The Imbalanced Rivalry: Luffy vs. Kid and Law in One Piece
Monkey D. Luffy and Eustass Kid are supposed to be in a three-way competition, but it ends up being more lopsided than it is supposed.
These spoilers are for One Piece chapter 1076 “Old Friends,” written by Eiichiro Oda, Stephen Paul, and Vanessa Satone. Viz Media has English translations.
One Piece juxtaposes Monkey D. Luffy Eustass Kid and Trafalgar Law, they’re considered equals. They are always shown performing similar tasks, regardless of whether they are trying to determine who can carry the most stone, demolish a ship first or run the longest without evading a fireball. The bounty that came out of Wano was the same for all three. These feats don’t necessarily correspond with strength but they are the way the story establishes that they are equal.
However, it is difficult to imagine the three of them being as close as Eiichiro Oda would have you believe. Even though they were presented as equals in many instances, the roles they played so far have revealed a very different story. Their roles in One Piece’soverarching story have made their purported balance seem more imbalanced than it might have been.
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How Strong are Luffy, Kid, And Law Compared to Each Other?
It seemed that there was some uncertainty at first as to which one of these three had an advantage. Luffy was capable of damaging Kaido with his superior mastery over Haki. However, Kid and Law were still able to damage Big Mom using their Devil Fruit Awakenings. This gave them power not available to Luffy or vice versa. These techniques were all different, but they used them to achieve similar outcomes. There was still some mystery as to how they would do against each other.
Luffy, however, was at least one league ahead of his rivals thanks to his new power-up, Gear 5. With superior Haki control, and the Devil Fruit Awakening, Luffy was able to give himself an advantage over Kid and Law. Kid and Law must train more with their Haki to match Luffy.
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Another thing to mention is how Luffy was able to finish Kaido on his own. Although the King of Beasts may have been defeated by others, Luffy was still strong enough to deliver a devastating blow. Kid and Law, on the other hand, had to work together to beat Big Mom via Ring Out. One win is more impressive than the others, regardless of any extenuating circumstances.
It is because of this difference in how they handle the Emperors that few believe Kid and Law can defeat Shanks and Blackbeard. They are expected to fight hard but eventually lose. However, this is what Luffy would do against these Emperors if they faced him now. This means that he is still comparable with Kid and Law. But not really.
What other areas do Kid Law and Law need to work on?
The law could be considered the ideal rival for Luffy. Because of his involvement in Dressrosa Arcs’ Punk Hazard and Dressrosa Arcs, Law has a substantial fanbase that regards him as the core member of the Worst Generation. His popularity is such that he was a central character in two One Piece films. In comparison, Kid’s roles in One Piece’snarrative seem minor. Kid, due to Law’s popularity and Luffy’s strength, is seen as the weakest link in their rival trio.
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It is difficult to believe that Kid or Law can compete with Luffy’s crews. In one-on-one matches, the Straw Hat Pirates could be seen facing off against any of the Emperor-level pirate crews. But it is difficult to say the same about the Kid Pirates and Heart Pirates. Even if Kid, Law, and Luffy are as strong as Luffy, it doesn’t make much difference if they don’t also have great shipmates to help them.
This could all change when Luffy, Kid, or Law all meet up again. It may even change when Kid and Law’s fights with Shanks, Blackbeard, and others are revealed. Kid and Law should concentrate on improving at Haki and participating more in the narrative (Kid, especially). They’d be ready. These rivals would be even more credible as possible competitors in the race towards One Piece.