'One Piece' May Make Luffy Go Ultra Instinct - Kinda

In the world of shonen anime, fans cannot seem to get Ultra Instinct off their minds. Not long ago, Dragon Ball Super got audiences worked up by giving Goku a new form that made him even more powerful, but Monkey D. Luffy won't be overlooked.

After all, the latest chapter of One Piece just dropped a big teaser about Luffy getting his own sort of Ultra Instinct power-up.

In this week's issue of Weekly Shonen Jump, fans met up with Luffy as the pirate sat down with a roughed-up Brulee. The pair spoke briefly about the Straw Hat captain's fight against Katakuri, but Luffy took charge when he started talking aloud to himself.

"Haki is something that depletes. If he's in a long drawn-out fight, his Observation Haki will definitely weaken…!! But that's no good," the hero said, frowning as he racked his mind for a way to beat the insanely powerful pirate.

Of course, fans knew Luffy would find something when Silvers Rayleigh showed up. The pirate is one of Luffy's most famous mentors, and he never fails to show up in a flashback before One Piece's hero unlocks a new power. This time, Luffy thought back to when Rayleigh taught him about how Haki is matured, and the Dark King had some foreboding wisdom to share.

"Luffy, I've trained you but Haki is something that blooms even more during an extreme situation in a real fight. By confronting strong enemies, you will progressively become stronger," the man once told Luffy, and the Straw Hat pirate used that lesson to push his drive forward.

"I wonder if it's possible for me to see it too. A small glimpse into the future," Luffy wondered before adding: "I want to surpass him!!! I want to beat him at full power!!! The one-billion belly man!!!"

In the past, Luffy has beaten some wholly overpowered pirates, but Katakuri seems to be on another level. The fighter is a prodigal user of Observation Haki, and it looks like Luffy will push himself to match Katakuri's skill by going into another battle head-on.

Fans will remember Luffy using Observation Haki in the past, but he has never used it to directly see into the future. Katakuri's defense is ironclad because he can use Haki to see his opponent's next moves, but the fighter must remain calm to do so. Luffy will have to find his own method of tapping into Observation Haki's true power, and if he succeeds, then the One Piece protagonist will do something Vegeta hasn't yet and level himself with Son Goku's latest power-up.

Do you think Luffy will be able to match Katakuri's skills with Oberservation Haki? Hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to let me know and talk all things anime!