This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Elbaf arc.
Summary
In the world ofOne Piece, Oda has established quite a few ways for one to gain power, and undoubtedly, one of the most efficient ways to gain power is through awakening Haki and improving it with training. Of course, Haki is present in everyone, at least the basic types. However, there is one type of Haki that is only present within a select few in theOne Pieceworld,known as Conqueror’s Haki.
It is said that one in a million people are born with Conqueror’s Haki in theOne Pieceworld and that’s what makes this ability special as it is. Right from the get-go, fans knew that Shanks was a genius of Haki, and might as well be the strongest Conqueror’s Haki user in the entirety ofOne Piece. While Shanks has the strongest Haki right now, he’s actually also the youngest user of Conqueror’s Haki Infusion which fans know in the entire story, making him doubly special. Oda has yet to give the fans a glimpse of how this came to be, but he’s already revealed bits and pieces about this in his Q&A session.
The Power Of Conqueror’s Haki And Its Advanced Form
The power of Conqueror’s Haki was seen quite early inOne Piece. In fact, the very first usage of Conqueror’s Haki came right at the very beginning, when Shanks saved Luffy’s life. Back then, fans had no idea about what Conqueror’s Haki truly was. With time, however, this ability was explained, especially when Rayleigh came into play. During Luffy’s trainingwith the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh, the concept of Haki was properly introduced to the fans. When it comes to Conqueror’s Haki, Rayleigh explained that this type of Haki was incredibly powerful, possessed only by a select few in theOne Pieceworld.
To never doubt yourself, that is true power! — Rayleigh
Those with Conqueror’s Haki are known to have the qualities of a King. Conqueror’s Haki itself is a power to intimidate. This Haki allows the user to impose their willpower on others and weaken them. If the difference in willpower and strength is great enough, the user can knock them out without even lifting a finger. If the willpower is strong, then a tussle of Conqueror’s Haki decides who the superior one is in terms of having the qualities of a King. Conqueror’s Haki can do more than just knock people out and intimidate them. It can also be used to tame beings, as seen with Luffy on countless occasions.
But, all these forms are basic when it comes to Supreme King Haki usage. There is an advanced application of Conqueror’s Haki and it allows the user to infuse their entire body with it, wearing it like armor. This increases both the offensive and the defensive powers of the user, making them worthy of competing with the strongest in the world. Of course, not everyone in theOne Pieceworld knows how to utilize Conqueror’s Haki Infusion. Even among those who possess this power, there are those who don’t know how to use it. Luffy himself learned this power just recently during his fight against Kaido. After being struck with his Kanabo three times coated in Conqueror’s Haki, he figured out the logic behind it and coated his own body in it as well. It was quite easy for the fans to see that the level of his techniques went up immediately. Since then, Luffy has learned how to use Conqueror’s Haki very well, however, he still pales in comparisonto the Red-haired Emperor, Shanks.
The Youngest User Of Conqueror’s Haki Infusion — Shanks
Mastered Conqueror’s Haki Infusion Before 15
Shanks is one of the best users of Haki inOne Piece. In fact, it can be said that Shanks is one of the strongest users of Haki in the whole story, including the old eras. Even before he released his advanced Haki, Shanks was praised by the likes of Whitebeard for possessing monstrously powerful Haki, which says quite a lot, especially knowing that Whitebeard was the strongest at the time.
But, it was only much later in the story thatthe true power of Shanks’s Haki was shown. In the Wano Country arc, Shanks was seen unleashing a bolt of Conqueror’s Haki so powerful that he paralyzed Admiral Ryokugyu in an instant and actually caused him physical pain. This was a clear indication of the fact that his Haki was monstrous. It was also said by Jinbe and the Straw Hats that his Haki was immensely powerful at the time, although he most likely was still holding back.
In Egghead, Shanks unleashed his first named technique, called Kamusari, at Kid and Killer. The technique was so powerful that it knocked both Kid and Killer out, whose cumulative bounty should be close to 4 billion berries, at the very least, and potentially even higher. With Kamusari, Shanks made use of advanced Conqueror’s Haki, or Conqueror’s Haki Infusion. Undoubtedly, this was a tremendous Haki feat, but Oda only made Shanks more impressive when he went on to reveal that Shanks’s Haki is actually on a whole new level and that he had mastered the usage of Supreme King Haki before even hitting 15 years of age.
Shanks was such a genius that Roger pirates were all surprised that Shanks learned Divine Departure by himself without instruction from Roger, and no one else in Roger’s pirates could even mimic it. — Oda
It must be remembered that Divine Departure, or Kamusari, is an advanced Conqueror’s Haki technique. This power sees the user coattheir blade in Conqueror’s Hakiand unleash the Haki as a powerful blow, almost akin to a shockwave but with pure compressed Haki power. This technique originally belonged to Roger, but Shanks observed it closely and despite having nobody to teach him, he learned it himself and eventually perfected it.
In other words, Shanks became the youngest Conqueror’s Haki Infusion user, which he must’ve learned before even 14, as that’s when the Roger Pirates disbanded. By the age of 13, Shanks likely knew how to utilize this power, which just makes him very special. Undoubtedly, the red-haired Emperor is tremendously powerful with quite easily the strongest Haki. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that he’s the strongest right now, and thathe’ll continue to grow in the future of the story as well, given thatOne Pieceis in the final arc now, where he’s more relevant than ever before.
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 theManga Plusapps. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1141, is set to be Jun 09, 2025.
