Fans are going crazy as One Piece revealed one of its biggest bombshells to date. When Shanks set Fisher Tiger free fifteen years ago, it was revealed in Chapter 1167 that he was hiding his left eye. Because of something that Eiichiro Oda said nearly twenty years ago, this seemingly insignificant information has enormous ramifications.Back in the day, Oda made a fascinating promise. He said a pirate with an eye patch would appear in the final phase of One Piece, and he was "itching to draw that character." He even pointed out that despite the pirate stereotype, he'd never actually drawn a pirate with an eye patch in the entire series. That statement has been hanging over the fandom like a mystery box waiting to be opened.What Oda said and The Eye Patch That Started EverythingThis is when things start to get interesting. According to the One Piece Chapter 1167 teasers, Shanks is seen gathering information about the World Government while hiding his left eye. This was instantly linked by fans to Oda's prior comment, and the response was tremendous. There are already a ton of theories on X (formerly Twitter) regarding whether Shanks is the eye-patch pirate that has been predicted.But hold on. There's a catch that's dividing the community.Most fans are pointing out that Shanks isn't actually wearing a permanent eye patch. It looks more like he's bandaging a wound or temporarily covering his eye for some reason. One user noted that Oda specifically said he was "itching to draw that character," which wouldn't make sense if he'd already been drawing Shanks since Chapter 1. The phrasing suggests someone new entirely.One Piece Fans Are Split on the Identitynles_? @ArqGiep84251LINKshanks is the 1 with eye patch ahhhhhhh godaaaa #ONEPIECE1167The argument is heating up quickly. Since we don't know much about Joy Boy's real appearance in One Piece history, some people think the eye patch pirate might be him. Davy Jones is being mentioned by some as a possible contender. Both characters would be new designs that Oda hasn't yet created, thus these hypotheses make sense.Then there's the Blackbeard camp. Marshall D. Teach already has scars and a villainous design that could easily incorporate an eye patch down the line in One Piece's final arc. And one creative theory suggests Usopp might lose an eye in his journey to become a brave warrior of the sea, finally earning that eye patch as a badge of honor.manicpickmedreamgirl @bluem00nshineLINK@sigmarshanks Firm believer that the pirate with an eye patch is gonna be Usopp after he loses an eye in the process of becoming a brave warrior of the seaIt's not simply the mystery that makes this revelation so important to One Piece. It's the moment. We're getting close to endgame territory, and Oda stated that this guy would make an appearance in the last stage. Decades of riddles are being solved by the Elbaf arc. We are discovering more about Shanks's actual past, the Holy Knights, and the inner workings of the World Government.Before turning into a pirate, Shanks was employed by the World Government as a Holy Knight fifteen years prior, as stated in Chapter 1167. According to One Piece's power hierarchy, he possessed a God's Blade seal, which is the lowest tier of a three-tier system. Everything we believed to be true about his character is entirely reframed by this.Shanks at the beginning of the series (Image Credit: Toei Animation)And the connections keep piling up. Shanks freed Fisher Tiger, which means he directly influenced major events in One Piece history while still technically working for the government. He was gathering intelligence on Mary Geoise, clearly planning something big. The fact that he was covering his eye during this period adds another layer to an already complex situation.ConclusionWhether or not Shanks is the eye patch pirate, one thing is crystal clear in One Piece right now. We're in the endgame. Oda is revealing information that he's been sitting on for literal decades. The pieces are falling into place faster than ever.The eye patch promise was made 20 years ago. If that character is about to show up, it means we're exactly where Oda said we'd be when they appeared. The final phase isn't coming anymore. We're already living in it, and every chapter proves that the greatest story in manga history is racing toward its conclusion.