Why Luffy Needs A Bigger Power Up Than Gear 5

With One Piece well into the final saga now, it is clear that Luffy is also edging closer to his peak. In the Wano Country Arc, Luffy finally managed to tap into his true powers and awaken his Devil Fruit, which gave him access to a unique transformation called Gear 5. With this power, Luffy was able to take his already great abilities to the next level, and he became strong enough to rival Kaido in the midst of a very high-level battle.

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In fact, throughout the battle, there were even moments that allowed Luffy to reach an even higher level than Kaido and overpower him. But, due to Gear 5 being new, Luffy couldn’t exactly bring out his very best and fans are yet to see it. As great as Gear 5 is, there is more to come from Luffy and he will get further power-ups that will push him to a new level entirely in the last segment of One Piece.

The Limitations Of Gear 5

• Gear 5 Consumes A Lot Of Stamina
• Gear 5 Alone Isn’t Good Enough

There is no denying the fact that Luffy’s Gear 5 is absolutely overpowered. This transformation is incredible in every way as it allows him to channel his inner freedom and do just about everything he wants in battle. Luffy can even bring things to life using the power of imagination, which in itself is a unique power. Undoubtedly, Gear 5 is a massive power that Luffy has shown in One Piece so far, and it is one that he will continue to develop with time. In Wano, Luffy beat Kaido with Gear 5, and in Egghead, he beat Lucci and Kizaru, and on top of that, matched the Five Elders in combat as well. But, despite having the incredible power of Gear 5, there were some glaring weaknesses that fans noticed, especially during the Egghead Arc.

The first one is quite clear for everyone to see and that is the stamina consumption of Gear 5. This form is a very dangerous power for opponents, but it is also clear that it consumes a lot of stamina. Luffy cannot maintain it forever, which was clear on Egghead, and he can potentially die in high-level combat if he runs out of stamina. Technically, this is a drawback that Luffy can work on, simply because he can just keep getting stronger and as he does that, his stamina will improve and he will get used to the stress caused by this transformation.

But, even with unlimited stamina, Luffy cannot possibly think that Gear 5 is enough for him to beat the top tiers of the One Piece world. This too was clear to see in the Egghead Arc, where Luffy fought against several powerful enemies, such as the Elders.

Why Gear 5 Isn’t Enough For The Final Saga

Luffy Needs A Massive Boost In Terms Of Haki

While it is clear for the fans to see that Luffy is incredibly overpowered with Gear 5, it is also clear to see that Luffy isn’t at a level where he can defeat the Elders or even compete with Imu yet. He isn’t strong enough to beat Blackbeard either, or even come close to matching Shanks. That certainly doesn’t mean that Luffy isn’t strong, because it is quite clear that he is. But, his Haki needs to be much better than it is, and there are a few levels that he needs to unlock to truly become the strongest in One Piece.

The first thing to note is that Shanks, who is Luffy’s goal in many ways, is at a much higher level in terms of Haki. His Haki is so strong that he can send it to his opponents from miles away and do damage to them, as was seen in the Wano arc towards the end when he confronted Green Bull. Luffy’s Haki is clearly not at this level just yet.

Shanks also has the ability to kill the Observation Haki of his enemies by controlling his own aura and even hiding his own presence. As such, Shanks is strong enough to prevent his enemies from reading the future entirely and this is yet another Advanced Conqueror’s Haki power that Luffy doesn’t have.

These two alone make up for two levels that Luffy is yet to reach with his Haki, and show the fans how lacking he is in terms of Haki.

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While this alone is great enough to make a massive difference in the face of battle for Luffy, fans should also keep in mind that there is more that Luffy needs to learn. In order to truly hurt the Elders, Luffy needs to improve his Haki to Joy Boy’s level. This was seen in the Egghead Arc, where Joy Boy’s Haki proved to be strong enough to negate the demonic powers of the Elders and deal deadly damage to them. Their immortality was also overridden and even Imu themself took damage from it. Clearly, Luffy is very far from reaching this level, meaning his biggest Power-Up is very far at the moment. It also shows the fans that while Gear 5 is an absolute must for Luffy, it isn’t enough by itself and that Luffy needs to pair it with yet another mighty power-up, that is, the strongest form of Supreme King Haki.

Luffy’s Ultimate Power-Up Is Yet To Come

Luffy will Gain All These Power Ups In Elbaf

Luffy not being on that level yet doesn’t matter, because fans know that eventually, he will reach a new level of power. In Elbaf, Luffy is bound to grow stronger, and he needs to do this by improving upon his Haki. Perhaps, Scopper Gaban, the left-hand man of the Pirate King, will help Luffy reach this new power level by educating him about certain elements of Haki.

Then, eventually, Luffy will come face to face with Shanks, and when he does, it is clear that he will pick up a thing or two from him as well. It is likely that at this point, Luffy will reach the same level as the red-haired Emperor and, consequently, close in on Joy Boy. This is when Luffy will truly be ready for the Elders and Imu, because as things stand, his powers aren’t enough to actually defeat the Elders or even put up a fight against Imu. Elbaf will be Luffy’s first big step, but there is most definitely more to come later down the line.

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 1140, is set to be February 23, 2025.

One Piece

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

• 

  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

• 

  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)