One Piece: Luffy’s Gear 5 Technique (Explained)

The fandom had been waiting to witness an upgrade to Luffy’s Gears in One Piece for the longest time. And well, mangaka Oda made Luffy unlock Gear 5 in the Wano Country arc. Gear 5 is now Luffy’s most powerful technique and a phenomenon that made headlines and broke the internet once the anime adapted it. Now, everyone is eager to learn more about Luffy’s new Gear 5 form. Well, if you are one of them, we have compiled all the information for Luffy’s Gear 5 technique, including all his powers and abilities. So, dive right in!

Spoiler Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers about Luffy’s devil fruit, powers, and abilities. We suggest you watch the anime and read the manga (up to the latest chapter) beforehand to avoid ruining your experience.

What Is Luffy’s Gear 5 Technique in One Piece?

• Manga Debut: Chapter 1044
• Anime Debut: Episode 1071

Well, it took more than 5 years, but Gear 5 finally happened in Luffy’s final battle with Kaidou in the climax of Wano Country Arc. On the verge of his death, Luffy was able to awaken his ‘true’ devil fruit. This awakening happened for the first time since the Void Century. Thus, the awakened form of Luffy’s Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika devil fruit is known as Gear 5. So, Luffy’s Gear 5 is the latest gear technique in his arsenal.

For those who are not aware, Luffy’s devil fruit isn’t Gomu Gomu no Mi (a Paramecia-type devil fruit), and we were fooled by the World Government and Oda for years. Instead, the original name of Luffy’s devil fruit is Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, a Mythical Zoan type of devil fruit. This was the very devil fruit that was being searched by the World Government for more than 800 years, and Gorosei mentioned it as “the most ridiculous power in the world.”

Gear 5 is even considered to be the peak form of Luffy, unlike any other we have seen before. Luffy can do anything he wants in this form and is only limited by his imagination. Ultimately Gear 5 also makes use of Luffy’s rubber body and just like a paramecia awakening, this technique gives Luffy the power to control and shape his surroundings. In a nutshell, Luffy essentially acquired the “Toon Force,” a god-like power system (existed in cartoons) that enables him to transcend reality and bend the laws of nature according to his will.

“I can do everything I wanted to do! I think I can fight a bit longer… My heartbeat sounds so funny! This is the pinnacle of what I can do! This is… Gear 5!!!”

Connection to Mythical God “Nika”

In this gear 5 form, Luffy is said to resemble the “Warrior of Liberation – Sun God Nika“, who is said to bring smiles, joy, and freedom to the people. Gear 5 gave Luffy the complete freedom he ever desired, and as a result, enabled him to bend reality and break the laws of physics as I mentioned earlier. As a result, Luffy’s devil fruit is the strongest devil fruit in the world of One Piece right now.

Additionally, Luffy was seen smiling throughout this form, which indeed put a bright smile on the fans’ faces. But what’s more interesting is that Luffy’s devil fruit, Straw Hat, and many other things are related to Joyboy, and this metaphor of him grinning suits the theme around it in a beautiful way.

How Does Luffy Activate Gear 5?

With the godly powers of this devil fruit, Luffy was able to take his power to the next level and unleash Gear 5. So, how does he activate his new Gear 5 form? There is an easy answer to that question. When he went into Gear 5 mode for the first time, Luffy’s heartbeat started to sound like a musical rhythm of drum beats and Zunesha mentioned it perfectly as the “Drums of Liberation.” Luffy also found that his heartbeats sounded funny.

So to activate Gear 5 form, all Luffy needs to do is to switch his heartbeat to the rhythm of the Drums of Liberation. Once he forces his heart to match it to that rhythm, he can immediately achieve the Gear 5 transformation.

What Does Gear 5 Luffy Look Like?

When using the fifth gear, not only does Luffy’s powers instantly improve, but he also takes on a dramatically different appearance. Luffy’s hair, eyebrows, and entire clothing (excluding his sandals and belt) become a striking shade of white. The white motif is furthered by a large white cloud floating around his neck.

Moreover, one cannot help but notice the crimson tint of Luffy’s pupils as well as his wavy and bushy white eyebrows. Nevertheless, as Luffy exits gear 5 mode, he reverts to his standard look.

How Does Luffy’s Gear 5 Work in One Piece?

It’s simple to understand the concept behind the working of Gear 5. Alongside Luffy’s devil fruit, there are three other Hito Hito no Mi devil fruits in this pirate-led world. Let’s take the Ex-Fleet Admiral of the Marines in One Piece Sengoku’s devil fruit, the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu, which enables him to become a Golden Buddha.

Similarly, Luffy’s devil fruit enables him to become the Sun God Nika. Nika is said to bring smiles and freedom to the people. Likewise, Luffy is given complete freedom in his Gear 5 form and is always seen laughing/ smiling.

Since Luffy is now an awakened Zoan devil fruit user, he has grown mightier in strength, moving at a god-like pace and his toughness too has become unbreakable. That is why everyone considers Luffy to be at the peak of his power when using the Gear 5 technique. Luffy has already started to adapt to Gear 5 and was seen using it flawlessly in the Egghead arc battles. That said, it’s time to discuss all the powers and abilities of Luffy’s Gear 5 technique, along with some of its disadvantages right below.

Luffy’s Gear 5 Technique: Powers and Abilities

Now you must have come to understand how Luffy’s Gear 5 works. In this form, Luffy fights in a Looney Tunes way, which is hilarious and amazing at the same time. In a period of Shonen heroes getting power upgrades in a serious way, who would have thought Oda would present Luffy this way? That being said, let’s learn about the potent abilities of Luffy’s peak form. The powers and abilities of Gear 5 (based on what we have seen until now) are as follows:

• Firstly, as mentioned earlier, his strength, speed, and toughness have drastically increased; to that of a Yonk0-level. This enables Luffy to perform unimaginable attacks, which were seen as impossible before
• Luffy can use gears third and fourth freely in this form without the need to blow air into his body
• He can now quickly recover from any damage he receives during battle. This is applicable even when he is unconscious
• Luffy can now infuse both Armament and Conqueror’s Haki types at the same time and land a powerful attack on his enemy
• The flexibility of his rubbery body when combined with his absolute freedom gave birth to a new way of cartoonish pliable defense. For example, Luffy was able to wrap his head around Kaidou’s Hassaikai in the manga.
• Luffy can alter his surroundings and even organic materials into a rubbery form which can extend the use of his attacks.

As we said earlier, his powers are only limited by his imagination as Oda was inspired by Toon Force. With Luffy’s insane creativity, we hope to see more ways he uses his new Gear 5 powers in the upcoming arcs of One Piece.

Gear 5: Primary Techniques

Some of the well-known Luffy’s Gear 5 techniques are listed right here:

• Gomu Gomu no Gigant (Gum-Gum Giant): Luffy can become a giant using this technique
• Gomu Gomu no Bajrang Gun (Gum-Gum Bajrang Gun): Luffy can inflate his fist as big as the Onigashima island and can imbue both the armament and conqueror’s haki for this attack
• Gomu Gomu no Fusen (Gum-Gum Balloon): As the name suggests, Luffy can literally become like a balloon when using this attack
• Gomu Gomu no Dawn Rocket (Gum-Gum Dawn Rocket): Luffy can pierce his hand (like a rocket striking) against an opponent’s abdomen
• Gomu Gomu no Dawn Whip (Gum-Gum Dawn Whip): Like a whip, Luffy can elongate his leg to create a twisting kick against his opponent.
• Gomu Gomu no Mogura Pistol (Gum-Gum Mole Pistol): As Luffy strikes the ground with his fist in Gear 5, a piece of the ground nearby extends into a tentacle-like arm and attacks his foe from the side.
• Gomu Gomu no Star Gun (Gum-Gum Star Gun): Luffy uses conquerors and armament haki to increase and harden his muscles at first. Then, he charges his attack by spinning quickly and then striking the adversary, and sending them in the air with stars flying around like in the cartoon.

Gear 5: Situational Techniques

There are some techniques that we saw Luffy use depending on the situation in the manga. These techniques are as follows:

• Gomu Gomu no Kaminari (Gum-Gum Lightning): Luffy alters the properties of a lightning bolt to grab it and throw it at his foes
• Gomu Gomu no Dasshutsu Rocket (Gum-Gum Escape Rocket): When Luffy was trapped inside Kaidou’s body, he stretched his arm out of Kaido’s eyes and grabbed his nose to perform a sling-like escape out of Kaido’s body
• Gomu Gomu no Nawatobi (Gum-Gum Jump Rope): In his giant form, Luffy can capture his foes to stretch them and use them as a skipping rope.

That’s a wrap on our explainer for Luffy’s Gear 5 technique, which is now his peak form. We hope this guide cleared all your doubts about the Fifth Gear. We mention how it was awakened, the appearance of Luffy, and last but not least, its power and abilities. Luffy is mastering this fifth gear right now and was again seen using it in the Egghead arc. His powers are growing rapidly and will greatly assist in the journey that Straw Hat Pirates undertake to find One Piece. The Wano Country arc is shaping up to be one of the best arcs in One Piece and with Luffy’s Gear 5 animation it reached its peak. That said, which of Luffy’s Gear 5 attacks is your favorite and why? Let us know in the comments below.