Luffy’s Gear 5 Technique in One Piece Explained

The fandom was eagerly waiting to witness an upgrade to Luffy’s gears in One Piece for the longest time. And well, Eiichiro Oda made Luffy unlock the Gear 5 form in the Wano Country arc. Gear 5 is now the most powerful technique in Luffy’s arsenal. With Luffy moving about freely and utilizing his devil fruit powers in a carefree manner, everyone is eager to learn all about Luffy’s new Gear 5 form in the animanga series. Well, if you are one of them, we have discussed all information about Luffy’s Gear 5 technique, including all his powers and abilities below.

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 in One Piece?

On the verge of death, Luffy awakens his ‘true’ devil fruit in his battle against Kaido on the rooftops of Onigashima in the Wano Country arc. This awakening happened for the first time since the Void Century in One Piece.

And thus, it is revealed that the awakened form of Luffy’s Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika devil fruit is the Gear 5 technique. This was the devil fruit the World Government sought after for more than 800 years, and the Five Elders mentioned it as “the most ridiculous power in the world.”

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

Gear 5 is considered the peak form among all of Luffy’s gears in One Piece. Luffy can do anything he desires with his body in this form and is only limited by his imagination. Ultimately, this technique also gives Luffy the power to control and shape his surroundings like a paramecia awakening.

In a nutshell, Luffy essentially acquired the “Toon Force,” a god-like power system (that existed in cartoons) that enables him to transcend reality and bend the laws of nature according to his will.

When Did Luffy Get Gear 5 in One Piece?

Well, it took over five years, but Luffy unlocked the Gear 5 technique in his final battle with Kaidou in the climax of the Wano Country arc. The awakening of Luffy’s devil fruit led to the birth of the new Gear 5 technique, and here is when Luffy unlocked it in the manga and anime:

• Luffy unlocks and enters Gear 5 form for the first time in Manga Chapter 1044
• Luffy’s Gear 5 form was finally adapted in the One Piece anime in Episode 1071

Connection to Mythical God “Nika”

For those who are unaware, Luffy’s devil fruit isn’t Gomu Gomu no Mi, which is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit. We were fooled about the truth of the hero’s devil fruit by the World Government and the creator for years. Instead, the original name and nature of Luffy’s devil fruit is Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, a Mythical Zoan-type devil fruit. Moreover, you can read about the different types of One Piece devil fruits here if you wish to brush up on your knowledge.

In this Gear 5 form, Luffy resembles the “Warrior of Liberation – Sun God Nika“, who brings the people smiles, joy, and freedom. Gear 5 gave Luffy the complete freedom he desired and enabled him to perform any unimaginable feats. As a result, Luffy’s devil fruit is the strongest devil fruit in the world of One Piece right now.

In Dr. Vegapunk’s last message to the world, the scientist confirmed that Joyboy also had a rubbery body like Nika in the Elbaf legends. Therefore, both Luffy and Joyboy share a connection with Sun God Nika, which will be uncovered completely later in the story.

How Does Luffy Activate Gear 5?

Now that you know what Luffy’s Gear 5 technique is, you might be wondering how he activates 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 said that his heartbeat sounded funny.

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

What Does Gear 5 Luffy Look Like?

When using the fifth gear, not only does Luffy’s powers instantly improve, but the protagonist 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, similar to other awakened users.

Moreover, one cannot help but notice the crimson color of Luffy’s pupils along with his wavy and bushy white eyebrows. Nevertheless, as Luffy exits the Gear 5 form, he reverts to his standard look swiftly.

Luffy’s Gear 5 Technique: Powers and Abilities

Now it’s time to see how Luffy’s Gear 5 works. In this form, Luffy fights in a cartoonish (Looney Tunes) manner, which is hilarious to watch but incredibly powerful at the same time. That being said, let’s learn about the upgrades Luffy received in his zenith form:

• Firstly, as mentioned earlier, his strength, speed, and toughness have drastically increased. 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 Armament and Conqueror’s Haki types at the same time and even apply their advanced applications to land a devastating blow.
• 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 wraps his head around Kaidou’s Hassaikai.
• 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 Luffy’s well-known 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 imbue both the armament and conqueror’s haki for this attack.
• Gomu Gomu no Fusen (Gum-Gum Balloon): As the name suggests, Luffy can 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 armament and conqueror’s haki to increase and harden his muscles at first. Then, he charges his attack by spinning quickly and then striking the adversary, sending them in the air with stars flying around like in the cartoon. He used this attack against Kizaru during their rematch in the most recent One Piece Episode 1126.

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 Kaido’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.

Disadvantages of Luffy’s Gear 5

Without a doubt, Gear 5 is indeed Luffy’s pinnacle form. It transforms Luffy into his strongest version of all time, but comes with a heavy cost. Much like his other gear forms, Gear 5 also has its fair share of disadvantages that leave Luffy in a vulnerable state, such as:

• The Gear 5 technique quickly drains Luffy’s energy and wears off, leaving Luffy extremely exhausted state where he looks like an old man.
• Like the rest of the zoan awakenings, Luffy’s Devil Fruit also poses the risk of the zoan animal taking over the user’s mind.

Luffy is still in the learning phase of Gear 5, and we are sure that he will master the art of Gear 5 in the near future. Until then, Luffy can always eat a jumbo meal to eliminate his fatigue and go back to his prime form in the series.

Every Luffy Gear 5 Appearance in the One Piece Anime and Manga

Since its introduction, Luffy has switched to Gear 5 form multiple times in his epic battle against the likes of opponents such as Kaido, Rob Lucci, Kizaru, The Five Elders, and others. Hence, if you want to find out the episodes and chapters in which Luffy uses the Gear 5 technique, you can use the list here:

Anime Episode No.	Manga Chapter No.
Episode 1071	Chapter 1044
Episode 1072	Chapter 1045
Episode 1073	Chapter 1046
Episode 1074	Chapter 1047
Episode 1075	Chapter 1048
Episode 1076	Chapter 1049
Episode 1100	Chapter 1069
Episode 1101	Chapter 1070
Episode 1126	Chapter 1092
Episode 1127	Chapter 1093
Episode 1128	Chapter 1094

That’s a wrap on our explainer for Luffy’s Gear 5 technique. We hope this guide clears your doubts about the fifth gear. We have mentioned how it was awakened, Luffy’s appearance, 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 assist in the journey that the Straw Hat Pirates undertake to find the One Piece treasure. That said, which of Luffy’s Gear 5 attacks is your favorite and why? Let us know in the comments below.