Haki

Haki is a mysterious power that allows the user to utilize their own spiritual energy for various purposes. All living beings in the world are capable of learning Haki; however, most people do not notice it or fail to awaken it. Haki users are common in the New World, rare in Paradise, and basically non-existent in the Four Blues.

There are three different types of Haki that can be used to sense people's spiritual energy and predict their actions, give the user a protective coating of spiritual energy, and, for a certain group of "chosen ones", overpower the willpower of others.

Haki, unnamed at the time, was first seen when Shanks used it to scare off 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 much later when Blackbeard was commenting on Luffy's bounty in Jaya, and was hinted at during Shanks' visit with Whitebeard. The underlying concepts of Haki were introduced during the Sabaody Archipelago and Amazon Lily Arcs. The concept was clearly explained later on by Rayleigh to Luffy at the start of the latter's training on Rusukaina Island.

Overview
"Haki" is a power that lies dormant in all the world's creatures... "Presence", "fighting spirit" and "intimidation"... It is not different from the things that humans can naturally sense such as these... 'The act of not doubting'. That is strength!

Haki is dormant in every living person, but most people around the world never even learn about the existence of Haki, let alone how to utilize it. The people who do usually awaken it through proper instruction and intense training. Haki is apparently quite difficult to master, as Rayleigh stated that two years was not enough time to learn the basics, though several characters managed to master it within the span of the two year timeskip, including Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Tashigi, Smoker, Koby, and Bellamy. In very rare instances, a person can awaken their Haki on their own due to an experience of extreme stress or shock, such was the case with Koby during the Summit War of Marineford, and Ace during his battle against Vice Admiral Draw. Some people (such as Aisa and Otohime) are actually born with awakened Kenbunshoku Haki, and are able to use it with no known training.

A person can also make their Haki become stronger, especially when they push themselves and their Haki to the limit and beyond in battles against far stronger opponents. A person's Haki can even grow stronger before that person actually learns to be Haki user and even before they find out that Haki exists; for example, Blackbeard noted that Luffy's Haki had grown stronger by the time of the mass breakout in Impel Down compared to their first meeting on Jaya.

It is even possible to maintain and use Haki while unconscious, as seen when Newgate used Kenbunshoku Haki in his sleep to defend himself from Ace; when Chinjao was defeated, and he still maintained Busoshoku Haki on his head after he fainted; and when Luffy released a burst of Haoshoku Haki after being knocked unconscious by Kaidou.

According to Kaidou, Haki is the true defining factor that determines whether or not someone can conquer the sea, because only Haki transcends all, unlike Devil Fruit powers, no matter how powerful they may be. A clear and notable example of this rule was Gol D. Roger and Edward Newgate; Newgate was considered the "Strongest Man in the World" and he possessed the power of the Gura Gura no Mi, the Devil Fruit called the "Strongest Paramecia" which granted him the power to generate powerful quakes and shockwaves and could potentially destroy the world. However, even when Newgate was in his prime, he was still matched and bested by Roger, who did not have a Devil Fruit. Roger conquered the Grand Line with the power of Haki alone, achieving a feat that multiple powerful Devil Fruit users, including Newgate, Big Mom, Kaidou, and Shiki, all failed to accomplish, even decades after Roger's death.

Furthermore, Haki also has the unique capability to reverse/nullify the effects of other peoples Devil Fruit powers. However, in order to accomplish this, the user must possess a very powerful level of Haki. This application has only been displayed by individuals whose bounties are well above 1,000,000,000. As such, if a person's Haki isn't strong enough to counter it, then a person's Devil Fruit could bypass this. The earliest mention of this was when Doflamingo believed Vergo could counter Law's Ope Ope no Mi, however, the Surgeon of Death proved himself to surpass the former Warlord's expectations.

Despite its great capabilities, the Haki in a person's body is not limitless and it can be depleted from overuse, rendering the user unable to use it for a set period of time while it regenerates.

Notably, Haki originates from an individual's spirit and not their physical body, so even if a persons mind is transferred into another body, they would still be capable of using their Haki to the same degree that they normally can, even if the body they transferred into is not a Haki user.

Types of Haki
Haki is separated into three categories, or "types" (色). The three types of Haki are:


 * Kenbunshoku Haki (見聞色の覇気), which gives the user a sixth sense of the world around them, allowing them to sense the presence, strength, and emotions of other people, even if they are out of sight or far away. It also grants limited precognitive abilities, allowing the user to sense their opponents' intentions and predict their actions and attacks before they happen.
 * An advanced level of Kenbunshoku allows the user to actually foresee a short period into the future.


 * Busoshoku Haki (武装色の覇気), which allows the user to use their own spiritual energy as armor to defend against attacks, as well as make their own attacks more potent. It can also be used to bypass Devil Fruit defenses, such as Logia intangibility. A person can apply the armament to a section of their body, over their entire body, and even imbue it onto their weapons. A coating of Busoshoku will cause the coated area to turn a shiny black, and a particularly thick and powerful coating will have a flame-like pattern along its edge.
 * An advanced level of Busoshoku allows the user to emit the armament a short distance without a medium.
 * A higher grade of advanced Busoshoku allows the user to make the emitted armament flow into a target's body and destroy it from the inside out.


 * Haoshoku Haki (覇王色の覇気), which grants the user the ability to unleash their own willpower to overpower the will of others. This results in victims being mentally overwhelmed by the user, with particularly weak-willed foes instantly losing consciousness. It can also apply pressure onto objects and damage them, a clash between two particularly strong Haoshoku users is capable of "splitting the heavens". Unlike the other types of Haki which can be learned by anyone, Haoshoku is rare ability that only one in several million people are born with the ability to use.
 * An advanced level of Haoshoku allows the user to infuse their conquering spirit into their weapons and physical attacks, greatly augmenting their power. Only a small handful of the most powerful Haoshoku users are able to achieve this.
 * Another advanced level of Haoshoku allows for the ability to manipulate one's aura or presence, which negates an opponent's ability to sense the user with Kenbunshoku Haki.

Most people who can use Haki tend to have one type that they are better at, and, as a result, focus on training and fighting with that type primarily. However, a person can improve their abilities with all the types of Haki, it just requires more work.

Each type of Haki has levels of usage, so even two proficient users might not be of equal strength. Furthermore, it is possible to use at least two types of Haki simultaneously.

Haki Users
It was mentioned that all Marines with the rank of vice admiral and above, are capable of using Haki. So far the characters who have clearly shown the use of Haki or have been stated to be able to use it are:

Anime and Manga Differences

 * In the manga, those hit with Haoshoku Haki foam at the mouth after or while losing consciousness, whereas, in the anime, they simply faint.
 * In the anime, the use of Haoshoku and Busoshoku Haki creates a rippling or shockwave-like effect, similar to the Gura Gura no Mi, while in the manga, it is completely invisible. Also, in recent episodes, the use of Haoshoku Haki causes the affected area, excluding the user, to gain a dark blue tint. However, this could just be for dramatic effect. In the One Piece Film: Z, the Haoshoku Haki's use creates a circular purple wave. Also, using advanced Busoshoku Haki produces petal-like particles, likely to emphasize it's alternate name of "Ryuo".
 * In the anime, some Haki users are shown surrounded by different color auras (such as red for Luffy, purple for Doflamingo or pink for Big Mom) even if they are not using Haki at that moment.

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", "spirit", "vigor" and "aspiration" to name a few. The term itself, however, literally translates to "Supreme Qi".
 * The FUNimation dubs and subs have chosen to use the term "Haki".
 * Regarding the video games of One Piece: One Piece: Unlimited Adventure and One Piece: Unlimited Cruise, which was localized by Namco-Bandai, "Haki" was translated as "Ambition". But beginning with One Piece: Pirate Warriors, also localized by Namco-Bandai, it was left as "Haki".

Trivia

 * Haki appears to be similar in principle to common types of Qi (Chi) found in various other anime and manga series; which is based on the concept of "qi" (or "life-force") in Chinese philosophy.
 * Coincidentally, the kanji for the "ki" in Haki is the same as the same character/hanzi used for qi/chi (気). By this proxy, the pinyin reading of Haki would be Baqi ("bah-chee").
 * Not only is it a Japanese term but Haki was also the name of a Scandinavian Sea-King (a name given to powerful pirates) in Norse mythology.
 * In the anime, some animals seem to be able to learn to competently use Haki (particularly Busoshoku Haki). This has so far happened twice:
 * Alpacacino, a member of the Neo Marines, was shown using Busoshoku Haki to damage Luffy
 * The Kung-Fu Dugong captain of the Sea Animal Pirates

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