One piece has ftl feats pre timeskip
ftl (faster then light) for those who don't know.
All images are relevant to my point.
1 year ago I made a post explaining why I think One Piece has characters who have shown ftl feats pre timeskip based on character statements, logic of the verse and chain scaling, now I am remaking this becasue I do not feel I made the best case before, I know not everyone will agree but I hope to convey my thoughts and convince others or at least get them to understand why I and others think this way.
Zoro vs kuma
In chapter 484 when Zoro first sees the attack he managed to only just evade it but it did grazed his head slightly, later in that chapter Kuma says that “air pressure deflected at light speed creating a piercing shockwave” we then see Zoro dodge multiple of the attack, I’ve seen a number of people say that these aren't light speed but there isn’t anything in the source to say they aren't, the shockwaves are made from his ability that works at light speed, by playing devils advocate I will say for arguments sake that it does slow down but given the short distance the attack would still be relative and up to this point only Zoro has dodged them, I know franky and some no name pirated being taken out by them isn’t saying much but it is worth mentioning that they not only couldn’t dodge but did notice it until they were hit, the rest of the crew didn't see the attack coming either, at this point I do think Zoro can manage bursts of relative speed, this is reinforced in the next part.
Chapter 485 in Zoro’s fight with Kuma zoro managed to dodge a laser beam from kuma, we know they are light beams because in chapter 509 they are referred to as a light ray by Franky and in that same chapter X Drake says “that’s Kizaru’s laser!!”. When Zoro dodged he was in a kneeling position when the laser was fired, when it was about half way zoro managed to move far enough that he avoided the laser and the explosion it created.
This is where I think light speed is eclipsed in One Piece, this feat was performed by a weakened Zoro, in sabaody Zoro and Sanji could keep up with Gear 2 Luffy and all preformed feats that make sense if all were capable of light speed reactions
Straw hats vs pactifista
In chapter 508 when the fight with the pacifista started Luffy was told to look out for shockwaves, Luffy turned his head to Sanji to talk and looked back just before the laser was fired, Luffy despite being surprised managed to completely dodge the attack and explosion.
In chapter 509 Zoro Luffy and Sanji all managed to dodge multiple laser beams.
In chapter 510 Zoro at some point took some damage from a laser but as he was still recovering from his fight in Thriller Park so it’s not surprising.
In Chapter 511 even though Luffy was exhausted from just defeating 1 pacifista he still managed to dodge a laser from another
In chapter 512 Sanji got hit by a laser fired from about a meter or 2 in front of him.
During this whole time the only people that got hit are those that can’t be calced at light speed or those who are tiered/injured, I'll avoid going through every instant in Marineford to save time but an injured and tiered Luffy dodged multiple light beams, and even if you think gear 2 is only a 5x or 2x multiplier if Luffy can dodge light beams in base then he is certainly faster then them in gear 2
Now the big questions on does this work in verse? How can Kizaru be faster if he is only light speed but capable of keeping up with gear 4? And does avoiding light beams mean that someone is really relativistic to ftl?
First point it does work in verse, we know the light beams are made from light becasue they are fired by Kizaru who ate the light light fruit meaning he can shoot light just like Enel can shoot lightning and Ace can shoot fire, it is called a light beam by multiple people including Franky a smart person and X-Drake who would know better if it wasn't the same and the pacifista were made by Vegapunk someone who would never of used them if they weren't a perfect replica like we see from his reaction to the Fish fruit he made being the wrong colour.
Second the obvious and I think clear answer is Kizaru can move ftl, my evidence for this is in Marineford despite Luffy dodging light beams like in chapter 560 but in chapter 562 Luffy got kicked by Kizaru, so Kizaru would need to be faster then his beams to hit base Luffy, we also have the obvious if he can catch upto and kick a gear 2 Luffy like in chapter 566 then he is faster then gear 2 therefor faster then his beams.
Finally does dodging light beams men someone is relativistic or ftl? Yes, wee see a clear example how even with haki if you are not close in speed to the attack you cannot dodge it, when Luffy fought the Gorgon sisters in chapter 520, Sandersonia said "Why can't I get him?! I can read his movements but...", she has haki and was showing she can read Luffys movements however when he went into gear 2 despite being able to read his movements she could no longer hit Luffy and couldn't dodge.
These examples are why I believe one piece is FTL pre time skip, I am happy to answer any questions anyone has and I do hope that those who chose to comment keep it respectful.