One Piece: Shanks’ Ultimate Attack Finally Reveals Why Roger Became Pirate King

One Piece has been quietly laying down some wild lore threads, and the latest chapters are basically daring us to connect them. The short version: Shanks using Kamusari (aka Divine Departure) was never just a cool flex. It might be a breadcrumb trail back to Gol D. Roger, God Valley, and a certain hidden monarch you really don’t want showing up mid-fight.

What Kamusari actually means, and why that matters

In the Kojiki, the word 'Kamusari' is tied to the passing of a god. One Piece grabbed that term on purpose. The series has been teasing that Roger didn’t just invent a flashy finisher; he might have awakened it in a fight against an immortal Celestial Dragon figure — think the God’s Knights, the Five Elders, or Imu.

Recent chapters digging into God Valley back this up. We now know multiple God’s Knights and Jaygarcia Saturn were on-site. And in Chapter 1162, Roger senses something off right as Imu steps onto the battlefield. If the story is heading where it looks like it’s heading, we might actually see the moment Roger forged Divine Departure.

Shanks leveling Kid was huge — but Roger’s version is the scary one

Shanks has been one of the Four Emperors (and for a long time, the youngest), and his skill set is absurd: Advanced Conqueror’s Haki, sharp Observation Haki, and surgical swordsmanship. We already knew that. Then Chapter 1079 (Episode 1112) happened, and he erased Eustass Kid and Killer with a single Conqueror’s Haki-infused slash: Kamusari. Message received.

But that wasn’t the debut. Back in Chapter 966 (Episode 965), Roger used Kamusari on Kozuki Oden — he literally calls the move by name — and sends Oden flying. Oden isn’t Kid; he’s tougher and more durable. The fact that Kamusari moved him like that is a massive data point.

Oda’s clarification: Shanks copied it — nobody taught him

A lot of fans assumed Roger passed the move down. Eiichiro Oda says nope. In a Q&A, Oda explained:

"Shanks was such a genius that Roger pirates were all surprised that Shanks learned Kamusari (Divine Departure) by himself without direct instruction from Roger, and no one else in Roger’s pirates could copy it."

So Shanks reverse-engineered the technique. If that’s the imitation, Roger’s original is the real monster. Remember, Roger firing it at Oden was basically him having fun. Imagine what it looked like when he wasn’t playing around.

God Valley is setting the stage for the origin story

Chapter 1162 packs a lot. Imu reaches out to Saturn telepathically, asking if Rocks D. Xebec is dead yet. Saturn’s answer: he doesn’t know — and whatever happens, "something new" will be born from the destruction of God Valley. Then Imu takes over Saturn’s body.

Before that possession, several members of the Davy clan are turned into demons, suggesting Imu was pulling strings the whole time, using a technique called Domi Reversi on Rocks’s relatives. Imu only enters God Valley directly once Saturn is under their control. That’s when Roger feels something 'unsettling' — which could be Imu’s Haki, similar to how Gaban sensed the God’s Knights arriving in Elbaf.

By the chapter’s end, Rocks, Whitebeard, and Kaido are lining up to face Imu inhabiting Saturn. And here’s the thing: those three probably aren’t enough. That’s where Roger comes in. If Divine Departure really nods to the 'departure' of a god, it might be about Imu. If not Imu, there were other immortal Celestial Dragon targets in play. Either way, it looks like Roger found a loophole at God Valley — and that could be the birth of Kamusari as we know it.

• Chapter 966 / Episode 965: Roger shouts 'Kamusari' and blasts Oden back — early proof the move existed long before Shanks.
• Chapter 1079 / Episode 1112: Shanks one-shots Kid and Killer with a Conqueror’s Haki-laced Kamusari, cementing how lethal the technique is even in 'copied' form.
• Chapter 1162: Imu contacts Saturn, talks "something new" from God Valley’s destruction, possesses Saturn, Davy clan members are turned into demons via Domi Reversi, Roger senses an ominous presence, and Rocks/Whitebeard/Kaido prepare to clash with Imu-in-Saturn — all signs pointing to Roger’s first true Divine Departure.

Where this could be heading

If Oda is actually going to show the moment Roger awakens Kamusari, God Valley is the perfect crucible. The mythic name, the immortal foes, the timing — it all lines up. And if Shanks’s imitation can erase top-tier pirates in a blink, Roger’s original probably changes the weather.

Do you think we’re about to see Roger unlock Kamusari on the page? I’m leaning yes.

One Piece is streaming on Crunchyroll, and the manga is available on VIZ Media.