The Post-Elbaf Power Of Luffy, Explained

This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Elbaf Arc.

Key Takeaways

• Luffy’s current strength is incredibly high: Yonko level, mastered all Haki, Awakened Devil Fruit.
• Luffy needs to improve his Haki for Elders and Imu: Supreme King Haki is the key.
• Luffy vs Shanks in Elbaf could elevate his power to surpass Kaido and reach Pirate King level.

Monkey D. Luffy is now one of the Yonko, after having defeated Kaido in the Wano Country arc of One Piece. In Egghead, Luffy managed to improve his control over his Awakening, along with much else, even further, and fans know that he is continually growing stronger even now. Even in the beginning parts of Elbaf, fans saw great strides being made by Luffy, and, if this implies anything, it is that Luffy is still continuously growing in terms of strength and that he has not hit his ceiling yet.

More than that, fans know that he has an even higher level to reach, AMD after what happened on Egghead, Elbaf needs to be a stepping stone for him. Luffy needs to grow even stronger in the future of One Piece, and fans cannot wait to see what level he will reach once he emerges out of Elbaf.

Luffy’s Current Level Of Strength Is Incredibly High

• Luffy Has All Three Haki Types
• Luffy Awakened His Devil Fruit

Luffy is certainly one of the strongest characters in One Piece right now. His being one of the Yonko emphasizes that. Even at the beginning of the Elbaf arc, Oda highlighted on many occasions that Luffy is now seen as equal to Red Hair. Of course, this does not mean that Luffy is equal to Shanks in terms of strength, which he might well be, but more that Luffy and Shanks now stand on the same pedestal and carry the same title of Yonko. Right now, Luffy is a tremendously powerful individual. Not only has he mastered all three types of Haki, but he knows all three advanced versions of this power and can tap into them effortlessly.

You can infuse the Color of the Supreme King, can’t you? – Luffy

While Luffy’s control over Supreme King Haki Infusion wasn’t as strong at the beginning parts of his battle against Kaido, he has improved upon it tremendously since. Right now, Luffy can utilize Haki effortlessly and he doesn’t even suffer from as many drawbacks as before. When it comes to Devil Fruit usage, fans know that Luffy is a master of his powers. He has tapped into Gear 5 and managed to use it multiple times in the same arc, as seen in Egghead.

In Elbaf, Luffy has utilized Gear 5 for even trivial acts, such as fighting the pet of Road, Hyllmangandr. This just goes to show how confident and comfortable Luffy is while utilizing these powers, and it is certainly an improvement, although one that might not be apparent to the fans upon first look. On top of that, Luffy has now shown the capability of using power such as Gear 4 in limited parts of his body, such as just his arm.

This is a massive step forward for him, and just goes to show that he is now on an entirely different level compared to before. Luffy is still growing and will continue to grow throughout the Elbaf Arc, and fans know that he has a very high level to reach if he truly is to defeat the likes of the Elders and, more specifically, Imu.

Why Luffy Needs To Work On His Haki In Elbaf

Luffy’s Haki Is Not On Joy Boy’s Level Just Yet

The Egghead Island Arc gave Luffy the blueprint of where he needed to improve and what he needed to do in order to be able to fight back against those of the World Government. Fans already know that Luffy’s clash against the World Government is inevitable, which means that he will have to strengthen himself even further when he goes to fight against them. Luffy is very strong right now, but not strong enough to beat the likes of the Elders and Imu. As was seen in the Egghead Island arc, Luffy can fight against the Elders and even overwhelm them. However, what he cannot do is breach their immortality, which means in a long battle, he will lose against them. Even though Luffy can overwhelm them with strength, in the end, they can simply keep regenerating and not lose any stamina. Luffy, on the other hand, will lose Gear 5 eventually, which is his biggest weakness as he will eventually go on to fall. Meaning that characters such as the Elders will be declared victorious.

That Haki…was it greater than Red Hair’s? – Dorry and Brogy

If the Elders are so strong, fans know that there’s absolutely no way that Luffy can defeat Imu right now, who is already believed to be immortal by many, such as Ivankov. As such, Luffy needs to strengthen greatly if he is to beat the Elders, and Oda has already provided the answer to the fans as to where he needs to improve. In Egghead the Iron Giant ended up saving Luffy by unleashing Joyboy’s Haki.

Using his strongest Haki, the transformations of the Elders were nullified, and at the same time, this summoning was canceled as well. The elders felt the actual damage, and even Imu was in pain upon feeling Joyboy’s Haki. Fans know that the answer to defeating the Elders and Imu lies in Supreme King Haki, specifically Haki of the highest order.

Right now, Luffy does not have access to Haki this strong. This means that only characters such as Shanks, are capable of defeating the likes of the Elders right now, and that Luffy will have to hit this higher tier in Elbaf. This is precisely where Shanks comes in.

Luffy Vs Shanks In Elbaf Could Improve Him

Whenever Luffy fights someone, he certainly takes a few tricks from their deck and adds them to his own. Luffy has done this in the fight against Katakuri and even Kaido, so Shanks should not be an exception. Luffy and Shanks are inevitably going to fight, and the best place for them to fight is Elbaf. If they do end up fighting here, Luffy will most certainly learn from Shanks how to utilize Haki of the highest order and then channel it himself. This essentially means that Luffy’s Supreme King Haki, along with other forms of Haki, can be worked upon even further in Elbaf. Even though he’s a Yonko, there are still things that Luffy does not know and will have to learn if he is to defeat the likes of the World Government’s strongest fighters. That is precisely why Luffy’s battle against Shanks is so important and why he needs to grow further here.

Post-Elbaf Luffy’s Power

Once Luffy vs Shanks concludes and he emerges from Elbaf, he will be stronger than ever before. In fact, it can be said that Luffy will be far stronger than the likes of Kaido and even above the level of an average Yonko. He will be a master of his Devil Fruit Awakening, but more than that, he will utilize Haki on a similar level to Joy Boy. This would essentially be the final step for Luffy to be the Pirate King, and signal to the fans that now, he is ready for the Final War in One Piece, which should be just around the corner.

Using these Powers, Luffy should be able to counter the threat of the Five Elders and, more than that, beat characters such as Imu. Even Blackbeard, who would be able to nullify Luffy’s Gear 5, should be defeatable using this new level of Supreme King Haki that Luffy could learn from Shanks in Elbaf.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus apps. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1131, is set to be November 11, 2024.