Powers & Abilities The community's current confusion about haki

[Utsuro]

I was watching One Piece YouTuber Mugiwara Matt B. (now going by the name Bensei) talking about haki and debating with another YouTuber called Jay D. Legend about it and it became abundantly clear that the community cannot agree on definitions about types of haki, let alone their mechanics. So I decided to write down a couple of my thoughts about how I define haki and ask some questions, hoping to potentially spark a productive discussion:​

First, here is my overview of the types of haki:​

• Basic: The one Luffy used to touch Caesar and Smoker (while Tashigi was in his body). #Type 1
• Hardening: The one we see post timeskip for melee attacks that have a black color. #Type 2
• Barrier: The one Rayleigh used against the elephant, Sentomaru/Boa's sisters used against Luffy and the Admirals against Whitebeard's attack. Originally, we thought it was inferior to hardening, but Wano proved otherwise. #Type 3
• Internal Destruction: The one Rayleigh and Luffy used on the collars and Luffy used with Red Roc. #Type 4

Now, here are my questions:​

• Do people put hardening on just their skin or also their bones, muscles, nerves, blood vessels, etc.? I won't consider the possibility of them putting hardening on their blood (we haven't seen haki put on liquids). Now, the answer would be yes, because otherwise, a giant would crush a human's bones despite potentially having inferior haki or no haki at all, however that might not necessarily be the case. Why would internal destruction be effective if you could use haki on your insides? Law's gamma knife might be different due to hax.
• Does barrier haki always have reflective properties? Rayleigh reflected the Elephant and Sentomaru/Boa's Sisters reflected Luffy's attack, but the Admirals didn't reflect Whitebeard's attack. Now that might have something to do with WB's attacks's strength, where you can only reflect inferior force. Also, can people turn off the reflective property? When Sentomaru directly attacked Luffy, Luffy didn't get reflected. Did Sentomaru use the first type of haki then? Or did he use hardening (but we couldn't see it)? Or did he turn off the reflection?
• Does barrier haki do damage by itself? Did the elephant get damaged by Rayleigh? But then when Boa's sisters reflected Luffy's punches, Luffy's fists had no damage. Is it because of Luffy's DF? Can you choose to do or don't do damage with barrier haki?
• Do the Kuja put hardening (that we couldn't see pre-TS) or barrier on their weapons? Both would increase the damage (a more durable substance absorbs less impact), but an explosive impact would be more the result of the latter.
• When swordsmen choose not to cut, do they use barrier haki to dull their blades? And when they try to cut anything (with "Breath of All Things"), which haki do they use? Barrier or Internal Destruction?
• Do Wano people only know types 3 and 4? And do they call "Ryuo" the 3d or the 4th? Is flow haki the 3d or the 4th?
• When haki is "leaking" from a blade (Zoro, Roger, Whitebeard, etc.), which haki is it? You'd think it's at least 3 or 4, but why is it black? Should we assume all haki looks black now?
• Can you use multiple types of haki at the same time?
• Type 4 is the one used to damage Kaido with blunt force. But which type did Oden and the scabbards use? So basically, which type will Zoro/Enma use?
• What's up with ranged haki? What type of haki does Zoro use in his air cuts (post-TS, like with Monet, unless you think all air cuts are haki)? Is it just haki or is it a mixture of haki and air? If you can mix haki and air, what else can you imbue with haki?
• Does haki work like a car engine? You have a haki supply (gas tank), but the engine also matters. So, if fighter A has a bigger haki supply than fighter B, but fighter B can output more haki, then fighter B has stronger haki. Now, can you choose how much haki you can output? Can you burn the entire "tank" instantly? For example, can Luffy put the entire "tank" on his fist? This is relevant to Enma by the way.
• How does "Breath of All Things" make sense in its haki-based retconned form? Is cutting steal just putting haki on your blade and making it sharper, or is there more nuance to it?

The video discussion I mentioned above:

Spoiler

Edit: Nevermind, Bensei deleted it for some reason.

 

[Doggo]

The reason a thread like this needs to be made, is why I don't like the Haki system at all.
You don't need to dump a fucking load of exposition like togashi, but at least togashi created a good power system, that you could easily understand its rules.
Oda creates things as he pleases because "he thinks they cool".
Since Oda retcon and asspulls new super sayan modes, i mean, haki forms, I try not to think too hard about it.
There's always something weird that doesn't fit, or just seems dumb outright.

When Rayleigh first explains CoA, he doesn't talk about "forms" of CoA.
He just says its like wearing an invisible armor that you can use to attack and bypass akuma no mi abilities, like logia, or when he hits Luffy in the forehead. He also says it can be put in weapons, mentioning the Kuja arrows.
No form 3, no form 4. Just CoA. A single thing used for many purposes. Defense, hitting akuma no mi users that would be invulnerable.
BOAT and Mantra are just Haki before the retcon about CoA and CoO.
A lot of the questions you bring are valid questions but kinda pointless since Oda can simply change the game rules once again and create another random Haki function.

 

[stealthblack]

barrier and internal damage is the same thing.


why the community insists on separating advanced haki into 2 parts. just so they can claim that zoro has one

 

[Charlotte Horchata]

barrier and internal damage is the same thing.


why the community insists on separating advanced haki into 2 parts. just so they can claim that zoro has one

Because internal damage was stated to be something more powerful than barrier and beyond anything a barrier master could teach.

 

[Utsuro]

barrier and internal damage is the same thing.


why the community insists on separating advanced haki into 2 parts. just so they can claim that zoro has one

Because Hyogoro, right after explaining barrier haki to Luffy, mentioned that the type of haki Luffy was talking about (while remembering Rayleigh's collar feat), is a superior form.

Hyogoro witnessing Luffy:

Spoiler

Hyogoro explaining it to Luffy:

Spoiler

 

[scoobie3]

I feel like talking about that stuff is kinda pointless since Oda just does whatever he wants.

If protecting your insides with haki is gonna be necessary for the plot at some point (like for example Kaido protecting himself against a potential gamma knife attack from law) Oda is gonna make it a thing, if not then not.

 

[Utsuro]

I feel like talking about that stuff is kinda pointless since Oda just does whatever he wants.

If protecting your insides with haki is gonna be necessary for the plot at some point (like for example Kaido protecting himself against a potential gamma knife attack from law) Oda is gonna make it a thing, if not then not.

I agree. But the community still talks about these things and having some de facto answers to these questions would make conversations a lot easier.

 

[Charlotte Horchata]

I feel like talking about that stuff is kinda pointless since Oda just does whatever he wants.

If protecting your insides with haki is gonna be necessary for the plot at some point (like for example Kaido protecting himself against a potential gamma knife attack from law) Oda is gonna make it a thing, if not then not.

At this point I sincerely expect Shanks to be able to create a haki arm to replace the missing one, for real. Or Luffy being able to use haki not only from himself but other living things (I hope Oda doesn't write the cliché scene of Luffy's allies giving him his haki for the final fight...). Or whatever the guy may come up with according to his needs.

 

[Utsuro]

I'm all for Shanks's haki Susano'o. Also, people using internal hardening + life return to simulate Luffy's G2. Also, CoC telekinesis, CoC genjutsu... I'll stop now.