As we know Luffy vs Kaido is all about Haki, Luffy unlocking Advanced forms of Haki to even out the playing field against Kaido.
On the other hand we have Law and Kid showing off their Devil Fruit Awakening and using that to even the playing field.
What Oda is doing thematically is showing off the two viable roads to power in the verse. Haki and Devil Fruits and their Advanced forms. With these fights Oda is saying don’t underestimate either of those. These 2 fights are the two sides of the coin.
Devil Fruit Awakenings are equivalent to Advanced Haki use, including Advanced Conqueror’s.
First, while Advanced Conqueror is undeniably ultra rare, people often talk about Devil Fruit Awakenings as if they’re some super common thing and are only a minor power-up.
They aren’t. In fact we can count on one hand the number of canon characters with Awakening.
- Law (ch.1030)
- Kid (ch.1030)
- Katakuri (ch.882)
- Doflamingo (ch.785)
Personally, I believe Crocodile awakened his devil fruit because of the way he was able to turn structures and objects into sand, but that’s a different discussion. It’s also important to mention the four Impel Down guards, but as Zoan type awakenings appear to rob the user of any semblance of intelligence, I don’t believe it is a desirable outcome. We can guess at other characters, but the above 4 are the only confirmed Awakenings.
In comparison, there are seven confirmed characters that can use Advanced Conqueror’s Haki.
- Roger (ch.966)
- Whitebeard (ch.966)
- Big Mom (ch.1011)
- Kaido (ch.1010)
- Luffy (ch.1010)
- Yamato (ch.1024)
- Zoro (ch.1033)
Additionally, most would probably argue that context clues allude to characters like Garp and Shanks being able to use it, but that’s speculation.
Contrary to popular belief, Devil Fruit Awakenings are more rare than Advanced Conqueror’s Haki.
*by Started From D. Bottom/Fleebledee
