Kind-hearted, at least when it comes to his friends. He loves to party, stops Yonkos like a badass, and even stops wars.
He talks to the World Government behind the scenes.
There are many aspects to Shanks that are peculiar, especially that one of the most notorious pirates would meet with the leaders of the World in secret, or that he would hold the respect of Sengoku, the former Fleet Admiral of the Marines.
It all comes down to this: Shanks is acting as best he can, knowing what he knows about the Void Century, to avoid innocent people from being dragged into it, while waiting for the man that would fulfill Roger’s will.
In that regard, Shanks is an independent agent, and therefore a threat to the World Government, but at the same time, his power solidifies him as a temporary asset at times of war, as we see when he stops Kaido from joining the Marineford war, and actually stops the Marineford war by challenging the Whitebeard pirates, Blackbeard pirates, and the Marines, to fight them if they want to keep fighting someone. So officially, because he’s a pirate, he has a bounty, but I don’t think the World Government is actively chasing Shanks because of what he stands for.
This all points me to one conclusion: Shanks is stalling. He knows the people who can make the world free is currently growing up, but are not yet strong enough to take on the world. We all know who those people are, the Straw Hat Pirates. Long ago, Shanks put his trust in Luffy to fulfill Roger’s dream of creating a free world, but just overthrowing the World Government and dragging down the Celestial Dragons, like the Revolutionary Army is doing, is not enough. There needs to be a plan in place to replace them. A plan that is permanent.
So basically, Shanks knows about the Void Century, he knows that anyone who knows about it is in danger of being wiped off the map by the World Government, so he keeps the secret, waiting for Luffy to become the Pirate King, while trying to keep the balance of power so that neither the World Government, nor any Yonko, can prevent Luffy from fulfilling the will of D.
That is honestly what I think Shanks’ place is in the story. He’s an intermediator, a temporary peacekeeper, the only one who has been able to keep the balance intact between the great powers, keeping war from tearing apart the innocent while waiting for Roger’s chosen one.
This is also why I think Blackbeard will kill Shanks.
It will make perfect sense. Blackbeard will start the greatest war ever, not Kaido, nor Luffy or Monkey D. Dragon. When the balance pin known as Shanks falls, that’s when the world will descend into chaos.
After that, Luffy and his crew are left to deal with the situation in which everyone tries to eliminate the other, Blackbeard, the Kaido & Big Mom Alliance, the Revolutionary Army, the World Government and the Straw Hat Alliance, all clashing at once. It’s gonna be crazy!
Picture it, Shanks laying dying in Luffy’s arms, smiling, saying “you were the one Roger was waiting for…all along”.
*Theory by Freshairkaboom
