This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf Arc.
With One Piece in the final saga at the moment, Monkey D. Luffy is now easily among the strongest characters in the story. Luffy officially managed to reach Yonko level during the Wano Country Arc, where he went on to surpass the likes of Kaido by not only mastering his Haki, but also tapping into the power of Devil Fruit Awakening for the first time.
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It goes without saying that learning new Haki was essential in Luffy's victory over Kaido, but one absolutely cannot deny the fact that what was truly required for Luffy to defeat Kaido was Gear 5. Without this power, he most certainly would not have beaten the Yonko, and according to Luffy, this power put him at his very peak.
Naturally, now that Luffy has acquired the power of Gear 5, fans are wondering if Gear 6 is possible for him to achieve or not. The answer to this question is rather complex, but to put it simply, Gear 6 is still possible, and fans might get to see it in the Final Saga later down the line.
Gear 5 Is Canonically Luffy's Highest Transformation
- Luffy Awakened Gear 5 In The Battle Against Kaido
- Luffy states Gear 5 is his peak
- Luffy can still use newer applications of rubber
To understand how Luffy can still tap into the power of Gear 6, one needs to understand the essence of Gear 5 and what it truly represents. Luffy's gear transformations have always stemmed in different ways. For starters, Luffy decided to push his body beyond all physical limits by pumping blood faster, and doing this led to him achieving Gear Second. He decided to pump air into his bones to create limbs of a giant, and this gave him the power of Gear 3rd. After Luffy learned Haki, he decided to inflate his muscles and then coat his body with Haki to sustain immense amounts of tension and push the power of elasticity to its absolute peak, and this was what he called Gear Fourth.
This is the peak of what I can do. This is…Gear 5! — Luffy, Wano Arc
Gear 5 is, in essence, quite different from all the other Gears that Luffy has developed over the years. While the other Gears are simply applications of what rubber itself can do, Gear 5 is a transformation achieved through Devil Fruit Awakening, as stated by Kaido himself. Mythical Zoan fruits, when awakened, grant the user a unique transformation. This is what Luffy's Gear 5 truly represents. In that case, it makes sense as to why Luffy said that he has reached his peak as far as Devil Fruit abilities go.
Luffy cannot develop himself beyond Devil Fruit Awakening, but that doesn't mean he can't make use of other applications of his rubbery body and the powers of imagination that he gets through being Sun God Nika. In other words, Gear 6 is not out of the realm of possibilities at this point in time, especially when taking into consideration the fact that Luffy still needs to develop his Haki quite a lot.
Luffy Can Still Improve His Haki To Create Gear 6
- The Pathway To Gear 5 Lies In Conqueror's Haki Mastery
- Gear 6 will be heavily reliant on Haki
- Luffy's Haki isn't at its peak yet
Right now, Luffy is focused on improving his Haki in battle. Quite clearly, his Devil Fruit has already awakened, which means that he can't take his Devil Fruit power to a higher grade any longer. All he can do is improve the efficiency of his Gear 5 usage by making it last longer and finding more ingenious ways to utilize it in combat. But, in the realm of Haki, he still has a lot to learn. Luffy's Haki is strong, but it certainly is not the strongest when it comes to Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
In that form, I'm at my absolute freest. — Luffy to Bonney, Egghead
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Luffy was recently told by Gaban to keep in mind how to use it properly, because as he is, he was not able to counter the immortality of the Holy Knights and Elders. Luffy must improve his Haki tremendously and then get stronger overall, because Conqueror's Haki only grows stronger when the user themselves grows stronger.
The ceiling for Luffy is the level of Joy Boy, and that was displayed to the fans in the Egghead Arc.
In order to defeat Imu, Luffy must reach the same level as Joy Boy, and that means he must get a lot stronger than he is currently. As such, Luffy's Haki evolution in One Piece at this point is clear, and it is this Haki that can open the door to Gear 6 in the future.
Higher Haki Application Combined With Gear 5 Can Give Rise to Gear 6
As has been established already, Luffy can take his Haki to the next level and then combine this newly acquired Haki with his Gear 5 to give rise to many transformations that still fall within the realms of Gear 5. In other words, Gear 6 is still possible in One Piece, only it won't simply be another transformative evolution of his Devil Fruit powers. Gear 5 is where Luffy peaks as far as transformations go, but that doesn't mean he can't use applications of Haki to this version of Gear 5 to improve it a lot. Luffy can simply call the amped up version of Gear 5 as Gear 6 because there is absolutely nothing that says that he can't.
When one looks at Gear 3rd, for instance, it is simply Luffy biting into his bone and pumping air into it. Logically, this should not even be a Gear, but Luffy still calls it Gear 3rd. Simply by applying a new power to an already existing Gear 5, Luffy can easily create Gear 6, and that is something that fans need to keep in mind moving forward. There won't be any more flashy transformations that come out of absolutely nowhere, but Luffy can still apply properties of rubber to Gear 5 and combine it with newly awakened Haki to develop something that he just goes on to label Gear 6 on a whim.
Gear 6 Is Needed To Defeat Imu
- Luffy Needs To Grow Stronger To Beat Imu
Given how Luffy is currently, he stands no chance in battle against Imu. Fans got a good look at the power level of Imu during the Loki flashback, and even attacks from six absolute monsters in Rocks, Roger, Garp, Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaido were not enough to even put a dent in them. As such, there is no way that Luffy stands any sort of a chance against this monster in battle.
Yet fans also know that Joy Boy's Haki was so strong that Imu could not withstand it, and that is the level that Luffy must aspire to reach. Joy Boy's Haki being strong means that his overall strength was far greater than Luffy's Gear 5 as well. In other words, Luffy needs to develop something beyond Gear 5 if he is to truly fight Imu on an equal footing, and that is where Gear 6 comes in. No matter which way fans look at it, Luffy moving past Gear 5 is absolutely necessary if he is to defeat the likes of Imu, and at some point, fans might see the arrival of Gear 6 in the final saga.