Highlights
- Nika, the Sun God, is believed to have existed during the Void Century, a prominent ancient time in the One Piece world.
- Nika was known for freeing many slaves and bringing smiles to the faces of abused individuals, earning the title of the Warrior of Liberation.
- Nika is manifested through the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika Devil Fruit, which grants the user a body of rubber and the ability to fight with immense freedom and joy.
One Piece's Wano Country arc was incredibly important in establishing the true character of the protagonist of the series, Monkey D. Luffy. Towards the end of the arc, Oda wanted fans to pay special attention to the main character for unknown reasons, however, as the ending got closer, one of the most important twists in the story was brought forward.
Luffy's Devil Fruit finally awakened and made him incredibly powerful, strong enough to combat even the likes of Kaido toe-to-toe. With that, the legend of Sun God Nika was properly explained in the story, they are quite a few things that everyone should keep in mind regards to this warrior of the past.
Updated on August 23, 2023, by Rei Penber: Nika, the Sun God, has finally made his debut in the One Piece anime as well, with Luffy having lost to Kaido for the last time and awakening as the Warrior of Liberation. At the same time, fans have seen much more of him in action in the Egghead Island Arc, where Dr. Vegapunk, the smartest man in the entire world whose brain is said to be 500 years ahead of humanity, also revealed quite a lot of information about him. While this list already covers a lot of intriguing facts about Nika, fans have only found out more about him over time. With that, this article has now been updated.
12 Existed During The Void Century
The Sun God Nika is most likely to have existed during the Void Century. The very first mention of this character comes during Jinbe's fight against Who's Who in the Wano Country arc. According to him, Nika was a legendary figure who existed long ago in ancient times.
Given that the most prominent ancient time in the One Piece world is that of the Void Century, it is more than likely that Nika existed during this time period. At the same time, no trace of Nika exists at the moment, meaning that nobody in the world knows whether Nika actually existed or not. However, fans know this figure certainly does exist, thanks to the events that unfolded later on in the arc.
11 Freed Slaves
Nika is known to be a hero to the people of the past. Notably, this is because he freed many slaves. This was mentioned to the fans for the very first time by Who's Who of Kaido's Beast Pirates. According to him, when he was locked up after losing the Gomu Gomu no Mi, the prison guard jokingly told him to pray to the Sun God.
Who's Who went on to mention that in ancient times, Nika was worshipped by people because they believed that he would, one day, free them from their slavery.
10 Brought Smiles
Another thing that Nika is known to have done in ancient times is bring smiles to the faces of people. All the slaves that he eventually freed worshipped him not just because he saved them but because he also brought smiles to their faces. In other words, Nika is known to have been the protector of the happiness of people, especially those who were abused and looked down upon by the oppressive powers of the world.
Nika's influence is so tremendous that even centuries after, he was worshiped by people, especially those who were enslaved, because they knew that Nika would one day come to free them from their misery and bring a smile to their faces once again.
9 Possesses A Body Of Rubber
Nika is known to have possessed a body of rubber. It is unknown if a deity of this name actually existed in the past, however, what fans do know for sure is that a person in the past ate the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, and gained a body of rubber.
After the said person's death, this Devil Fruit went on to elude the World Government for centuries. Meanwhile, to hide its true powers, it was renamed as the Gomu Gomu no Mi, which is what Luffy ended up eating at the very beginning of the series in his flashback.
8 Fights With The Most Freedom
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Nika is not known to be the strongest of all the warriors in the One Piece world. However, he is certainly known to be the one with the most freedom. In fact, the core ability of the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika Is that it allows the user to fight with immense freedom and also spread this freedom and joy wherever he goes.
The only limit to this ability is the imagination of the user and even Kaido agreed that it is the most freeform form of battling that he had ever seen. According to the Gorosei, Nika possesses the most ridiculous ability in the world.
7 Warrior Of Liberation
Nika is also known as the Warrior of liberation. This is simply down to the fact that he fights with immense freedom to the best of his abilities and spreads that freedom and joy wherever he goes.
In the process, he liberates people from their misery and ensures that they always have a smile on their faces. It is highly likely that Nika, in the olden times, freed many lands from oppressive rule and, as such, earned the title of the Warrior of Liberation.
6 Connection To Fishmen
Nika is also known to possibly have held a deep connection to the Fishman race. This was first implied by none other than Who's Who when he was fighting Jinbe. Who's who made some racist remarks towards the Fishmen and implied that since humans have been cruel to them and Merfolks, they must know quite a lot about Nika and whether or not he existed.
To this, Jinbe replied with a powerful punch that knocked Who's Who out of commission. It is unknown if the Fishmen actually hold some connection to Nika or not. Logic implies that they might have something to do with it since Fisher Tiger's very own crew was known as the Sun Pirates.
5 Documents Erased
In the Egghead Island Arc, Luffy took on the Nika form to fight against Rob Lucci. He made quick work of Lucci, and fans certainly did enjoy this fight, however, the biggest takeaway from this fight was what Vegapunk had to say about this unique transformation. According to him, Nika is a god that exists in the world of One Piece. Vegapunk studied ancient records himself and according to him, all traces of Nika have been erased from the histories. Only the most ancient of records still hold his name. It is obvious as to why the World Government would want to hide the identity of Nika.
They fear the return of this deity and they know that Nika is their biggest rival. This was proven during the Wano arc, when they suggested killing Luffy was worth infuriating Kaido, as the former surviving would lead to a much worse outcome. Thankfully, Luffy ended up surviving and fans found out a lot about Nika through him. Vegapunk goes on to mention that Nika was a beloved warrior who fought with great freedom and joy in the past and the glorious transformation that Luffy displayed in his fight against Rob Lucci was similar to Nika from the ancient records.
4 Exists In The Form Of A Devil Fruit
Nika might have actually existed in the world of One Piece long ago. However, there is no confirmation of that just yet. What fans do know for a fact is that a Devil Fruit exists that grants the power of Nika to the user. This Devil Fruit is none other than the Gomu Gomu no Mi, also known as the Hito Hito no Mi, Mode: Nika. If this Devil Fruit is the only way to attain the powers of Nika, then there existed a person who ate this Devil Fruit nearly 900 years ago in the One Piece world.
Since then, this Devil Fruit likely lay dormant until it reached Luffy and was consumed by him. The World Government desperately tried to chase this Devil Fruit, as mentioned earlier, however, they failed in every single attempt. The Five Elders attributed this to the Devil Fruit having a will of its own, which makes it even more interesting that this fruit ended up choosing Luffy, a young boy with an obsession for freedom.
3 Teased In the Skypiea Arc
Nika, the Sun God, made his debut in One Piece during the Wano arc, after Kaido killed Luffy. His Devil Fruit ended up awakening at the right moment and this resulted in Nika being reborn. However, Wano isn't the first arc where Nika was mentioned. The very first time fans found out about the Sun God was in the Skypiea arc. Mousse, the daughter of Kalgara, mentioned the Sun God moments before she was to be sacrificed.
According to her, after her sacrifice, she would meet the Sun God. Later on, during the day of the execution, the Sun God was mentioned once again, along with some other gods of the One Piece world. At the end of the Skypiea arc, God was prayed to once again and it was Luffy who ended up responding to those prayers by defeating Enel and saving the land.
2 Connected To The Giants
The Sun God, Nika, appears to be connected to many races in the One Piece world. Fans have already seen the likes of the winged races, such as the Shandians, pray to the Sun God. At the same time, the Fishmen and the Merfolk are another race who are believed to be connected to the Sun God in some way. For instance, Fisher Tiger naming his crew the Sun Pirates is likely to hold more significance, as insinuated by who's who.
Furthermore, even Otohime attributed freedom to the sun on multiple occasions and, once again, this just goes to show that the Sun God is connected to many races. Curiously, it appears that the Sun God is also connected to the Giants of Elbaf. As seen during Big Mom's flashback, the Giants of Elbaf celebrate the Winter Solstice festival, which is a celebration of life and rebirth. They pray to the sun as well and this is quite curious. This implies that the Giants are connected to Nika in some ways as well.
1 Joy Boy
It is highly likely that Joy Boy was the very first Nika to exist in the history of the One Piece world. This is evident from the fact that Zunesha mentioned Joy Boy's return when Luffy awakened his Devil Fruit. His heart started beating like the Drums of Liberation, which Zunesha has heard in the past. At the same time, Kaido mentioned that the only one capable of beating him would be Joy Boy.
When the Yonko defeated Luffy on the rooftop of Onigashima and threw him into the sea, he lamented Luffy's failure on becoming Joy Boy. Later on, Luffy managed to defeat him after awakening his Devil Fruit and actu ally using the same power that Joy Boy once held.