Luffy has awakened the ability known as "Haki" and is one of the few known people able to use all three different types. Luffy was identified to possess this mysterious ability by Blackbeard after their first encounter in Jaya. He first showed the ability to actually use it when he knocked out Duval's steed, Motobaro, without actually hitting him. Since then, he showed increased but irregular usage of it, with very little to no control, as the series went on. It was only after the Marineford War, when he started training with Silvers Rayleigh, that he actually learnt about Haki and how to control it. Though it was stated that 2 years was too short a time to learn the basics of Haki, Luffy has shown a natural affinity for the ability, learning it in 18 months. Since reuniting with his crew Luffy has been shown to be conciously, actively, and easily using Haki in combat.
Haoshoku Haki
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| Haoshoku Haki Monkey D Luffy |
He is able to use Haoshoku Haki, a type of Haki possessed in one in a million people. Luffy used this ability several times in the series, as it was the type of Haki that manifested the earliest.
The first time Luffy was identified to have possessed this type of Haki was when he stopped Boa Sandersonia from smashing a petrified Marguerite, although he first showed possession of this type of Haki when he scared off Duval's bison steed, Motobaro.
When he protected Bentham from being attacked by wolves back at Impel Down (Level 5) Luffy released his Haki unconsciously. During the war at Marineford, he also used another burst of Haoshoku Haki when he saw Ace about to be executed, which knocked out a lot of individuals, whether Marine or pirate. This made it clear that Luffy, setting aside his identity as the revolutionary Dragon's son, is also a serious threat as a pirate just by possessing Haoshoku Haki.
Before training under Rayleigh, Luffy displayed limited to no control over this ability, and did not seem to realize he had it, but used it on instinct whenever it seemed to be most needed, and could still use it even when extremely injured.
With this training, Luffy has demonstrated the ability to focus his Haoshoku Haki, knocking out a small group with a quick glare without affecting anyone else. A possibility of Luffy's Haoshoku Haki is that he can tame large animals as he was capable of taming all the animals of Rusukaina Island, and tame the Kraken, which he did with great success in a very short time. Up until the fight with the New Fishman Pirates, Luffy has only used Haoshoku Haki when he needs to get people out of the way with minimum damage. The true extent of Luffy's Haki is seen when he knocks out 50,000 of Hody Jones' men.
Kenbunshoku Haki
Since training with Silvers Rayleigh, he appears to have gained significant proficiency in Kenbunshoku Haki, allowing him to tell what an opponent intends to do. He was able to dodge a bullet shot point blank by Demalo Black as well as laser projectiles fired by a Pacifista. His proficiency with this skill is truly shown when he was able to completely avoid Hody Jones' Yabusame without effort. Luffy also displayed being able to discern Caribou's presence within the Ryugu Palace, even asking if Zoro and Sanji can sense it too.
Busoshoku Haki
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| Busoshoku Haki Monkey D Luffy |
Luffy seems to have also mastered Busoshoku Haki, which has been shown to darken his body (or parts of it) and harden it. This is first shown being used when he defeated a Pacifista with a single Haki imbued punch used in conjunction with his Gear Second. He is also able to use his Gear Third in conjunction with his Busoshoku Haki, being capable of knocking out a giant beast such as the Kraken easily, despite the great disadvantage of being under water (where his power was considerably weaker). After he used this, he did not turn into his child-like form. Another demonstration of Luffy's Busoshoku Haki is during his fight with Hody Jones, where he was able to harden his arm, leg, and forehead for both strong offensive and defensive measures. The defense of his Busoshoku Haki, however, is not absolute as shown in his fight with Hody Jones, where it was revealed that while it is good for reinforcing his near immunity against blunt attacks, it is currently not strong enough to defend against sharp objects, such as Hody Jones' shark teeth.
After the air bubble was produced and merged with Noah, Luffy used Busoshoku Haki combined with Gear Second to perform "Gomu Gomu no Red Hawk", which causes his fist to ignite into flames and create an explosion after it hits the target.
Luffy was later seen being able to knock back a Logia user like Caribou at considerable distance, something he was never able to do before the timeskip, without exploiting the Logia Fruit's weakness. He was also able to grab Smoker's arm in its smoke state as if it was solid and was also able to grab and punch Caesar Clown in his partial Logia state.
