How Luffy Will Evolve Past Yonko Level In Elbaf

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

Key Takeaways

• Luffy needs to surpass Yonko level by improving his Devil Fruit control and Haki, especially Conqueror’s Haki.
• Fans expect Luffy to become the strongest character in One Piece by the series’ end.
• Luffy must achieve the strength and control of Joy Boy’s Haki to defeat powerful adversaries like the Five Elders.

Luffy is one of the mightiest characters in One Piece and fans know that after the events of the Wano Country, he rose to the position of Yonko. This is something that many readers expected, but after his defeat of Kaido, Luffy was officially recognized around the world as one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, along with Shanks, Blackbeard, and, of course, the Clown, Buggy.

Right now, Luffy is a force to be reckoned with, and an individual feared all over the world. Luffy’s strength is such that even the likes of the Marine Admirals cannot take him on in battle without much trouble, and the likes of the Five Elders struggle against him equally. But, what fans know is that Luffy still has far more potential to fulfill and that he has to, eventually, grow past Yonko level. Luffy’s goal needs to be much higher if he is to fulfill what Joy Boy couldn’t and reach a much higher level of strength.

Oda Highlights The Level Luffy Must Reach

• Luffy Was Unable To Hurt The Elders In Egghead
• Emet Showed Luffy How It Is Done

The Yonko are easily some of the strongest individuals in One Piece. In fact, the Yonko are consistently considered to be the mightiest, apart from individuals like Roger, who have reached a very special tier both in terms of power and infamy. In general, the Yonko are mighty, given that their strength is considered to be greater than even the likes of the Admirals, the consensus among the fans is that they are mightiest in One Piece. Luffy, right now, is among these Yonko. However, in the recent confrontations, fans could easily see that there is room for Luffy to grow still. For one, Luffy, despite the level of strength that he is at, does not possess perfect control over his Devil Fruit. Even after achieving Awakening, Luffy has room to grow in terms of his Devil Fruit powers.

Listen, Emet! Inside you, I’ll be storing my strongest Haki. – Joy Boy

Of course, he cannot grow beyond Gear 5, but Luffy’s control over Gear 5 and other aspects of his fruit still needs to grow. As things stand, Luffy cannot maintain Gear 5 for too long and the side effects of this Gear are way too harsh for him. With time, Luffy needs to work on this and control it better, and clues about it have already been dropped in the Elbaf arc, where Luffy has started controlling his Devil Fruit powers much better.

Oda clearly showcased Luffy’s shortcomings in the Egghead Arc. While he is very strong, he is not strong enough to beat the likes of the Five Elders, who are borderline immortal. But, while Luffy couldn’t beat them, someone else certainly did and that person was none other than Joy Boy. Of course, the real Joy Boy died 800 years ago, and with his death came an end to the void Century. But, fans also know at the same time that Joy Boy stored his haki within Emet. Once Emet unleashed this Haki, it proved to be so strong that it split the skies by itself. It also neutralized the demonic transformations of the Five Elders and pushed them back to Marijoa, and at the same time, put Imu through a lot of pain just by sensing it.

Oda’s implication here was that Joyboy’s Haki was on an entirely different tier and that he was much stronger than Luffy right now. This is Oda’s way of telling the fans that Luffy needs to grow much stronger if he is to defeat the 5 Elders, and, subsequently, beat Imu and liberate the world.

How Luffy Will Grow Past Yonko Level

Luffy Will Work On His Haki To Get Stronger

Naturally, after the events of Egghead Island, fans might be wondering as to how Luffy can grow beyond Yonko level. The answer is quite simple. In fact, Oda himself highlighted that towards the Of Egghead. Luffy needs to focus on two things in particular if he is to defeat the Five Elders and of course, more importantly, Imu. For one, Luffy needs to work on his Devil Fruit more. As things stand, Gear 5 runs out way too quickly for Luffy to be able to beat any mighty individual.

Of course, Luffy can always push his body beyond all limits, just like he did against Kaido. But, while that is interesting to see, it always paints Luffy as the underdog. Luffy needs to be on the same footing as these individuals, and the showing against Kaido, where he lost about four times before winning, cannot be repeated.

Luffy needs to improve his control over Gear 5 and make it so that it lasts for a long time in battle, just like the vast majority of the top fighters can maintain their strongest power for a long time. As such, this should be Luffy’s primary focus.

It is Haki that reigns supreme! – Kaido

That said, Gear 5 alone cannot help Luffy conquer his enemies. The key to defeating the likes of the Elders and, at the same time, Imu, is Haki. Luffy has awakened all advanced forms of Haki already, but he still needs to improve upon them greatly. As Luffy’s Haki is, he cannot do things that Joy Boy did. His strongest haki doesn’t compare to Joy Boy’s and, as such, he needs to gain more control over this ability. More specifically, Luffy needs to improve his Conqueror’s Haki greatly. As has been stated in the story by Rayleigh already, Conqueror’s Haki grows stronger with the user. This means that if Luffy improves his control over Gear 5 and increases his level of strength in general, his Conqueror’s Haki will improve as well.

With further training and fighting, Luffy’s usage of Supreme King Haki will improve as well, which means that he will learn further applications of it and, at the same time, be able to channel it much better. Above all, fans know Luffy to be a visual learner, which means that if he fights a Haki master, such as Shanks, which fans know that he inevitably will, he will figure out advanced applications of this ability and learn how to pull them off in battle itself.

How Strong Will End Of Series Luffy Be?

Luffy Will Have To Be The Strongest Character At The End Of The Story

At the end of One Piece, Luffy will have to reach a very high level. In fact, it should not come as a surprise to the fans that One Piece’s end will see Luffy as the strongest character of all time. The reasoning behind this is quite simple. Luffy has to do what Joy Boy couldn’t. He has to surpass Roger and he has to succeed where Joy Boy failed. This means that Luffy is destined to surpass both Roger and Joy Boy. Given that Joy Boy was the strongest in One Piece, based on the recent showing that Oda gave to the fans, Luffy will inevitably end up becoming the strongest character in the entire series by the end. This also makes sense because only by being the strongest can Luffy maintain absolute freedom on the seas, and Luffy’s goal is to be the freest person on the seas.

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.