One Piece is Proving Luffy's Harshest Critics Wrong | Screen Rant
Warning: Contains spoilers for One Piece chapter #1046
Fans of One Piece have been surprised by the sudden changes that Luffy underwent over the last few chapters of the best-selling manga by Eiichiro Oda. Luffy's new powers have changed not just his appearance, but also his demeanor. However, one epic moment in chapter #1046 reassures fans that the Straw Hat captain is still the same person that he was when his adventure started 25 years ago.
Luffy is one of the most recognizable characters in the world of manga. His appearance changed very little over the course of the years (most notably thanks to the big scar he got during the Summit War arc), and his ideals and behavior remained rock-solid. Luffy's dream is to become the Pirate King, conquering the Grand Line and finding Gol D. Roger's legendary treasure, the One Piece. He is the embodiment of freedom and the desire for adventure, hates oppression, and values friendship and camaraderie over everything else. His simple, naive, and oblivious behavior fueled some of One Piece's best comedy moments, but Luffy is also capable of getting serious, especially when his friends are in danger. However, this appeared to drastically change when he awakened the true powers of his Devil Fruit.
Luffy supposedly ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi in the very first chapter of the manga, which gave his body the properties of rubber. Over the course of the series, Luffy found new, powerful, and creative ways to use his powers, but fans would never expect the big revelation that came in chapter #1044 of One Piece. Luffy's Devil Fruit is actually the Hito Hito no Mi (Human Human Fruit), Model: Nika, a Mythical Zoan type. This kind of Devil Fruit gives its user the powers and abilities of a mythological creature, in this case, a mysterious "god" from One Piece's ancient past called "Sun God Nika". The World Government is so afraid of this fruit that they hid its true name and unsuccessfully tried to gain control of it, before it was stolen. When Luffy "awakened" his Devil Fruit powers during his gruesome fight with Kaido, he transformed into his Gear Fifth form. The change in look and behavior he displayed led to some negative reactions from fans, but Eiichiro Oda immediately made things clear.
In his awakened form, Luffy looks very different: his hair and clothes become white, and he has a puff of smoke around his shoulders. This could be Nika's appearance, but at the moment almost nothing is known about this mythical figure. Luffy's new powers also influence his demeanor. They grant him an undisclosed degree of manipulation of people and objects around him, which makes his fight with Kaido look like something out of a comedy cartoon. The effect was pretty disorienting, as One Piece fights are usually serious in tone. Luffy now looks like he is just having fun, laughing and goofing around all the time. There was some speculation that this is, in fact, Nika's personality, which took over Luffy's body, but chapter #1046 made clear that this is not the case. Luffy's straight answer to Kaido's question proves that, despite his changes, this is still the same boy who has been pursuing his dream without ever wavering.
Luffy boldly declaring that he is the one who will become the Pirate King has been used many times during the course of the manga, and always to great effect. It's the distillation of everything that makes him who he is, and the fact that it was used at that exact moment in the story proves that the author wanted to reassure his readers that, despite the unexpected changes and surprises that are occurring, this is still the same Luffy who made One Piece one of the greatest mangas of all time.