Highlights
- Gear 5 is the most creative and strongest power-up in One Piece, rivaling few others.
- Kaido's Kaen Daiko transformation burns Luffy but also loses to him.
- Sakazuki and Blackbeard have potential power-ups that could rival Luffy's Gear 5, making them formidable opponents.
Gear 5 is, by far, the most creative power-up seen in One Piece so far. At the same time, it is also one of the strongest power-ups that Oda has integrated into his story. Luffy tapped into the power of Gear 5 towards the end of the Wano Country arc, after nearly dying at the hands of Kaido.
Following his defeat, his Devil Fruit awakened and, thus, he was able to tap into Gear 5. Gear 5 is believed to be Luffy's peak and not many power-ups in One Piece can come close to it. However, there are quite a few that might be able to rival it.
5 Kaido's Kaen Daiko
Kaen Daiko is the final transformation that Kaido attains during his fight against Luffy. This form sees him breathe out a large amount of flames and engulf his entire body in them. Essentially, he creates a giant flaming dragon, large enough to melt an entire island by merely passing over it. He used this form against Luffy's Bajrang Gun and was defeated.
However, it must be remembered that Kaido was also carrying an entire island by himself. Perhaps, these restrictions weakened him. Despite that, Kaido was certainly able to rival Gear 5 with this transformation as even Luffy struggled against it despite all the power that he had. It was powerful enough to burn Luffy and even though Kaido lost, Luffy was knocked out moments after defeating him as well.
4 Sakazuki's Awakening
Sakazuki is the current Fleet Admiral of the Marines in One Piece and is certainly among the strongest characters in the entire series. He possesses a powerful Devil Fruit that allows him to turn into magma as well as freely control and produce it. His Devil Fruit is extremely dangerous, given that it is believed to hold the offensive power of the highest order.
If Sakazuki manages to awaken this Devil Fruit, the power resulting from it would certainly be great enough to rival Luffy's Gear 5. Fans must remember that he is an incredibly powerful nemesis that Luffy will most likely come face to face with at some point in the story. Sakazuki is not going to be someone Luffy defeats easily and, it is quite clear that whatever power-up he holds is going to be enough to see him rival Luffy in some shape or form.
3 Blackbeard's Gura Gura no Mi Awakening
Blackbeard is one of the most powerful pirates in the world of One Piece currently. Just like Luffy, he is one of the Yonko and at his disposal, he has two of the strongest Devil Fruits. He stole the Gura Gura no Mi, the strongest Paramecia Devil Fruit, from Whitebeard during the Paramount War.
This fruit allows him to produce quakes out of thin air and set off tsunamis, among other things. It is believed to be a power great enough to destroy the entire world. If Blackbeard manages to awaken this Devil Fruit, this power-up would be strong enough to rival Luffy's Gear 5 powers with ease. Even without its Awakening, this Devil Fruit is strong enough to rival nearly all characters in the One Piece world. Awakening would simply boost it to an even more overpowered level.
2 Blackbeard's Yami Yami no Mi Awakening
Blackbeard also possesses the strongest Logia ability in all of One Piece, called the Yami Yami no Mi. This Devil Fruit does not function like normal Logias, in the sense that it does not grant intangibility to the user. Instead, it offers the ability to become darkness and, thus, infinite gravity. This Devil Fruit can also nullify all Devil Fruit powers on contact. Awakening this fruit would make Blackbeard extremely overpowered as it would potentially then be able to nullify Devil Fruit powers without contact.
This is an ability that could perhaps even conquer Luffy's Gear 5. Fans know for a fact that Blackbeard is one of the end-game enemies for Luffy and he is sure to have his Devil Fruits awakened by that time. Luffy is going to have to figure out some very clever ways to defeat the powerhouse that is Blackbeard.
1 Imu's Devil Fruit Reveal Power-Up
Imu Is the sovereign of the One Piece world and a relic of the Void Century, having been alive for over 800 years now. The character rules over the entire world from the shadows and, at the same time, possesses tremendous power at their disposal. Fans recently found out that they possess an incredibly overpowered Devil Fruit.
Their ability appears to be a Zoan type, which means that they likely have transformations up their sleeve. These transformation-based power-ups are certainly going to be worthy of rivaling Luffy's Gear 5. A fight between Luffy and Imu would certainly be incredibly fun for the fans to witness, however, at the same time, be very intense. Luffy will potentially find it difficult to defeat Imu, given that they are one of the mightiest forces of power in the One Piece world.