At this point in the story One pieceit's no surprise to know that Monkey D. Luffy is the Sun God, Nika. At the very beginning of the story, Luffy ate what was then known as Gomu Gomu no Mi, and it turned out to be a Paramecia-type devil fruit that turned his body into rubber. Over time, Luffy greatly developed the abilities of this Devil Fruit and eventually managed to fully awaken the fruit in the Wano Country Arc, marking the return of Sun God Niko through the Devil Fruit Awakening.
It was revealed in One piece that Luffy's Devil Fruit is actually Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, and that this Devil Fruit is actually a mythical Zoan fruit with the ability to turn the user into a Sun God and Liberation Warrior. Luffy's Sun God form is undoubtedly incredibly powerful. However, he may not be at his true peak yet. He could still have a new Sun God formed up his sleeve to reveal later, and the latest chapters of the Elbaf arc certainly confirm that.
One Piece: All Of Luffy's Forms, sorted by design
Luffy gained a lot of powerful forms that came in all sorts of strange shapes and sizes, some looking much better than others.
Monkey D. Luffy has the power of the sun god, but it's still not enough to defeat Imu
It goes without saying that Luffy is the Sun God in the One Piece world. After being hit by Kaido's powerful punch in Wano and dying, Luffy was able to awaken his Devil Fruit and return to life, allowing him to fight Kaido again and eventually defeat him. Awakening the power of the Nika fruit, Luffy connected to what he called Gear 5 and became the Sun God as well as the Liberation Fighter. The five elders revealed that Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika is the most ridiculous power to ever exist. It turns the user into a laughing freedom fighter who goes from place to place and brings smiles to everyone's faces.
Nika is a powerful Sun God who fights with immense freedom and has the freest will in battle of all. The world government is so afraid of the appearance of this sun god. In the fight against Kaido, Luffy's free will in battle was clear to all fans. He harnessed the power of Armament and Conqueror's Haki like no other and fought in ingenious ways that even Kaido could not have predicted.
He fights with Armament and Conqueror's Haki and in an idle fight I've never seen before! — Kaido, Wano Arc
At the end of it all, Luffy used tremendous power to crush Kaido and free Wano Country once and for all. Luffy's Sun God powers are undoubtedly there for all to see, and with them he's certainly one of the strongest in the series. But Oda made it clear in the last chapters of the Elbaf arc that Imu is much stronger than Luffy. Luffy, as he is, can't fight Imu or even scratch them. Luffy's Sun God abilities need to be developed even further and will likely be raised to new heights soon in the Final Saga.
Why Luffy's true sun god form hasn't been revealed yet in the Final Saga
Luffy's true Sun God form may not have been revealed yet in the Final Saga of One Piece, but its existence is teased with many things set up in the story by Oda himself. First, Luffy is known as the Sun God, yet he wears an all-white transformation that doesn't resemble the Sun very much. If someone is a sun god, then he should at least somehow resemble the sun. Coincidentally, when Luffy first awakened Nika's powers, Oda pointed him towards the moon instead of the sun. It was clear that this was a symbolic decision by Eiichiro Oda, as logically Gear 5 Luffy channeling the power of the Sun God should have been revealed in front of the Sun itself. Oda choosing the moon instead of the sun may be an indication of the fact that Luffy's true powers have yet to be revealed.
In the entire world, this is the most ridiculous power of all. — Five Elders on Gear 5
Another interesting thing is that when Luffy is angry, he often turns into a red version of Gear 5, almost like he's on fire. Strangely, Luffy can also produce fire through his Gear 2nd and Gear 3rd attacks, and sometimes even through Gear 4. It is obvious that Luffy is close to the flames and is not hurt by them. Even when running in the air in the battle against Kaido, Luffy caught fire, clearly showing the Sun's powers at play.
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These are the strongest characters that sail the seas of the One Piece world.
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What's more, Luffy possesses the Drums of Liberation, which seem to channel a similar type of energy to the Immortal Sun, also known as the Mother Flame. In the Egghead arc, Vegapunk clearly stated that the Mother Flame would be able to power the Iron Giant, but eventually the giant woke up when he heard Luffy's heartbeat. By the end of the Egghead arc, the entire ocean and ships were even dancing to Luffy's Drums of Liberation, and it's clear that he can channel the energy of the Sun itself, opening up room for even more growth.
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Luffy's Sun God transformation teased into Elbaf helps him defeat Ima in the final saga
It's entirely possible that in the final saga of One Piece, Luffy will finally push the Sun God's powers to their absolute maximum level. When this happens, Luffy might be able to properly channel the power of the artificial sun that is the Flame Mother, something he can only do through the Drums of Liberation at this point. Luffy might be able to use flames in his transformation and be like a true Sun God with the power of Fire at his disposal. When this power is awakened, Oda may choose to place Luffy next to the actual sun instead of the moon. It is possible that in this form, Luffy's hair will be red instead of white, and that would mean that he will evolve to another level.
In the Elbaf Arc, recent developments have made it clear that Gear 5 is not enough for Luffy to defeat Ima. It should be noted that the level at which Luffy's enemies operate is too high for him to defeat with the normal use of the Devil Fruit. While Gear 5 is definitely strong, it can't take down Ima or even Blackbeard at this point. For context, even Roger, Rocks, Garp, Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom couldn't put a hole in Ima. Luffy needs to come up with something even more powerful if he is to defeat these monsters, and that's where the true form of the Sun God comes into play. With the powers of the newly awakened sun, Luffy will be able to fight on par with Imu, especially if he gets his hands on the Flame Mother as depicted on Harley.
Fans who love transformations would be pleased to know that Gear 5 doesn't have to mean the end of Luffy's forms. After all, there could be one more along the way, and this one could embody Luffy's existence as Sun God Niko and a freedom fighter. It is with this form that Luffy finally ends Imu's tyranny and frees the world once and for all.
One Piece Chapter 1176 will be available to read on Manga Plus on March 18, 2026.
- Release date
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October 20, 1999
- Network
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Fuji TV
- directors
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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 Imayomura, Yashiôhiro Mayuū Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
- Writers
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Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda
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Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
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Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)
