“The most ridiculous power in the world” said the Gorosei elders themselves. If there is something that One Piece fans must accept, it is that Oda deceived us for several years into thinking that Luffy’s fruit was of the paramecia type. The most likely assumption is that Luffy probably didn’t even know it himself.
He even comments it to Momonosuke in the Punk Hazard arc when they are talking about Momonosuke’s fruit and appearance, and Luffy remarks that he is an Eel Man. Momo, disgusted by his current appearance, does not know what to do to remedy it, to which Luffy tells him to return to his human form. Amazed, Momo asks him, “Can I really turn back?” and Luffy’s answer is…
“Well, I’m no Zoan, so I don’t know.”
(One Piece 685 ©Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha)
Luffy was ignorant of his fruit type for many years. However, Oda gave us a clue many years ago with One Piece Blue: Grand Databook in 2002 in Chapter 4, where he talks about devil fruits, and there is a reference to Luffy’s fruit and at the same time, talks about Chopper as a user of a Zoan-type fruit. It was an inside joke for the creator of the series and its editors, which is something we would not realize until many years later. However, this only confirms that Oda had planned everything well from the beginning.
What are the Mythical Zoan fruits?
Devil fruits are divided into three main types:
- Paramecia.
- Zoan.
- Logia.
In the case of the Zoans, their main feature is transforming their user into an animal or mythical creature.
It is also known that the most challenging fruit of the Zoan type to obtain is the “Hito Hito no mi”… Which are the Human Human Fruit. Like other Zoan users, they have three basic forms: the original form, human and hybrid. So far, only four Hito Hito no mi owners are known.
The Hito Hito no Mi: Its current user is Tony Tony Chopper, its fruit has a form of “Red Mushroom”, and it can give its user human characteristics. (Thanks to his medicine, Chopper has been able to develop nine transformations)
– The Hito Hito no Mi, Model Daibutsu: Gives its user the ability to transform into a giant golden Buddha at will. Its current user is Former Navy Admiral Sengoku. (It is unknown if the transformation used during the Marineford Summit War is his hybrid form or his complete transformation)
– The Hito Hito no Mi, Model Onyudo: This fruit was consumed by Onimaru. Onimaru’s model is the species of Onyudo, which is a mythical human-like yokai that takes the form of a gigantic monk.
– The Hito Hito no Mi, Model Nika: Its user is our beloved protagonist Monkey D. Luffy. Formerly known as The Gum-Gum Fruit, it is a fruit that the world government has been trying to recover for more than 800 years. This fruit allows the user to become the incarnation of Nika.
Who is Nika?
Nika is the name of a warrior who was worshiped as the Sun God in some parts of the world by various slaves over 800 years ago. According to Who’s-Who (Former CP9 member) heard about him during his imprisonment by the World Government.
Who’s-Who heard from a guard who mocked the existence of the “Sun God Nika”, the hope of the slaves. They prayed to him that one day he would release them from their sufferings and bring them joy and smiles. After having told him about said God, the guard mysteriously disappeared, so Who’s-Who took it as a sign that the “World Government” was hiding the existence of “Sun God Nika” and now he would be in danger for knowing about it.
The curious and ironic thing is that approximately 12 years ago, the Government managed to obtain The Hito Hito no Mi, Model Nika under the name of The Gum-Gum Fruit.
Still, it was stolen from one of their ships. Ironically, it was Who’s-Who who was in charge of the ship and failed to prevent the theft of the fruit. Even though this was an important member of CP9 he went to prison anyway and thus was able to learn about the God Nika.
Currently, the name of Nika has been forgotten for a long time, and almost no one believes or knows about him. This is the result of the complete concealment of Nika’s existence by the world government to erase Joy Boy’s achievements from history.
Nika and Joy Boy
At first glance, the descriptions of Joy Boy and Nika are similar. But it was only after chapter 1043 of One Piece Manga that we were presented with the case that Nika and Joy Boy are the same person.
Zunesha tells Momonosuke that she heard Luffy’s heartbeat after experiencing the “awakening.” She couldn’t help but remember her old friend Joy Boy. At the end of One Piece chapter 1043, we see how Oda uses the “smiles” (Nika) to point at Luffy; Zunesha says Joy Boy has returned after 800 years.
Gear 5
Luffy has always been a personification of freedom, and on several occasions, throughout this story, he has been freeing people from their worries or burdens, especially his crew mates. He has even liberated entire towns and countries where they were oppressed somehow.
The drum beat drawn in the Sky Island party scene is the same as Luffy’s heartbeat when he is about to awaken his fruit in Nika mode. In his “Gear 5”, Luffy’s hair and eyebrows are white, like the actual color of the sun.
Another characteristic is the type of wavy movement that his hair has, which matches Nika’s silhouette. Nika also has long, flowing limbs, similar to Luffy’s.
The only current difference is that the silhouette they show us when Who’s-Who talks about shows that Nika has two weapons with her: a small sword and a spear. But this can only be a clue to the fighting style he used then.
Considering that Joy Boy was such a prominent figure in ancient times, it wouldn’t be surprising if he went by several names, Nika being one of them.
So taking, we can say that Luffy has an uncertain future as the New Joy Boy and the new God Nika, since up to now, the current information with the different events of the manga and anime coincide. Only time and Oda will show us if we are in the truth or this story is about to give a plot twist.
