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One Piece has revealed a myriad of Devil Fruits thus far, but these 30 are stronger than the rest by a pretty wide margin.
After Monkey D. Luffy awakened his Devil Fruit's potential against Kaido in their epic battle for the fate of Wano, the young pirate underwent a miraculous transformation, which he dubbed Gear 5. At the surface, the power-up seemed to have significantly upgraded the durability and effects of Luffy's rubber powers, but the truth is that the Nika fruit does not give its user a rubber body; it removes the constraints of its user's body and gives them the freedom to do what they want.
Gear 5 Does A Lot More Than Meets The Eye
Gear 5 provides a substantial power-up and Luffy the absolute freedom to do seemingly anything he can think of on the battlefield. At first, that ability to make his imagination a reality seemed to only rubberize the objects he came in contact with, but the more he experiments with his power, the more creative and ridiculous those abilities grow.
In Luffy’s climactic battle against Kaido, Gear 5 allowed him to manipulate lightning and the mountainous environment for both maneuverability and offensive purposes. Then, during the Egghead arc, Luffy was actively manifesting tools from nothing and transforming objects to meet his needs, like when he quickly turned a tree into a black baseball bat capable of swatting away cataclysmic attacks from the formidable Five Elders. Luffy's Nika Devil Fruit powers will likely continue to expand until One Piece's end, but his awakening also recontextualizes every attack the Straw Hat captain has used since eating the mythical Devil Fruit.
Luffy's Fruit Does Not Make Him A Rubber Man, It Makes Him A Man Of Freedom
Luffy's body did not unlock the level of freedom Gear 5 provided until he awakened his Nika fruit against Kaido, but the Nika fruit has been allowing him to stretch his body because he wanted to. In chapter #1, when Shanks first pulled Luffy's arm to reveal Luffy's powers, his arm extended because he wanted nothing more than to go with Shanks. Same with when Luffy wanted to practice his powers, he wanted to punch a bottle from a distance, so his arms attempted to reach it until he learned to better control his body.
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My theory suggests that One Piece's Luffy was never a rubber man, but because others told him that it was, his Nika fruit that allows him to do what he imagines, manifested it to be true. This would also explain many of Luffy's best victories, where he imagines a new way to use his power, allowing it to manifest. Don Kreig's defeat with Luffy's finger net, Crocodile's powers being negated by Luffy's moisture, and even Enel's lightning did not work because Luffy's understanding of his body made those feats possible.
Luffy's playful and spirited nature is the perfect combination with the Nika fruit, because if it were eaten by someone else, its results would likely be far darker. With the fruit's ability to reshape reality at the whim of the user's imagination, it's no wonder that the Five Elders dubbed it the most dangerous power in the world. And while the Straw Hat captain's high emotional intelligence has helped him easily gain friends, even turning past foes into allies, there have been other examples of Luffy's Nika power affecting and even enhancing others.
Luffy's Smile May Not Be The Only Infectious Part Of Him
Author Eiichiro Oda is a master at balancing tension and comedy in One Piece, and much like Dragon Ball's Akira Toriyama, his passion for comedy can be seen in nearly every aspect of his work. However, once Luffy's abilities began to actively manipulate the world around him, it increased the possibility that comedic reality breaks may be more than a visual gag, and may even be affecting the Straw Hats on a physical level.
A common shōnen gag demonstrates confident female characters as overpowered brutes capable of hurting the series strongest characters with a single punch after they have been annoyed. It's a trend that Nami has displayed on countless occasions, but the strangest case took place on the Thousand Sunny after Luffy awakened his Gear 5 powers. At that point, the Straw Hat captain had evolved into one of the One Piece world's strongest characters, but that did not stop him from being put in a cage and beaten brutally by Nami, someone he perceives as powerful.
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While One Piece sports a massive ensemble cast, each of their powers are unique and differ in interesting ways. However, a few stand out.
Because of his foolish and dangerous escape from Wano's elevated shores, Nami punished her captain by locking him in a small cage in front of the Straw Hat crew's latest addition, helmsman Jinbe. The display of violence and power shocked the fishman, who even says that it looked like Nami was using Conqueror's Haki to punish her captain. While the whole situation was part of a gag, it's also possible that Luffy's interpretation of Nami gave her the powers that fit his mental images of her.
The Nika Fruit Makes Luffy The Strongest Shōnen Character
Throughout One Piece's many arcs, the Straw Hat captain has inspired many people to act and even help him against what seemed like impossible odds. During the epic Marineford War of the Best, even Dracule Mihawk had to admit that there was something strange about Luffy that made people around him want to be on his side. It could be related to the character's infectious nature to be your the freest version of yourself, or it might be a side effect of the Nika Devil Fruit's powers of liberation.
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The Gear 5 is unarguably One Piece's most powerful transformation, and only a handful of characters have ever wielded the ability.
Luffy's awakened Devil Fruit ability may reshape people and objects to match his imagination, compared to his only being able to reshape his own body pre-awakening. By improving his Nika powers further, One Piece's final arc could see the Straw Hat captain imbue his allies with a power-up that matches his perception of the characters or even allow them to manifest their freest selves. Still, the retcon of Luffy's powers makes him potentially the strongest and most fascinating fictional character, and he may reach even further heights by the end of One Piece's story.
First Film
One Piece: The Movie
Cast
Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura, Kappei Yamaguchi, Hiroaki Hirata, Ikue Ôtani, Yuriko Yamaguchi
Created by
Eiichiro Oda
Character(s)
Monkey D. Luffy, Roronora Zoro, Nami (One Piece), Nico Robin, Usopp (One Piece), Vinsmoke Sanji, Tony Tony Chopper, Franky (One Piece), Jimbei (One Piece)
English (US) ·