Luffy is one of the strongest characters in One Piece right now and he will most definitely continue to grow as the series hurtles towards its end.
One Piece is currently in the Final Saga, and with the conclusion of Egghead Island, a much bigger arc in Elbaf is now at hand. Oda has been teasing this arc for decades now, and fans know that this story arc is most certainly going to be one of the very best, if not the best in the entire series.
Of course, Luffy will be leading from the front in this arc as well, which means that there will most definitely be an opportunity for him to grow in terms of both power and leadership. When it comes to power, fans know that Luffy still has room to grow, despite already having become a Yonko of the Sea. Specifically, Luffy’s Haki can grow even further in One Piece, and Elbaf might be the arc where he reaches an even higher tier before finally surpassing all others at the end of the series. When Luffy finally becomes the Pirate King, he needs to be the strongest Haki user, and the reason for that has already been mentioned by Oda in the story.
Luffy’s Current Mastery Over Haki Is Immense
Luffy Controls All Three Haki Types
Luffy Can Still Grow Stronger
Luffy is one of the very best Haki users in One Piece right now. In fact, Haki in itself is an ability that not many characters wield in the series, and even out of those who do, just a handful of characters can use all three types. Luffy is one of those characters, and to make things more interesting, Luffy is actually one of the very few characters who can utilize Conqueror’s Haki at an advanced level. Luffy was born with the power of Supreme King Haki. He awakened this power slightly before the timeskip, and then gained control over it after his training with Rayleigh. Luffy then manifested control over the advanced form of Supreme King Haki in Wano, and ever since then, he has continued to polish this ability.
You can coat yourself in Supreme King Haki, can’t you? – Luffy
In Egghead, Luffy did not make much use of Supreme King Haki, but that certainly doesn’t mean that this ability of his has not improved. Luffy did clash with Admiral Kizaru, and delivered a powerful Conqueror’s blow to his head, which essentially saw him get defeated. Later down the line, Luffy even fought against the Five Elders, although in this battle, his proficiency over Conqueror’s Haki was not shown to the fans.
The fact is that Luffy has greatly improved the usage of Conqueror’s Haki already. This is evident from the fact that when he first awakened it, Kaido called his use of this power very rough. But, later down the line, Luffy was able to match Kaido blow for blow using this very same Haki. Of course, at that point, it was clear for the fans to see that Luffy’s Haki was not on the level of Kaido. In fact, Luffy had to heavily rely on his Devil Fruit powers to defeat the Yonko, and even right now, it is hard to say if Luffy has Haki that could rival that of Yonko Kaido, let alone the likes of Shanks.
What is clear is that while Luffy’s Haki control has improved even further, there has been no indication of the fact that Luffy can actually take on the likes of Kaido in a pure Haki battle and win. This essentially means that Luffy cannot win a battle against Shanks when it comes to pure Haki either. Shanks is the strongest Haki user in the One Piece world right now that the fans know of, and Luffy, despite being a skilled user of this power, isn’t. But, at the same time, what fans also know is that in order for Luffy to fulfill Joy Boy’s prophecy, he has to become the strongest Haki user.
Why The Level That Luffy Needs To Reach Is Much Higher
Luffy Needs To Reach Joy Boy’s Haki Level
Fans might be wondering as to why Luffy has to become the strongest Haki User in order to fulfill Joy Boy’s prophecy. After all, Luffy has the Gomu Gomu no Mi, and the power of this Devil Fruit is more than enough to see him reach the top. There is absolutely no statement in the story that suggests that Luffy’s Haki has to be the greatest in the entire series if he is to fulfill Joy Boy’s prophecy. However, the clues lie in the subtext. Fans recently saw an interesting display of Haki in the Egghead Island arc of One Piece.
In this particular arc, the Five Elders showcased their tremendous powers, much to the surprise of the fans. The power that confused fans most when it came to the Five Elders were those of immortality and their limitless regeneration. Clearly, upon looking at their abilities, fans could tell that these individuals could not be defeated using normal means. Their weakness wasn’t clear in the story until much later, and this is where things get interesting.
Was that Haki greater than that of Red Hair? – The Giants
Interestingly, the Five Elders were tackled by none other than the Iron Giant, who showcased tremendous usage of Haki and essentially knocked all the Elders out of their Yokai forms, and if that wasn’t enough, even canceled Saturn’s summoning ritual. Essentially, the Conqueror’s Haki that the Iron Giant used, which belonged to Joy Boy, was so strong that the abilities of the government officials were completely nullified, which just goes to highlight that the weakness of the Elders, and, by extension, Imu, is Haki.
Luffy Will Be One Piece’s Strongest Haki User
Luffy Has To Beast Imu With The Strongest Haki
Luffy clearly wasn’t at a level where he could have done what the Iron Giant did on Egghead Island. However, he has to get to that level if he is to fight against the likes of the Elders and, of course, Imu as well. According to the Giants, the Haki that the Iron Giant used was comparable to that of Shanks, potentially being even greater, despite then not being sure if it was superior or not.
Regardless, fans can at least assume that the Iron Giant, or, in reality, Joy Boy, has Haki comparable to Shanks and Roger, or even greater than them. Luffy has to reach this level in One Piece. To be more precise, Luffy has to surpass Joyboy to accomplish what he couldn’t. This essentially indicates that Luffy’s Haki needs to be at least at his level, and in order to do what he couldn’t, surpass even that ceiling to liberate the world from the clutches of the Government. The ceiling for Luffy is already set.
Come the end of One Piece, Luffy will have to be the strongest Haki user in history, regardless of whether fans want to accept that or not. Luffy will not just be a broken Devil Fruit user, but at the same time, be the strongest Haki user in One Piece, because it is essential for him to hold his power if he is to topple Imu, negate his powers, and of course, even fight other threats, such as Blackbeard.