Shanks is perhaps the most powerful haki user in One Piece.

The red-haired Emperor of the Sea, Shanks is one of the most incredible characters in One Piece, and one who holds tremendous importance narratively, as well as holds the position of one of the strongest people on the seas of the One Piece world. Currently, Shanks is one of the Yonko, which means he has reached incredible status as a pirate, and that his strength can only be matched by a handful, if any in the entire series.

It isn’t a surprise for the fans to know that Shanks possesses incredible Haki. For any emperor of the sea, possessing Haki is one of the basic abilities, however, it is mastering this ability that separates them from the rest of the characters. While most emperors that fans have seen in One Piece over the years have had access to refined Haki skills, Shanks is unique in the sense that he possesses Haki abilities that have hit a level that can be called unprecedented.

Why Shanks Has The Strongest Conqueror’s Haki

Shanks possesses incredible control over Conqueror’s Haki and this is something that fans have seen in the series in many ways already. In fact, Shanks is the first character to even showcase usage of Conqueror’s Haki in One Piece, which was back in the Romance Dawn arc, where he used it to scare the Coastal King away. As the story progressed, Haki became more prevalent, and Shanks was the one who always managed to showcase the most impressive feats, such as when he managed to knock out members of the Whitebeard Pirates when they met, and of course, moments later, splitting the skies with the legendary Emperor Whitebeard himself.

While these feats are certainly not enough to deduce that Shanks possesses the strongest Haki, one needs to take into consideration the fact that Shanks does not have access to any Devil Fruit abilities. All the Yonko that fans have seen in One Piece so far other than Shanks have had access to this incredible power. Whitebeard had access to the strongest Paramecia, Gura Gura no Mi, while Big Mom had soul manipulating powers of the Soru Soru no Mi. Kaido possessed the invincible Devil Fruit of the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryuu as well. As is clear, all the Emperors could derive some of their powers from incredibly devil fruit abilities that help them propel their skills even further. Of course, that is not to say that these Emperors don’t have powerful Haki, but, when Shanks can match them without any Devil Fruit power and only using his Haki alone, especially with just one hand, then it is a clear sign of the fact that his Haki is on a completely different level when compared to the rest. This is once again proven by the fact that Shanks can utilize all the advanced types of Haki, which makes him really special when compared to the rest.

Shanks’s Unique Conqueror’s Haki – Observation Killing

While utilizing Conqueror’s Haki is a trait that quite a few characters in One Piece have shown now, Shanks possesses unique applications of this ability. One of the most interesting applications of Conqueror’s Haki that Shanks has is called Observation killing. The ability is just as simple as the name implies. Using the power of Conqueror’s Haki, Shanks can actually kill the Observation Haki of his enemies. Exactly how he does it is unknown, however, it appears to be something that he does by expanding his aura, or by intimidating his enemies and breaking their concentration.

Regardless, what fans know for sure is that Shanks can break the Observation Haki of his enemies, preventing them from seeing the future, and at the same time, possibly even preventing them from using this Observation Haki at all. Fighting against the Red-haired Emperor without any Observation Haki would then considerably weaken them in terms of combat, and that, in itself, makes Shanks very special.

Shanks’s Ability To Use Haki Across Long Distances

Another amazing application of Haki that Shanks has showcased in One Piece over the recent years is the ability to deal deadly damage to his enemies from quite a distance. It is no surprise for the fans to know that Shanks possesses the ability to infuse Conqueror’s Haki into his attacks. In fact, he has showcased the ability on quite a few occasions already now. A lot of the characters, specifically those who consider them to be among the strongest, have this ability, and as Kaido put it, only a handful of the strongest can use this power. However, in Shanks’s case, this ability possesses even more unique applications, such as sending Conqueror’s Haki over great distances. Towards the end of the Wano country arc, Shanks utilized his Conqueror’s Haki to paralyze and damage Admiral Green Bull from a distance.

Even though Shanks was only near Wano in the surrounding seas, he was able to channel his Conqueror’s Haki far enough to actually paralyze Green Bull, and force him into submission. Furthermore, Shanks was even able to communicate with his Conqueror’s Haki, which is a very unique application that fans have not seen any other character utilize. The fact that he could channel his Conqueror’s Haki from miles away just goes to show that his mastery of this skill is better than any other character in the entire series.

Shanks’s Ability To See The Future

While all this already makes Shanks one of the strongest individuals in the entirety of One Piece, Shanks’s mastery over Haki does not stop there. Shanks also possesses incredible control over Observation Haki. In his battle against Kid, fans saw him utilize the ability to see the future itself. This skill is no longer limited to Katakuri in One Piece. Luffy learned this ability in Whole Cake Island, and even Kaido showcased the usage of this power. However, Shanks uses it on a much higher level than compared to any other character.

In the Egghead Island arc, Shanks showcased the ability to see the future for more than 10 seconds, which is nothing short of staggering. Being able to perceive an entire sequence of battle events is a massive advantage for anyone, and, so far, Shanks is the only individual who has showcased this ability in One Piece.

While all this already makes Shanks the strongest Haki user in One Piece, there is also the fact that he was able to one-shot Kid, a pirate worth 3 billion berries, with a single swing of his sword that was infused in Conqueror’s Haki. This is a feat that neither Big Mom nor Kaido was able to pull off, and for Shanks to be able to do this makes him a pirate in a league of his own. Fans can only hope that they get to witness more of Shanks in the final saga, and of course, for Oda to illustrate his incredible Haki-based abilities even further.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1110, is set to be March 17, 2024.