Sabo is the upcoming Yonko Level Power-Up, explained

This article contains spoilers from the Elbaf Arc of One Piece

Key things

• Sabo can fight the admiral and show off his impressive strength.
• Sabo's full power remains unknown, making it difficult to scale.
• Sabo needs the Conqueror's Haki to counter the Yonko and hint at future upgrades.

Sabo is the main character in the Final Saga of One piecegiven that he is the chief of staff of a revolutionary army that finds itself in the center of a great war. Due to his position, fans know that he has immense power and at the same time that his role in the upcoming arcs will be absolutely massive. Clearly, Sabo can be considered one of the best fighters fans have seen in the series. However, the lack of focus on this character and the Revolutionary Army in general means that fans don't know much about what he's really capable of.

However, fans can safely say that Sabo's power is currently not on par with Yonko from One piece World, but he could potentially gain new powers that will make him reach that level very soon.

Sabo's current level of performance is very impressive for a Chief of Staff

• Sabo can fight the admiral
• Sabo's full strength remains unknown

It is very difficult to determine how strong Sabo really is in One Piece. First, fans have very little to give up on, such as his limited innings where he never got out even once. Fans often judge a character by their rewards. In Saba's case, it was revealed that his old reward was 602 million berries and that was certainly quite high at one point. However, right now, 602 million berries isn't all that impressive. In an age where individuals are earning rewards close to 3 or 4 billion, this amount is negligible and certainly does not portray Sabo's merits well. As such, it should be overlooked because by now he has probably already received a new bounty and his updated bounty is undoubtedly likely to be in the billions.

I've had enough regrets! – Sabo

In the One Piece post-timeskip, fans have seen him take part in a few skirmishes every now and then. In the Dressrosa Arc, Sabo first revealed himself to fans, fighting characters like Jesus Burgess. Burgess certainly isn't close to the Emperor himself, but Sabo making quick work of him is proof that he's pretty strong. Additionally, he later gained the power of the overpowered Logia Mera Mera no Mi, which gives him the power to manipulate flames as well as transform into flames. Sabo has been constantly training this power ever since, and Oda mentioned that he maintains it every day. Due to his careful training with the devil fruit's abilities, Sabo learned to wield it quite well and gained a fair amount of control over its powers.

In the Dressrosa arc, Sabo fought against Admiral Fujitoro, someone who fans know to be one of the most powerful characters in the entire series, and he held his own well enough. In reality, the fight was quite even, but at the same time, it should be remembered that Fujitora was only buying time, and so was Sabo. These characters weren't really going out, so it's very hard to see how this fight would have played out if they were both serious.

Another indication of Sabo's power level is the fact that he was able to sneak up on the Five Elders in Marijoa and launch a powerful Hiken at them, with the tower control immediately directed at Ima. Obviously the Elders took damage from this attack, but the fact is that they have the ability to instantly recover as seen in the Egghead arc. They suffered no damage while Imu was eventually consumed by Sabo's flames. However, Sabo remained standing even after a very deadly attack by the Imu themselves.

Sabo's Haki power is immense

Obviously, Sabo has grown a lot in terms of his Devil Fruit handling, but at the same time, fans also know that he has tremendous Haki. In fact, Sabo is one of the best Color of Arms haki users One pieceand even his Observation haki seems pretty cool.

But all the abilities he has are definitely not enough to secure him an elevated position comparable to that of an emperor.

Why two big power-ups are close for Sabo

Sabo needs Conqueror's Haki to be a serious threat

Fans might wonder why Sabo even needs a power-up. After all, he is quite powerful and not every character needs to be Emperor level. The answer to this question lies in Od's portrayal of Sab as an individual who is constantly growing in terms of power and influence in the world. Sabo was recently hailed as a hero after the death of King Cobra. Of course, he had nothing to do with his death, but the world perceived it that way. Sabo became known as the Flame Emperor, and it's clear from the name alone that Sabo is considered an emperor of sorts.

I don't mind taking the blame if it fuels the flames of revolution! – Sabo

Furthermore, it was made clear in the story that Sabo's infamy had now surpassed Dragon's glory. This is a huge point that not enough fans pay attention to. That Sabo's infamy surpasses that of a dragon means that his reward is likely to be incredibly high. After what he did and how he became a hero to the masses, Oda placed a huge importance on Sab in particular, which must pay off. Sabo needs to be better in the future, which means he'll get major powers soon.

The fact that Sabo was considered the Flame Emperor, and being Dragon's number two, fans shouldn't be surprised to see him harness the power of the Conqueror's Haki soon. Supreme King Haki is especially common in individuals with undying spirit and the will to reach the top. Sabo lives up to the billing and should definitely have this power. Besides, both Luffy and Ace had access to the Conqueror's Haki, which left Sab behind, and Oda certainly wouldn't leave him alone. Sabo will gain this ability at some point or it will be revealed that he awakened it long ago but kept it a secret.

Either way, fans will see him use this power in the Final Saga, and potentially its advanced form, given that the primary form is useless to him at this point. Considering all his abilities, Sabo should be an individual who deserves to stand in battles against Yonko.

Aside from Haki, fans know that he has now obtained the Devil Fruit and that he might go on to awaken it. Of course, awakening a Devil Fruit could take years for a few individuals, but with Sabo training diligently day and night to become better at using it, he could hopefully continue to awaken it soon. It's not unheard of for people to awaken Devil Fruits in a short amount of time. For example, Kaku only ate his Devil Fruit during the time of the Enies Lobby Arc, and at some point during the timeskip he had already awakened it. Sabo is a much bigger genius than Kaku and could potentially go on to awaken the Mera Mera no Mi in a shorter period of time.

One Piece is available to read through Viz Media. Fans can officially read the series for free on the Shonen Jump and Manga Plus apps. The release date for the next One Piece chapter, One Piece 1132, is set for December 1, 2024.