One Piece

Background Information
One Piece is a popular manga and anime series written by Oda Eichiro. Quite simply, it's an epic manga about pirates. It is currently the most popular shonen manga in Japan, but is beaten in the US by Naruto. Most people blame this on the fact that it was first licensed and then butchered by 4kids.

The series begins with the execution of Gol D. Roger, a man known as the King of the Pirates. Just before his death, Roger tells the legend of his treasure - the One Piece - causing the Great Pirate Era to begin. As a result, countless pirates set out to the Grand Line to look for the treasure.

Twenty years have passed since Roger's execution, and Monkey D. Luffy, a young pirate inspired by the pirate known as "Red-Haired" Shanks, has since set off on a journey from the East Blue to succeed Roger and find the treasure. He organizes and leads a nine-member crew named the Straw Hat Pirates. Each crew member Luffy encounters eventually become his close friends, including the swordsman Roronoa Zoro, the navigator and thief Nami, the liar and cowardly sharpshooter Usopp, the Casanova chef and martial artist Sanji, the doctor and anthropomorphized reindeer Tony Tony Chopper, the archaeologist and former enemy Nico Robin, the cybernetic shipwright Franky, and the musician skeleton Brook.

The crew crosses paths with diverse villains, such as Buggy the Clown, many of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the Marines, who place bounties on Luffy and Zoro's heads, and Arlong, a fishman and member of the former Sun Pirates. They encounter Baroque Works, the crime syndicate responsible for a civil war in the desert kingdom of Alabasta, along with fellow rookie pirate Blackbeard, whose dream is also to become the King of the Pirates. The crew also confronts Enel, the "God" of the sky island Skypiea. Later, the crew meets the Marine admiral Aokiji, who reveals that Robin was involved in searching for Poneglyphs, stones with markings left by an ancient civilization whom Roger himself was also able to read. The crew also encounters Cipher Pol No. 9, the intelligence agency responsible for the destruction of Robin's homeland, whose actions cause the pirates to declare war on the World Government. After an epic battle at Enies Lobby, the crew defeats CP9 - saving Robin and avenging the lives lost in the destruction - and each member receives bounties on their heads.

Some time later, the crew prepares to sail off to the New World, the second half of the Grand Line. The crew eventually gets separated during a battle at the Sabaody Archipelago. At the same time, the Marines sentence Luffy's older brother and Roger's son Portgas D. Ace to be executed, and hold a war against a group of pirates led by the strongest man in the world, Whitebeard. Luffy eventually rescues Ace, but both Whitebeard and Ace are killed in the ensuing chaos. Later, Luffy and the crew undergo rigorous training regimens, some under the tutelage of prominent figures.

Two years later, the crew regroups and journeys to Fishman Island to enter the New World.

At the same time, a group of evil fishman pirates appear, and holds a coup d'état to decide the fate of the island, but the Straw Hats fight them alongside Jinbe.

Standing in the Arena
One Piece is currently the second strongest verse within the HST, being above Bleach but inferior to Naruto, with One Piece only beating the latter out in their amount of hax under their belt.

Compared to other verses on their general level, One Piece characters are physical powerhouses, which can be greatly increased with their use of Haki, Rokushiki techniques and of course their devil fruits.

It's also the only series in the HST that's actually good. Oda is also best buds with Toriko author, Shimabukuro Mitsutoshi. Their respective animes have a crossover episode.

Notable hax include Aokiji's freezing ability, Bartholomew Kuma's repel ability, Boa Hancock's petrification, Crocodile's dehydration, Magellan's poisons & gases, Kizaru's & Enel's light/lightning movement techniques, Moriah's shadow stealing, Shiki's ability to levitate and control inanimate objects, Trafalgar Law's Room, and the general dispersion and regeneration of Logia Users.

When making a match against the aforementioned characters, it is worth to keep in mind that some of them can ignore conventional durability.

Character Profiles
Luffy