Eiichiro Oda has used the Elbaf arc to definitively answer a question that has fueled barstool debates and forum wars for two decades: who stands at the absolute peak of Haki mastery in One Piece? The answer, confirmed across chapters 1179 through 1188, is a trio that rewrites the hierarchy — Nerona Imu sits as the strongest living user, Joy Boy holds the all-time historical record, and Red-Haired Shanks claims the top spot among mortals. Neither the Accursed Prince Loki nor Monkey D. Luffy, the series' protagonist, cracks the podium.
The Announcement: A Hierarchy Etched in Ink
The confirmation didn't arrive in a databook or an SBS corner. It arrived through Scopper Gaban, the left hand of the Pirate King himself, who witnessed Imu's descent upon Elbaf in Chapter 1179 and declared in Chapter 1180: "What's going on? Even at God Valley, I never felt Haki like this!" Gaban stood at God Valley. He felt Rocks D. Xebec, Gol D. Roger, Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Garp unleash Conqueror's Haki simultaneously. Imu's output, filtered through a weakened vessel, still dwarfed that collective memory. Chapter 1182 then explicitly noted Imu is operating in a "nerfed" state — the ceiling is higher still.
Joy Boy's case rests on Chapter 1122, where his Haki channeled through the iron giant Emeth split the skies, nullified the Five Elders' abilities, dropped Vice Admirals unconscious, and forced Imu — the ruler of the world — to his knees in pain for the first time in the narrative. That moment, released in August 2024, was the thesis statement. Elbaf has been the defense.
Shanks occupies the third rung by virtue of what he does without a Devil Fruit. Chapter 1188 confirmed Loki surpasses Luffy in raw power, yet Shanks defeated Loki. He paralyzes Admirals from miles away. He one-shots Eustass Kid and Killer. Whitebeard once chided him for baring his Haki without constraint on an enemy ship — a complaint that only makes sense when the pressure is suffocating. Chapter 1123 quietly acknowledged Shanks' Haki sits a notch below Joy Boy's, placing him firmly at number three.
Why This Now: The Endgame Demands a Measuring Stick
One Piece enters its final saga with the Elbaf arc cresting toward its conclusion — Chapter 1189 arrives July 26, 2026, in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #35. Oda isn't ranking characters for the sake of a tier list. He's establishing the final bosses. Imu represents the standing world order, the power Luffy must overthrow. Joy Boy represents the ideal Luffy inherits, the benchmark the story has been building toward since the Poneglyphs were introduced. Shanks represents the last great peer on the sea, the man who bet on the next generation and now stands as the final gatekeeper before Laugh Tale.
This clarity serves a narrative function: it tells the reader exactly which mountains remain unclimbed. When Luffy eventually surpasses Shanks — and the story has telegraphed this since Chapter 1 — it won't be a vague "he got stronger." It will be a measurable ascent past a defined ceiling.
Deconstructing the Impact: Power Scaling With Narrative Weight
The immediate casualty of this hierarchy is the "Loki > Luffy" reveal in Chapter 1188. For weeks, theories positioned Loki as a potential final antagonist or at least a Luffy-tier rival. The confirmation that Shanks already defeated him, and that Shanks sits below Imu and Joy Boy, reframes Loki as a high-tier obstacle — formidable, but not the mountain top. It also contextualizes Luffy's current ceiling: his Conqueror's Haki proved "ineffective" against Imu in Chapter 1182. The gap is not marginal. It is categorical.
For Shanks, the ranking validates a design philosophy Oda has maintained since Chapter 434: Haki as the great equalizer. Shanks has no Devil Fruit, no ancient weapon, no bloodline ability beyond his lineage. He wins because his will imposes itself on reality more completely than almost anyone else's. That makes him the most "earned" powerhouse in the series — and the most satisfying benchmark for Luffy to clear.
The Broader Trend: Haki as Storytelling, Not Stat Block
What separates One Piece's power system from its shonen peers is that Haki has never been purely quantitative. It is qualitative — a manifestation of character. Imu's Haki feels "preposterous" because it represents centuries of absolute control. Joy Boy's Haki splits the heavens because it carries the weight of a promise kept across 800 years. Shanks' Haki paralyzes Admirals because he embodies the freedom the World Government fears.
Oda uses these rankings to tell us who matters in the endgame. The three strongest Haki users are the ruler of the present, the savior of the past, and the guardian of the future. Everyone else is fighting for position beneath them.
"I've tried a knot of the greatest Haki and locked it inside your body. You're going to keep on living long after I'm dead. There will come a day when I can't help you anymore." — Joy Boy to Emeth, Chapter 1122
Counterpoint: The "Nerf" Caveat and the Unseen Variable
Two asterisks deserve attention. First, Chapter 1182 explicitly states Imu is weakened — the true extent of the King of the World's power remains theoretical. If Imu at full strength dwarfs what Gaban witnessed, the gap between Imu and Joy Boy may be smaller than the Egghead flashback suggested, or it may be wider. We simply don't know.
Second, Shanks has not had a serious, no-holding-back fight in the current timeline. His feats are impressive — defeating Loki, intimidating Admirals, one-shotting Kid — but they are performances, not endurance tests. We have not seen Shanks pushed to his limit. Until we do, "third strongest" rests on reputation and portrayal rather than demonstrated ceiling.
What Comes Next: The Climb Resumes
Elbaf's conclusion will likely see Luffy engage with this hierarchy directly — whether by clashing with Imu's projection, communing further with Joy Boy's legacy, or finally meeting Shanks on equal footing. The hierarchy Oda has built isn't a final scoreboard. It's a ladder. And the protagonist has spent 1,100 chapters climbing.
The real question isn't who holds the top three spots today. It's how long Luffy needs to make it a top four — and whether the story's final message is that the strongest Haki belongs to the one who inherits the will of all three.
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