Tasked with killing Dr. Vegapunk on behalf of the World Government, Lucci and Kaku, who are now elite agents of CP0, raid Egghead Island alongside Stussy, another masked agent of Cipher Pol’s greatest.
Lucci challenged Luffy to a 1v1 battle and was revealed to have improved dramatically since the days of the battle at Enies Lobby, however Lucci was unable to match Luffy who quickly overwhelmed him using Gear 5 without having to practice his Haki.
After the outcome of the battle, Vegapunk prepared to escape from Egghead with the aim of evading the World Government’s attempts on his life, knowing the world’s relationship with the Straw Hat Pirates. Lucci, Kaku and Stussy continued to chase him .
At one point Kaku attempts to destroy the Thousand Sunny’s powerful Branchiaco: if he managed to destroy the ship, the Butterflies and Vegapunk would lose their means of escaping from Egghead.
However, before it can connect to the Thousand Sunny, Kaku’s attack is blocked by Zoro. Though asleep, the first mate of the Straw Hat crew realized the threat: he awoke suddenly, intercepted the incoming attack, and repulsed it effortlessly.
The feat shown by Zoro in One Piece 1071 is quite impressive in the context of the series: sensing and countering an attack while sleeping proved to be a great demonstration of Haki’s observation.
Before Zoro in chapter 1071, the only person capable of doing something like this was none other than Edward Newgate aka “Whitebeard”. as the most powerful man in the world.
Even several years after his return, Whitebeard was one of the Four Emperors. Amazingly, he was able to sense and counter Ace’s attempt on his life even while he was sleeping. This appeared in chapter 552 of the One Piece manga.
Of course, a similar feat was also demonstrated by the other four emperors, Charlotte Linlin, aka “Big Mom.” However, as Zoro and Whitebeard recognized an attack coming from a skilled fighter and confronted them, Big Mom’s response was only to move beside her.
Regardless of this distinction, it still confirms that sensing movement and responding quickly while asleep is a feat that only One Piece’s strongest characters can achieve.
Interestingly, this isn’t the only strength-related parallel that connects Zoro and Whitebeard. First of all, they are both capable of using Advanced Light Haki. According to Kaido, the ability to use this skill is what separates the stronger than the rest.
Even among those born with the Conqueror’s Haki, only a few are capable of empowering that power in its late stage. To date, Luffy, Zoro, Whitebeard, Roger, Rayleigh, Shanks, Big Mom, Yamato, and Kaido have all been shown to be Advanced Conqueror Haki users.
