When someone asks you what is Luffy’s devil fruit, you’ll tell them it’s the Gomu Gomu no Mi, right? That isn’t the wrong answer, but it’s not the correct answer either. In this article, we take a look at One Piece’s biggest revelation that completely changed how we view Monkey D. Luffy’s devil fruit and how it instantly became one of the strongest in the series!
One of the most iconic parts of the One Piece series has to be Luffy’s iconic devil Fruit, the Gomu Gomu no Mi. This devil fruit gives Luffy the power of rubber, turning his entire body into the substance and giving him its properties simultaneously. Throughout all of One Piece, we have seen Luffy use his fruit in many different ways, from stretching his arms out for a Gomu Gomu No Pistol or blowing his limbs up in his Gear 3rd form.
However, Luffy’s devil fruit isn’t exactly what it seems. There’s a lot of shrouded history around this particular devil fruit in the One Piece world, and we got a lot of information about it during One Piece’s most recent arcs, that being the end of Wano Kuni arc and the beginning of Egg Head Island arc.
So, let’s get into what exactly Luffy’s devil fruit is and explain everything we know about devil fruits themselves as a whole!
What Are Devil Fruits in One Piece?
Devil Fruits are one of the central power systems in One Piece and are a topic of huge contention within the One Piece fan base and its diegetic world.
From what we know, devil fruits follow a sort of reincarnation process. Once a fruit wielder has passed away, their fruit then regrows from another piece of fruit rather than from a plant. We saw this in the Punk Hazard arc, where Sara Sara No Mi regenerated from an apple.
Eiichiro Oda himself hasn’t exactly revealed much about Devil Fruits, even with over one thousand chapters under his belt. However, he did mention one thing.
Many years back, in an interview, Oda revealed that once the mysterious Doctor Vegapunk appeared in the series, the secrets of the devil fruits would be revealed. Fans have been speculating about devil fruits since the series began, curious to know what they are and how they came to be, but hearing this made people hopeful for the day Vegapunk appeared in One Piece.
And then, it finally happened. Vegapunk finally made an appearance in One Piece’s main story!
After the Wano Kingdom arc ended, the Straw Hats made their way toward Egg Head Island. Here they met the eccentric and split-bodied Doctor Vegapunk, who showed them around his mysterious technology-based island. We have learned a lot in this arc, from hints at the Void Century to who Bartholomew Kuma truly was. However, the biggest thing we learned was about devil fruits themselves.
In chapter 1069 of One Piece manga, released in December of 2022, Vegapunk finally revealed everything he knew about devil fruits.
According to his theory, Vegapunk believes that each devil fruit power represents the desire of someone in the world to have a certain ability. The fruit then manifests itself with these powers and leads those who eat them down an insane path of evolution that allows them to develop their abilities. Now that’s crazy, isn’t it?
The thing to remember here is that this is Vegapunk’s theory, not fact. Yes, he is one of the most knowledgeable people in the One Piece world, but this could be completely false.
We are yet to understand the One Piece world fully. To understand the devil fruits, we must first understand what happened in the Void Century and what the world was like beforehand.
Oda has been giving us some small hints over the years, and we have gotten even more during Egg Head Island, but not everything has been covered. One thing we do know more about, though, is specifically Luffy’s Devil Fruit and what it truly is.
What is Luffy’s Devil Fruit?
Since the very first chapter of the series, fans have been told that Luffy’s devil fruit is the “Gomu Gomu No Mi” or the “Rubber Rubber Fruit.” Throughout all of One Piece, we have seen Luffy use this fruit in many different ways, but usually adhering to the properties of rubber.
Over time though, Luffy’s powers have gotten a little wild, from pulling fire out of thin air with his Gomu Gomu no Red Hawk to the various Gear 4th transformations, including Snake Man.
The fans seemingly just pushed all of this aside until Wano, that is. Here, it was revealed that Luffy’s devil fruit wasn’t the Gomu Gomu No Mi but was instead the “Hito Hito No Mi, Model: Nika!”
This was an insane revelation, but one some fans saw coming. Of course, people pointed out that Luffy’s powers were not just the properties of rubber but something different altogether.
Luffy was pulling moves off that just made no sense for his already established powers, which also paired with the theory that Luffy was, in fact, the reincarnation of Joy Boy himself, which meant that fans knew something was off. During his final battle with Kaido, it was revealed to the audience that the Gomu Gomu No Mi was a devil fruit made up by the Five Elders.
The fruit was originally the Hito Hito No Mi, Model: Nika, a variant of the Human Human Fruit. Like other fruits, such as Marko’s Phoenix Fruit or Sengoku’s Buddha Fruit, the model Nika was a Mythical Zoan fruit. The thing is, this one was based around Nika, the Sun God, a god who brought joy everywhere he went and had a legacy of freeing people. This is precisely what Luffy does throughout the entire series.
The Five Elders changed the name of the fruit to hide its legacy, but when Shanks stole it, they knew it hadn’t awakened for many years, so they didn’t exactly worry about it. However, they didn’t expect someone like Luffy to eat the fruit, let alone awaken it, which started a whole insane chain of events that is the story of One Piece!
What is Luffy’s Devil Fruit Capable Of?
Despite being the Hito Hito No Mi, Model Nika, Luffy’s devil fruit still has the properties of rubber. This hasn’t been thoroughly explained, but the current fan theory is that Luffy can use rubber powers because he genuinely believes his fruit makes him do this.
Because of the reality-warping powers of the devil fruit, paired with Luffy being told that the fruit makes his body rubber by Shanks, Luffy’s body has the properties of rubber.
We, of course, know that the fruit is more than that, though, which leads to a climactic conclusion in the fight between Luffy and Kaido on the roof of Onigashima. Just when Luffy was thought to be dead, Luffy awakened his devil fruit, which finally led to his much-awaited Gear 5 transformation.
Gear 5 is the real form of the Hito Hito No Mi, Model: Nika, finally giving Luffy access to all his powers. In this form, he can warp reality at his own will. However, Luffy’s mindset and childlike nature, combined with the belief that his fruit is rubber, make things slightly different. From what we have seen of Gear 5, Luffy can turn things around him into rubber, similar to both Doflamingo and Katakuri’s awakened fruit powers.
He can also seemingly make things around him into cartoon characters. We see him turn Kaido into a skipping rope, create a slingshot out of nothing and even make himself go giant to grab a lightning bolt. Luffy has the freedom to do whatever he wants in this form, giving him the power to fight as he pleases.
He brings joy and freedom to those around him, with the fruit being described as “the most ridiculous power in the world.”
We have only seen this power twice so far in the series, one while fighting Kaido and the other during his battle against Lucci on Egg Head Island. This means that a full explanation has not been given, so we don’t know its true impact.
One thing we do know is that this power is going to be vital to the story in the future. Now we know that Luffy is directly connected to Joy Boy and has a direct link to the Void Century, so it will be amazing to see how the story of One Piece unfolds. Until now, Luffy was just the main character of the story who was having fun sailing the seas, but now he’s the center of attraction and one of the most prominent figures who will be targeted by the top echelons of the world.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I can only say that anything can happen in the story of One Piece in the future. And it won’t be a good idea to come up with theories about what will happen because we are in the endgame of the story where anything is possible; all we have to do is leave everything up to Eiichiro Oda and enjoy how he concludes this epic!
In the end, Luffy’s devil fruit wasn’t what it seemed, but it turned out to be much more powerful than anyone could have imagined. Let’s hope things are explained at some point in the series, so we can get a better grasp on its power, logic, and overall impact on the final saga of One Piece!
Now that you know what is Luffy’s devil fruit, make sure to share it with your friends who are also huge One Piece fans, and let them know how important this revelation is going to be for the story in the future!
Also Read: All One Piece Movies in Order
