Oda Confirms The Strongest Haki User Of The Current Era

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

Key Takeaways

• Joy Boy had the mightiest Haki, proven by the immense power he unleashed on Egghead Island.
• Shanks is confirmed as the strongest Haki user in the modern era by Oda, surpassing even Joy Boy.
• Luffy aims to surpass Shanks in Haki usage to fulfill his destiny as the second coming of Joy Boy.

In the final saga of One Piece, only the strongest and the most capable are still in the battle for the One Piece. In the Egghead Island arc, it was made clear by Vegapunk that the person who goes on to claim the One Piece will have the entire world in the palm of their hands, which means that essentially, the closest to the One Piece are among the strongest in the world.

Clearly, in order to claim a treasure as massive as One Piece, majestic willpower, or, in other words, strong Haki, is a must. Among the strongest Pirates, such as the Yonko and their commanders, there are quite a few strong Haki users. However, there is one that stands out most in the modern era of One Piece, and this person might just have been confirmed by Oda to have the strongest Haki of all at this point in time.

The Strongest User In the History of One Piece

• Joy Boy’s Haki Was The Mightiest
• Emet Used Joy Boy’s Haki In Egghead

There are quite a lot of strong Haki users in One Piece, and, before the current era, which is also known as the new era, one particular character stood out the most to the fans. This person is none other than Joy Boy. Although there are mighty Haki users such as Roger and even the likes of Whitebeard, these individuals never seemingly reached a height as high as Joy Boy. In the Egghead Island arc, fans saw quite a lot of exciting bits from Joy Boy, and the most intriguing one was when he unleashed his Haki. Joy Boy had stored his Haki inside Emet, the Iron Giant, and told him to only use it when his life was in danger. Upon seeing the Strawhats in danger, Emet knew that he had to protect them, especially because Luffy was recognized by him as the next Joy Boy. Emet utilized this Haki to protect Luffy and his crew, and this was an absolutely massive blast of Haki.

I’ll store my strongest Haki inside you, Emet! – Joy Boy

This Haki was so powerful that it managed to split the skies by itself. If that wasn’t enough, its strength essentially knocked out even the Vice Admirals of the Navy, which has never been seen before in the story. This Haki was stronger than even that of Luffy’s, and it knocked out the Elders from their demonic transformations and, at the same time, nullified Saturn’s demonic summoning. All the Elders were sent back to Marijoa, while Saturn was left behind, pushed out of his demonic state. Clearly, all the Elders took damage from Joy Boy’s Haki blast, while the vast majority of the Marines on the island were knocked out, with the sole exception of Kizaru. This was a major showing of Haki and quite easily, the best in the entirety of One Piece.

Of course, there is absolutely no telling whether Roger had Haki as strong as that of Joy Boy or not. The fact is that fans have never seen Roger at the peak of his strength and even the glimpses that fans got of him never showcased him utilizing the full extent of his Haki. Whether Roger was close to Joy Boy in terms of Haki usage or not is something that will likely never be answered. But, what fans know for sure is that the Joy Boy was the greatest Haki user of his time, and so far, his Haki display has been the greatest in the entirety of One Piece.

The Strongest Haki User Of The Modern Era

Shanks Has The Mightiest Haki In The World Right Now

The strongest Haki user of the modern era in One Piece is none other than Shanks. This was confirmed by Oda himself and should not come as a surprise to any fan. Oda implied this when Joy Boy utilized his immense bolt of Haki. When Joy Boy was able to knock out the Vice Admirals, split the sky by himself, and knock out all the Elders from their transformations, the two Giants of Elbaf, Dorry and Brogy, who had known Shanks well, started a direct comparison between the Haki that they witnessed and the Haki of the captain of Red Hair Pirates, Shanks. According to them, they could not sense any hostility from Joyboy’s Haki.

This meant that this Haki was not aimed to harm them, but to aid them. They then went on to wonder whether this Haki was greater than that of Red Hair’s. Clearly, they don’t know themselves whether Shanks’s Haki is superior to that of Joy Boy or whether Joy Boy has the stronger Haki. But, the fact that this Haki was great enough for them to ask this question itself means the Shanks’s Haki is very powerful and among the best that they have ever seen.

Was that Haki stronger than that of Red Hair? – Dorry and Brogy

What’s even more impressive is the fact that despite witnessing this majestic Haki bolt, they were not sure if it was actually better than that of Shanks or not. This means that Shanks operates Haki on a very high level and that it is quite close to that of Joy Boy. This is praise of the highest order from Oda for Shanks, and given that Joyboy’s very own display was of the highest order, Shanks, if he’s anywhere near, should be the greatest Haki user of the One Piece world right now.

Will Luffy Surpass Shanks?

Luffy Could Surpass Shanks In Haki Usage

Of course, Shanks is the strongest Haki user in One Piece right now, with Joyboy having been the strongest of the era of the Void Century. However, Luffy will have to surpass the Shanks in one way or another. In fact, Luffy is the second coming of Joy Boy, which essentially means that he will have to reach a level similar to Joy Boy himself if he is to liberate the world from the clutches of the World Government. Luffy has already awakened the power of Gear 5, just like Joy Boy, and, on top of that, he will also have to upgrade his Haki. As seen in Egghead Island, Luffy’s Haki is not yet anywhere close to that of Joy Boy, which means that he will have to strengthen greatly if he is to ever defeat the likes of the Elders and Imu.

By the end of the series, Luffy will have to gain enough control over his Haki to be able to split the skies by himself, knock out Vice Admirals, and at the same time, be strong enough to kick the Elders out of their demonic transformations. Only then will Luffy be considered to be equal to the likes of Joy Boy and go on to surpass him. Luffy is destined to become the greatest Haki user in One Piece in the future, but right now, Shanks is stronger than him by far.

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.