This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf Arc.
Summary
- Luffy's Devil Fruit awakening turns him into Nika, unlocking Gear 5 to defeat Kaido.
- Gear 5 is the most powerful form with infinite potential limited only by Luffy's imagination.
- Hancock's Mero Mero no Mi could rival Nika's awakening, making her abilities lethal and overpowered.
Luffy's Gear 5 has quickly become one of the most iconic transformations in all of anime. This transformation was tapped into after Luffy awakened his Devil Fruit during the events of Wano in One Piece. There are not many Devil Fruits that can compare to it, but there is one awakening that could eventually come close to it and even rival Gear 5 in the Final Saga.
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Luffy’s Devil Fruit Awakening Turns Him Into Nika
Gear 5 is a Powerful Form
For the majority of the One Piece series, fans had no idea about the secret held by Luffy’s Devil Fruit. Once known as the Gomu Gomu no Mi, or the rubber fruit, fans now know that this Devil Fruit is actually named the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika.
The Nika fruit awakening led to Luffy unlocking his most powerful form yet, Gear 5, which he then used to finally take down Kaido.
“Just like the legendary Sun God Nika from the fables of Elbaf, he too fought with an elastic and stretchy body.”
Gear 5 is probably the most powerful Devil Fruit awakening seen in the series so far, and what makes it so powerful is its infinite potential. The only boundary for Luffy is his own imagination.
However, there’s another devil fruit that fans know could go toe to toe with the Nika Devil Fruit if ever awakened.
The Mero Mero no Mi Is An Odd Devil Fruit
Hancock’s Awakening Could Put Her On Par With Gear 5
The Mero Mero no Mi is the Devil Fruit of the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, and could potentially have an awakening on par with the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. Since the reveal that the Gomu Gomu no Mi isn’t what it was claimed to be before, many have speculated other Devil Fruits could secretly have different names and powers.
Some believe Hancock’s devil fruit could actually be the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Medusa or Gorgon. Of course, this cannot be the case as Hancock's powers were replicated by Green Blood, which, as fans know works only with Paramecia abilities. Regardless, Boa Hancock’s Devil Fruit could have a lethal Devil Fruit awakening. As it is, this fruit is already strong enough to take down 99% of characters in the world. Even Blackbeard feared being defeated by it and had to sneak up on her to beat her.
“No matter what I do, I will always be forgiven. Why, you ask? It is because I’m beautiful!” — Boa Hancock
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The fact that Blackbeard wanted her devil fruit, and that he only goes after the very strongest Devil Fruits, implies the sheer strength of this fruit. Blackbeard must know the truth of Hancock’s fruit awakening, and what it means to have it.
As for what Hancock's awakening could do, the simple logic with Paramecia is that it affects all surroundings other than the user. This would have devastating consequences. This means that anything around the user can be turned into a desirable object for the enemy. In other words, Hancock can use the environment against her enemies and if they show any sort of desire at all, they're done for. For instance, Luffy's love for any food in Hancock's vicinity would be enough to turn him into stone and that's just too overpowered. If even abstract things, such as freedom, can be affected by this ability, nobody can beat this invincible ability.
Where to Read One Piece?
Available on Manga Plus
One Piece chapter 1149 will be out soon, in a week's time. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on May 25. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1149 is May 25, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
