Highlights
- Luffy has reached a new level of power after Wano, with abilities to match Kaido with advanced Haki and Gear 5 powers.
- Luffy needs to get stronger to face the Five Elders and the sovereign of the world, Imu, in the Final Saga of One Piece.
- Luffy must master his Haki skills like Shanks and control his Devil Fruit abilities better to surpass the Yonko and become the Pirate King.
Monkey D. Luffy is the protagonist of One Piece and certainly one of the strongest pirates in the entire series right now. Luffy has grown tremendously over the years, having reached the same level as the likes of the Emperors. In fact, Luffy's current bounty of three billion berries actually doesn't do justice to his level of strength. That said, fans do know that he is still not the strongest character in the series, and that he still has ways to go.
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In fact, Luffy might actually need to surpass the Four Emperors if he is to fulfill his dream and change the world forever. This has been more than evident in the Final Saga, and it is something that Oda and Luffy together have to work towards.
Luffy's Current Level With Gear 5
Luffy Has Reached A New Level Of Power After Wano
Right now, Luffy is clearly a very powerful individual, and that goes without saying. In the Wano Country arc, Luffy reached a very high level of strength, and this came through the multiple power-ups that he ended up receiving. The very first major power-up that Luffy got in Wano was the ability to infuse Armament Haki at an advanced level. This type of Haki allowed him to pierce Kaido's defenses without dealing external damage. While Internal Destruction Haki was certainly very powerful, it was not enough for Luffy to defeat Kaido. He needed multiple other power-ups as well, and they came in the form of Conqueror's Haki.
Luffy tapped into the power of advanced Conqueror's Haki and he did incredibly well to infuse this skill, even though his usage of it was rather rough at the beginning. With time, Luffy managed to infuse it incredibly well, matching Kaido and dealing deadly damage to him with each of his blows. However, even that was not enough for Luffy to win this battle. Luffy eventually had to tap into the power of Gear 5, which awakened after he died in the battle against Kaido.
Awakening gives his rubbery body greater physical strength and freedom.
With Gear 5, combined with his ability to infuse Conqueror's Haki and advanced Armament Haki, Luffy had everything in store required to take down Kaido. That is precisely what ended up happening in Wano, and eventually, he crushed the Emperor, sending him to his death. While this was certainly a major power-up for him, it was clear for the fans to see that Luffy still had some room for growth left before One Piece actually finished.
This need for growth was especially highlighted in Egghead Island, where Luffy fought against Kizaru, and later on, against the Five Elders. Clearly, Luffy dominated these fights, however, he was not strong enough to take down the Elders in time. Luffy's problems with maintaining Gear 5 were evident and his inability to actually deal substantial damage to the likes of the Elders while highlighted by Oda time and again. Taking all these things into consideration, fans know that Luffy, despite being at a very high level, needs to get stronger.
Luffy's Next Opponents
Luffy Is Yet To Take Those At The Top Of The World
From here onwards, Luffy will have to get stronger in One Piece, and this is simply down to the fact that his opponents are stronger as well. Luffy is yet to take on the strongest individuals in the series. The Five Elders have just appeared, and, as is evident from their showing on Egghead, they are tremendously overpowered. These are individuals who can utilize Haki seemingly more efficiently than Luffy himself, have powers of immortality, and are incredibly overpowered mythical creatures that are seemingly tied to demons themselves. Luffy cannot take them down with his current level of strength, even though he might be able to overpower them in instances. Due to their immortality, their stamina and just about everything else is almost bottomless, which means that Luffy will, more likely than not, tire before them.
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It's useless. They're immortal! - Luffy on the Elders
As such, Luffy will have to figure out a way to win, and of course, injure them greatly and battle. That certainly is not enough. Luffy then has to face the sovereign of the world, Imu. Imu will most definitely be one step above the Five Elders, meaning that they will most certainly be stronger than the Yonko. For Luffy to stand any sort of a chance against Imu, he will have to get stronger. These are powerful opponents that Luffy cannot take down with his current level of strength.
Luffy has to go beyond his current level, defeat all the Yonko, and then hit new heights as a pirate in order to be able to contend with these monstrously powerful individuals and even hope of defeating them. This is precisely why Luffy needs to get stronger and surprise all the Yonko in One Piece.
Luffy's Mastery Of Haki And Devil Fruit
Luffy Needs To Get Stronger In Terms Of Haki And Devil Fruit
The Idea of Luffy getting stronger and surpassing the Yonko is certainly a very interesting one. However, the question then arises as to how Luffy can even possibly make that happen. Fans already know that Luffy is a user of all advanced types of Haki, and on top of that, he himself stated that he has reached his peak with Gear 5. As such, it is difficult to imagine Luffy getting stronger than he currently is. However, when taking a deeper look at Luffy's current level, fans know that there is still a lot of work to be done.
For instance, Luffy is not a master of Haki like Shanks just yet. Luffy can utilize Conqueror's Haki incredibly efficiently. However, his control over it was still weaker than Kaido, and is likely far weaker than Shanks. Shanks is able to utilize Conqueror's Haki from miles away, he's able to communicate with Conqueror's Haki, and on top of that, Shanks can even kill the Observation Haki of his enemies with Conqueror's Haki. This is a clear indication of the fact that there is a higher level for Luffy to reach in terms of manipulating Conqueror's Haki. Even in terms of Observation Haki, Shanks can see the future for much longer than Luffy, and this is something that the Straw Hat Pirate has to work on. In terms of armament haki, Luffy can make the skill stronger as his physical Strength rises as well. Clearly, in terms of Haki, Luffy can get much stronger.
Even in terms of Devil Fruit, there is room for Luffy to grow further. What Luffy has trouble with most right now is his stamina. Gear 5 takes a lot of toll on his body and has a negative effect on his body. Luffy cannot maintain this power forever in the midst of battle, and that certainly needs to be worked upon. What Luffy needs to do is to control Gear 5 better, and he will certainly be able to do that with time. Fans already know that Luffy has mastered powers like Gear Second, Gear Third, and Gear 4th, in a similar way. He needs to do the same with Gear Five.
The biggest advantage of Gear 5 is that Luffy can do anything that he imagines, which means that in the hour of need, Luffy can, perhaps, imagine something that no fan ever thought of, and, utilizing this power at a level even above that of the Yonko. Undoubtedly, Luffy needs to get stronger if he is to conquer the seas and become the Pirate King, and above all, beat these powerful individuals that have now emerged in the Final Saga of One Piece.
One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1114, is set to be May 12, 2024.
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