Haki

Haki (覇気) is a mysterious force that is found in every living being in the One Piece world. It is no different than the common senses that people normally. However, most people don't notice that they have the ability to channel or know they have it but fail in awaken to it. Normally, there are two types of Haki, however there is a third type of Haki that only a certain group of "chosen ones" are said to possess.

About
Haki 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.

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.

One develops Haki abilities after a tremendous amount of training. In more rare case, it may happen that Haki reveals itself after a huge shock like Coby during the battle of Marineford.

Known Users
So far the characters who have clearly shown the use of Haki are:


 * Shanks
 * Enel
 * Satori
 * Ohm
 * Shura
 * Gedatsu
 * Aisa
 * Monkey D. Luffy
 * Silvers Rayleigh
 * Kuja tribe
 * Edward Newgate
 * Marco
 * Vista
 * Coby
 * Portgas D. Ace
 * Marine Vice Admirals (and higher ranks)

Types of Haki
There are normally two types of Haki regular people can tap into, the Kenbunshoku Haki which allows individuals to sense the presence of others, and Busōshoku Haki which allows individuals to create an invisible armor around them.

Kenbunshoku Haki
Kenbunshoku Haki (Color of Observation) is a form of Haki that allows the user to sense the presence of his opponents. A user of this type of Haki can predict an opponent's moves before he gets 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. Including the distance, location, and where the opponent may strike next. On Skypiea this is called Mantra.

Busōshoku Haki
Busōshoku Haki (Color of Armaments) is another form of Haki that allows the user to create an "invisible armor" around himself. With that, he can protect himself from attacks, and if trained well, use it to deliver stronger attacks. Besides the increase of strenght, it's the only form of attack that doesn't involves Kairouseki that can hit any Devil Fruit user, being able to hit the user's original body even if it's a Logia user. It can also be used in weapons, like the Kuja's arrows.

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.

Known Haōshoku Haki Users
So far, the only people confirmed to possess this level of Haki:


 * Monkey D. Luffy
 * Boa Hancock
 * Silvers Rayleigh
 * Shanks
 * Portgas D. Ace
 * 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. In the video game, One Piece: Unlimited Adventure, (which was dubbed by Funimation) "Haki" was translated as "Ambition." It is not clear what term will be used in the Funimation DVD releases, or if it will even contain this term, but "Haki energy" appears to be what they are currently using in the simulcast.

Trivia

 * Jinbei and some of Whitebeard's division commanders 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 commanders, are confirmed Haki users, as stated by Akainu.


 * 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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