The Next Step In Luffy’s Devil Fruit Mastery, Explained 

Luffy is one of the most powerful Devil Fruit users that fans have seen in One Piece and for good reason. Being the most creative Devil Fruit user out there, Luffy has gone on to advance his powers to unimaginable heights in the most unconventional ways. In the Wano Arc, Luffy managed to awaken his Devil Fruit ability and this is where he hit what he calls his peak.

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That said, Luffy isn’t done growing yet. Even in terms of his Devil Fruit progress, there is a lot that Luffy can still work on and learn moving forward, and it is these things that will eventually push him to the very top, making him the strongest in the story come the end.

Luffy’s Devil Fruit Awakening In Wano

• Luffy Ended Up Losing to Kaido 4 Times
• Eventually, Luffy Awakened His Devil Fruit

Quite a lot of fans had hoped for Luffy to awaken his Devil Fruit in the Wano Country Arc. Ever since the concept of awakening was introduced in the story with the Dressrosa arc, it was quite clear to see that Luffy would eventually go on to gain this power. After all, Luffy is the main character of the story, and more importantly, carries a very powerful Devil Fruit that he is willing to strengthen with time. Whole Cake Island introduced fans to yet another powerful Devil Fruit that was awakened, with this one belonging to none other than Charlotte Katakuri. As such, Oda was only strengthening the idea that Luffy was going to awaken his Devil Fruit soon. When Wano began, fans expected Luffy to take his powers to the next level, especially since he was up against a Yonko of the Sea, and the strongest one at that.

Luffy Vs Kaido was a battle that tested his limits and forced him to go beyond them in order to overcome the Yonko. Luffy did just that and it required him to gain and refine all three of his Haki types, and at the same time, awaken his Devil Fruit. The latter was especially difficult for Luffy to master and it took its time. This is especially because Luffy’s Devil Fruit had not been awakened in 800 years and had a special importance attached to it.

When Luffy was almost killed in the battle against Kaido, it was then that he truly understood his powers, and in Kaido’s own words, his mind and body became one with the ability. This led to Luffy tapping into a whole new aspect of his abilities and he ended up creating Gear 5—his very peak as a fighter and the strongest of all his abilities. Whereas Luffy was unable to beat Kaido with the power of his newly awakened Haki, Devil Fruit Awakening saw to it that he leveled up greatly and reached the same level as Kaido, if not higher.

Why Luffy’s Devil Fruit Awakening Isn’t The End Of His Growth

Luffy might have Awakened his Devil Fruit already, but there’s still a long way for him to go. A lot of the fans assume that since Luffy has awakened his fruit now, he’s already as strong as he can get. Others acknowledge the room for improvement in terms of Haki, but refuse to acknowledge the fact that Luffy’s Devil Fruit powers can get better. The fact is that Luffy, despite being very strong and at the peak of his transformations, can still grow in regard to his Devil Fruit powers and become even more powerful.

In fact, a glimpse of this growth was given to the fans in the Elbaf arc of One Piece right at the very beginning. When Luffy was in Road’s diorama, he used a very special ability to break through the wall and attain freedom, and this power was his trusty Gear 4. Luffy busted open a wall but he didn’t do so while undergoing a transformation. Instead, Luffy did so by turning only a part of his body into Gear 4, implying great growth in terms of Devil Fruit control, despite having already attained Awakening.

Exploring The Adaptability and Versatility Of The Nika Fruit

When it comes to the Nika fruit, fans know that this Devil Fruit can be strengthened greatly based on how Luffy utilizes it. Awakening consumes a lot of stamina and that’s something Luffy acknowledges himself. As such, in order to maintain this form, Luffy needs to make sure to improve the efficiency of his Nika powers. Luffy has shown signs of being more efficient already, just as he did with Gear 4 in Elbaf. If he manages to incorporate this into his Gear 5, Luffy will become fat more efficient and be able to last in long battles without much trouble at all.

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At the same time, Luffy also needs to be more versatile to make the best use of the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. It goes without saying that Luffy has strengthened himself greatly over the years and he has done so by focusing on various elements of his powers, making himself a very versatile fighter. Devil Fruit Awakening doesn’t necessarily mean Luffy will now stop growing in this regard. He can continue to evolve how he uses Gear 5 and the best part of having an ability with as immense freedom as Gear 5 is the fact that Luffy can continuously grow with its usage, creating newer powers as he goes and incorporating them into his arsenal of weapons.

Improving The Physical Abilities To Make The Nika Fruit Better

Above all, Luffy’s Devil Fruit usage can improve massively if he improves himself physically. Gear 5 consumes a lot of stamina and that’s something Luffy is very well aware of. In fact, Luffy, with more stamina, would be practically unbeatable in combat. While Luffy does use the ability well, often, he runs out of stamina and is then either left in a paralyzed state, or forced to retreat. If Luffy improves his stamina, and as mentioned earlier, the efficiency of the Nika Devil Fruit, he will be essentially unstoppable.

Then, there is the spiritual side to take into consideration, which would strengthen Luffy’s Haki greatly and allow him to bring out the best of his Devil Fruit. Clearly, the growth of the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika is multifaceted and fans should remember that it’ll take time for Luffy to gain control over every aspect of his ability. That said, even with Gear 5, Luffy has still has to grow by adapting more to the situation, showing his versatile nature, and strengthening his mind and body to take his Devil Fruit powers to the next level.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus apps. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1136, is set to be January 19, 2025.

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Release Date

October 20, 1999

Creator

Eiichiro Oda

Number of Episodes

1122