This article contains spoilers for the One Piece manga.
Summary
- Luffy's power as a Yonko is significant but not yet the strongest in One Piece.
- Shanks' mastery of Haki makes him stronger than Luffy at the moment.
- Luffy's eventual surpassing of Shanks is hinted at due to his potential Haki growth.
Luffy’s potential is infinite in One Piece, and he currently stands as one of the most powerful characters in the series, having become a Yonko after the events of the Wano arc. However, he has yet to surpass all the Yonko in One Piece, as Red Haired Shanks still stands in his way, along with other figures, such as Blackbeard. Shanks has one huge advantage over Luffy, and it is exactly what's holding Luffy back.
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Luffy’s Power As A Yonko
Luffy Is One Of The Strongest Characters in One Piece
Luffy is the protagonist of the One Piece series, and he has been growing consistently over the last three decades as Eiichiro Oda develops his story more.
Luffy has come very far in the story. He started off as a nobody in the East Blue, and has continually taken stronger and more dangerous enemies down. Now, the story is in the Final Saga, and Luffy is stronger than ever. This is all thanks to him unlocking his strongest ability so far, Gear 5, back in Wano when he fought against Yonko Kaido.
With Luffy taking down Kaido, and both Kaido and Big Mom being out of the picture, Luffy officially received the title of Yonko.
Luffy has, however, yet to reach his peak. After all, he was unable to do anything against the Five Elders back in the Egghead Arc. This is a huge issue, especially when Imu fully enters the picture. Luffy’s strength is not enough to defeat the enemies that are going to block his way in this Final Saga.
As things stand, Luffy isn’t even the strongest Yonko yet, as the last standing original Yonko still surpasses him, and that’s none other than Red Haired Shanks.
Shanks Is Still Stronger Than Luffy in One Piece
It All Comes Down to Haki Mastery
Shanks has been a part of the Yonko for quite some time now. He has always been a central character in the One Piece story, even though he only makes an appearance now and then. Shanks is undoubtedly one of the strongest characters alive at the moment, but he’s probably even stronger than what some fans imagine him to be. He is most definitely still superior to Luffy, and that’s due to one big reason — Haki.
Luffy’s Haki is quite good, as he has access to all three types, Observation, Armement, and Conqueror’s. However, his mastery of these Haki is still not as good as it can be.
The courageous moments that you created... Have changed the future of the world tremendously — for better or worse. — Shanks
Shanks doesn’t have a Devil Fruit, so he fully relies on Haki, and he can use all three types with an insane mastery level. Fans have seen some moments where he utilizes his Haki, and it would make sense to say that Shanks is currently the strongest Haki user alive in the One Piece world.
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Powerful Haki, specifically, advanced Conqueror’s Haki will be very important to the Final Saga. That’s due to Oda introducing immortality that some members of the Celestial Dragons possess, specifically the Five Elders and the Holy Knights. Haki might just be the key to countering this.
Luffy Will Surpass Shanks Eventually
Luffy’s Haki Will Even Surpass Joy Boy’s
While Shanks’s Haki is currently stronger, making him more powerful than Luffy at the moment, this isn’t going to be the case for too long. Luffy will eventually surpass Shanks in this Final Saga.
After all, One Piece fans have once witnessed the powerful Haki that Joy Boy possesses. That Haki was so powerful it deactivated the Abyss and sent back the Five Elders to Marijoa. It also sent shivers down Imu’s spine.
You can pour drinks on me... But for good reason or not, nobody hurts a friend of mine! — Shanks
Luffy has to surpass Joy Boy in every way possible if he wants to achieve his final goals. So, Luffy will unlock Haki even more powerful than what is able to bring out right now, which will definitely put him above Shanks eventually, making Luffy One Piece’s strongest character.
Where To Read The One Piece Manga Weekly
Available on Manga Plus
One Piece chapter 1147 will be out very soon, later this week. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on the upcoming Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on April 20. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1147 is April 27, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
