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Throughout the recent Wano arc, One Piece readers were introduced to a new power, which was emphasized as a game-changing skill that only a few among the strongest characters can use.
This power involves the ability to infuse one's body, weapons, and attacks with the Conqueror's Haki to achieve a whole new level of strength. While this skill is yet to receive an official name in the series, most One Piece fans conventionally call it the "Advanced Conqueror's Haki." Follow this article to find out everything on the subject through a detailed analysis.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to Chapter 1062 and reflects the writer's personal views
The Advanced Conqueror's Haki is the power of the strongest One Piece characters
Conqueror's Haki: The act of imposing one's willpower
In the One Piece series, Haki is a power that allows the user to utilize his own spiritual energy for three main purposes. Observation Haki enables one to sense spiritual energy and predict actions. Armament Haki grants them a protective coating of spiritual energy. Theoretically, all living beings in the world can learn these two abilities.
Conqueror's Haki can be used to overwhelm the willpower of others. This ability can't be learned; it is only available to the people born with it. Thus, while many One Piece characters are able to use Observation and Armament Haki, just a few selected ones can awaken and exert the very rare Color of Conqueror's. Only one in several million people possesses it.
The ones who possess Conqueror's Haki all have "kingly attitudes," which means that they have the willpower and the potential to become an individual among the absolute strongest in the world. Conqueror's Haki users overwhelm their opponents. The weakest people can't even face them, getting intimidated or even losing consciousness when in their presence.
Also known as "Supreme King's Haki," this power is a natural-born ability that cannot be attained through training. Users of this ability are called "Supreme Rulers," for their incredible determination. They aren't prone to giving up, even in dire situations.
Conqueror's Haki users have the greatest ambitions. They strive to be the strongest in the world at something, and have often attained a highly respected status, indicating their dominating role. The few characters who awakened their Supreme King power own all three types of Haki. This rare feat makes them feared and respected in the One Piece world.
Conqueror's Haki wielders don't follow others - they are the kind of people who lead, not the ones who tag along. A testament to this, the Rocks Pirates fell into despair due to internal conflicts. Whitebeard, who was a part of that crew, wondered why Oden would join him. Zoro refused the Baroque Works' offer to join them, saying that he would only do it if he was made the boss of the group.
However, despite being Conquerors, Zoro and Rayleigh decided to follow Luffy and Roger, respectively. This happened because their strength is comparable to their captain's, unlike the others. They didn't join them out of a need for protection like the other subordinates did, but because of the spontaneous trust they felt for them. Such is the nature of the Roger/Rayleigh and the Luffy/Zoro relationship.
Unlike the two other forms of Haki, the Conqueror's can't be strengthened through training and direct use. The user can only increase the force of his will, and also his Supreme King Haki, by becoming stronger overall. Thus, this ability can be kind of a power level between two Conqueror's Haki users, the one with the dominating willpower is implied to be the stronger individual.
Admiral Ryokugyu, one of the strongest fighters at the World Government's disposal, was intimidated when Shanks exerted his Conqueror Haki. Seemingly paralyzed, Ryokugyu backed off, giving up all his previous intents. Such a dominant feat left One Piece fans in amazement.
When two Conqueror's Haki users clash, they generate sparkling streams of black and red energy all around them. Depending on their power, the resulting force will affect the surrounding area. Clashes between particularly powerful Supreme Kings can open massive rifts in the sky above them, sort of like "splitting the heavens."
The natural-born ability to impose one's own will on others is one of the rarest traits in the One Piece world, akin to the mysterious Will of D. As of now, only seventeen officially confirmed users of the basic stage of the Supreme King Haki exist among the hundreds of characters.
- Shanks - The captain of Red Hair Pirates and one of the Four Emperors.
- Monkey D. Luffy - The captain of Strawhats Pirates and one of the Four Emperors.
- Roronoa Zoro - Luffy's right-hand man. A challenger to the World's Strongest Swordsman.
- Portuguese D. Ace - The son of Gol D. Roger.
- Gol D. Roger - The first man to find the One Piece and become the Pirate King.
- Silvers Rayleigh - A man hailed as the "Dark King." He is Roger's former right-hand man.
- Edward Newgate - The World's Strongest Man and an Emperor. He was on par with Roger.
- Sengoku - The former Grand Fleet Admiral of the Marine. A legend of the old era.
- Chinjao - In his prime, he was a legendary pirate who challenged Garp, the Marine Hero.
- Oden Kozuki - The shogun of Wano. Even Kaido, Whitebeard, and Roger respected him.
- Kaido - The World's Strongest Creature. An Emperor and the captain of the Beasts Pirates.
- Yamato - The daughter, self-proclaimed son, of Kaido.
- Charlotte Linlin - The captain of Big Mom Pirates and one of the Four Emperors.
- Charlotte Katakuri - The strongest son of Charlotte Linlin.
- Eustass Kid - One of the Eleven Supernovas of the Worst Generation.
- Boa Hancock - The "Pirate Empress," she leads Amazon Lily. A former Warlord.
- Donquixote Doflamingo - A former Warlord and Celestial Dragon. He ruled Dressrosa.
The Advanced Conqueror's Haki separates the good from the best
In the Wano arc, One Piece fans learned that there is a further stage for Conqueror's Haki. While even basic traits of this power are rare, the upgraded version is even more extraordinary. A minimal number of mighty individuals are able coat their bodies, their attacks, and their weapons with their Conqueror Haki, immensely improving their effectiveness in battle.
Users of this ability can strike and damage others through a Haki barrier without even making physical contact with them. The same application can be used for defensive purposes as well. Although the Conqueror's Haki coating grants performance on a whole other level compared to Armament Haki, the two skills can also be combined for better results.
The Advanced Conqueror's Haki is an incredible power. It grants a big boost to allow Luffy to evolve from being a complete pushover to Kaido to becoming a serious challenge for the Emperor. After unleashing the same power, Zoro, who was having noticeable trouble against King, Kaido's right-hand man, ended up annihilating him.
Even among those born with Conqueror's Haki, only a few are able to upgrade that power at its furthest level. To this day, only Whitebeard, Roger, Rayleigh, Shanks, Luffy, Zoro, Yamato, Kaido, and Big Mom have been shown to be Advanced Conqueror's Haki users. According to Kaido, being able to use this ability is what separates the strongest ones from the rest.
Despite being Supreme King Haki users and accomplished fighters in their own right, Katakuri, Boa Hancock, Don Chinjao, Doflamingo, and Eustass Kid weren't able to upgrade their Haki at the advanced stage. Conqueror's Haki can't be trained directly, as it is the embodiment of the user's spirit. It can only become stronger if the user himself does.
Why Advanced Conqueror's Haki users are the strongest One Piece characters
Taking all into account, it seems that in One Piece, between two characters of similar levels, the ones with the most powerful Haki are the stronger ones.
According to Kaido, Haki surpasses all the powers in the One Piece world and was the asset that allowed Roger to become the King of Pirates. Not only is Kaido one of the strongest characters in the series, but he also has full knowledge of the Awakening of Devil Fruits. Moreover, he has witnessed the awakened powers of a Fruit of the caliber of the Nika-Nika. As a result, his statement is reliable.
The same concept was also already established in the series. Doflamingo, who is not only a well-informed individual but also a Conqueror Haki user and a Devil Fruit user, stated that Luffy is a more dangerous threat than Law due to the former possessing Conqueror Haki.
This is important because even though Law lacks the Supreme King's Haki, he possesses the Ope-Ope Fruit power, one of the best in the entire One Piece world. Despite having perfect knowledge of it, Doflamingo still considered the possession of Conqueror's Haki to be a more determinant factor, creating a clear distinction between who has it and who doesn't.
Kaido's statements confirm Doflamingo's words and create a further distinction between those who only have the basic Conqueror's Haki and those who also have the advanced version.
The Emperor knows which peaks the Devil Fruits can reach very well, yet he says that Haki transcends all the other powers. As a result, it appears that the strongest characters in One Piece are the ones with the most powerful Haki. Willpower is one of the main themes of the series, and Haki is nothing but the power of will.
From the will to become tougher, Armament Haki is created. The will to understand and foresee the surroundings is the Observation Haki. The greatest form of willpower is the one that makes its owner dominate over anything and anyone else. The act of the Supreme Kings imposing their superiority on the lesser ones is the power called the Conqueror's Haki.
Thus, the statement about Haki being the most potent power comes not only from a reliable source, but is also perfectly consistent with the general leitmotiv of the series. The mightiest Haki is the Advanced Conqueror's, which was portrayed as the distinctive feature of the top tier characters, being emphasized as a power that only a handful of the strongest can use.
Given that the Advanced Conqueror's is the most powerful ability in the series, it only follows that the upgraded version of Supreme King's Haki is the actual strongest power in the One Piece world. Thus, the characters who have this ability are steps ahead of those who don't have it.
Further evidence about Haki being the strongest power of all
The idea of the characters with the most dominating Haki being the most feasible winners of a fight was suggested in the One Piece manga, during the battle between Zoro and Pica.
Despite relying on his Stone-Stone Fruit, Pica stated that his Devil Fruit ability was nothing compared to his Haki. Zoro agreed with him, confirming that the outcome of the battle would have depended on who really had the strongest Haki. A few moments later, Zoro, with his Armament coated swords, cut through Pica's Armament hardened body, defeating him.
While the idea that a stronger Haki equates to the strongest character can't be true for every single comparison, for the most part, it is. Characters who are able to use Advanced Conqueror's Haki are the strongest by default due to the mere virtue of unlocking and wielding that power.
Past, present, and future top tier characters have different fighting styles. Some are Devil Fruit users, some more are swordsmen, and others are brawlers. However, one thing unites them all - they all have exceptionally strong Haki. Moreover, most of them have the Advanced Conqueror's.
Many top-tier characters don't have a Devil Fruit, and didn't need one to become strong. That's the case with Garp, Roger, Rayleigh, Mihawk, Shanks, and Oden. In the future, Zoro will also be there, and he is already rising to the highest levels. All these characters are factual proof of the truthfulness of Kaido's statements.
Haki is sort of an equal chance for everyone to be the strongest as he can be. Not everyone can use a sword, find and eat a Devil Fruit, or learn a martial arts style. However, everyone can develop Haki and have a chance at being on par with the strongest characters.
With Haki, the only discrimination is that while Armament and Observation are available for anyone to develop and train, Conqueror's Haki can only be used by those born with that rare ability. Nonetheless, even among the few who have that innate gift, only a handful of the strongest are able to upgrade that power, unleashing its advanced and more ferocious form.
If someone deprived Luffy of his Devil Fruit power, he would still remain an excellent fighter, thanks to his all-powerful Haki. But if he was stripped of his Haki, he wouldn't be as strong by relying on his Devil Fruit power.
The same goes for the Admirals. With their Devil Fruits removed, they would remain strong individuals, thanks to their physical abilities and Haki allowing them to fight at a remarkable level. With their Devil Fruits but no Haki, they would merely be a stronger version of characters such as Ener or Crocodile.
Final thoughts
The reveal of Advanced Conqueror's Haki lit the One Piece fandom ablaze. In this series, Haki is a power based on willpower, a potentially limitless force, as Luffy and the other characters showed many times.
Hence, Kaido's words mean that no matter what convenient or advantageous power the enemy may wield, an individual with enough willpower and a powerful Haki, can potentially overcome any hurdle and win the fight. One Piece author Eiichiro Oda clearly implied that Haki is the strongest kind of power in the series and that Advanced Conqueror's is the absolute pinnacle of Haki.
