Oda Reveals A Special Subtype Of Haki

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

Key Takeaways

• Haki in One Piece includes Color of Observation, Color of Arms, and Color of the Supreme King, with advanced subtypes.
• Shanks possesses a unique Haki ability, Conqueror’s Killing, that prevents enemies from using Observation Haki.
• Fans can read One Piece officially on Shonen Jump and Manga Plus apps, with the next chapter, One Piece 1132, releasing on December 1, 2024.

One Piece has officially entered the Final Saga, which means that the strongest and the mightiest of characters in the entire series are now gathered in one place. Fans know the Final Saga to be the place where Oda will go all out with the strongest characters, such as the members of the Four Emperors, the Five Elders, Imu, and the likes of the higher-ups in the Marines, along with members of the Revolutionary Army, and even the God’s Knights. This arc is, in many ways, chaotic, but not in a bad way. It sees the mightiest characters showcase their strength and display to everyone where they are at the top of the era.

Naturally, when one speaks of the mighty powers that exist in the One Piece world and are specifically wielded by those at the top, Haki comes to mind. Of course, the concept of Haki has existed in One Piece for over a decade now, and fans have seen many powerful forms of it over time. However, there still exist forms of Haki that fans do not know much about. More recently, Oda has revealed one special form of Haki that is uniquely wielded by only one individual, and this person is none other than the captain of the Red Hair Pirates and the mightiest Haki user in the current era, Shanks.

The Known Types Of Haki In One Piece

• Haki Has Two General Types
• A Third Can Be Found Among A Select Few

Fans know Haki to be a spiritual power that exists in the One Piece world. In general, Haki exists within everyone, but only a select few individuals managed to awaken it. Haki can be divided into two types. These are the Color of Observation, also known as Observation Haki, and the Color of Arms, also known as Armament Haki. Both of these Haki types are found within every single individual in the One Piece world, but they need awakening to be used. Simply put, Observation Haki allows one to get a sixth sense of sorts. The user can sense things such as emotions, threats nearby, scale power levels, presence around them, and even hear the voices of people far away. It allows them to see incoming attacks and danger in the mind’s eye, react to them accordingly, and be incredibly alert in the face of enemies.

The power to never doubt oneself, that is true strength! – Rayleigh

When it comes to Armament Haki, fans know that this power allows the user to manifest their spiritual power and use it as armor for both offense and defense. It also allows the user to bypass any defense offered by Devil Fruit abilities and make contact with the physical body underneath, such as in the case of the Logia devil fruits of the One Piece world. Haki, in this way, becomes a key weapon, especially in the new world.

There also exists a very rare third subtype of Haki, called the Color of the Supreme King, also known as Conqueror’s Haki. However, Conqueror’s Haki isn’t present within everyone. This Haki is present within just one in a million people, and even among them, only a handful manage to awaken it. Conqueror’s Haki is a very special power that allows the user to impose their willpower on others. It is essentially a power to cause intimidation and assert one’s own dominance in situations that require it. Conqueror’s Haki can also be used to tame animals, based on the same principle of dominance, and at the same time, it can also be infused, similar to Armament Haki. Once infused, Conqueror’s Haki allows the user to do deadly damage to the enemies, and takes the potency of attacks to the next level. According to Kaido, only a handful of the mightiest can utilize the power to infuse Conqueror’s Haki.

As fans know, these are the normal types of Haki that have been introduced in the series so far. It goes without saying that they are very powerful, but how they are used depends on what user is utilizing them. For instance, Eustass Kid is a very bad user of Haki, and hasn’t shown signs of being able to use it adeptly. Luffy, on the other hand, is a masterful user of Haki. Then, there exist people such as Shanks, who are absolute masters of this ability and have access to some rare forms that are unique to them.

There Is More To Haki Than Fans Know

The Subtypes Of Haki Can Be Deadly In Combat

Fans know Haki exists as the three described types in its basic form. However, Haki can be expanded upon and used in unique ways. For instance, the power of the Color of Observation can be advanced and be used to see the future itself. This is one of the advanced forms of the Observation Haki. Armament Haki can be sent directly inside slightly bodies of the target and destroy them from within without even touching them. This power is called Internal Destruction Haki and is certainly on an entirely different grade.

Then, the power of Supreme King Infusion exists, which has already been talked about a little earlier. Clearly, these are special subtypes of the same forms of Haki. But, there also exist other subtypes that fans know very little about.

You can infuse Conqueror’s Haki, can’t you? – Luffy

When speaking of the rare subtypes, Shanks comes to mind. For instance, in the Wano Country arc, Shanks utilized the power to paralyze an enemy as strong as Greenbull from afar. He sent a bolt of Haki and even managed to communicate with Green Bull through his Haki, as his voice was clearly heard. This is a very rare subtype of Haki that fans know absolutely nothing about, and Shanks remains the only user. Clearly, this type of Haki is unique to Shanks, and there is certainly more to the rare forms of Haki.

Shanks’s Observation Killing Conqueror’s Haki

Shanks Can Kill Observation Haki With His Color Of Supreme King

The most rare form of Conqueror’s Haki that fans know exists in One Piece belongs to none other than Shanks. It is a subtype of Conqueror’s Haki that is known as Conqueror’s Killing. This Haki was described by Oda himself when designing the character for Shanks for One Piece Film Red. According to Oda, Shanks possesses a unique Haki ability, which falls under the category of Conqueror’s Haki, and allows Shanks to prevent his enemies from utilizing Observation Haki and seeing into the future. This is an incredibly special power that can shut down Shanks’s enemies for good. While the principle for how this power works has not been clearly revealed, what fans know is that it works on the concept of intimidation and dominance. This essentially links it to Conqueror’s Haki and establishes it as an advanced form of this Haki type.

Essentially, Shanks’s enemies cannot see the future, and given that he himself can see it for over 10 seconds and can attack at blazing fast speeds, most battles against Shanks probably end before they even start.

Clearly, Shanks has many advanced subtypes of Haki under his belt, some of which he likely has not even revealed. Only when Oda focuses on this character and expands upon him greatly can fans see the true extent of his capabilities.

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 1132, is set to be December 1, 2024.