This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Final Saga.
Monkey D. Luffy is the protagonist of the One Piece series and fans know that he is also one of the strongest characters in his story. In a world filled with powerful Marines, Pirates, and other major factions, Luffy stands out as one of the most unique combatants ever. Luffy is the user of the Gomu Gomu no Mi, which he's continually evolved over the years.
One Piece: All Of Luffy's Forms, Ranked By Design
Luffy's acquired plenty of powerful forms which have come in all sorts of weird shapes and sizes, some looking much better than others.
So far, Luffy has accomplished four major transformations, which he calls his Gears. The first one was Gear Second, which Luffy awakened during Enies Lobby. Then came Gear Third in the same arc, only a bit later. After the two-year timeskip, Luffy was revealed to have developed Gear Four, which then went on to have multiple sub-forms. Then, finally, in the Wano arc, Luffy revealed his Gear 5, which he called his pinnacle. Now, in Oda's idea book, new gears have been revealed, and these might go on to define the newer transformations that will come in the future for Monkey D. Luffy.
Luffy's Gear 4: Snakeman Has A Unique Hidden Version In Oda's Drafts
- Snakeman Debuted In Whole Cake Island Vs Katakuri
- Snakeman Has A New, Darker Form That Oda Recently Revealed
Alongside One Piece Chapter 1169, which dropped on the previous weekend, fans got a very unique idea book from Oda himself. A ton of canonical information was revealed in this book, including sketches for Oda's various Gears for Luffy. Interestingly enough, fans were exposed to more subtypes of Gear 4, which paint Luffy's unique new transformations.
Oda went on to reveal some unique Snakeman transformations for Luffy, and this transformation also helped him come up with Gear 5.
Luffy first used Snakeman in Whole Cake Island. Snakeman ended up being similar to Bounceman, only much leaner and bigger around the forearms. Snakeman also had a flame-like hair pattern. Now, another version of Snakeman has been revealed by Oda, which features a much leaner Luffy without a bouncy body. This version of Luffy seems much more charismatic and cool-looking, almost akin to a dark version of Luffy.
Listen, Luffy. Haki is a power that is dormant in everyone everywhere. The ability to sense spiritual energy and overwhelm enemies is something everyone has to some degree. But most people never discover it. To never doubt, that is true power. Now watch! Most Haki can be divided into two types or colors. — Silvers Rayleigh to Luffy in Ruskaina
The new version of Snakeman that Oda revealed, which he never ended up using in the manga, also featured spiky hair. On top of that, it was also revealed that for this Gear, Luffy ended up using fullbody Armament, pushing it to the absolute maximum and utilizing his Devil Fruit abilities in unique ways as well.
Given the difference in appearance of this transformation, it goes without saying that this transformation would also have resulted in Luffy having some unique abilities in One Piece.
Just by looking at it, it was quite clear to see that Oda was going for a darker Luffy transformation which was much more serious. According to Oda himself, this version of Snakeman then went on to shape Gear 5 in unique ways.
Snakeman Set The Basis For Gear 5 According To Eiichiro Oda
- Gear 5 And Snakeman Share Many Similarities
- Gear 5 Might Have Subtypes Later Down The Line
While Oda never ended up using this version of Snakeman in One Piece, at least so far, fans know very well that it then ended up shaping up Gear 5. In Oda's drafts, this version of Snakeman seemed to have many variants, some of which appeared to be rather light-hearted, and they went on to inspire Gear 5. For instance, the flame-like hair clearly went on and passed to Gear 5 in One Piece.
It isn't second, or even third. This is...Gear 4. All my moves will now go up one more level. Keep your mouth shut, you won't even be able to move your hands or legs. — Luffy unleashing the power of Gear 4 against Doflamingo
At the same time, the Hagoromo around Luffy's neck in Snakeman, which was more pronounced than in Bounceman, also went to Gear 5. Similarly, the abilities that Oda might have initially planned for Dark Luffy likely went to Gear 5 as well, and that certainly is very interesting to see.
As fans know, Gear 5 then ended up becoming one of the most iconic transformations in all of anime and manga. Luffy awakened the power of Gear 5 in the battle against Kaido in the Wano Country Arc, and it goes without saying that this was an absolutely phenomenal transformation.
One Piece: Oda Has Chosen The Final Straw Hat At Last
The final Straw Hat has already been decided. One Piece's latest chapter strongly implies that.
Unlike the dark Luffy version of Snakeman, this transformation was all white and featured an incredibly light-hearted Luffy. While this transformation is one of the very best in One Piece, bringing out Luffy's very true nature, it also cannot be denied that Gear 5 might get a bit too comical at times, which some fans have often complained about. Maybe Oda will balance this out with a new Gear later down the line.
Luffy's Unused Gears Could Show Up Later Down The Line In The Final Saga
Quite clearly, Oda has many ideas that he scrapped in his process of finalizing Luffy's Gear power-ups. The dark Luffy version of Snakeman never ended up making it to the manga, and fans know that it ended up helping Oda develop Gear 5 as well. However, that doesn't mean that it cannot show up in the future.
Just because Oda did not use the Dark Luffy transformation for Snakeman doesn't mean that this transformation can't show up as a completely different Gear later down the line. The fact is that Luffy can, and probably will, still grow in the future and he will develop newer power-ups. As he is, he cannot defeat Imu and he cannot defeat Blackbeard either. Luffy needs to get stronger still, and that means the chance for him to develop newer Gears still exists.
Even if Luffy doesn't develop any Gear beyond Gear 5, the fact is that this new Dark Luffy version of Snakeman could still show up as a sub-gear of either Gear 4 or Gear 5. This would give Luffy more versatility in combat, and it would freshen things up in the Final Saga, where Gear 5 has largely dominated so far.
Either way, it is very interesting to see that Oda has many exciting plans for Luffy, and that he continues to evolve this character in different ways. Hopefully, as the Elbaf arc approaches its end, and fans head towards the very final segment of One Piece, Luffy will whip out new transformations and excite the fans even more. Of course, that is still a while away.
For now, fans will have to see Luffy master the power of Gear 5, and once that happens, perhaps newer powers will be revealed in the finale of One Piece, especially as Luffy masters his Conqueror's Haki and takes it to the next level.
Eiichiro Oda's One Piece focuses on the journey of Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates as they sail the seas to lay claim to the grand treasure known as the One Piece. The manga is currently in its Final Saga. One Piece will be featured in this week's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1169 is December 21, 2025. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday, which is 11:00 AM EST, or 8:00 AM PT. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump apps. Doing so will ensure that fans always support the author.