This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Elbaf arc.
Summary
- Joy Boy possesses the strongest Haki ever seen in One Piece, capable of remarkable feats.
- Shanks is confirmed by Oda to be the strongest current Haki user, even surpassing Joy Boy.
- Shanks’ Haki is unmatched, even knocking out Marines Vice Admirals with his sheer power.
The Elbaf arc of One Piece is going to introduce some of the most powerful characters to the fans, and bring into the fold some others who were introduced long ago in the story. Of all the characters that Oda has been saving for the final saga of One Piece, one that every fan wants to see more of is Shanks, one of the Four Emperors of the Sea.
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Shanks has only appeared briefly in One Piece so far but Oda’s promise of having Shanks be pivotal when it comes to the Final Saga is what excites all the readers. When it comes to Shanks’s powers fans know that he’s mostly known for his incredible Haki usage. In fact, Oda had already confirmed Shanks to be the strongest Haki user of the current era.
Oda Gives Fans A Glimpse Of Joy Boy’s Strongest Haki
- Joy Boy Appeared Briefly In Egghead
- Joy Boy’s Haki Was Magnificent
In a world of powerful Haki users, Oda has carefully chosen to highlight a select few individuals whose Haki is on another level. Joy Boy is quite easily one of them. Fans got to see glimpses of Joy Joy in the Egghead arc of One Piece, especially towards the end. When the Straw Hat Pirates were saved by Emet, a massive blast of Haki was unleashed by him. In a minor flashback, Oda detailed Emet’s relationship to Joy Boy and what fans could tell easily was that these two were incredibly close. In order to protect Emet even after his death, Joy Boy had sealed his strongest Haki inside of him through some rope mechanism. When this tope was unleashed by Emet, fans got to see the biggest display of Haki of all time in One Piece. This Haki was so powerful that it managed to split the sky by itself, knock out all the Marine Vice Admirals, knock all the Elders out of their Yokai forms and cancel Saturn’s summoning. Saturn himself was left reeling while Imu felt the shivers all over their today. Undoubtedly, this Haki is unmatched in the story so far. This shouldn’t come as a major surprise to the fans, especially knowing that Joy Boy was a majestically powerful individual whose strength was enough for the 20 Kings to cower in fear and unite their forces instead of fighting him individually.
Listen, Emet! I’ll store my strongest Haki in you. Use it only when the time is right. – Joy Boy
Furthermore, Joy Boy was the first pirate and someone who inherited the power of the Nika fruit as well. For him to have the strongest Haki shouldn’t be a surprise. Unfortunately, this display was only a one-time showing since the user of the Haki, Joy Boy, was long dead. Emet also went on to die after utilizing this power, which meant that fans would never get to see Joy Boy utilize his powers in real time ever again.
Of course, Oda will definitely give fans a glimpse of Joy Boy’s powers in a flashback at some point later down the line, but given that his strongest Haki had already been shown, fans don’t need to see what else he’s capable of. The standard for the strongest is set and whoever comes close to this level will be the strongest Haki user of the current times.
Oda Compares Shanks Directly To Joy Boy
The Giants Were Unsure About A Haki Comparison
In the current era of One Piece, fans will most definitely get to see some very powerful characters utilize strong Haki. However, Shanks will most definitely be the strongest of them all. It shouldn’t surprise any fan that Shanks’s Haki is the strongest in the current era. He is a monster of Haki usage and his strength is absolutely monstrous. Fans saw a glimpse of that in his battle against Kid, where he dismantled the entire crew in a single swing of his sword, coated with Conqueror’s Haki. But, that’s not all.
Shanks was also compared directly to Joy Boy after the latter’s Haki feat was made clear to see by Oda in Egghead. Clearly, the Giants Dorry and Brogy wondered whether Shanks or Joy Boy had the greater Haki, but couldn’t decide who the stronger Haki user was.
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To be more specific, they were wondering whether the Haki they saw was greater than that of Shanks, and the answer to that question was never given. Clearly, the fact that there was a direct comparison between the Haki of Joy Boy and that of Shanks implies that this character has the Haki of the highest order.
So this is the Haki of Red Hair Shanks? Even the Vice Admirals couldn’t maintain consciousness! – Kizaru
Another major hint that goes on to suggest the same thing was dropped in One Piece Film: Red. This film was written by Goro Taniguchi. However, Oda clearly provided notes for it, especially when it comes to the power and the fighting styles. For instance, it is here that Oda revealed Shanks to have the power to kill the Observation Haki of his enemies. All this information is written by Oda himself and is, thus, 100% canon. As far as Shanks goes, fans know that he unleashed a powerful blast of Haki in the movie, especially towards the end. This blast of Haki was so powerful that even the Marines Vice Admirals were knocked out completely—a feat that was only reproduced by Joy Boy in the story. Even Kizaru and Fujitora were unsettled by Shanks’s Haki and decided not to press any further.
Shanks Is The Current Strongest In The World
Shanks’s Might Is Unmatched
In the current era of the One Piece world, Shanks is truly the most unstoppable pirate there is. He’s the strongest, despite Kaido having the label instead of him. The fact is that Shanks was on the sidelines up until recently and only started getting serious in the Final Saga. Had Shanks always been on the quest for the One Piece aggressively, he would’ve left behind Kaido and Big Mom in the dust and claimed the grand treasure already. This is again backed up by the idea that Kaido believes Shanks to be among the 5 strongest characters he’s ever faced.
Undoubtedly, Shanks’s Haki is incredibly overpowered and right now, it is the strongest. The only person who will come close to Shanks in terms of Haki power is Luffy, who is inevitably going to surpass him in this regard. Fans have to wait to see how Luffy progresses his Haki over the last few arcs of One Piece and how he goes on to take it to the next level. When Shanks and Luffy fight, the former will inevitably end up being surpassed and fans need to keep a close eye on their battle.
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 1136, is set to be January 19, 2025.
- Release Date
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October 20, 1999
- Creator
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Eiichiro Oda
- Number of Episodes
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1122