Why are Haki attacks not effective on Marine admirals?

Question

Why are Haki attacks not effective on Marine admirals?

In the Marineford war, we see countless instances where Haki-imbued attacks don't affect Marine admirals. When Marco and Vista attack Sakazuki, he even acknowledges that they are Haki-imbued, but nothing apparently happens:

Another case is when Whitebeard attacks Aokiji:

What's with the admirals? Their Logia powers don't seem to be easily affected by Haki attacks. I mean we have many instances where Haki has touched their body, but still there are many instances where attacks on their body don't result in damage. What's the deal with Marine admirals?

Answer 1

I think you are wrong in saying that they weren't affected. They clearly were affected as you can see from the wound on Sakazuki's shoulder. Since both questions have a different answer, I'll reply one by one.

Whitebeard vs. Kuzan

From Kuzan article:

He then got stabbed by Whitebeard's bisento, to which pirates are seen wondering if Aokiji was stabbed with Haki and if he was dead. Aokiji told them not to spout nonsense before grabbing the bisento and using his Ice Block Partisan attack. All of a sudden, Jozu attacks him and Aokiji is caught off-guard, even bleeding from his mouth.

As you can see, Aokiji was not hit by the Partisan, which was most likely imbued by Haki. This is, because he opened up a hole, where the partisan would have hit, just before it would hit. If he hadn't he probably would have been stabbed to the heart. Marine admirals use their power smart and efficiently, but it doesn't mean they can't be harmed. This can be seen just a moment after, when Jozu attacked him with his diamond arm and he was seen bleeding from his mouth.

Marco and Vista vs. Sakazuki

From Busoshoku Haki article:

Devil Fruit users who can use Haki can resist the effects of Haki-imbued attacks, Akainu was able to take Haki-imbued attacks while maintaining his intangibility by extending his Haki through his body in order to nullify his opponents bypass. This however depends on their level of mastery over Haki when compared to their opponent as can be seen when Akainu was in contrast harmed when attacked by Whitebeard's superior Haki and bled.

In chapter 784, it was confirmed that Haki can be bypassed. We can see how Doflamingo hits Luffy with a Haki-imbued attack, yet Luffy kept his elasticity during the whole event, bouncing Doflamingo's attack right back. The same must have happened with Sakazuki. It looks like Vista and Marco did hit Sakazuki, and he was affected, because he noticed the attack was different from that of non-Haki users. Though, despite being hit with a Haki-imbued attack, he wasn't harmed and could just reform his neck, because his Haki was superior. I guess Haki is a bit like armor. If the level of an attack is lower than the toughness of an armor, it will be unable to penetrate the armor, and unable to touch the body hiding within the armor.

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The answer was updated due to wiki updates. Check the edit revision history for the old answer.

Answer 2

I think the only possible answer is that the Marine admirals' Haki is stronger. If their Kenbunshoku Haki and Busoshoku Haki are stronger, they can easy foresee or block Marco's or Vista's attacks.

And as you can see, Sakazuki got a scratch, so they aren't immortal at all.

I think this just shows how strong they really are (or how weak Marco and Vista are :P).

Another possibility is that maybe they don't use Haki. I can't recognize anything that looks similar to when Luffy is using Haki.

Answer 3

The admirals were also using Haki, so it was Sakazuki's Haki vs Marco and Vista's Haki. That's why Akianu was also bleeding, but it did not hurt much because both of them were using Haki.

Answer 4

I think because Sakazuki's Haki is probably superior to Marco and Vista's Haki, it appears as if he is not affected by their attacks.

To confirm whether the admirals are affected by Haki or not, let's take a look at some cases where a Haki of same or higher level is used against the admirals:

1. Aokiji was thrown away by Marco while attacking Luffy at Marineford.

2. Kizaru vs. Rayleigh (probably same level Haki)

3. Sakazuki vs. Shanks (same level Haki, or I think Shanks was on the defensive while using it).

So these cases prove that Haki does work on the admirals even though they are Logia users, but the level of Haki is what makes the difference!