One Piece: Oda Reveals The Biggest Weakness Of Haki In The Story

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This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Elbaf arc.

Haki has become incredibly important in One Piece. While it was formally introduced after the timeskip, it’s grown so much that major fights now almost always involve it. As the story heads into its final arc, Haki will likely become even more central, and we can expect to learn its biggest mysteries soon – Eiichiro Oda will probably explore what Haki truly is.

Although much about Haki remains a mystery, Oda has subtly revealed key details throughout the story. He’s shown both its greatest strengths and its biggest weakness: hesitation and self-doubt. When characters doubt themselves, their Haki weakens, making them vulnerable – a theme Oda consistently emphasizes in the Final Saga.

Haki’s Biggest Weakness Is Hesitation And Doubt

Image by Viz Media

To figure out Haki’s biggest limitation, it’s important to understand what Haki actually is. Unlike Devil Fruits, which grant unique abilities, Haki isn’t a special power given to a few. It’s something everyone in the One Piece world possesses—even those who don’t actively use it can have a strong potential. Essentially, Haki is a manifestation of a person’s spirit and willpower, existing within everyone.

To never doubt, that is true strength. — Silvers Rayleigh to Luffy

Understanding Haki is easier when you think of it as a display of willpower and inner strength. It lets people sense feelings and even glimpse what might happen next. Through dedicated training, a person can sharpen their spirit to the point where they can anticipate attacks or truly understand another’s emotions when fully focused.

Just like with other abilities, Haki can also cancel out the powers of Devil Fruits when it makes contact. This happens because mastering Haki allows someone to attack an opponent’s spirit directly, effectively going around the protection that a Devil Fruit provides. This explains why Haki becomes less effective when someone is unsure or hesitant – doubt weakens the spirit and therefore the Haki.

Haki Weakens With Doubt

During the Whole Cake Island arc, viewers questioned why Big Mom, despite always surrounding herself with Conqueror’s Haki, was hurt when a picture of Mother Carmel was destroyed. The reason is straightforward: the picture breaking caused Big Mom to become emotionally distraught, weakening her Haki to the point where she became vulnerable to attack.

Listen, Kuzan! Hesitation makes you weak! — Garp to Kuzan

Just like before, when Luffy discovered Katakuri’s weakness during their fight, Katakuri became panicked and unsure of himself. This disrupted his Haki, allowing Luffy to successfully hit him.

We’ve seen Garp easily defeat strong opponents like Kuzan, telling them simply, “Hesitation is weakness.” This same idea explains what happened to Rocks in God Valley. Despite having incredibly strong Haki, Rocks was overcome by Imu’s ability. Rocks hesitated because he was worried about his wife and son, and that moment of doubt allowed Imu to overpower his Haki and Domi Reverse him.

When Rocks attempted to fight back, Imu exploited Harald – another of Rocks’ vulnerabilities – and managed to completely subdue him. It seems that unwavering resolve is key to developing immense Haki, and those with the strongest Haki are virtually invincible.

Unwavering Belief Grants The Strongest Haki

Image by Toei Animation

Understanding Haki as simply spirit and willpower makes it clear why people with strong convictions, like Luffy and Roger, become so powerful. They act without hesitation, completely confident in their goals.

Luffy consistently acts without hesitation, and that’s a key reason he’s destined to become the Pirate King and rule the seas.

The latest chapter of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece will be available in this week’s Weekly Shonen Jump. Chapter 1168 is scheduled for release on December 7, 2025. In Japan, it will be released at midnight on Monday, which translates to 11:00 AM Eastern Time or 8:00 AM Pacific Time. Readers can access the chapter without charge on Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump app.

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2025-12-04 00:34