One Piece: Gear 6 Luffy Is Still Possible, And This Is How

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This article contains spoilers from One Piece‘s Elbaf Arc.

Now that One Piece is nearing its end, Monkey D. Luffy has become one of the most powerful characters in the series. He officially reached the level of a Yonko during the Wano Country Arc, where he defeated Kaido by improving his Haki and unlocking the full potential of his Devil Fruit for the first time.

While mastering new forms of Haki helped Luffy win against Kaido, Gear 5 was the key to his victory. Luffy himself stated this power brought him to his absolute strongest, and without it, he wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Emperor.

As a huge One Piece fan, I know everyone’s been buzzing about whether Luffy could even go beyond Gear 5! Well, it’s complicated, but I honestly think Gear 6 is still on the table. It’s definitely possible we’ll see it happen in the Final Saga – and honestly, I’m really hoping we do!

Gear 5 Is Canonically Luffy’s Highest Transformation

  • Luffy Awakened Gear 5 In The Battle Against Kaido
  • Luffy states Gear 5 is his peak
  • Luffy can still use newer applications of rubber

To figure out how Luffy continues to use Gear 6, we need to understand the core of Gear 5. Luffy’s Gears have always come from pushing his body in unique ways. It started with Gear Second, where he increased his blood flow to break his physical limits. Then came Gear Third, using air to inflate his bones and create giant-like limbs. Later, with Haki, he combined inflating his muscles with a Haki coating, allowing him to stretch his body to its maximum potential – that became Gear Fourth.

This is the peak of what I can do. This is…Gear 5! — Luffy, Wano Arc

Gear 5 is fundamentally different from Luffy’s previous Gears. Unlike those earlier forms, which just expanded on his rubber body’s natural abilities, Gear 5 is a true transformation unlocked by awakening his Devil Fruit. As Kaido pointed out, this type of transformation is unique to Mythical Zoan fruits. This explains why Luffy believes he’s reached the limit of what he can do with his Devil Fruit powers.

While Luffy’s power might not grow beyond his Devil Fruit’s awakened form, he can still find new ways to use his rubber body and the creative abilities he gained as Sun God Nika. This means Gear 6 isn’t the limit of his potential, particularly since he still has room to improve his Haki.

Luffy Can Still Improve His Haki To Create Gear 6

Image via Toei Animation.
  • The Pathway To Gear 5 Lies In Conqueror’s Haki Mastery
  • Gear 6 will be heavily reliant on Haki
  • Luffy’s Haki isn’t at its peak yet

Currently, Luffy is concentrating on strengthening his Haki during fights. His Devil Fruit ability has already reached its full potential, so he can’t make it any more powerful. Instead, he’s working on using Gear 5 for longer periods and finding new ways to use it in battle. However, there’s still room for improvement with his Haki, especially when it comes to coating his attacks with Conqueror’s Haki – it’s powerful, but not yet at its peak.

In that form, I’m at my absolute freest. — Luffy to Bonney, Egghead

Luffy was advised by Gaban that he needs to learn how to use his abilities effectively. Currently, he isn’t powerful enough to overcome the immortality of the Holy Knights and Elders. To truly master Conqueror’s Haki, Luffy needs to significantly improve his Haki and become generally stronger, as the power of Conqueror’s Haki increases alongside the user’s overall strength.

The Egghead Arc showed fans that Luffy’s potential peak is equivalent to the power of Joy Boy.

To beat Imu, Luffy needs to become as powerful as the legendary Joy Boy, which means a significant increase in his strength. It’s now obvious that Luffy is developing his Haki, and this growth will likely unlock Gear 6 in the future in One Piece.

Higher Haki Application Combined With Gear 5 Can Give Rise to Gear 6

Luffy can continue to grow stronger even within his Gear 5 form by combining it with more advanced Haki. While this won’t be a completely new transformation beyond Gear 5, it allows for significant improvements. Essentially, Luffy reaching a higher level of strength using Gear 5 and Haki could be called ‘Gear 6,’ and there’s nothing stopping him from doing so. Gear 5 represents the peak of his base transformations, but Haki allows for further enhancement.

Luffy’s ‘Gear 3rd’ is a good example of how he defines these power-ups – it’s essentially just him inflating his bones with air, which doesn’t logically constitute a new ‘gear’. Similarly, he can easily create ‘Gear 6’ by adding a new ability to his existing Gear 5. Fans should expect this kind of progression going forward: instead of completely unexpected transformations, Luffy will likely combine the properties of his rubber body with his awakened Haki to create new abilities, and then simply call them ‘Gears’ as he sees fit.

Gear 6 Is Needed To Defeat Imu

  • Luffy Needs To Grow Stronger To Beat Imu

Based on Luffy’s current strength, he wouldn’t stand a chance against Imu. We saw during the flashback with Loki just how powerful Imu is – even a combined assault from six of the strongest pirates ever – Rocks, Roger, Garp, Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaido – couldn’t even harm them. Therefore, Luffy doesn’t have the power to win against Imu.

Fans believe Joy Boy possessed incredibly powerful Haki, so strong that even Imu couldn’t handle it. Luffy needs to reach that same level of strength. This suggests Joy Boy was significantly more powerful overall than Luffy even in his Gear 5 form. To truly have a chance against Imu, Luffy will likely need to surpass Gear 5 – and many fans think ‘Gear 6’ will be the key to doing so. Ultimately, overcoming Imu and other powerful opponents will require Luffy to evolve beyond his current abilities, and Gear 6 could be the next step in the final arc of the story.

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2026-01-29 15:35