Contrary to what
@The Unworthy would have you believe, Yamato is the lone female combatant in the upper echelons (high and top tier) that Oda has treated with dignity and respect. She's
formidable, and Oda doesn't need to tell us that because he's shown it quite clearly.
She debuts by oneshotting a Tobi Roppo:
Note that this is a perfect mirror of how Kaido took down Luffy:
The only other character that has taken out a Tobi Roppo with one attack was Linlin, and even then she did it with one of her strongest techniques (and to a less durable version of Ulti):
She casually stalemates a pissed off Luffy:
This was while she had no intention of harming him and so didn't even attempt to fight back, only seeking to get him to hear her out:
She
forces Luffy to give up and listen to her:
She casually fends off a Tobi Roppo while chatting with Luffy and daydreaming about Momonosuke being her son:
She withstands a relentless barrage of cannon fire while decimating Sasaki's Armoured Division
and protecting Momonosuke and Shinobu:
She bared her fangs at Sasaki and had him shook.
She oneshots a Number:
In her flashback, Ace said she was too strong not to be a captain:
Ace was unable to overcome her for the duration of the fight:
And note that all of her above feats have been performed without the use of her Devil Fruit.
[/spoiler]
Conclusions
Since her introduction, Yamato has been racking up an unending streak of Ws. Leaving aside her female counterparts, Oda hasn't depicted most male combatants with the same respect.
Her fight with Luffy in particular stands out. The only other people that have so casually handled G2/G3 Luffy have been Doffy, Cracker and Jack (all solid high tiers). However, the Luffy Yamato fought is considerably stronger than the Luffy either of them fought, as this was Luffy after his Udon training. Compared to his WCI version, Post Udon Luffy had:
- Much stronger observation haki: Future Sight
- Much stronger armament haki: barrier armament and penetration armament
- Significantly higher base stats: Udon training in the Karouseki handcuffs
Yet this same Luffy was treated by Yamato like a petulant child.
The hype Oda has given Yamato is through the Roof, and he has consistently delivered and followed through on that hype with unblemished portrayal.
I know several people are sceptical of Yamato's standing as a combatant given Oda's horrendous track record with female fighters, but Oda has had ample opportunity to undermine Yamato as a fighter, and has instead done the opposite at every turn. As such, this is one occasion where I trust Oda to deliver.
