Welcome to Gaia! ::

Introduction

Haki (覇気 Haki, literally meaning "Ambition"). Though "Haki" actually has many meanings depending on the context. For the Lunar Hope's continuity, it means "Willpower Energy".

Haki was formally introduced in the Horizon story arc. However, it was actually used before in the Lunar Hope's storyline. Bushimaru and Anahata of G.R.A.S.P. hinted at it, though they referred to it as "Chi". Haki in the Lunar Hope Universe is largely inspired by the power of the same named from the manga/anime One Piece. Traits of how Hierro and Reiatsu from Bleach had some influences, but I'll get into that later.


What is Haki?

Simply put, Haki is one's spirit being used in a way to augment themselves or influence their environment. It's one's inner energy influenced by their willpower for an effect. It's a power that everyone has, but most people have it remain dormant their entire lives...never knowing it even existed.

Anyone can train themselves to use it, if they can awaken it. It comes from confidence in one-self, training, and a strong will. A coward will never awaken Haki. Good people, evil people, and anyone in between can potentially use it provided they don't have weak wills.

Haki is also notorious for being very difficult to learn. Compared to other disciplines, it has a high learning curve and demands unrelenting training and patience. Only the truly strong and dedicated master this power.

It's divided into two types: White Haki and Black Haki.


People tend to lean more towards one or the other: active or passive. One can use both, but people are generally more proficient with one over the other.

White Haki (Active Willpower Energy)

White Haki is also referred to as Yang Chi. The idea of using one's inner energy for aggressive or conscious effort.

"Yang, by contrast to Yin, is fast, hard, solid, focused, hot, dry, and aggressive; and is associated with fire, sky, the sun, masculinity and daytime" - Wikipedia.


Way to remember:

White for sunlight / day, for active intentions.


How it's used:

Through training, one can awaken their White Haki...but they first have to be aware of it. This often occurs in life-threatening situations, or circumstances of extreme stress...but not always. Warriors often awaken to Haki earlier than non-fighter types. It's basically actively turned "on" or "off" as well as intensified depending on the conscious focus of the user.


Strengths and Weaknesses

It can be used to grant the user an invisible armor. The hardness of that armor depends on the user's training. This also means strikes from the body can be equally strong, and some people have been able to break boulders or even metal with White Haki imbued attacks. Since it's the user's spirit, attacks that wouldn't normally damage something can become possible.

White Haki can also be imbued into weapons. Examples include: swords, guns, bow & arrows, knives, etc. It tends to take more skill for guns, because White Haki must be applied to each individual bullet before use.

It doesn't really work on a machine, because the user's energy must directly interact with it. (Sorry, no White Haki Atomic Bombs). However, piloted mechs are a potentially different story.


It's not an all-encompassing power though. The user's own muscles must be strong enough to withstand whatever they come into contact with. People can still break, even if they have good White Haki proficiency. Extreme amounts of force, past the user's limit, can break through the "armor" of White Haki. It also depends on the user's will. If they panic or have doubt, those emotions will reflect in Haki output. In a battle of two White Haki users of equal skill and power, it's dependent on who has the stronger will. Even if someone's will is absolute and their White Haki output is at maximum, it doesn't mean a thing if their opponent is far stronger than them. And it requires a lot of energy to use, especially for the user's strongest attacks. It's akin to sprinting. It's really helpful, but you can't do it forever. Having the "armor" on all the time is not possible.


Examples:

Gaia
Bushimaru is extremely proficient with White Haki, and often has White Haki Armor on during fights, making him very durable. He also imbues it into his sword, making it possible for him to cut energy (during his fight with Calm). He can also cut through steel with ease, despite the fact his sword is made of steel as well.

Anime: Bleach
Grimmjow is able to block and grab Ichigo's sword and not be cut. The "armor" idea is very much like that.

Anime: Bleach
When Ichigo tried to cut Kenpachi during their fight, Ichigo's hands bled instead, while Kenpachi remained unharmed. This was because Ichigo's will and reiatsu output were weaker than Kenpachi's.

Black Haki (Passive Willpower Energy)

Black Haki is also referred to as Yin Chi. The idea of using one's inner energy to heighten awareness and perception. It's the most passive of Haki, and is often used to avoid damage.

"Yin is characterized as slow, soft, yielding, diffuse, cold, wet, and passive; and is associated with water, earth, the moon, femininity and nighttime." - Wikipedia

One Piece equivalent description


Way to remember

Black for Night, for passive intentions.


How it's used

Black Haki can be compared to a "sixth sense", and is used for observation. It's often used for dodging attacks, avoiding dangerous situations, and detecting the presence of others. It's direct perception from the environment to the spirit, rather than using senses to interpret sensory input.

The most important thing for Black Haki is to be able to focus without distractions. It's being aware of your surroundings, and allowing the world to flow into your thoughts. It's less about projecting your energy out, like White Haki, as it is letting the world project into your energy.


Strengths and Weaknesses

The easiest way to describe the strengths is to quote the One Piece Wiki. Kenbunshoku Haki is pretty much the same thing.

"Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Colored Haki) is a form of Haki that allows the user to sense the presence of others, even if they are concealed from view or too far to see naturally.

With enough skill, one can use this Haki to predict an opponent's moves shortly before they make them, thereby making the attack that much easier to evade. This prediction appears to the user as an image or brief 'premonition' of what the opponent will do in the user's mind's eye, and the damage the user will take if the attack actually 'hits'.

It appears that the more killing intent the enemy has, the easier they are to predict. Although, more skilled users can predict future moves whether there are ambient murderous intents or not." - One Piece Wiki

In addition, it can allow the user to perceive things at super-human speed. Much like how a person's perception of time changes before a car crash...where everything seems to be moving slow, and the driver becomes very aware right before the crash. This can be controlled to a limit by the user. If they're skilled enough, they can change their own perception of time to react. This particular ability of Black Haki is extremely draining, as it requires a lot of concentration and energy to do. It's twice as difficult as any other Black Haki usage and can paralyze the user if overused.

A downside Black Haki is that while it's helpful in battle, it can't hurt the enemy. By itself, it can't be used to win battles. But it's not a huge deal. It also requires the user to be very focused and disciplined. Getting distracted or hesitating can seriously endanger the user. Over reliance of Black Haki can also physically and mentally drain a person quickly. It can't be active all the time. You can't sprint forever, you can't focus on one thing forever, the same applies here.


Examples

Gaia:
Anahata was able to fight Kyla and move as if he saw her, despite being blind. He also foresaw Bushimaru's attack to finish Kold off when Bushimaru took the Kusanagi sword from Kold, and prevented him from doing it.


There's an additional Haki that's extremely rare. Only one in one-million people even have it.




Clear Haki is also known as the Absolute Chi. It is the user directly, and literally, forcing their will onto others. This can be used for intimidation. The stronger the user compared to the target, the more powerful the effect can be. If the gap in power is large enough, the Clear Haki user can knock out a crowd of people without them even realizing what happened.


How it's Used
Unlike the other two, Clear Haki can't be trained. It can only be improved if the user becomes stronger...because it IS the user's strength. Black Haki lets the environment into the spirit, White Haki imbues one's willpower onto the body and weapons. Clear Haki is forcing one's spirit directly into another person. It's used by mentally forcing one's will on someone else. Willpower Energy is forced out of the body in the form of an invisible, outwardly expanding wave. People who have withstood Clear Haki from someone compared it to a shock wave entering their mind. It's a somewhat obscure and difficult to explain power.

Strengths and Weaknesses
Clear Haki, in addition to forcing intimidation of those weaker than the user, can also be used to block out forces that would alter or influence the user's mind. Telekinesis, telepathy, and certain types of magic can be blocked...provided the Clear Haki user is strong enough to resist.

The problem with Clear Haki is that the use's base strength and will must be stronger than the other person. Against someone who outclasses you makes it impossible to use Clear Haki. A person can stomp on a mountain as much as they want, but that doesn't mean the mountain will be crushed.

Clear Haki is more of way to directly prove one's overall strength to others without question, and to prevent anything weaker from influencing them.


Example

Gaia
Brimmstone blocked all of Kold's psychic powers and broke free of Zehuti Faust's influence vs necromancy.