We have all been waiting for Gear 5. Monkey D. Luffy, the charismatic and rubber-bodied protagonist of Eiichiro Oda’s legendary anime and manga series One Piece, has captivated fans with his boundless determination and ever-evolving abilities. Throughout his journey, Luffy has unleashed formidable transformations known as gears, each pushing his limits and propelling him closer to becoming the Pirate King.
With the power of the Gomu Gomu no Mi devil fruit, Luffy became a rubber man and has, on his journey, grown tremendously powerful. In time, Luffy has taken his abilities to the next level by inventing gears. But Luffy’s devil fruit power is just the start. While gears one through four have captivated audiences, a new form has premiered in the anime that will surpass all of his previous forms: Gear 5 Luffy.
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For all the straw hat pirates looking to understand what this news means and why August is Gear 5, the month after the One Piece Episode 1071 is important, this article has you covered. Let’s dive into Luffy’s newly awakened form and its game-changing power.
]Gear 5 Out of What?
Luffy’s gear transformations are techniques he developed to enhance his physical capabilities in battle by applying his rubber powers in various ways. For example, in Gear 2, he can increase the blood flow in his limbs to boost the speed and power of his attacks. While Gear 3 involves inflating his bones to increase size and strength. Each of his gears shows that Luffy’s boundless imagination and ability to apply his powers are his strongest assets. With his devil fruit powers awakening, Gear 5 allows Luffy to use his imagination and powers to new heights. Gear 5 Luffy uses his imagination and powers allow Luffy’s rubber-like body to have increased strength and total freedom, allowing him to fight however he pleases.
True Nature of Luffy’s Devil Fruit
In One Piece, there are three types of devil fruits, Paramecia, Logia, and Zoan. Zoan-type fruits allow the user to transform into an animal and animal hybrid. Logia types fruits enable users to create, control, and transform their bodies into natural elements. Paramecia types are the most common types of devil fruits that allow users a variety of supernatural abilities.
In Chapter 1044 of the One Piece manga, fans learned that nearly everything we knew about Luffy’s Devil Fruit was wrong. Initially, we were led to believe that Luffy’s devil was a ridiculous and useless power he somehow managed to make formidable. However, the World Government tried to hide the real identity of the devil fruit by renaming and reclassifying it to hide the truth. Only Imu and the Five Elders know the true nature of the fruit, and its existence was never recorded anywhere.
However, the true name of the Gomu Gomu no Mi is the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika Gear 5. Translated in English, the fruit’s name is the Human Human Model: NikaFruit. Like Chopper’s Human Human fruit, it relates to a human form that allows a user to transform in ways other devil fruit users can not. However, Luffy’s Human Human devil fruit is different because it is also a mythical Zoan-type, allowing him to gain the traits, powers, and abilities of the legendary Sun God Nika. He also transforms his appearance to resemble the god and warrior of liberation.
Luffy’s Devil Fruit Awakening for Gear 5 Luffy
Devil Fruit awakening occurs when a Devil Fruit user’s mind catches up with their powers. When a devil fruit’s power is awakened, the user’s abilities become significantly more powerful, have greater control, and have new abilities they did not have access to previously. A devil fruit user’s power awakening is typically signified by clouds surrounding their body. In Luffy’s case, he unlocked his awakening during his final battle with Kaido at Onigashima.
New Powers and Abilities
The devil fruit user who possesses Nika’s power is said to grant the user’s body unparalleled freedom, only being constrained by their imagination. Many One Piece fans have referred to Luffy’s new form as “Toon Force” because, in this form, Luffy fights in a zany cartoonish way. Gear 5 Luffy ‘s form is the peak of his devil fruit powers and gives him god-like abilities by letting him do anything he can imagine.
For example, he can affect living beings and inanimate objects, create things from thin air, and defy the laws of physics. He can do almost anything, from changing lighting properties to wielding it as a weapon. To surpass the limits of his rubber body by growing to the size of a giant. Awakening the Zoan properties allows Luffy to become his free self, but it has some drawbacks.
Gear 5 Luffy Has Consequences and Drawbacks
With great power comes great consequences and drawbacks. It takes time to master awakened devil fruit powers fully; if they are not fully mastered, they can still be used, but they take a severe toll on the user’s stamina. To some degree, each of Luffy’s forms has limitations and drawbacks.
For example, with Gear 2, Luffy is essentially doping his blood to increase his stamina and speed, but that tends to exhaust him and gradually shorten his life. Despite the amazing power Gear 5 Luffy has, it may be the most detrimental to his health. Gear 5 consumes a lot of his energy to maintain and use. Luffy only used this for a short time, but it was enough to completely deplete his stamina to make him visible age due to exhaustion and fatigue.
Gear 5 Luffy Has Connection to Joy Boy
Joy Boy is an enigmatic character who was alive 800 years before Luffy, with much of his history and true identity still a mystery. He is mentioned in ancient texts as a liberator found throughout the series. When Luffy awakened his mythical Zoan-type power, and his heartbeat took on the sound of the “Drums of Liberation,” Zunesha, an ancient creature, stated that Joy Boy had returned.
Some fans theorize that Luffy could be a reincarnation or descendant of Joy Boy. Or Joy Boy could be a title reserved for the liberator of the oppressed, and Luffy is the successor to the title. Truthfully, it is still too early to know precisely how Joy Boy and Luffy’s Gear 5 are connected. However, as Luffy’s journey progresses and he explores his new powers more, the connection between Luffy’s power, Nika, and Joy Boy’s legacy will be explored further.
Watch Gear 5 Luffy in action now on Crunchyroll to learn more about Luffy, his journey, and his ever-growing powers.
