Tasked with killing Dr. Vegapunk on behalf of the World Government, Lucci and Kaku who are now elite agents of CP0 raid Egghead’s island along with Stussy, another masked agent from Cipher Pol’s greatest.
Lucci challenged Luffy to a 1v1 battle and revealed that he had improved greatly since their battle days in Enies Lobby however Lucci was unable to match Luffy who quickly overpowered him using Gear 5 without having to practice his Haki.
After the outcome of the battle, Vegapunk prepared to escape from Egghead with the aim of evading the World Government’s attempts on his life, knowing the world’s relations with the Straw Hat Pirates. Lucci, Kaku and Stussy continued to pursue him.
At some point Kaku attempts to smash the Thousand Sunny’s powerful Branchiaco. If he had managed to destroy the ship, the Butterflies and Vegapunk would have lost their means of escaping from Egghead.
However, before she can connect on the Thousand Sunny Kaku’s attack is blocked by Zoro. Although asleep, the Straw Hat’s first mate realized the threat. He suddenly woke up, intercepted the incoming attack, and effortlessly dispelled it.
The feat that Zoro displayed in One Piece 1071 is quite impressive in the context of the series. Perceiving and counteracting an attack while sleeping is proven to be a great display of Haki’s observation.
Before Zoro in Chapter 1071, the only person who was able to do something like this was none other than Edward Newgate aka “Whitebeard.” Newgate was a powerful individual like Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King. For this reason, Whitebeard was hailed as the most powerful man in the world.
Even several years following his return Whitebeard was one of the Four Emperors. Impressively, he was able to sense and counteract Ace’s attempt on his life even while sleeping. This appeared in One Piece manga chapter 552.
Admittedly, a similar feat was also demonstrated by the other four emperors, Charlotte Linlin, aka “Big Mom.” However, while Zoro and Whitebeard recognized an attack coming from a skilled fighter and confronted them, Big Mom’s response was just a fly that was moving beside her.
Regardless of this distinction, this still confirms that sensing movements and responding to them quickly during sleep is a feat that only the strongest One Piece characters can achieve.
Interestingly, this isn’t the only strength-related parallel that connects Zoro and Whitebeard. First of all, they are both capable of using Light Advanced Haki. According to Kaido, the ability to use this ability is what separates the strongest from the rest.
Even among those born with the Conqueror’s Haki, only a few are able to upgrade that power at its advanced stage. To this day, Luffy, Zoro, Whitebeard, Roger, Rayleigh, Shanks, Big Mom, Yamato, and Kaido have been shown to be Advanced Conqueror Haki users.