Looking closely at his current skill set, Loki already possesses one of the most formidable power combos in One Piece. He has the body of an ancient giant with superior physical strength, combined with the Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Niddhoggr, an ancient Zoan Devil Fruit that lets Loki transform into the world’s largest dragon and control lightning.
Beyond that, Loki wields advanced Conqueror’s Haki and Ragnir, a living hammer that enhances ice attacks and fights alongside him. With all these elements, Loki clearly has a highly versatile and fearsome skill set.
However, all of this still isn’t enough for Loki to defeat Nerona Imu.
So if Oda continues to power up Loki, what upgrades would make the most sense?
1. Mastering Niddhoggr’s Hybrid Form
There’s no denying Loki’s Niddhoggr dragon form is incredibly powerful. But its massive size can also be a drawback. In his fight against Imu using the Gunko body, Loki struggled to keep track of his opponent due to the huge size difference.
This is where a hybrid form could really shine.
Loki could develop a half-human, half-dragon form, similar to how Kaido uses his hybrid transformation. This would allow him to retain most of Niddhoggr’s power while gaining a more agile and mobile body.
Especially, this form would let Loki wield Ragnir more effectively and take advantage of speed and maneuverability that the full dragon form lacks.
Interestingly, Loki may not have needed this hybrid form until now. In most previous battles, his overwhelming size and strength were enough to dominate nearly any opponent. That’s likely why he never truly explored this form.
But facing Imu changes everything. This could be the moment Loki is forced to push Niddhoggr’s limits.
2. Awakening His Mythical Zoan Powers
So far, there’s no clear sign Loki has reached Awakening. If you look closely at Niddhoggr’s form, he hasn’t shown typical traits seen in other awakened Zoan users, like the hagoromo aura Luffy displays in Gear 5 or Rob Lucci’s transformations.
This doesn’t mean Loki lacks talent. It’s more likely he simply hasn’t been pushed to his true limits yet.
Even King Harald, empowered by the Deep Sea Pact, was defeated relatively quickly by Loki. In other words, Loki hasn’t faced an opponent strong enough to force him to evolve further for quite some time.
Nerona Imu might be the first exception. He’s an adversary Loki can’t easily overpower with his current strength. So if Loki is pushed to the brink at Elbaf and awakens Niddhoggr’s powers, the boost would be significant.
An awakened Mythical Zoan is already formidable, and this could elevate Loki to a whole new level.
3. Taking Conqueror’s Haki to a New Level
Currently, Loki can infuse Ragnir with Conqueror’s Haki, making his attacks much deadlier. But the question is: is this the highest level of Conqueror’s Haki?
What Joy Boy left behind might suggest otherwise.
Joy Boy was able to store his Conqueror’s Haki inside Emet’s body for hundreds of years, allowing that power to be unleashed in the present era.
So far, neither Luffy nor Loki seem to have mastered Haoshoku Haki in a similar way. This hints that Oda might still have new levels or uses of Conqueror’s Haki to reveal.
If that’s true, both Loki and Luffy could reach a new realm in their battle against Imu. Especially with Loki’s strong Haoshoku Haki combined with Ragnir, he’s a prime candidate to explore the limits of this Haki further.