One Piece's Elbaph Arc sets up the next level of God's Devil Fruit Awakening

The Devil Fruits formed the primary energy system One piece a world that Eiichiro Oda, the author of the series, introduced in the very first chapter of the story through Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Mi. However, we have seen these Devil Fruits evolve drastically over the years, both in terms of classes and subclasses, and in terms of direct evolution through a concept known as Devil Fruit Awakening. Simply put, Devil Fruit Awakening is what happens when a Devil Fruit is pushed beyond all of its limits and when the user's mind and body catch up with the abilities.

Devil Fruit Awakening is a very powerful concept in itself that only a handful have taken advantage of. Now, in the climax of the Elbaph arc, specifically chapters 1179 to 1182, One Piece introduced the concept of taking God-level Devil Fruit Awakenings to the next level, opening up the opportunity for Monkey D. Luffy's major upgrade in the Final Saga.

One-part chapters 1180 and 1182 open the door to Luffy's enhanced God Devil Fruit Awakening

The image comes from the official release of One Piece chapter 1182 via Viz Media.

The final saga of One Piece's The Elbaph Arc shocked us all when Eiichiro Oda decided to throw Nero Ima directly into the main conflict in Chapter 1179, which was officially released in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19 on April 5, 2026. In this particular chapter, the author showed us Nero Ima's face for the first time, as well as his Devil Fruit abilities. Not only was it the massive reveal we've all been patiently waiting for for about seven years, but it also served to expand the concept of Devil Fruit powers.

“Dominion is the only true bliss in this world.” — Nerona Imu, One Piece Chapter 1181

When Akuma no Mi Nerona Imu's power was first unleashed in Chapter 1179, Eiichiro Oda showed us fans some unique features such as the black wings, horns, tanned skin, and demonic powers that came with Imu's ability. Above all, what stood out for a select few One piece community was the presence of a ring of black flames behind Imu's back. Unlike the usual awakened abilities, Ima didn't have a cloud around her neck and arms. Instead, he had a circle of black flames, and more surprisingly, he could easily manipulate this circle of flames.

At first it was assumed that this ring was simply unique to Ima; however, when Eiichiro Oda introduced the rain god Zaza in One Piece Chapter 1182 in WSJ Issue #24 on May 10, 2026, the divine entity was also seen with its own unique ring. Unlike Imu, he did not have a ring of black flames, but instead a ring of water, which is related to his abilities.

“Appearing to the Rhythm of Rain Prayers… Rain God Zaza!” — Saint Rimoshifu Killingham in One Piece Chapter 1182

These two deities with their own rings are basically telling us that the godly beings of the One Piece world, once awakened, can access the ring that floats behind them. With Imu, it is the power of Omen, which he calls his military power, as seen officially in One Piece Chapter 1180. In the case of the rain god Zaza, it is a ring of rainwater and flooding, as shown in Chapter 1182.

Most interestingly, Luffy has yet to awaken his ring despite having access to Gear 5. This means that his Devil Fruit Awakening may be further enhanced in the Final Saga, something that makes us even more excited, especially as the Elbaph arc heads towards its climax with the upcoming release of Chapter 1183 on 02/22/264.

How the rings of the gods will shape the final saga

With the rings of the gods teased as a concept by Eiichiro Oda, a lot of exciting abilities could be revealed in the Final Saga. We've already seen the existence of Omen manipulation with Nero Ima, most notably in Chapter 1182, using a technique known as Rising Eclipse. With Rain God Zaza, we saw the ability to flood the village of Western Elbaph and destroy the landscape.

In Luffy's case, this ring is probably a ring of fire, or in other words, the power of the sun. It's strange that Luffy hasn't shown any solar powers despite being a Sun God, and awakening this ring could finally give him the impetus to finally solve this mystery for the One Piece community once and for all.

“Having a body with the powers of rubber and fighting in any way he likes, bringing smiles to people's faces, Liberation Warrior…also known as the Sun God, Nika!” — Gorosei in One Piece Chapter 1044

Moving forward, One Piece will surely introduce more gods, esp those mentioned in chapter 287 of the Skypiea arc and 1138 of the Elbaph arc. Both of these chapters mention specific gods that Eiichiro Oda has yet to introduce to us, and the ones that stand out the most are the god of the forest, the god of the earth, and potentially the god of the sea along with the hellfire serpent. These pious individuals could also have a ring behind their backs, opening the door for exciting abilities that can be used in the final saga.

Monkey D. Luffy's sun god Nika Forma can evolve as rain god Zaza and Nero Imu

Of all the God powers that could be further developed in the Final Saga to get the ring behind his back, the one that fans want to see develop the most is of course the main character, Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy's Gear 5 is strong enough to see him defeat the likes of Kaido and overpower the likes of Kizaru, as seen in the battles in the Wano and Egghead arcs. However, based on his performances against these two, we know for sure that he cannot compete against Imo as he is. Luffy needs to gain even more power, and by evolving his Gear 5 and getting his own ring, he could take his overall skill level to the next level.

Luffy could then manipulate flames to some extent, and interestingly, it could also be directly related to his use of techniques such as Red Hawk and Red Roc, both of which create flames on impact. If Oda were to tie these flames directly to the ring of awakening and make Red Hawk and Red Roc herald the awakening of this special ring, then fans can't help but applaud this genius move. Either way, Luffy needs to further strengthen himself and this special circle of fire behind his back could get him to the level he wants where he can fight on par with Nerona Imu and any other enemy that stands in his way to One Piece in the Final Saga.

You can read the latest chapters of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga through Manga Plus and Viz Media.