The protagonist of One Piece, Monkey D. Luffy, has received quite a lot of exciting transformations over the years, and the pinnacle of that was believed to be his Gear 5 transformation, which he achieved in the Wano Country arc around 4 years ago. During Luffy’s battle against Kaido, he finally took his Devil Fruit, Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, beyond all his limits. On March 28, 2022, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 17, he achieved a powerful transformation, which he called Gear 5.
Luffy’s Gear 5 transformation gave him an all-white form and made his body more rubbery than ever before. Furthermore, it opened the gateway to Nika’s fantasies, allowing him to break the laws of reality itself. With this power, he finally managed to defeat the King of Beasts, Kaido. Now, 4 years later, Eiichiro Oda has given Luffy a brand-new transformation, which has officially set the basis to be labeled Gear 6 later down the line as his battle against Nerona Imu continues in the land of the giants, Elbaf.
Eiichiro Oda Finally Takes Luffy Beyond Gear 5 With A New Form
When Luffy first tapped into Gear 5 on March 28, 2022, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 17, it was believed that Gear 5 was going to be his last transformation. This is primarily because Luffy himself called this form the peak of his abilities, and it was also labeled as his Devil Fruit awakening. Naturally, not many fans believed that Luffy could go beyond Devil Fruit Awakening, but that has now proven to be wrong. The basis for Luffy gaining new transformations was officially set in the Elbaf arc, where Nerona Imu, the King of the World, made his descent in chapter 1179 on April 5, 2026, in Shonen Jump Issue 19.
Creator of the World Government
Power: Akuma no Mi (The Devil’s Fruit)
King of the World St. Nerona Imu
— Imu’s introduction box, One Piece Chapter #1179
Immediately upon Imu’s descent into Elbaf, it was clear to see that the King of the World had multiple transformations up his sleeve. Imu used his regular demon form immediately after arriving in Elbaf, and then, after being pushed back by Scopper Gaban using his powerful Supreme King Haki, Imu took to utilizing a new demon form that was even stronger in One Piece chapter 1191. Then, as the story continued, Nerona Imu unleashed his third demon form, which was incredibly massive in size and powered him up significantly against Loki.
Clearly, based on everything that Imu has shown, he has multiple demonic transformations up his sleeve, and if the Akuma no Mi can grant Imu multiple transformations, there was no reason for fans to believe that the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, wouldn’t grant Luffy new transformations. As such, the basis for Luffy moving beyond Gear 5 was officially set in the Elbaf arc. With the release of One Piece chapter 1198, it has now been officially confirmed that Luffy has taken his abilities beyond the standard Gear 5 and gained a significantly more powerful new transformation. As always, Luffy’s new transformations are always labeled as new gears, which essentially means that his new ape form that One Piece chapter 1198 gave us is the official new Gear 6.
“What happened to Luffy? He clearly turned into something and just ran off? Where did he go?” — Usopp comments on Luffy’s New Form, One Piece Chapter #1198
Luffy’s New Transformation Is Set To Be Labelled Gear 6
In One Piece chapter 1193, Monkey D. Luffy started losing control over his Devil Fruit and was edging closer to death. In this moment of weakness, Luffy’s Devil Fruit entity, that is, Sun God Nika, officially started taking over, and that resulted in him transforming into this new demonic ape-like creature. Luffy’s new presumed Gear 6 transformation features him in a monkey godlike form with rugged arms, sharp fangs, and a monkey-like face. At the same time, Luffy also has a giant tail with which he can attack and maneuver himself. Overall, this new transformation makes him significantly more dangerous in combat.
Sanji: Hey, Luffy! That’s…not you? Who is this guy?
Nika: Kikikiki!
Giants: Is that a monkey? No wait, that form is!!
— Elbaf Giants recognize Sun God Nika, One Piece Chapter #1198
Luffy’s freewheeling combat has now been taken to a completely new level, and this was put on display quite clearly when he essentially took down the Rain God Zaza effortlessly in the latest chapter. Right now, Luffy has little control over this power, but when he masters it, it’ll become Gear 6. As he continues to grow in combat and overall abilities, he will gain significant control over this new form. This will essentially become the basis for his ultimate Devil Fruit transformation, which will grant him a new monkey-like form. All things considered, Luffy’s Gear 6 is now officially confirmed in the series, and there is no reason to believe that he won’t get further transformations on top of the new Monkey God form that Chapter 1198 revealed to us.
How Strong Is Gear 6 Luffy?
With One Piece chapter 1198 officially unveiling what is set to be Luffy’s Gear 6, we are all wondering how strong this new transformation of his truly is. So far, Luffy has only shown us a glimpse of his powers when he took on Rain God Zaza and essentially dismantled this powerful MMA in a single blow. Needless to say, Luffy is at his strongest in this new Gear, and it is this power that will see him fight against the powerful Nerona Imu in the climax of the Elbaf arc.
Killingham: No way, the Rain God!
Oimo and Kashi: Who the hell are you?
— Elbaf reacts to Luffy’s New Gear, One Piece Chapter #1198
One Piece chapter 1188 made it clear that Luffy’s standard Gear 5 was not strong enough to fight against the influence of the King of the World, Nerona Imu. As such, this new Monkey God gear that Oda just gave Luffy comes as a direct consequence of his weakness. In other words, this new transformation is significantly stronger than the standard Gear 5 and makes Luffy far stronger than the average Emperors of the One Piece world.
By being able to combat the King of the World, Nerona Imu, Monkey D. Luffy has reached a level of strength that hardly any other character in the series can even touch. At the very least, Luffy is now far above the level of Loki, the Accursed Prince of Elbaf, known to hold the power to destroy the world, and has now officially entered the same league as Nerona Imu. The fact that he is going to fight him in his Monkey God form on an even footing in the Elbaf arc climax proves that Luffy might even be able to push back Nerona Imu before he ultimately learns to control his Monkey God form.
Based on everything that Oda has set up in the story, it can essentially be stated that this new Monkey God form of Luffy puts him above even legendary figures like the Yonko and the Pirate King. Ultimately, Luffy’s ceiling is none of these legendary pirates. Instead, his ceiling was set when a glimpse of Joy Boy’s true power was revealed to us in One Piece chapter 1122. Luffy must reach Joy Boy’s level and surpass it, and for that reason, this new Monkey God form, which is essentially Gear 6, was crucial.
All chapters of One Piece by creator Eiichiro Oda are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media