The “Gear 6” discussion has once again taken center stage in the ongoing Elbaf arc of One Piece, and your reasoning is actually one of the most compelling theories circulating in the fanbase right now: that the Nika fruit simply hasn’t been shown to reach its full potential.
Gear 6 speculation grows in One Piece as Elbaf arc fuels theories
The comment that Luffy is awakening as a Paramecia but affecting the environment is a crucial one. That’s actually a hallmark of a Paramecia awakening. True transformations are actually characteristic of Zoans. Of course, this line became extremely famous after the revelation that Luffy’s fruit is not the Gomu Gomu no Mi but the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika.
If you know, Kaido once said, ‘If his rubber starts affecting other things, then you could say that’s Paramecia awakening. But something feels off. Transformations like that are supposed to be the specialty of Zoan types.’ From this, we can understand that the Nika Devil Fruit seems to have characteristics of the Zoan and Paramecia types. If that is the case, then we can ask ourselves an interesting question: what if it awakens further and develops the ability of Logia as well?
The following are the obvious Zoan and Paramecia traits that have been shown for Gear 5:
- Zoan: The mythical transformation and the will of the fruit.
- Paramecia: The environment is turned into rubber.
There is a strong argument to be made that since Nika is the fruit of the Sun God, it’s entirely possible that it will end up having some form of Logia powers. Not necessarily in the way that it’s an intangible form of matter, but more in the way that it’s a manifestation of the elements.
Fire imagery is something that has been consistent throughout the One Piece series. The conflict between Portgas D. Ace and Marshall D. Teach was literally a struggle between the sun and darkness. The appearance of the “Mother Flame,” which is a man-made sun, further cements the imagery of the sun and just how big a role it will likely have to play in the Final Saga.
If darkness is the end of all, then what is the counterpoint to it? Light. Heat. The sun.
This is why Gear 5 fans argue that the “white, burned-out” look is not complete. White hair and steam may represent the pinnacle of freedom, but not the pinnacle of divinity. Gear 6, in theory, could represent the “golden light” or “flame” of the sun, not merely capable of creating fire like “Red Hawk” but being the embodiment of it.
With the literal darkness of Blackbeard and the world government’s shadowy powers, the literal Sun God awakening would provide the necessary counterpoint in the world of One Piece. It would also provide the necessary balance of the world’s elements, which led to the defeat of Ace—darkness defeating flame.
One major problem with the Gear 6 theory is the fact that Luffy himself said Gear 5 is his “peak.” Eiichiro Oda has also shown that the previous gears have had literal mechanical counterparts. Gear 5 is the “imagination” and “freedom” of the character, not the literal pinnacle of anything.
This means that instead of Gear 6, we could see different iterations of Gear 5, much like the Boundman and Snakeman iterations of Gear 4.
However, with Nika being the literal embodiment of the sun and the Final Saga potentially featuring the literal light of the sun versus the literal darkness of the world government, the notion that the “Sun God” would eventually shine more brightly does not seem far-fetched in the slightest.
