This article contains spoilers from the Elbaf arc of One Piece.
When it comes to the world of One Piece, Oda has established a very diverse cast of characters that fight in various ways. Of course, Devil Fruit forms the primary power system of the One Piece world, which means the vast majority of the powerful fighters that exist in this world utilize these incredible abilities. However, one cannot ignore Haki, which is just as important as Devil Fruits, if not even more important, especially in the New World.
One Piece: Oda Just Introduced A New Power Even Stronger Than Haki
Haki and Devil Fruits are powerful, but Oda introduced a power even greater in One Piece.
More recently, Oda has made sure to add to his incredibly exciting power systems by bringing in new abilities that members of the World Government rely on. While some of them are easy to counter, others are so strong that even Haki users can't get past them. Only a handful of people can counter the elites of the World Government, all of which rely on different Pacts made with the Sovereign of the World, Saint Imu Nerona. These Pacts grant them various abilities, ranging from regeneration to even immortality, and they're quite easily some of the most fearsome abilities to exist in the One Piece world.
Haki Users Are The Most Skilled Fighters In The New World
- Haki Is Present Within Everyone In One Piece
- Only A Handful Can Utilize Haki Of The Highest Order
When looking at all the different fighters that exist in the One Piece world, it is often Haki users who stand at the very top. The reason behind this is quite simple. Haki is a spiritual form of energy that requires the user to train their mind and body, as well as hone the control over their own spirit. It can be used to improve awareness in a way that almost acts as if it's a sixth sense, or it can be used to boost the offense and defense. And of course, in a few cases, it can even be used to overwhelm the enemy with Supreme King Haki.
Haki is a power that is dormant in everyone everywhere. The ability to sense spiritual energy and overwhelm enemies is something everyone has to some degree. But most people never discover it. To never doubt, that is true power. Now watch! Most Haki can be divided into two types or colors. — Silvers Rayleigh to Luffy in Ruskaina
Devil Fruits offer great advantages in battle as well, but they are very limited because in the New World, all Haki users can counter Devil Fruit abilities. As such, often, characters who have both a Devil Fruit and great Haki tend to reign supreme at the top. Those with just Devil Fruits will never make it to the top in the world of One Piece, and of course, those who rely purely on Haki can still go to the top if they take this power far enough.
So far in the One Piece series, Haki has proven to be essential for one to reach the elite levels. Be it one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, an Admiral of the Navy, or even a top-ranking member of the Revolutionary Army, all of them have to have powerful Haki to be relevant in the grand scheme of things.
Now, however, the script has been flipped by Oda, as many powerful World Government elites are showing up with abilities that even regular Haki cannot counter. As such, the vast majority of Haki fighters are essentially useless against them. These are the Holy Knights, and the Five Elders of the One Piece world, all of whom have a pact with the Imu that grants them various powers.
Users Of Imu's Abyssal Covenant Are The Strongest In One Piece
- Armament And Observation Haki Is Useless Against Them
- Only Conqueror's Haki Works In Some Cases
The uses of Imu's powers were first shown in the story in the Egghead arc, which is where the Final Saga of One Piece truly began. It was one of the Five Elders, Saint Saturn, who first showed this ability of the Covenant to the fans. Saturn had the power to regenerate from any blow dealt to him, and on top of that, he was quite clearly immortal. He also had a strange Yokai ability, the powers of which were beyond any comprehension.
Even though Luffy fought Saturn to the best of his abilities, he was not able to deal any sustainable damage to him, and in the end, resorted to running from the island itself.
In the Elbaf arc, fans have seen the Holy Knights make their move, and once again, it is quite clear that they cannot be beaten by regular means. Just like the Five Elders, the Holy Knights also rely on the power of the Covenants from Imu, and in their case, the powers are somewhat different. As has been revealed in the Elbaf arc, there are three types of covenants that exist in the world of One Piece.
The first one is the Shallow Sea Covenant. This one barely grants any powers to its wielder. Its only ability is that it lets the user pass through the Abyss mark and teleport immediately. Those with the mark can also be controlled by Imu if they are within a certain range.
The second one is the Deep Sea Covenant. This is the Covenant that the Holy Knights usually wield. With the Deep Sea Covenant, one can utilize the power of immortality, and on top of that, they also gain superhuman strength. They also regenerate from any damage dealt to them immediately. However, those branded with the Deep Sea Covenant start losing their mind and become mindless slaves of Saint Imu.
The final pact is the Abyssal Covenant. This Covenant remains unexplored so far, but looking at the Five Elders, it is quite clear that it grants a Yokai ability, on top of superhuman strength, as well as immortality and extreme regeneration. They can also communicate telepathically with each other, and create the Abyss Circle freely.
Only Conqueror's Haki Can Slow Down Immortals In One Piece
- Advanced Conqueror's Haki Can Slow Down Immortality
- Killing Them Is Still Nearly Impossible
Clearly, the powers gained by using Imu's different Covenants are incredible, and as Oda explained himself, the vast majority of the Haki users in the One Piece world cannot counter them.
Usually, Haki is a counter to anything supernatural in the One Piece world, be it Devil Fruit abilities or something else. Haki always reigns supreme, but it cannot do so against users of the Covenant from Imu. That said, there is a catch here. Only users of Supreme King Haki can slow down the regeneration and immortality of an individual with Imu's mark.
In other words, those who coat their weapons in the Color of the Supreme King are the biggest weakness of the immortals. — Scopper Gaban, One Piece 1170
As was seen with Scopper Gaban in Elbaf, using Supreme King Haki on the weapons and then attacking the Immortals significantly slows down their regeneration. On top of that, their immortality is bypassed as well, and if they are attacked for long enough, they get incapacitated and defeated in combat.
Loki Is The Only One Who Could Kill An Immortal
In the case of Loki, he even managed to kill a member of the Holy Knights by striking them with his strange power. However, it must be noted that only one in a million in the world of One Piece can utilize Conqueror's Haki. More than that, even among those who do possess Conqueror's Haki, only a handful can actually coat themselves in this power.
As such, the vast majority of Haki users, that is up to possibly 99%, if not more, cannot even put a dent in the users of the Covenants. As such, as a whole, the users of the Covenant are stronger than the general Haki users of the One Piece world.
Eiichiro Oda's One Piece focuses on the journey of Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates as they sail the seas to lay claim to the grand treasure known as the One Piece. The manga is currently in its Final Saga. One Piece will be featured in this week's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1171 is January 18, 2026. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday, which is 11:00 AM EST, or 8:00 AM PT. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump apps. Doing so will ensure that fans always support the author.