Haki/Busoshoku

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**Busoshoku Haki** is a form of Haki that allows the user to create, in essence, an invisible armor around themselves, providing incredible offensive and defensive capabilities. Notably, this form of Haki can be used to injure Devil Fruit users that are otherwise immune ordinary physical attacks, such as Logia users.

In Wano Country, Busoshoku is known as **Ryuo** (**流桜** *Ryūō*, literally meaning "Flowing Sakura"), founded on the concept of inner flow.

## ***Overview***

The following is an overview of **Busoshoku Haki**

* This type of Haki grants its user augmentation of their body via their own spiritual energy, allowing them to access to a great increase of power and endurance. Because of this, this Haki is the most used in combat. This Haki is often referred to as an “invisible armor”.
* It can be used to bypass certain Devil Fruit's resistances such as Logia's and some paramecias.
* It was shown that Haki is very common in the New World, unlike in Paradise where Haki users are fairly rare and almost nobody knows about it.

## ***Drawbacks***

When two opponents using Busoshoku Haki clash, the one with the stronger Busoshoku Haki is more likely to be victorious. This can make it difficult to overcome an opponent's Haki in a brute force battle. However, it has been shown that superior Busoshoku Haki is not an absolute defense, and can be overcome as long as the other opponent has superior physical strength, as shown when Luffy was able to damage Katakuri with Gear Fourth.

Significant physical force can still overcome this defense; for example, Luffy struck Boa Marigold hard enough with Gear Second techniques that it sent her reeling.

Busoshoku Haki is subjected for depletion if used for long periods of time as Busoshoku Haki is proportional to the amount of spiritual life force an individual possesses and its stamina limiting. After the threshold is reached, the user will be unable to use it for a certain amount of time. It appears that the more Haki is used, the faster it will deplete. The users are unable to use Haki until they regain their stamina to use it again.

## ***Basic Techniques***

### **Enhancement**

The most basic ability this Haki grants is an enhancment of power and endurance. It can be used in a single body part or in the user's whole body.

This type of Haki also has the ability to bypass the powers of a Devil Fruit user whose body has been altered by their fruit in any way, touching the "substantial body" beneath whatever protection the fruit provides, such as the case of body-altering Devil Fruits such as Logia or Paramecia users. However, unlike Seastone, it does not actually nullify a user's Devil Fruit powers, so it still allows them to defend themselves, and continue fighting normally. By the same effect, this Haki can also be used as a higher level of offensive power, more so than just bypassing a foe's Devil Fruit powers.

### **Hardening**

An evolved step of the Enhancement technique. A heavy concentration of this Haki can harden the body of the user, granting the user a greater increase of their power and endurance that surpasses the mere Enhancement application. It is the most distinctive and recognizable Haki, as it turns the user's body shining black in color. The hardening effect of this technique is easily able to block sword attacks and even break them if the user is strong enough.

This technique is sometimes called **Busoshoku: Koka** (**武装色 硬化** *Busō-shoku: Kōka*, literally meaning "Armament-type: Hardening"), **Buso Koka** ('**武装 硬化** *Busō Kōka*, Armament Hardening) or simply **Buso** (**武装** *Busō*, Armament).

### **Imbuement**

Another evolved step of the Enhancment technique. By touching an object the user can imbue it with their own Haki to greatly increase its power and endurance.

It is a great asset for weapon-based fighters, as it can be imbued into weapons including objects made of sea stone. Any weapon enhanced by Busoshoku Haki hits immensely harder than it would without it, as well as allow the weapon to take greater punishment without breaking. Imbued weapons can also harm Devil Fruit users that would not be harmed through conventional means. This ability is usually used in conjunction with Hardening, turning the objects black. The Kuja's Haki-imbued arrows are capable of penetrating solid stone. Swordsmen tend to imbue their blades with Busoshoku Haki to increase their cutting power and prevent them from chipping.

Through the constant application of this ability and Hardening, a phenomenon known as "Black Blade" (**黒刀** *Kokutō*) can be triggered, which rarely appears on certain blades. This appears whenever blade-wielding Busoshoku Haki users applies "Armament: Hardening" on their blades temporarily as long as that Haki is used. However, there are certain blades such as Ryuma's Shusui, which was rumored to have become a permanent black blade after many battles.

It is possible for one to imbue Busoshoku onto an object without making physical contact, provided the user has some kind of connection to the object. For example, substances and objects created and/or manipulated by Devil Fruit powers.

## **Advanced Techniques**

### **Emission**

With this technique, the user can project their Haki flow a short distance from their body without a medium. This method allows the user to damage the target without making contact, but they still need to stay relatively close.

Luffy believed that advancing to this level of Busoshoku Haki might allow him damage the nigh-invulnerable Kaido, who shrugged off both his regular Haki-enhanced strikes when Luffy attacked him with Gear Third and even Gear Fourth.

This ability can also be used in conjunction with the Hardening application. Said use of Emission involves channeling excess Haki from around one's body through one's fists. This allows the repelling of an enemy without making direct contact or using brute force. Whenever users of Emission Busoshoku Haki clash, the emitted Haki clash instead of making direct physical contact with one another, giving the impression that they do not touch at all as shown by Roger and Whitebeard.

## **Specialized Techniques**

The following are techniques which fall outside of the classification due to their relative rarity and the very specific method in which they utilize haki.

### **Internal Destruction**

A higher grade of the Emission technique. This technique allows the user's Haki to get inside the target's body and destroy it from the inside-out. Like Emission, Internal Destruction can be used in conjunction with Hardening.

This level has only been utilized by Rayleigh and Luffy, who initially used it unconsciously. Both used it to destroy collars that were designed to kill a person under certain circumstances. Luffy later learned to use this ability intentionally.

### **Coloration**

**Irodori** (*いろどり Coloration*) is an application of Busoshoku Haki that was invented and then popularized by Onin.

It consists of forgoing the imbuement of one's body or the imbuement of one's weapon to instead imbue the opponent's body with **Busoshoku: Koka** as a means of immobilizing them or parts of their body by hardening them to the point of rendering immobile.

Basic users of this technique may be able to momentarily slow part of, or the entire body of, an opponent to create an opening for an attack while more advanced users may be able to sustain this slowness for longer or even outright immobilize an opponent. Masters may completely immobilize opponents for long periods of time even doing so for a few moments after removing physical contact.

### **Transcendency**

**Transcendency** (*ちょうえつ, Chouetsu*) is an application of Busoshoku Haki that was invented and then popularized by Onin.

It consists of forgoing the imbuement of the exterior of one's body in favor of the imbuement of the interior of one's body, a supermajority of one's musculoskeletal system to be precise. The resultant hardening of one's muscles will augment their compressive strength to the point where their every movement will be several times more energetic than they were before the occurrence of the hardening; however, it should be noted that the inexperienced will suffer from an encumbrance that'll hinder their overall maneuverability.

Only those practitioners of Transcendency who have become accustomed to the encumbrance it inflicts upon them to the point where they can retain their usual amount of maneuverability are allowed to refer to themselves as being a **Transcendent** (*ちょうえつじん Chouetsujin*). And these individuals are considered to be some of the most physical capable within the entirety of the world.

## **Devil Fruit Interaction**

Devil Fruit Users are capable of using Haki themselves. This allows them to resist lesser Haki-imbued attacks, yet it is still possible to pierce through their defense if the attack is stronger. Busoshoku Haki works independently of the user's Devil Fruit if they have one, as shown when Luffy uses it to enhance his Gear Third attack underwater. This type of Haki may not be used on attacks that are not from one's body except for weapons, but can be used on anything generated by one's Devil Fruit (like Kizaru's laser beams, Marco's flames or any other attacks based on Devil Fruits). Charlotte Katakuri has shown that one does not even need to be in direct contact with said substance to imbue his Busoshoku Haki into it.

Using Busoshoku Haki attacks on the element controlled by Logia type Devil Fruit Users will allow the attack to harm the "substantial body" of the opponent since the element is essentially an extension of their body. However, this type of Haki will not harm the "substantial body" when used on elements controlled or produced by Paramecia type Devil Fruit users, since it is not actually part of their body. If the Paramecia-type Devil Fruit affects the user's body itself the user will also be harmed by a Busoshoku Haki imbued attack.

Haki's capability to counter Devil Fruit Users extends past Logia types and lets them defend against certain Paramecia effects. However, this is dependent on the strength of the Haki, as Law bypassed Vergo's Haki and bifurcated him easily by using his Devil Fruit technique, although it is unknown if Law used his own Haki to overcome Vergo's Haki but it is similar to how Akainu was seemingly able to nullify his attacker's Busoshoku Haki.

While Haki can bypass the devil fruit's defense, it doesn't negate the devil fruit, like Seastone does. Instead it "forces the devil fruit user's body into solidarity".