Can Usopp Use Haki? How and When Did He Awaken It?

Usopp is one of the best-known characters from Oda’s One Piece franchise and while he is an indispensable member of Luffy’s Straw Hat crew, he is also – generally, at least – known as a coward and as one of the weakest characters in the whole series. Still, Usopp does have an array of interesting abilities which have proven to be useful on more than one occasion, but can he use Haki, one of the series’ most important skills? In this article, we are going to answer that question and explain everything else you need to know about Usopp’s powers and abilities.

As of the Dressrosa Arc, Ussop is able to use Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), which makes sense since he is the crew’s sniper. His ability was confirmed when he was able to see auras of Luffy, Law, and Sugar, who were in the royal palace, from the old King’s Plateau near the Corrida Colosseum, which was a solid distance. This is the basic Presence Sensing ability of Kenbunshoku Haki.

The rest of this article is going to tell you all about Usopp’s Haki abilities and also give you a general overview of his powers and abilities. Some spoilers might be present, but Usopp is quite an intriguing character and we want to give you as much information as we can; that is why we have warned you in case you’re not fully up-to-date with all the happenings in the series.

Can Usopp use Haki? How and when did he awaken it?

Haki is one of the most powerful and complex techniques in One Piece and not all characters can use it; the number of characters that can use all three types of Haki is even smaller as it is a very rare feat. Now, we know that only the most powerful One Piece characters use Haki and we also know that Usopp is not one of the most powerful characters in One Piece. So, can Usopp use Haki? He actually can!

During the Dressrosa Arc, under fear of permanently forgetting Luffy due to Sugar’s powers, he manifests Observation Haki for the first time when he manages to see the aura of Luffy, Law, and Sugar through a wall more than 3 kilometers away. This happened in Episode 697, which adapted Chapter 758 of the manga. So, what happened in that story?

Luffy leaves Diamante with Kyros while he and Law prepare to meet Doflamingo. Diamante says he won’t let them pass, and Kyros replies that he is his opponent. As Kyros says this, Luffy talks to Rebecca and tells her that he is happy for her because she has found her father for the first time. Luffy prepares to leave when Rebecca asks him if he is really going to defeat Doflamingo.

Luffy replies that his real name is not Lucy (Rebecca previously knew him as Lucy) but Luffy and claims that he will be the new Pirate King. Diamante is then angry at Luffy and Law and extends his sword to attack, but Law uses Room and Shambles blows a hole in the palace wall, and enters, much to Diamante’s horror.

Luffy finds that Law’s power was useful to him, but Law states that using his power consumed a lot of his body’s energy, which was not in good condition due to Doflamingo hitting him with lead bullets. However, the agent of the Donquixote family warns of Luffy and Law’s arrival in the palace to Sugar, who in despair wants revenge for the loss of her toy soldier army that she created ten years ago and that they wiped it out in no time.

She plans to turn Luffy and Law into toys, and thus erase their existence. On the royal set, Usopp tells his crew about the seriousness of Sugar’s return. He remembers how he forgot Robin when she was turned into a toy, and if she touches Luffy he will forget her as well. He is ready to do any price in order to protect his captain from Sugar, but Kanjuro asks him how he will go about it because the palace is far away and Luffy and Sugar are inside.

Usopp replies that he has no choice as they don’t respond to the Den Den Mushi, he prepares his Kabuto, and is ready to fulfill his role as sniper of the Straw Hats’ crew by providing support from afar. Kin’emon asks if there’s any way he can help, and Riku tells Hack and Lepanto to protect Usopp and himself from the crowd, who are closing in on buying Usopp enough time but also asks them not to hurt people.

Usopp prepares his shot with the help of Viola’s powers when the crowd reaches the top of the board. The mob prepares to capture Riku, Viola, Kin’emon, and the god Usopp and take them to Doflamingo, Kin’emon offers his help against them. From then on, Sugar approaches Luffy and Law, the elders wondering who she is.

As Riku tries unsuccessfully to get the mob to stop, Viola guides Usopp to Luffy, Law, and Sugar’s location. The Kabuto aims for the lower part of the palace window, Sugar closes in and is close to Luffy and Law, Usopp targets her, determined not to lose his captain. Not wanting to let Sugar get in the way, Usopp prepares to fire his Great Black Kabuto, when suddenly he realizes with a shock that he can see Luffy, Law, and Sugar’s aura.

As the crowd closes in on him, Usopp finally fires his Bug-worm. The crowd gets Usopp, but all they can’t think of is the ball’s trajectory. Knowing that there is a slight tailwind, Usopp put on two powder boosters to help him with the shot and allow him to go further, and made sure that the outer casings would decrease so that his pulls will definitely hit Sugar.

However he knew he would have to take a guess, but his bullet was special because the shot was meant to induce trauma. This becomes apparent when the punch is revealed to be a replica of Usopp’s expression that first hit Sugar. It works, and Sugar once again falls into fear of unconsciousness. This shocks the Donquixote Family servants and confuses Luffy and Law as Usopp’s projectile face is absorbed into the wall and becomes a drawing, and it is revealed that the projectile was a drawing made by Kanjuro.

Back at the king’s palace, Viola congratulates Usopp on his shot, and it is revealed that the mob managed to tie up all of their targets, but were sent into shock by Viola’s arrival. Viola claims that Luffy and Law managed to reach Doflamingo. By this time Luffy and Law are face to face with Doflamingo and Trebol, with an unconscious Bellamy on the ground. The Warlord asks them why they came, and both reply that they came to beat him. Doflamingo seems to express his disappointment.

What Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) abilities can Usopp use?

Kenbunshoku Haki or Observation Haki, called Mantra in the celestial islands, allows its users to predict the immediate movements of their adversaries, and to detect their presence at all times even if they are hidden or too far away to be seen naturally. This is one of the most basic Haki in the series and is more practical than powerful, although it can be one’s best choice in certain situations. There are numerous techniques that an Observation Haki user can use but Usopp, as far as it is known now, can use only one – the basic Presence Sensing.

The most common use of this Haki is undoubtedly the ability of the user to “feel” the presence of what surrounds him (which includes the presence of people around the user, the environment…). Rayleigh teaches us that if one is an expert in this type of Haki, one can “see” other individuals even if they are concealed or too far away to be seen naturally.

But we don’t see them in detail (the physical characteristics are unknown, for example). Thus, Issho, who masters this Haki, cannot guess Luffy’s traits. Individuals are recognized by an “aura” that forms against a dark background, such as when Usopp aims at Sugar, or how Issho’s eyes view the world.