HIGHLIGHTS

Characters in One Piece can get stronger through various paths, such as consuming Devil Fruits or mastering the enigmatic power of Haki.
Devil Fruits grant unique abilities but take away the user’s ability to swim, with types like Paramecia, Zoan, and Logia each offering different strengths.
Haki is a manifestation of willpower used by the strongest characters, with types like Armament, Observation, and Conqueror’s providing distinct advantages in battle.

One Piece is a series that has various ways for its characters to grow stronger and, over the course of the series, many have adopted different ways of doing so. These paths to power can be achieved by pretty much anyone, as even the weakest characters can gain strength through them. And, quite often, some characters gain power and influence by getting stronger through using different ways at once.

Whether they’re simple items whose consumption can greatly bolster the user’s physical attributes or complicated power systems that are only used by certain individuals, characters from One Piece certainly have a ton of options when it comes to getting stronger, so in this article, let’s break down these paths to power and see what truly makes them so strong.

Devil Fruits Are The Classic Power System

First Appearance
One Piece, Chapter 1, “Romance Dawn – The Dawn of Adventure!”

Notable Fruits
Gomu Gomu no Mi, Gura Gura no Mi, Nikyu Nikyu no Mi, Bara Bara no Mi

Notable Users
Luffy, Whitebeard, Buggy, Smoker, Katakurri, Boa Hancock, Nico Robin

Devil Fruits are the cornerstone of the One Piece power system. These are special fruits that are littered throughout the world, though they are mostly seen on the Grand Line. Each one of them has a unique power that they impart to anyone who eats them, and these abilities can range from incredibly strong to extremely situational, though they all come with the drawback of taking away the user’s ability to swim.

These Devil Fruits users are always so dependent on their special abilities.

The abilities that the Devil Fruits grant are all just luck of the draw, as someone can get powers that allow them to move the very Earth, in the case of Whitebeard’s Gura Gura no Mi, or they can eat a fruit that gives them very bizarre powers, such as Katakurri’s Mochi Mochi no Mi that, unsurprisingly, gives him Mochi powers. There are 3 main kinds of Devil Fruits and though their origin remains a mystery, they have existed for at least 800 years.

Paramecia Type Devil Fruits

Paramecia Devil Fruits are the most recurrent of all the Devil Fruits but are also the most diverse. They’re most easily identified by their characteristic of giving the consumer powerful abilities that range from weak to incredibly powerful, as some of the strongest fruits in the series belong to this group. Since these fruits make their consumers superhumans, they are commonly seen on the Grand Line.

Zoan Type Devil Fruits

Zoan Devil Fruits are also quite common on the Grand Line, and they’re known for allowing the user to turn into a specified animal species at will. Either the users can turn into an animal completely or they form a powerful human-animal hybrid species. While these fruits are fairly common, there exist some sub-categories of Zoan Devil Fruits, with Mythical Zoans being the rarest and some of the strongest fruits of them all.

Logia Type Devil Fruits

Logia Devil Fruits are incredibly powerful as they allow the user to transform their bodies into certain elements of nature, as well as giving them the power to control incredibly vast amounts of it. Discounting Mythical Zoan’s, Logia Devil Fruits are the rarest in the whole world and are quite often seen to be some of the strongest, as the users can control many elements themselves, such as smoke, fire, and sand, among many others.

Haki Is Used By The Strongest Characters

First Appearance
One Piece, Chapter 1, “Romance Dawn – The Dawn of Adventure!”

Haki Types
Conquerer’s, Armament, Observation

Notable Users
Luffy, Shanks, Rayleigh, Boa Hancock, Kaido, Sengoku, Doflamingo

Haki is quite an enigmatic power in One Piece, and it is used by some of the strongest characters in the entire series. It is essentially the manifestation of the user’s own willpower that they can release in the form of spiritual energy, due to which every living being on the planet has the power to use it, theoretically. However, most people are ignorant about its existence, so they are never able to properly utilize it.

Haki is a power that lies dormant in all the world’s creatures.

There are 3 types of Haki that have been seen many times throughout the series. Though the actual term and ability were used more commonly far later on in the series, Haki’s appearance was technically seen in the very first chapter of One Piece, where Shanks used it to effortlessly drive off the Lord of the Coast to protect Luffy despite losing his arm in the process.

Busoshoku Haki

Busoshoku Haki is more commonly known as Armament Haki. It is a power that allows the user to wield their spiritual energy and willpower to form an armor around themselves or their weapons, typically in the form of a thick black coat. This makes the user incredibly powerful as it increases their offensive and defensive capabilities many folds, letting them fight very powerful opponents. This remains one of the best ways to harm those Devil Fruit users who are otherwise immune to physical damage, specifically Logia Devil Fruit users.

Kenbunshoku Haki

Kenbunshoku Haki is also known as Observation Haki, and it is a very powerful tool to have in the series. Essentially, this Haki gives the users a sixth sense that greatly improves their sense of perception of the world around them, giving them the ability to sense the thoughts and emotions of others, even if they’re far away. Advanced users of this Haki are also given very limited precognition, as they can very accurately predict their opponent’s moves and react accordingly.

Haoshoku Haki

Haoshoku Haki is also known as Conqueror’s Haki and is commonly regarded as the most powerful type. Like the other kinds, it is formed by the user’s own willpower, but the way it is different is due to how it is utilized, as the user can physically exert their willpower to dominate others. Those who are weaker will immediately succumb to the aura of one with Conqueror’s Haki as it can even be used to push them back. Unlike the other kinds of Haki, however, not everyone can use this, as only one person in a million is said to be born with this power and is viewed as an incredibly powerful asset for all factions of the world.