It’s been a long time since One Piece introduced a Devil Fruit that truly felt dangerous. Even with the recent addition of Loki’s Dragon-Dragon Fruit, a powerful Mythical Zoan type, Haki seems to easily counter its abilities. In the earlier parts of One Piece, Haki helped level the playing field against strong Devil Fruit users, particularly those with Logia powers, giving those without powers a chance to compete. However, Haki has become so dominant that it now overshadows the threat of Devil Fruits.
Battles used to be more surprising and imaginative when the world was smaller. Back then, Devil Fruits were a major force, but fighters didn’t rely on Haki as much. Now, in the latest part of the story, Haki is usually what decides who wins every fight.
Conqueror’s Haki Knots Are an Unnecessary Cheat Code
The Egghead Arc of One Piece was incredibly intense, largely due to the powerful Five Elders serving as the villains. Their frightening transformations pushed the Straw Hats to their limits in a truly challenging fight. The crew might have faced even greater danger if Emet hadn’t released Joy Boy’s Conqueror’s Haki, which he had hidden within his body.
Honestly, seeing the Five Elders de-aged and sent back to Mary Geoise was incredible! It gave us a first look at Joy Boy’s Conqueror’s Haki in action, which was awesome. But it did feel a little… convenient that all that power just happened to be inside Emet’s body, don’t you think?
The power level also feels excessive, and it shouldn’t have completely negated the abilities of the Five Elders. This feels like an odd loophole in One Piece that’s already causing negative reactions within the fanbase, and it especially diminishes the established strength and importance of Shanks, despite all the times he’s demonstrated his power.
A Character Having Haki or Not Now Determines Their Power Level
In One Piece, a character’s true power now comes from Haki, not just their Devil Fruit ability. Kaido famously said that only Haki can truly make someone the strongest, meaning a Devil Fruit alone isn’t enough to become Pirate King. This was proven during Gol D. Roger’s time, and it’s happening again now.
Fans of One Piece have noticed that powerful abilities don’t always translate to overall strength, as demonstrated by Nico Robin. While her Devil Fruit power is extremely useful and dangerous, she isn’t considered one of the strongest members of the Straw Hat crew because she doesn’t have a strong enough mastery of Haki.
In One Piece, characters like Scopper Gaban demonstrate incredible power through advanced Haki, even without relying on Devil Fruit abilities. This highlights a potential imbalance, where characters with strong potential might be overshadowed if Haki becomes overwhelmingly dominant.
Haki Has Rendered Logia Devil Fruits Useless
The last time we saw a new Logia-type Devil Fruit was over four years ago, in chapter 1052. It belonged to Admiral Ryokugyu, and allowed him to control wood. However, we didn’t get much of a chance to see his powers in action, as he quickly retreated after sensing the powerful Haki of Shanks. It’s surprising that a Logia user, and a new Admiral at that, would be so easily intimidated by an Emperor who doesn’t rely heavily on Devil Fruit powers.
This further supports the idea that Haki is naturally more powerful than Devil Fruits in One Piece. While Armament Haki helps to counter the immense strength of Logia-type Devil Fruits, finding creative ways to overcome those powers makes battles more interesting. Ultimately, though, Haki often diminishes the impact of Devil Fruit abilities in One Piece.
During the Alabasta arc, Luffy cleverly defeats Crocodile by using water against his sand abilities – a surprisingly simple but effective tactic. Similarly, in the Skypiea arc, it’s revealed that Luffy’s rubber body makes him immune to Enel’s lightning. Eiichiro Oda consistently demonstrates imaginative ways to make battles against Logia-type Devil Fruit users exciting without relying on Haki, but often doesn’t fully explore these creative options.
Advanced Forms of Haki Have Replaced Skill in One Piece
While a character’s natural talent and cleverness are more important than any Devil Fruit ability, the increasing prevalence of advanced Haki is also a key issue. When only a handful of characters, like Katakuri with his Future Sight, could use these powerful techniques – like coating themselves or weapons with Armament Haki – fights felt more intense and the outcomes were genuinely uncertain. Viewers wondered if Luffy could actually overcome these incredibly skilled opponents.
Later in the story, Luffy often wins battles simply by using a very powerful form of Haki. This removes the need for the clever and surprising plans he used to create. While it’s great that Luffy is getting stronger, those funny but effective strategies were also really enjoyable and unique. One Piece feels less exciting now because this powerful Haki has taken the place of creative problem-solving.
The Final Saga Fights Are Too Reliant on Haki
Now that Imu has been revealed as the central villain of the Egghead Arc, the danger facing the Straw Hat Pirates is much greater. Imu isn’t a typical enemy – they make even the powerful Knights of God and Five Elders seem weak. Plus, from the start of this arc, it’s clear that Eiichiro Oda is really focusing on the importance of Haki.
The Knights of God made their presence known on Elbaph with a powerful display of Conqueror’s Haki. The Straw Hat Pirates and their allies couldn’t harm them at first, but Scopper Gaban managed to cut off Saint Shepherd Sommers’ arm by imbuing his axe with the same type of Haki. This showed that Conqueror’s Haki is the key to overcoming the Knights of God’s seemingly invincible nature.
The fact that even Luffy’s strongest form, Gear 5, requires extra power from Haki really highlights how formidable Imu is. It’s starting to seem like Luffy’s Devil Fruit alone isn’t enough to win this fight. However, relying on Haki as the solution to every challenge in the final arc feels repetitive and a bit underwhelming.
2026-07-24 16:37