5 Powerhouse Characters With Almost Joy Boy Level Haki in One Piece

Once, Kaido, the strongest creature on the planet, said, “Haki transcends all.” In a world dominated by devil fruit users, Kaido boldly claimed that Haki is the supreme power of all, even more than devil fruit powers. Lately, in the final saga, we have been seeing countless instances that proved Kaido was indeed right.

In the Egghead arc finale, Emet unleashed Joy Boy’s stored haki, which was a tremendous power burst that even knocked out the Five Elders and made Imu tremble in fear. Since then, Joy Boy has been the ultimate benchmark for haki in the One Piece series. But how about the characters who come close to Joy Boy in terms of haki in One Piece? Let’s find out today.

Spoilers Warning: This article contains spoilers about the One Piece characters. Proceed with caution.

The type of Haki in question here is the Conqueror’s Haki (aka Haoshoku no Haki and Color of the Supreme King Haki) in the One Piece series. Without any doubt, here are the five powerhouse characters who come close to Joy Boy’s Haki:

5. Monkey D. Luffy

Monkey D. Luffy, our rubbery hero, hasn’t just mastered his Devil Fruit abilities but also the haki powers that lie dormant inside him. Luffy has been unlocking haki one by one, but still wasn’t familiar with Conqueror’s Haki until he began using it inadvertently during dire situations. Thankfully, Rayleigh-san taught Luffy everything he needed to know about haki during the two-year time skip after the Marineford war.

Since then, Luffy sharpened up his Conqueror’s Haki and even learned advanced applications over time. Making over 50 thousand enemies faint at once, coating his hands with Supreme King Haki, and fighting against Kaido, resulting in the heavens being split during the Onigashima raid, are some of his impressive feats. Luffy is currently not stronger than Joy Boy in terms of haki. But we have been following Luffy’s journey for so long, and we have absolute faith in him that he will become the strongest haki user to have ever lived at the end of the One Piece series.

4. Shanks

Akagami Shanks, the very first haki user we came across in the One Piece series, is still the greatest haki user of the present era, especially with his terrific Conqueror’s Haki. In fact, he has been the consistent character who reminded us of the true power of haki with his remarkable feats, such as knocking down the Whitebeard Pirates, making Admiral Greenbull run for his life, and defeating Eustass Kid in one shot.

When Dorry and Brogy experienced Joy Boy’s haki for the first time, the first person that came to their mind was Shanks. The giants even wondered if Joy Boy’s haki was stronger than Shanks as they didn’t sense any hostility from the haki. But, to think that Shanks in his prime is getting compared to the power of a haki god just proves how Shanks is a haki monster in his own right as well. Don’t forget the fact that Shanks also has a special and advanced Supreme King Haki with which he can stop his enemies from using Observation Haki. So, we can’t leave Shanks out whenever there is a conversation about someone close to Joy Boy’s haki.

3. Monkey D. Garp

Creator Eiichiro Oda has often expressed his liking for drawing powerful old characters, but fans always dismissed the idea of Garp being a strong character. That was until Oda unleashed the haki powers of Garp during the Hachinosu saga and recently in the God Valley incident revelation. While his rivals, Roger and Rocks, may have been swordsmen, Garp always relied on his fists imbued with haki.

The hero of the Marines was a highly proficient user of Supreme King Haki and was capable of utilizing the advanced forms of Conqueror’s Haki, such as coating his hands and body with it. It was Conqueror’s Haki behind all of Garp’s legendary attacks against the Blackbeard Pirates. During the God Valley incident, Garp took the advice of Roger and increased the critical mass of his Conqueror’s Haki to overcome Xebec’s Supreme King Haki-infused defense. So, Garp also stands alongside Roger when it comes to having a haki close to the level of the legendary Joy Boy.

2. Gol D. Roger

Before the name Joy Boy, Gol D. Roger used to be the golden standard of measuring haki feats in the One Piece series. Gol D. Roger wasn’t a devil fruit user, but ruled the seas with his might (purely haki power) after Rocks’ era. Roger mastered all forms of haki, especially Conqueror’s Haki, which he used in almost every one of his battles we have seen so far.

Prior to Luffy, Roger was seen as the successor of Joy Boy, but he was born in the wrong era. With a sword by his side, Roger unleashed chaos by coating it with his Supreme King Haki. In the latest God Valley flashback reveal, we learned that Roger’s Conqueror’s Haki (along with Garp’s) was indeed the key behind defeating demonic Rocks. All in all, the Pirate King came close to the level of Joy Boy in terms of sheer haki power.

1. Rocks D. Xebec

Although Rocks D. Xebec made his debut very late in the story, he instantly became the latest addition to the strongest haki users. Rocks wasn’t a Devil Fruit user as many hoped him to be. Similar to his rival Roger, Rocks’ expertise in swordsmanship and haki was unparalleled to the point he was considered the strongest of his era. So, how does Rocks come close to the haki-level of legend? It ties in with the lore of Joy Boy and Davy Jones.

In case you missed it, Rocks was revealed to be the descendant of Davy Jones, the former king of the Ancient Kingdom where Joy Boy was born. Although we don’t know their connection, Davy Jones is hinted to be as strong as Joy Boy. Now, Rocks was a living proof of that during his flashback in the Elbaf arc.

Rocks’ haki feats were extraordinary, such as killing an admiral, clashing with the strongest giant, defeating Garling and several God’s Knights, and lastly pushing both Roger and Garp to their limits. Rocks was a force to be reckoned with already, and Imu significantly increased his strength, including his haki with Domi Reversi. So, Rocks is by far the strongest haki user who came close to Joy Boy’s level in One Piece.

If you are wondering why we haven’t included the secret ruler, Imu, yet, it’s because Oda hasn’t properly revealed enough about Imu’s haki till now. But we expect the Sea Devil to be the only character who is currently equal to or even surpasses Joy Boy’s level of Haki in the One Piece series. Until then, who else do you think possesses haki equivalent to Joy Boy? Let us know in the comments below.