. Just with his incredible Haki alone, he has established himself as one of the strongest people in the world and he might as well be the strongest.
Despite not having a Devil Fruit power, Shanks is an extremely powerful pirate with skill that far surpasses most in the One Piece world. In combat, Shanks doesn't seem to rely on much. He carries a sword with him and, although not confirmed, it appears to be one of the Saijo o Wazamono grade swords.
Mihawk holds the title of "World's Greatest Swordsman" and, as such, it is beyond any doubt that his swordsmanship skills are superior to those of Shanks. This was, once again, brought up in One Piece 1058 where he was specifically compared to Shanks.
It was already quite evident that Shanks was an incredibly powerful user of Conqueror's Haki based on his portrayal. Furthermore, among the Four Emperors, Shanks was the only person without a Devil Fruit, meaning his Haki must make up for the other power that he doesn't possess.
Roger used advanced forms of conqueror's haki as he imbued his sword with conqueror's haki and clashed with Whitebeard. He also used advanced armament haki for more powerful sword attacks. Additionally, Roger possessed the observation haki, thus, making him the strongest haki user of all time in One Piece.
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 even fought against Captain Rocks on God Valley. Garp may be old right now, however, he is still more than capable of taking on Shanks in battle. This is evident from the fact that he recently set out to fight not just Blackbeard, but his entire crew on his own so as to rescue Koby from the grasp of the Yonko.
Luffy is close to Shanks in terms of power and it is only after their fight that he will officially be able to call himself stronger than Shanks.
Shanks is probably way above Zoro`s level. Of all the characters still alive in One Piece, Dracule Mihawk is undoubtedly the strongest swordsman in the world. After all, he holds the title. Vista was the commander of the fifth division of Whitebeard`s Pirates and was considered the best swordsman in Whitebeard`s crew.
Most likely, this is due to his extremely high levels of Haki and swordsmanship. In recent One Piece chapters, fans witnessed the power of Shanks' Conqueror Haki. It emanated from the seas around Wano all the way to Admiral Ryokugyu, who was fighting inside the Wano mainland.
Shanks' scar caused by Blackbeard because he's mistaking the gomu no mi with yami no mi which Blackbeard been searching for decades.
However, after Shanks lost his dominant arm in the East Blue, Mihawk stopped fighting him, likely thinking it wouldn't be fair to win in that manner. Consequently, their rivalry ended.
However, devil fruits have their own will and usually choose their bearer. Luffy's encounter with Shanks and how he ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi is no coincidence, even if One Piece fans doubted it.
3 Shanks Was The Apprentice of the Pirate King
Roger. Shanks was seen in a few flashbacks that involved the Roger Pirates.
Shanks has clashed against Kaido when the latter tried to reach Marineford. It is very likely that Shanks would be able to injure Kaido in this battle.
It is blatantly stated in his introduction that Kaido is the strongest in the world. He is, without a doubt, stronger than Shanks……. On a 1v1, that is. The reason why Shanks is still a bit more feared is because he has a more powerful crew.
Shanks is also impressively durable. Early in the series, he is seen with a smile on his face despite having his arm chopped off, and went on to earn the title of Yonko with just one arm. However, though Shanks' displays might have been impressive, Whitebeard remains the better of the two in this category.
It is stated explicitly that Mihawk's skill as a swordsman surpasses Shanks' abilities. Because of his exceptional power and skill within the world of One Piece, Mihawk is given an incredible bounty of 3.59 billion berries.
Roger was PK, Wb was Strongest. Shanks is a Yonko, Mihawk is Strongest Swordsman. Due to her strength and tough body, Charlotte Linlin, better known as "Big Mom," has been considered a freak of nature since she was a child. She also owns the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit, which allows her to control inanimate matter.
Kaido is one of the four Yonko. He is known as the strongest living being and user of a mythological devil fruit that allows him to transform into a dragon. Demonstrating his strength, Kaido finished off Luffy with one hit. Kaido and Shanks have the strongest haki, so Kaido has a chance to defeat Shanks.
It is evident that the only person capable of surpassing Roger is Luffy. Even though Luffy still has a lot to achieve, he is the only person who can transform the entire world.
Shanks Possesses The Traits Of The Family Of D
While he might not have the D in his name, as fans discover his true full name in One Piece Film: Red, it seems likely that he still inherited the will.
Shanks possesses the ability to use Kenbunshoku Haki, as revealed in his vivre card and has almost unrivalled mastery over it. He is known for being the Killer of Observation Haki as he is able to stop people from being able to use it as seen from Kidd.