@King:
Rayleigh explained Busoshoku as an armor that can cover your whole body. It can be used for both defense and offense.
If we go by what Smoker and Doflamingo said, Busoshoku should protect one from Law's chopping ability if it's strong enough. With that in mind, it seems fair to assume that Busoshoku can also be used to defend against abilities that you can't normally defend (Foxy, Bonney, Hancock…), just like how Busoshoku can be used to attack against abilities you can't normally attack (Logia users).
It really just depends which way Oda wants to go, because part of the problem is "stronger enough than 'what'"? The 'what' being whatever Oda decides. Because that word choice could mean that her haki wasn't strong enough to "defy " his DF ability alone without Law adding his own haki to (re) enforce his Df ability; Or Smoker could have meant her haki wasn't strong enough to "defy" his haki, which meant his fruit would easily overpower her; Or Smoker could have meant her haki wasn't strong enough to "Defy" the combination of Law's DF ability + his haki, (neither alone necessarily being greater than her haki, but combined easily overpowering her haki).
Think the problem also partly lies in his sword. It's combining , condensing, sending into the sword that's different from all those other users ^you mentioned; they just use their bodies/ hands/ movements. Law's sword without his ability seems like an above average "pretty strong sword" anyway; then adding the ability pretty much could mean it can cut anything, besides seastone. But the problem being, the only other 1 we've ever seen that seemed to be equipping their weapons with a pretty powerful, not necessarily linear DF ability was WB. And he died before we could even be sure when it was equipping with his quaking DF ability, or haki, or even both; so we never got to see some1 towards the top react to unique abilities added to already sharp, steady weapons. It seems to be a toss -up because even if it can be defended with superior haki; there would seem to be a way to work around that, (as in unless always full- bodied clad in haki armor, the spots with no haki would always easily be the target meaning too much of a easily defined weakness), with Law's DF abilities since they also include movement, and a set, ( yet malleable/ moveable), area.
! @Don:
! > Its the only way Luffy could fight someone like DoFlamingo who is able to control people with his strings. I picture it for myself like an body-surrounding armor that won
t let DoFlamingos strings connect to Luffys body. (so also beams (like Bonney and Foxy) won
t hit Luffys body)
Also further hints were shown when DoFlamingo was frozen by Aokiji.
He was frozen from the outside, but he was able to free himself, because the ice couldn't actually reach his cells.
! Actually that particular example, makes it a bit more murky, confusing, and just adds another variable. 1 made mostly from the seemingly uniqueness of Law's fruit. Yes he(DD), couldn't totally be frozen because the ice didn't reach his cells, (or 'because he wasn't frozen through and through' as this translation below, as was put by DD's underling's words; not DD himself, and it seemed like it wasn't necessarily an explanation, but a term of relief that he wasn't "frozen through and through").
http://www.batoto.net/read/_/157642/one-piece_ch699_by_mangarule/6
In fact on further reading don't see that point mentioned about: "but he was able to free himself, because the ice couldn't actually reach his cells"?…
! But Ao Kiji's ice attack was similar to what he did at the beginning of the MarineFord War, (to Counter WB's giant waves crushing everybody, freezing 'pretty fast' all the surrounding ocean water); but you can notice that at 1st he had to connect to the towers of water, using ice extensions produced from his body, but once he had frozen it and broken those ice connections produced from his body. It was then that the ice was frozen; and no longer could be frozen additionally/ or manipulated from his ability, without reestablishing some kind of similar direct contact.
When attacking Joker however, it was a little more instantaneous, more like he had "Flash Frozen"(made up term to describe it), him in an instant along with the surrounding area. But, while the above might, or might not have been completely accurate; there was a time delay and technically it can be seen as Joker freeing himself, yes, but not till after Ao Kiji was no longer connected to what he had just "Flash Frozen"( now just a guy walking on what he had "Flash Frozen; not in his partial frozen form, or physically connected to the ice). By the nature of Law's ability, however unless he's completely turned off his ability, and can't turn it right back on; he's always going to be connected to his ability, and thus to his immediate environment constantly. Another odd thing is Oda has never told us how long people affected by Law's power, would stay, or had stayed affected by it. For all we know those Marines back on SA 2 years ago were never the same again...
Not to mention that a good example of this would be Vergo still being split even after Law leaving the area, and the island.
Wouldn't it be more like if DD had a dizzying crazy amount of strings, constantly in the air completely surrounding Luffy; ready to control him, at the 1st sign of lowered haki defense. Even with excellent high level haki; wouldn't the high level haki armor seemingly weaken over time, while battling, eventually still becoming susceptible to Law's 'environment' abilities anyway? ...
But then there's what BB and Rayleigh further hinted that the stronger you got, the better your haki, and somewhat the inverse as well; the stronger you train your haki to become the stronger you'll additionally become stronger in haki, (and 1 would assume body, + "DF ability strength"). I don't know; there's just way too many variables, it's dizzying....
@TheGreatestSwordsman:
My point is that it injured him, Law maybe wanted to finish him off right there. It doesn't make sense to say it didn't injure him while the guy looks like he's went 10 rounds with Mike Tyson.
???? for the underlined? Understand what you mean, just don't understand why it's more likely, given the totality of all those fights? And if that's the case, think the term would've been more like "Why didn't it work?"
Have you seen all these fights??..
When Sanji kicked him into a wall; comes black bloody and yet still "semi- hurts/ breaks" Sanji's leg after a short face- off, with Sanji also seemingly bloodying and bruising Vergo some more.
While manipulating Law's heart; pretty much repeats that process with what you see as him getting hurt by 10 round Mike Tyson and some additional bruising. Yet he says "It didn't work!!…"
Once again repeats the process with Vergo taking hits from Smoker's fists and elbows blackened haki armor, and sent flying backwards, yet gets back up, and although Smoker was mostly going for Law's heart we have no idea how much of the fight he gave up exactly to do so. But we do know Vergo took him down, either way.
Sensing a pattern yet?
Really should have read my full post last time. Then you would have noticed I pointed out that DD said Vergo was confident in his proficient mastery of haki. Therefore it would be doubted that Vergo's full body en-coating of haki, that he used to fight Law in the end, was a last ditch effort; but more like his norm for fighting strong(est) opponents, thus not something he could use once, or just as a last ditch effort. Also pointed out, Unless using some invisible/ clear haki that whole time, (and even if he was), by seeing how bloodied/ bruised he was getting; he could have started using that blackened haki full- body armor much earlier. Unless…
Unless maybe all these hits weren't that worrisome to him!! Now not definitively saying that, because it's still not clear. He also showed a pattern of personality quirks, (like what DD reminded him about on their den den mushi conversation), like that randomly forgetful Priest in Skypeia; so it could just be his uniqueness, and or both, but..
Technically yeah Vergo could've looked like he went 10 rounds with Mike Tyson; but he also fought Sanji, Law, and Smoker, (not sure of the amount of time), but I don't see how he could have fought all these people within longer than an hour, (^so he kinda did ). But he was still fighting, and was able to fight all those battles, with all these "injuries", while taking all these hits, ( some quite powerful looking as well); and winning them all, (Sanji's being debatable), until the last clash with Law. Yeah he could have incredible, incredible, incredible, endurance; that could just be his fighting style/ type, and ((the less likely), have been restricted to using that full body blackened full armor haki as a last resort only being able to maintain it for a little while); or (the more likely) he just didn't really deem any of his opponents as strong enough such as to necessitate the use of the blackened full - bodied haki armor, until Joker basically ordered him to do so in his last clash with Law.
- yet too bad, it just backfired for Vergo