One Piece Sets Up A New Haki Upgrade For The Marines

The Marines are one of the biggest and most powerful organizations in One Piece. Created many centuries ago by the World Government, the organization serves the common people and helps them to stay safe from any and all problems. The Marines report directly to the top brass of the World Government, and in most cases they only act after receiving orders.

While the Marines have the numerical advantage over the pirates, they haven’t been able to crush the criminals. The main reason being that there are a lot stronger pirates than there are marines. Ever since we entered the final saga, fans have seen the importance of Conqueror’s Haki, and since most Marines do not have it, they are lagging behind the pirates, but there is a chance that things will be changing soon.

The Marines Need A Major Haki Power-Up Soon

In the Egghead arc, fans bore witness to the fight between Monkey D. Luffy and Admiral Kizaru. The audience had been waiting for years to see the captain of the Straw Hats fight one of the strongest Marines in history. The two had previously fought in the Sabaody Archipelago, and at that time it was the Marine who ran rampant, nearly killing Luffy and almost his entire crew. Fortunately, the pirates got lucky, as Bartholomew Kuma was in the vicinity. He used the power of the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi to send each Straw Hat to a specific island where they could hone their strengths. Had Kuma not stepped in, the entire crew would have been wiped out, and One Piece would have come to an abrupt conclusion.

Naturally, a lot of fans were anxious when Luffy and Kizaru came face to face on Egghead Island. They argued that even though Luffy had grown a lot and defeated someone of Kaido’s standing, he still lacked the strength to take down Kizaru. However, it ended up being a serious oversight on their part, as Luffy nearly demolished Kizaru. When someone like the Admirals cannot fight such high-level pirates, it’s no wonder why the Marines are on the ropes.

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Thankfully, Eiichiro Oda knows how to scale the characters. So, in addition to giving the Marines extremely overpowered Devil Fruits, the author may finally give them Conqueror’s Haki, which is arguably the strongest power in the series. In the Egghead and Elbaph arcs, it has become even more apparent that Conqueror’s Haki is a must for anyone trying to reach the upper echelons. The lack of Conqueror’s Haki puts a cap on a fighter’s ceiling. Just look at Luffy, who could only use the basic version of Conqueror’s Haki for the majority of Wano. Every single time he fought against Kaido, the latter completely obliterated him in combat. Luffy lost almost every fight against the Emperor, and he would have continued to do so if he had not learned to coat his attacks with Conqueror’s Haki.

In the Egghead arc, Oda highlighted the importance of Haki once again. In the arc, Luffy’s attacks failed to stop the Five Elders because his Haki was weak. Meanwhile, Joyboy’s Haki was potent enough to send four of them back to the Holy Land. This incident proved that Luffy still needed to grow and improve his Haki to become the strongest fighter in the series. Since Luffy and the other top-tier fighters have Conqueror’s Haki, the Marines need it as well. So far, only two Marines have been confirmed to have Conqueror’s Haki, and these are Garp and Sengoku.

Hero? No! We Are Pirates! I Love Heroes But I Don’t Wanna Be One! —Luffy

While fans didn’t get to see Sengoku use the power, they did witness Garp’s strength when he arrived at Hachinosu. The vice admiral used both Armament and Conqueror’s Haki to fight Kuzan and the other titanic captains of the Blackbeard Pirates. What’s surprising is that Garp held the advantage for most of the fight, and he would likely have left the island in one piece if emotions hadn’t gotten the best of him. With Garp’s capture and Sengoku’s current position, there are no more Marines left who can use this ability. But that needs to change as quickly as possible.

Some Marines Will Receive Conqueror’s Haki Soon

If the Admirals or the Fleet Admiral does not have Conqueror’s Haki, they will be blown away by the pirates. This would make the battle one-sided, and it would negatively affect the reputation of the upholders of justice. Now the question is which Marines will be the recipients of Conqueror’s Haki. There are three main candidates who fit the bill, and these are Sakazuki, Smoker, and Koby. Sakazuki needs to power up because he is the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, which means he is the highest authority within the organization and undeniably the strongest fighter as well. If he does not have access to Conqueror’s Haki, it would be a massive shame, and it would obviously make him weaker than the likes of Shanks, Blackbeard, Big Mom, etc. So, a man of his nature should definitely have the strongest type of Haki.

Next up is Smoker. At the time of his introduction, Smoker looked unbeatable, but that was mainly because he had a Logia-type Devil Fruit. At that time, there was no concept of Haki, so fans had no idea how someone could hit smoke. As the story has progressed, Smoker has become more and more underwhelming. After the time skip, he has failed to win any fight or make a major impact on the story. While he does have Armament and Observation Haki, they are insufficient and won’t help him fight the most renowned pirates and criminals. Therefore, Smoker is in desperate need of a power-up, and Conqueror’s Haki would make for the best choice.

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Last but not least is Koby, who is a fan favorite. After joining the Marines, he was trained by Garp, who saw a lot of promise in him. With time, Koby’s physical abilities have improved, and so has his Haki. His most recent display was during Garp’s attack on Hachinosu. By channeling his Armament Haki, Koby was able to break Avalo Pizarro’s gigantic stone arm. While it may seem impressive on the surface, the truth is that the young Marine is lagging behind the competition. He has mentioned many times that he wants to stop Luffy, but if he were to fight the pirate, the Marine would be lucky to escape with his life. If Oda is really planning to make Koby into Luffy’s rival, then he must know that the Marine is way below the required level. The author could try to give Koby a Devil Fruit, but presently, a Haki upgrade seems more fathomable.