Finally, One Piece Clarifies Luffy’s New Devil Fruit Abilities

One Piece: Road to Laugh Tale volume 3 reveals the truth about the Sun God Nika and Luffy’s Gear Fifth powers. Fans of One Piece were shocked by the recent revelation that the story’s protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, was concealing a completely different set of Devil Fruit powers and abilities than was previously believed, and Road to Laugh Tale vol. 3 finally explains many of the mysteries surrounding the Sun God Nika and Luffy’s Gear Fifth.

From the very first chapter of the series, viewers of One Piece believed that Luffy’s powers originated from eating the Gomu Gomu no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that gives the body rubber-like qualities. During the battle against Kaido, however, Luffy was finally able to “awaken” his skills, a word indicating that a person’s mind and body are capable of utilizing the full potential of their Devil Fruit. When this occurred, it was discovered that Gomu Gomu no Mi was a fictitious name created by the World Government for another Devil Fruit whose existence they wished to conceal: the mythical Zoan Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. As with every other Mythical Zoan, this fruit bestows abilities associated with a legendary character, in this case the mystery god Nika. Once awakened, Luffy exhibited a peculiar set of abilities, including the capacity to transform his body and surroundings based on his imagination, which allowed him to overcome Kaido, “the strongest creature in the world.”

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The Road to Laugh Tale specials typically do not feature new information, but they do provide light on some of the manga’s most significant mysteries, such as confirming Kaido and Big Mom’s demise. Volume 3 concentrates on Devil Fruit, with Luffy’s being the focal point. The awakening elevates Luffy’s skills to their pinnacle, giving him the ability to “transform imagination into reality.” Luffy possesses the “bizarre power” to rubberize his surroundings, albeit it is unclear how this skill manifests itself. Rubber is a very pliable material, which could explain Luffy’s cartoonish combat abilities. For instance, the special reveals that he transformed a lightning bolt into rubber when he grabbed it.

Vol. 3 of Road to Laugh Tale adds a small new detail that is essential to understanding Luffy’s new abilities. In the section on Mythical Zoan kinds, it is stated that “the majority of them appear to possess Paramecia-like skills in addition to the usual Zoan transformations.” This suggests that Luffy’s classic Gomu Gomu abilities are part of Nika’s powers, just as Kaido is able to spew fire from his lips as a result of his Mythical Zoan’s connection to the Azure Dragon he changes into. However, Luffy’s Devil Fruit remains unique. The special clarifies that Zoan awakenings have no effect on the user’s environment (as is the case with Paramecia), but instead unlock a new transformation. Luffy, on the other hand, shown this capacity after waking, in addition to morphing into a powerful new form (Gear Fifth).

This indicates that Luffy simultaneously awoke the abilities of a Paramecia and a Zoan, which explains how he defeated Kaido. Perhaps this is what makes Nika’s talents so unique and why this is regarded the “world’s most absurd power.” Much remains to be explained regarding this Devil Fruit, such as who Nika is and why the World Government unsuccessfully attempted to conceal its presence for decades. Some of the answers will be revealed when One Piece resumes publishing following this one-month vacation, but for the time being, fans will have to be content with the new clarification of Luffy’s Devil Fruit talents supplied by Road to Laugh Tale volume 3.