Haki

Haki (覇気) is a mysterious conceptual force that only a few characters can use. It appears to be an ability of sorts that channels one's willpower, or "spirit", to intimidate opponents. However, its true nature has yet to be determined or stated. There are special types of Haki that only a certain group of "chosen ones" are said to possess.

About
It was first seen when Shanks used it against the Lord of the Coast to save Luffy when he was a child from the wrath of the Sea King. The term "Haki" was first coined and used when Blackbeard was commenting Luffy's bounty in Jaya, and hinted during Shanks visit with Whitebeard but it is only during the Sabaody Archipelago arc that the concept became more clear.

Haki can be used to attack directly ignoring the power of a Devil Fruit such as in the case of Luffy feeling pain when attacked by Sandersonia and Marigold. Other examples are when Silvers Rayleigh used his sword to block Admiral Kizaru, whose Devil Fruit power is a Logia type (which usually means that no physical attack can touch him). It was finally confirmed by Smoker that Haki can be used to attack Logia Devil's Fruit users when Hancock struck him and said it was due to her Kuja Haki.

In the anime, use of Haki causes a rippling effect in attacks or to destabilize weak-minded people.

It appears that those skilled at using Haki can use it to enhance their attacks, at as it was mentioned that the Kuja Pirates' arrows are imbued with Haki.

Usage
When first seen, it was used to invoke fear into Lord of the Coast, causing it to flee in terror. Although, Haki can be used for both offense and defense in combat. Emitting it directly to someone can destabilize an opponent; and animals seem to be more susceptible to its effects than average people. A user can also predict an opponent's moves before they get hit, this works by showing the user an image or brief "premonition" of what the opponent will do (manifested as a mental image in the user's mind's eye) and the damage the user will take if the attack "hit" for real, this is however useless if the user is too slow to avoid the hit. It appears that the more killer intent the enemy has the easier they are to predict, though more efficient users can predict future moves regardless whether there are ambient murderous intents or not, as demonstrated by Sandersonia during her fight with Luffy. Although debatable as of the moment, it has been implied that this ability is somewhat similar to Mantra (there is also the possibility of Haki and Mantra being the same ability but this has yet to be confirmed). It also should be noted that when experienced people use it they can nullify the users abilities this mostly shown on Logia fruit users, as such when Silvers Rayleigh deflected an attack from Kizaru. It can also be noted that it notably powers up a person's attack, as seen with the Kuja when they shot normal arrows at Luffy but made explosions on impact.

Known Users
So far the characters who have clearly shown the use of Haki are:
 * Monkey D. Luffy
 * Silvers Rayleigh
 * Kuja tribe
 * Shanks
 * Edward Newgate
 * Marco
 * Vista
 * Boa Hancock
 * Portgas D. Ace

Haōshoku Haki
Haōshoku (覇王色) is a high level type of Haki that only one in a million people are born with. A person with this type of Haki is powerful enough to take out many of the Kuja warriors who are already accustomed to regular Haki. The noted most powerful usage seen so far is the ability to knock out someone else or a large group. While inexperienced users are restricted to intimidating one being or blindly knocking out any with weak wills around them, those with more expertise can focus Haki into physical attacks or even pick out weak willed individuals in a large group to knock out. It seems that the ones possessing Haoshoku Haki can completely negate any Logia's invincibility, for example: When Whitebeard defeated Akainu, his Logia fruit abilities were of no use at all. Other Haki users, ones of lesser caliber, have the ability to momentarily harm Logias when they make contact with them, but the Logia users can recover once they are out of the Haki users' reach.

Known Haōshoku Haki Users
So far, the only people confirmed to possess this level of Haki:
 * Monkey D. Luffy
 * Boa Hancock
 * Shanks
 * Edward Newgate

Translation and Dub Issues
The term "Haki" is a word that has multiple meanings when translated into English. It can mean "ambition", "will power", "drive" and "aspiration" to name a few.

Though Haoushoku is translatable to "King", it refers to a "warring king" or "conqueror", one who rules by power and conquest. The term "Overlord" has been used by some translators.

In the recent simulcast episodes by FUNimation, they have chosen to use the term "Haki energy" despite official Funimation translators wanting to use the term "ambition." This was apparently Toei's decision perhaps based on what the Viz Manga has decided to use. It is not clear what term will be used in the Funimation dub or if the DVD releases will contain this term, but "Haki energy" appears to be what they are using currently.

Trivia

 * Jinbei and some of Whitebeard 's division captains have shown the capability to strike Logia Devil Fruit users. One of Whitebeard's allies confirmed Whitebeard as a Haki user as explanation to him being able to do so. It is unknown if the rest of his crew and allies can utilize Haki also. Marco and Vista, both Whitebeard's division captains, are confirmed Haki users, as stated by Akainu.
 * In the anime, Luffy implied that Marigold and Sandersonia's Haki-powered blows were similar to Sentoumaru's attacks. However, as of yet, Sentomaru himself is not a confirmed Haki user.
 * Everyone who possesses the King's Disposition Haki is shown to be a leader: Monkey D. Luffy being Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, Shanks being the Captain of the Red-Haired Pirates, Boa Hancock being both the queen of Amazon Lily as well as Captain of the Kuja Pirates, and Edward Newgate being Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates. Also, Mihawk notes that Luffy has the power to make allies, and after that Emporio Ivankov associated Haki to that power.
 * Haki users can still utilize Devil Fruit powers, despite Haki being able to negate Devil Fruit abilities. This is because Haki only negates the powers of the enemy, not the user. Such examples are Monkey D. Luffy, Boa Hancock, Edward Newgate. All three possess the Haoshoku Haki (King's Disposition).
 * Not only is it a Japanese term, but Haki was also the name of a Scandinavian Sea-King (a name given for powerful pirates) in Norse mythology.

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