During their current adventure on Egghead Island, the Straw Hats have clashed with the of 0, an elite group of spies and assassins in the service of the World Government. This group includes two old foes, Rob Lucci and Kaku, who are both Zoan devil fruits s. Lucci immediately showed his new awakened form, which has peculiar flame-shaped black wisps of smoke coiling around his neck and shoulders.

These black flames were later also seen on Saint Saturn and the rest of the Five Elders when they revealed their monstrous forms upon arrival at Egghead. Luffy's Gear Fifth also has similar wisps of smoke coiling around his shoulders, but they are white and don't look like flames. Together with the unique abilities of his awakening, which are more akin to Paramecia-types than Zoan, this confirms that Luffy's awakened devil fruit form is absolutely unique in the series.

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One Piece Has A Genius Reason To Explain Why Luffy Awakened His Devil Fruit

One Piece may have a completely logical explanation for why Luffy was the first to awaken the Nika fruit in centuries and it's clear as day.

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Luffy's Gear Fifth Doesn't Have Black Flames Like One Piece's Other Awakenings

A handful of people in the One Piece world have unlocked the ultimate level of devil fruits' power called "awakening", which gives their abilities a significant boost. For Zoan-types, awakening enhances the physical abilities of the to almost unparalleled levels, with the risk however of losing their minds to their bestial nature.

In chapter #1072 of One Piece, a common feature of awakened Zoans who don't lose their minds in the process (explaining why the Impel Down guards don't show it).

Despite its initial impression, Luffy's devil fruit is also a Zoan-type of the Mythical branch, the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika (Human Human Fruit, model Nika). Luffy's appearance and abilities in awakened form (which he calls Gear Fifth), however, differ greatly from other awakened Zoans shown recently in the series.

This is probably due to the fact that the Mythical Zoans' grouping with other Zoan-types has always been odd and possibly inaccurate. All the Mythical Zoan s, such as Kaido, Yamato, Sengoku, and Marco, have displayed abilities that resemble those of Paramecia and go well beyond the mere bestial transformations of regular Zoans, as confirmed by Eiichiro Oda in the special Road to Laugh Tale vol. 3.

Luffy's Awakening Makes Him Unique Even Among One Piece's Crazy Abilities

There is also a chance that the color white that is prominent in Gear Fifth is another way for One Piece's author to highlight Luffy's role as the "dawnbringer" and the savior of the world. The different colors of the signature awakening smoke/flames on Luffy's body compared to those of Lucci and Kaku thus help further set apart Mythical Zoan s. Luffy's dominance over Lucci in their battle already showed that they are on very different levels.

Luffy has continued to show the sheer dominance of Gear Five on Egghead against increasingly powerful opponents like iral Kizaru and the Five Elders, pushing the limits of what fans believe Gear Five is capable of. However, the Five Elders have proven to be troublesome opponents, hinting that Gear Five may not be enough to see Luffy through the final leg of the story, despite how ridiculous its powers may be.

Will Luffy's Devil Fruit Awakening Be Enough to Find the One Piece

While the fact that Gear Five was able to defeat Kaido is no small feat, there is likely another level to the Nika Fruit's power that Luffy is yet to tap into. With three of the four Road Poneglyphs finally in their possession, Luffy and the Straw Hats are closer than they've ever been to finding the One Piece. However, many powerful foes lie in their path in this final leg of the race to Laugh Tale, including Blackbeard, Shanks, and the entire might of the World Government.

Blackbeard easily poses the biggest threat to Luffy with his powerful crew of devil fruit s, and Luffy will likely have to get more creative with Gear Five to make it past this and other challenges the Final Saga will bring. Regardless, the true abilities of Luffy's devil fruit, revealed twenty-five years after its debut in the manga, are still clearly overpowered, and make the protagonist of One Piece look and feel special even in a world filled with people with unique devil fruit powers.

One Piece is available from Manga Plus and Viz Media.

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One Piece

Created by

Eiichiro Oda

First Film

One Piece: The Movie

Video Game(s)

One Piece: Unlimited World Red, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4, One Piece Odyssey

First TV Show

One Piece

Cast

Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura, Kappei Yamaguchi, Hiroaki Hirata, Ikue Ôtani, Yuriko Yamaguchi

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)

Created by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is a multimedia franchise that began as a manga series and follows the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates as led by Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy, an enthusiastic pirate with a thirst for adventure, is afflicted by a mysterious curse that gives him various powers he uses to protect himself and his friends. The manga eventually gave way to the anime series, with the two being some of history's longest-running anime and manga series. Along with over fifty video games made over the years, the series entered the live-action world with Netflix's 2023 adaptation.

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