Monkey D. Luffy always proclaims himself to become the future King of the Pirates, and his recent exploits in One Piece prove that he can put his money where his mouth is. He has been defeating one mighty foe after another, and he is still far from being done. However, Luffy hasn’t always been this strong.
Don’t get me wrong. Luffy relatively starts his journey as a pirate with an incredulous amount of strength. After all, he was already capable of one-shotting a gigantic sea monster when he left Fusha Village. But looking back, that Luffy can no longer compare to the present Luffy, who has become a god. Here’s how he managed to achieve that feat.
Let’s go back to the beginning
Luffy’s desire to be a pirate dates back to his younger years. It’s deeply rooted in his desire to follow in the footsteps of his idol, Red-Haired Shanks. But despite his relentless requests to join the Emperor’s crew, he is only met with repeated rejections. And justifiably so.
During this time, Luffy is far from formidable. In fact, he can’t even defend himself from a common thug. It is, however, the start of Luffy’s journey to becoming a god. During his time with the Red-Hair Pirates, Luffy steals the Gum-Gum Fruit and gains a rubbery body. Garp then throws him into Dadan’s care, where he meets his sworn brothers Ace and Sabo. This is also where he will master controlling his Devil Fruit abilities, as well as hone his physical abilities to superhuman levels.
Base Luffy and Gear Two
After years of training by himself, Luffy finally sets off into the sea. At this time, he has already mastered his rubbery attributes, utilizing attacks like his signature Gum Gum Pistol and Gum Gum Gatling Gun. Even without his future power-ups, Luffy is already strong enough to take down formidable pirates like Don Krieg and Buggy.
His first major power-up comes during the Enies Lobby Arc. During his fight against Rob Lucci of CP9, Luffy uses his rubber attributes to increase his blood circulation. Doing this exponentially increases his physical abilities. He becomes fast enough to easily outmatch CP9’s Soru and strong enough to break their Tekkai.
Gear Three and Haki
During the very same fight, Luffy also unleashes his Gear Three. Luffy blows air into his thumb, inflating his bones. This will result in a faux gigantification of his arm, which he would then use to unleash a gigantic punch. Luffy will later on shift the air from his arm to another body part, giving his attacks variety. Gear Three is also Luffy’s final power-up prior to the timeskip.
Post-timeskip is when things get really heated, literally and figuratively. Luffy has always possessed Haki, and it manifested on numerous occasions pre-timeskip. The most notable one, of course, is when he subconsciously unleashed his Conqueror’s Haki during the Paramount War. After training with Rayleigh for two years, Luffy gains mastery over all kinds of Haki. Incorporating it into the two Gears further boosts the Gears’ explosiveness. For Gear Two, Luffy’s attacks become so hot they ignite into Red Hawk. Gear Three’s punches become covered with Armament Haki, giving it a more robust shape.
Gear Four
At this point, Gear Four’s release is only a matter of time. Unlike the two previous Gears, Gear Four comes in many forms.
Luffy shows the first one during his fight with Dofflamingo. By inflating his body and covering his arms with Armament Haki, he turns into Boundman. This form turns Luffy’s body akin to a ball, making him really bouncy. This bounciness allows him to retract his extremities, boosting his attacks with accumulated momentum. His light, floaty body also lets him traverse the air by using his feet as boosts.
Both the second and third forms are revealed during the Whole Cake Island Arc. Fighting against Charlotte Cracker forces Luffy to consume an insane amount of food, which bloats his body. By covering himself with Armament Haki, he turns into Tankman. In this form, he is akin to an iron fortress, though it sacrifices his mobility.
Snakeman’s turn comes during Luffy’s fight against Katakuri. This form specializes in speed, making Luffy’s attack very flexible. In addition to its speed, Snakeman’s attacks are also versatile. Luffy can change his attacks’ direction simply by making his arm bend in weird directions.
Gear Five: the Sun God
Luffy’s peak form is unarguably his Gear Five. Awakening his Devil Fruit reveals that our whole life is a lie. Luffy’s Devil Fruit isn’t the Gum-Gum Fruit but the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika. It literally turns Luffy into the Sun God, allowing him to alter reality itself.
First shown during his fight against Kaido, Luffy’s Gear Five easily outdoes all his previous Gears. It affects not only him, but his opponent and environment, too. In this form, Luffy’s attacks turn cartoonish yet deal devastating damage. He can also grab his opponent’s attacks or deflect them. Truly, Gear Five is only limited by the user’s imagination. As such, there’s a good chance Luffy will utilize it in more weird ways in One Piece‘s future updates.
