Spoiler Alert: Luffy Gear 5 Nika Imitated by Bonney?!

Luffy's Gear 5 mode and his Zoan Nika often surprise many people. (Eiichiro) Oda Sensei himself hasn't explained the protagonist's strength yet, but now two Nikas have appeared?!

Yep, the Egghead Arc is full of so many surprises. And in the latest chapter One Piece This time, Oda again presents something that is beyond the expectations of his loyal readers, the figure of the second Nika!

Also read: One Piece 1110: The Terrifying Power of the Gorosei Revealed!

Gear 5 Luffy and One Piece Story Plot Devices

Gear 5 and Awakening As 'Deus Ex Machina'

Different from the previous forms, Gear 5 Luffy itself is the Awakening form of Luffy's Devil Fruit (DF). So what exactly is Awakening?

You could say, this is a 'deus ex machina': a plot device that is usually used by writers as an "instant solution" in resolving a conflict in the story they write.

In the context of the story One Piece, Oda Sensei uses Awakening as an “instant solution” to equalize the three types of DF (Zoan, Paramecia, and Logia). That way the power of all three users can be balanced.

As the story progresses, many other DFs also appear. So that all three can have the same "standard footing", that's where the Awakening concept was introduced.

It should be understood that at the beginning of the OP's story, the three DFs were considered to have very imbalanced differences in strength. Zoan is always considered the weakest DF, followed by Paramecia and then Logia.

Gear 5 and Awakening As Plot Armor

Especially for DF Luffy, what makes him even more overpowered (OP) is the existence of his special Awakening! Imagine, after Awakening, Oda Sensei even changed his DF name.

From what we initially knew, DF Luffy's name was Gomu-Gomu (taken from the Romaji English pronunciation 'Gum' which means 'rubber'), "suddenly" changed to the Mythical Zoan type Hito-Hito model Nika!

What's even more "unique", while Zoan's Awakening usually only increases the user's animal physical strength to a more extreme degree, Luffy's DF Awakening is much more extreme!

Awakening DF Zoan Nika has a similar type to Paramecia: it can change the surrounding environment to suit the DF. So, everything around Luffy can become flexible like rubber!

This shows how OP the protagonist DF is! And if examined intrinsically, this is also a plot device called 'Armor'.

The 'Armor' plot is usually used by writers to make it difficult for the protagonist to experience defeat even against a very strong antagonist.

So these two concepts can be seen very clearly in the presence of Gear 5, who "jumped" when Luffy suffered defeat when he was beaten by Kaido.

Unexpectedly, the battle in the Arc, which lasted more than 70 chapters and took no less than 2 years (2020-2022), was completed in just 5 chapters (± 4-5 weeks).

Also read: One Piece Manga and Anime Facts You Need to Know

Details of Gear 5 Luffy and the New Nika's Presence in Chapter 1118

Yep, in his Awakening form, Gear 5 Luffy changes Luffy's form to a completely new form. His hair and eyebrows turned white. Somehow the color of his shirt and trousers also changed.

Overall, only the straw hat retains its original color. Apart from that, there is a cloud scarf (in Japanese culture known as Hagoromo) surrounding it.

Luffy's hair style has also changed: it looks messy and has a pattern like burning fire. His strength also multiplies, he is able to change himself and his surroundings according to his imagination.

When we thought that this was the special ability of Nika's fruit, it turns out that Jewelery Bonney, who is a DF Toshi-Toshi user, can also imitate Gear 5 Luffy!

There has been no clarification from Oda Sensei as to how Bonney can use Nika. But just make sure you watch chapter 1119 this week so you know the rest of the story!

Also read: One Piece Manga Chapter 1112 Release Schedule

So, that was the discussion about Luffy Gear 5 which Bonney can emulate. Also make sure for gaming top-up matters, only at VCGamers Marketplace yes!