One Piece

Dear Readers,

Today I have decided to talk about One Piece. I am hoping to cover the main aspects all in one post, but I might divi it up. First I am going to talk about haki. Though it was introduced later in the series, its importance cannot be ignored.

Now, One Piece Wikia has described haki as follows, "Haki is a mysterious power that is found in every living being in the world. It is not that different from the normal senses. However, most people do not notice it or fail to awaken it. Broadly, there are two types of Haki common to everyone, given the proper training; however, there is a third type that only a certain group of 'chosen ones' are said to possess. In simple terms, Haki is an ability to sense spiritual energy (Kenbunshoku), use life force (Busoshoku) and overpower enemies (Haoshoku)."

Silvers Rayleigh explained it quite similarly to Luffy, "'Haki' is a power that lies dormant in all the world's creatures... 'Presence', 'fighting spirit' and 'intimidation'... It is not different form the things that humans can naturally sense such as these... 'The act of not doubting'. That is strength!"

Lastly, "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."

From all of these definitions, I found it interesting to try to figure out what haki is. First, let us focus on the different types,
"Kenbunshoku Haki, which grants users a sixth sense of the world around them and limited precognitive abilities;
Busoshoku Haki, which allows the user to use their spirit as armor to defend against attacks or to make their own attacks more potent; and
Haoshoku Haki,... which grants the user the ability to overpower the will of others."

Luffy dodging water darts Image Link

Kenbunshoku haki reminds me of reiryoku from Bleach, being spiritual sensitivity. In Bleach this includes seeing spirits and being able to track and recognize people by their spirits. It seems that kenbunshoku haki is taking reiryoku one step further to being able to sense other's actions before they happen, like a "spidey sense". Though Kenbunshoku seems to require the intent from the other person to be sensed to predict the attack. Like when Luffy punched a wall to deflect his fists randomly because Enel had incredible kenbunshoku haki.

Luffy releasing his haoshoku haki to knock out attacking marines Image Link

Haoshoku haki reminds me of reiatsu or spirit pressure. This pressure has the ability to knock people down and incapacitate them, even crush nearby objects. Like when Luffy first uses it by accident and causes everyone around him to pass out. It seems that haoshoku haki is reiatsu used in the physical world.

Luffy's haki armor Image Link

Lastly, busoshoku haki does not remind me of anything really, except for maybe an arrancar's hierro from Bleach. It is spiritually created hard skin. Thus hierro is reishi, or spirit matter, organized like armor. This is what I think busoshoku haki is, only it is so compressed that it is visually manifest in the physical world.

Because the three types of haki all seem to correlate quite easily with spiritual powers from Bleach, it is easy to say that "haki" is spiritual powers of a human being. This is in agreement with this next statement from One Piece Wikia, "Due to the fact that Haki originates from an individual's spirit and not their body, even if the user's spirit is transferred into another body, they are still capable of using Haki as if they were in their original body. However, Busoshoku Haki is finite, and overusing it will render the user unable to use it for a set period while it regenerates."

Thus, it is likely that these are the powers of the spirit and that busoshoku haki is generated from the spirit through some kind of process. I would endeavor to compare this process to ingestion. 2 Nephi 32:3 says, "...feast upon the words of Christ..." This knowledge that comes from the scriptures can be considered intelligence, and thus you are feeding your spirit intelligence when you study the scriptures. As one needs to keep their body fed, it is the same with the spirit, and through whatever process of "digestion" or "molding" or "conversion" this new intelligence become part of that individual's spirit and can then be used and harnessed. This would explain who busoshoku haki needs to be recharged.

Luffy fourth gear Image Link

Now, I would like to briefly talk about the unique way Luffy uses his busoshoku haki in his "fourth gear". Now, because reishi is spirit matter, it behaves on a spiritual plane. Thus it can be solid in place, like how shinigami can stand on air in the physical world.

Luffy's chasing punch hitting Doflamingo Image Link

 Luffy uses the haki covering his arms to solidify a portion in a position allowing his punch to change direction in mid-air. Like a rubber ball hitting a wall.

Well, I think this is good enough for post one. I will talk about Devil Fruit later on. I hope you enjoyed this post. Feel free to leave comments.

Love,
Jacobugoth

Next: One Piece Post 2: Devil Fruit