One piece is now deep into the climax of the Elbaf arc, with chapter 1187 expected to be released on July 5, 2026 in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump #32. Eiichiro Oda here, the creator One piecefocuses on the Straw Hat Pirates as they fight against the powerful World Government force known as the Holy Knights, led by the King of the World, Nero Ima, who made his official descent in One piece Chapter 1179 on April 5, 2026.
WITH One piece Chapter 1187, marking the beginning of the main battles, each member of the Straw Hats needs to develop their maximum strength, and this applies to Straw Luffy more than anyone else. Luffy is already one of the Yonks from the sea and as such he can already fight at a very high level, using the power of his Nika fruit as well as his tremendous Haki. However, all this is still not enough to overthrow the world government. Luffy needs to get stronger, and for all these reasons, Oda is quietly preparing a new Mythical Zoan transformation for him, for the last time in 29 years.
One piece will give Luffy his perfect mythical Zoan transformation after 29 years of waiting
The biggest reason why Oda gives Luffy a new transformation in the Final Saga is because he still needs to get stronger to defeat Nero Ima from One piece Chapter 1187 onwards and later in the series to defeat more powerful enemies. As things stand, Luffy is pretty strong and there's no denying that. He went on to defeat Kaid in the Wano Country Arc and became the Sea Emperor in One piece Chapter 1053 of June 20, 2022 in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump #29. On Egghead, Luffy fought Kizaru and later Saint Saturn and did quite well against both.
Now atop Elbaf, he continues his progress, growing stronger with each chapter. Luffy is stronger than he was in Egghead as he intends to specifically focus on his Haki and face the threat of enemies such as Nerona Imu. Despite all this, he is not yet at a level where he can beat the elites of the world. To reach this level, Luffy has to work extremely hard and improve both his Supreme King Haki and his Gear control.
“Listen, Strawman! Get your head around how you use your High King Color. These guys aren't immortal!” — Scopper Gaban asks Luffy to upgrade his Haki, One Piece Chapter #1152
Despite Luffy stating that he couldn't imagine losing to Imu One piece Chapter 1186 June 28, 2026 His Gear 5 drains too quickly, putting him in danger in battle. Luck has been on his side so far, but that won't always be the case. Similarly, Luffy's Haki is not yet great enough to face the threat posed by the five elders and Imu. For context, Imu's Haki is so powerful that the combined Haki attacks from the five legendary characters in Roger, Garp, Rocks, Big Mom, and Whitebeard couldn't even leave a scratch on it, as was obvious to all of us. One piece Chapter 1163 October 27, 2025 For Luffy to hurt Ima with his Haki is impossible at this point. It is obvious that he needs a new transformation in the Final Saga of One piece.
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Luffy can further develop his mythical Zoan Devil Fruit Awakening as hinted by Nero Ima and Zaza in chapters 1180 and 1182
The biggest question any fan would have about Luffy's evolution is how he can achieve it. Currently, there are a lot of things that Luffy can still improve. Luffy's Haki needs a lot of upgrades. Even though he learned how to coat his body in Conqueror's Haki, his overall control over it is still very raw. This is what Kaido said in the Wano Country arc in chapter 1011, and it apparently hasn't developed much since then. In Egghead, Luffy glimpsed Joy Boy's Haki and was confused as to how such powerful Haki could even exist. He should aspire to reach a similar level, but has not yet achieved it. Since Supreme King Haki cannot be trained and grows with the user's power, Luffy's overall ability growth will give him a big Haki boost.
“Although you can control the Supreme King Color, you cannot train it to be stronger directly. It is the embodiment of the user's spirit. The only way to make it stronger is for it to grow stronger. — Silvers Rayleigh explains how to strengthen Supreme King Haki, One Piece Chapter #597
Then you also have to check out Luffy's Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit ability. It goes without saying that Luffy's total Devil Fruit power is huge. Luffy can connect to Gear 5, which he obtained with Awakening of Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, in One piece Chapter 1044, March 28, 2022, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #17.
It can fight against the strongest enemies, but Gear 5 can actually be developed even further. As Luffy learns the power of the Advanced Conqueror's Haki, he can envelop his body in even stronger Haki, potentially leading to a new transformation with a time limit. Just as Luffy uses Gear 4 with maximum Armament Haki, he could do something similar with Gear 5 and create something even more powerful than Nik's normal state.
At the same time, the power of Gear 5 is that it gives Luffy an unlimited imagination to turn into reality. This is a God Fruit, as well as Nero Imu's Akuma no Mi and Rain God Zaza's ability, which was revealed in One Piece Chapter #1182 on May 10, 2026. Since both Zaza and Imu have their own element's ring behind them, Luffy was able to obtain his own Sun Ring. At this point, Luffy seems unaware of this power, but his energy was even able to activate the Iron Giant in Egghead. If Luffy can use this special ring of power, he could easily evolve and evolve into what could be a true Gear 5 state, which is his ultimate Devil Fruit transformation. With this power, Luffy might be able to fight on an equal footing with someone as strong as Imu, and this is now much needed in One Piece Chapter 1187 and beyond.
Loki: What's with the black flames?
Imu: Omen is my military power. It is the power that resides in all living beings!
— Exchange explaining Imu's Black Flame Ring Power, One Piece Chapter #1181
Luffy's ultimate transformation will help him fight Imu in Elbaf Climax
As things stand, Luffy is no match for Imu. Since even Rocks couldn't stand up to him and Loki was easily overpowered by him, Luffy has absolutely no chance. But if Luffy takes his Conqueror's Haki to the next level and develops something similar to the power that Shanks wields, plus takes his Gear 5 to the absolute max level with a potential Sun Ring, then he would certainly be a worthy match for Ima.
“Was that Haki even stronger than the Redhead? There was no hostility!” — Dorry and Brogy level up Joy Boy, One Piece Chapter #1123
It should be remembered that Luffy has reached the level of Joy Boy. As things stand, he's not even stronger than Shanks, so to reach Joy Boy's level would require him to get a few more upgrades and advance a lot as a fighter. In the end, Luffy is the one to take down Ima, and the battle has now officially begun with the publication of One Piece Chapter #1186 on June 28, 2026 in WSJ Issue #31. Oda will have plenty of opportunities to allow Luffy to develop his Gear 5 even further in the arc's climax, and it could end up becoming his source of unlimited power at some point in the story.
All One Piece chapters by creator Eiichiro Oda are available to read through Manga Plus and Viz Media.
