As One Piece charges through the Elbaph arc’s climax, Eiichiro Oda has quietly laid the groundwork for what might be the most consequential power reveal in the entire series. We are not just talking about another transformation or a new Gear for Luffy. We are talking about something that connects Imu’s mysterious power, the forgotten rules of Devil Fruit awakening from the Void Century, and the very possibility of Luffy unlocking a Gear 6 that could redefine what it means to be the Pirate King.
The New Power System That Makes Gear 6 Possible
Throughout the Elbaph arc, Oda has been introducing mechanics that go far beyond anything we have seen before. The revelation around Nerona Imu and the entity known as Zaza has cracked open a door to a completely new understanding of how Devil Fruit abilities function at their highest level.
Here is what we know so far: Devil Fruit awakening, first properly demonstrated during the Dressrosa arc with Doflamingo and later perfected by Luffy’s Gear 5 transformation of the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, was thought to be the ceiling of Devil Fruit evolution. But the events in Elbaph suggest that awakening itself has layers — layers that were understood during the Void Century but have been lost to time.
The new power system centers on the idea that awakening is not a single state but a spectrum. When a user’s mind, body, and will align with their fruit’s true nature, a secondary awakening becomes theoretically possible. This is not just fan speculation anymore — the manga has been seeding this concept through Imu’s own displayed abilities and through the ancient knowledge fragments emerging in Elbaph.
The Strongest Devil Fruit Awakening: What Comes After Gear 5
After Elbaph, One Piece is positioned to introduce what multiple sources are calling the strongest Devil Fruit awakening of all time. And the implications are staggering.
Consider this: Luffy’s Gear 5 gave him the power to fight with absolute freedom, turning imagination into reality within the limits of his rubber body. But what if there is a level beyond freedom — a level where the user does not just affect their surroundings, but rewrites the rules of what their Devil Fruit can do entirely?
This is where Gear 6 enters the conversation. Gear 6 would not simply be a stronger version of Gear 5. Based on the new power system Oda is building, Gear 6 would represent a complete synchronization between the user’s will and the ancient, primordial essence of their Devil Fruit — something that connects back to the original fruits created during the Void Century.
Think about it this way: Gear 5 is Luffy becoming the Warrior of Liberation. Gear 6 would be Luffy becoming something the World Government has feared for 800 years — the living embodiment of whatever force the Ancient Kingdom represented.
Imu’s Devil Fruit: The Key to Understanding Gear 6
One of the most important threads in this theory involves Nerona Imu’s own Devil Fruit. Recent chapters have been heavily hinting that Imu possesses a Mythical Zoan-type fruit with capabilities that go far beyond simple transformation. The connection between Imu’s power and the new awakening system is deliberate.
Imu’s abilities suggest a fruit that can manipulate something fundamental — perhaps time, perhaps the very concept of existence. If Imu represents the World Government’s understanding of ultimate Devil Fruit power, then Luffy’s Gear 6 would need to represent the opposite: the Ancient Kingdom’s counter to that same power.
This creates a beautiful narrative symmetry. Throughout One Piece, every major escalation has been mirrored: Luffy vs. Crocodile, Luffy vs. Lucci, Luffy vs. Kaido. The final battle will almost certainly follow this pattern, with Imu’s ultimate awakening facing off against Luffy’s ultimate awakening. The winner does not just claim the One Piece — they decide what kind of world comes after.
Six Awakened Devil Fruits We Could See in the Final Saga
The groundwork for multiple awakenings is already laid. Here are the six most likely candidates for new Devil Fruit awakenings in the final saga:
- Luffy — Gear 6 (Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika): A secondary awakening that transcends the liberation concept entirely, potentially granting the ability to affect non-living matter at a conceptual level.
- Blackbeard — Yami Yami no Mi Awakening: Already possessing two Devil Fruits, Blackbeard’s darkness fruit awakening could involve consuming and nullifying awakened powers of others — making him the ultimate counter to Gear 6.
- Imu — Unknown Mythical Zoan: The fruit that grants near-immortality and the ability to affect individuals across vast distances. Its full awakening may reveal why Imu has ruled for 800 years.
- Ace/Sabo’s Successor — Mera Mera no Mi Awakening: If the flame fruit receives an awakening treatment, it could involve turning fire into a living entity rather than just elemental destruction.
- Robin’s Hana Hana no Mi Awakening: The ability to sprout limbs is already versatile, but an awakening could allow Robin to sprout copies of entire beings or historical structures — making her the ultimate Void Century historian.
- Chopper’s Hito Hito no Mi Awakening: A human fruit awakening for a reindeer could unlock the ability to temporarily grant human-level consciousness and Devil Fruit resistance to allies.
Why This Theory Actually Fits Oda’s Storytelling
Skeptics might say this sounds like power creep, and that is a fair concern. But Oda has always been deliberate about how power scales in One Piece. Every major power-up has been earned through character growth, not simply handed out. Luffy’s path to Gear 6 would require something we have not yet seen — perhaps understanding the true meaning of the Will of D, or making contact with the consciousness of Joy Boy himself.
The Elbaph arc, with its giant warriors and ancient connections, is the perfect setting for this reveal. The giants have oral histories stretching back thousands of years. They remember things the rest of the world has forgotten. It makes perfect narrative sense that the secrets of Devil Fruit awakening would surface here, in the land of the most ancient living culture in the One Piece world.
What This Means for the Final War
If this theory holds, the final war will not just be a battle of who punches harder. It will be a clash of ideologies made manifest through awakened powers. The World Government’s understanding of Devil Fruits — control, suppression, elimination of freedom — versus the Ancient Kingdom’s understanding — liberation, creativity, the boundless potential of the human spirit.
Luffy becoming the Pirate King will not just mean finding the treasure. It will mean unlocking the full potential of what Devil Fruits were always meant to be, before the World Government twisted them into weapons of control. That is a story worth 1,100+ chapters.
What Do You Think?
Is Gear 6 really on the horizon, or is Oda planning to subvert our expectations entirely? Could the strongest Devil Fruit awakening belong to someone completely unexpected — maybe even a character we do not expect to survive the final saga?
Drop your theories in the comments. The One Piece community has been right about some of the biggest reveals in manga history, and this could be the next one.
