"Red-Haired" Shanks

Commonly known as "Red Hair", is the captain of the Red Hair Pirates and one of the Yonko. He is also a former member of the legendary Roger Pirates, the only group to successfully conquer the Grand Line. As a former member of the Roger Pirates, captain of the Red Hair Pirates, and one of the Yonko in the New World, Shanks is known to be one of the four strongest pirates in the world. Despite being the youngest of the Yonko, it is implied that he is on equal level with the experienced Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, and even Whitebeard, who was feared as the strongest pirate in the World. Rockstar also used his captain's name to convey to Whitebeard the importance of the letter he delivered to him. It was also stated by the Gorosei that he is one of the few people capable of stopping Teach.

Captain of the Red Haired Pirates

Admiral Akainu fought through many men and a few Shichibukai to get to Luffy, but did not challenge Shanks when the Yonko appeared. Members of the Worst Generation such as Eustass Kid, Scratchmen Apoo, and Basil Hawkins had to ally with each other to have a possibility of overthrowing Shanks. Even Linlin acknowledged Shanks's power as she claimed that only with the combined military force of the Big Mom Pirates and Elbaf's army of giants, which is famed as the strongest in the world, would she have a chance to kill Shanks. He appears to be an excellent swimmer as well, having reached the young Luffy out in the middle of the sea before the Sea King could devour him. Since Shanks was capable of swimming ten years prior to Luffy setting out on his adventure, meaning that he did not consume any Devil Fruit at the time when he was a rival to Mihawk. According to Buggy, as a young man, Shanks was a strong fighter and, had it not been for his ideals, Buggy would have wanted him on his crew. As a member of the Yonko, Shanks' name alone commands great power, as Buggy himself proved; his assertion that he previously had a "brotherly bond" with Shanks was one of the many things that earned him respect from the Impel Down inmates.

Shanks

In addition, Buggy did not shy from using the names of Shanks and his previous captain, Gol D. Roger, to maintain his respect among them. Even the fact that Buggy was seen back talking to Shanks was seen as a testament of Buggy's own power to the former prisoners, who were not aware that the two had always acted like this and mistakenly thinking that it was because Buggy was not afraid of a Yonko. Shanks commands enough power to end the war at Marineford with just words; when he stated that there was to be no more fighting, no one stepped up to challenge him, even though the Marines were fired up after the death of Ace and Whitebeard. When Shanks offered to fight the very overconfident and pompous Blackbeard (who moments before had boasted about destroying the island and taking down Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp after having already killed Whitebeard), Blackbeard declined and decided to leave, as it was too soon for him and his crew to take on Shanks. Furthermore, when Shanks requested that Whitebeard's and Portgas D. Ace's dignity at death not be violated, Sengoku himself decided to call off the war and offered to take responsibility, showing that despite being a pirate, Shanks has earned Sengoku’s respect, something that no pirate other than Whitebeard is known to have achieved.