With the release of One Piece Chapter 1188 On July 12, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #33, Eiichiro Oda shocked us all with the massive reveal of Monkey D. Luffy's defeat in the battle against Nerona Imu. Despite eating tons of food and being at full power, as well as using Awakening the Hito Hito no Mi Model: Nika, Monkey D. Luffy was completely outclassed and overwhelmed in his short-lived battle against Imu. To make matters worse, Luffy was officially branded as way too weak by Nerona Imu, which basically creates a major power-up for him in the future of the series and as such officially confirms to us that Luffy's Gear 6 may now be on its way.
With Gear 5 proving insufficient in the battle against Imu, and Joy Boy's level confirmed to be much higher than Luffy's, it is now time for the protagonist to evolve even further and reach the pinnacle of strength in the One Piece world, which would then facilitate the push against Nerona Imu in Elbaf.
One Piece Chapter 1188 confirms that Luffy's Gear 5 is too weak to beat Imu
One Piece Chapter 1188 was absolutely sensational, considering that the vast majority of the chapter focused on the battle between Monkey D. Luffy and Nerona Imu. We had high expectations for this battle as Luffy was at peak strength after eating more than enough food for five straight chapters. In fact, Luffy ran into the battle One Piece Chapter 1186, which was officially released on June 28, 2026, in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #31, he officially stated that he had eaten enough food and was overflowing with energy. Luffy said in an ominous message that he could imagine losing to whoever he was, which is precisely why his defeat just two chapters later at the hands of Nerona Imu came as such a shock to us.
“That bad news is Elbaf's enemy, right? Then that means he's my enemy too. I'm overflowing with strength. Right now I can't see anyone beating me.” — Monkey D. Luffy's message, One Piece Chapter #1186
Despite Luffy's Gear 5 being incredibly powerful and battle-tested against Yonko Kaido, Kizaru, and even the Five Elders, he couldn't do much against Nerona Imu. Much to the fans' surprise, Luffy was actually unable to even land a single hit on Imu and was completely overwhelmed in this short-lived battle. At the end of it all, he was pierced by Nerona Imus' Blade of Nothingness: Vohu. This sword pierced Luffy right through his torso, causing him to bleed profusely. With Luffy now completely out of commission and having suffered a serious wound, it is time for Gear 5 to withdraw from the battle and for Gear 6 to make his entrance. But even if Gear 6 doesn't happen in this battle, what we know from this short-lived fight is that Luffy has to evolve further in one way or another, and Gear 6 has to happen at some point in the final saga.
Imu: Blade of Nothingness: Whoo!
Luffy: What? The forest withered away!
Imu: The view is much clearer now.
Luffy: Same from here!
— Imu unleashes the Blade of Nothingness: Vohu, One Piece Chapter #1188
Eiichiro Oda sets up Gear 6 for Luffy to push him to Joy Boy's level
If One Piece Chapter 1188 made one thing clear to us, it's that Joy Boy was much stronger than Luffy. This was directly confirmed by Nerona Imu at the end of the chapter, immediately after he used the power of the Omen to create the Blade of Nothingness: Vohu. As the sword was created, Imu ran through the air, and before Luffy could even know what hit him, he pierced him right through the torso and impaled him on the sword, declaring him too weak to be called Joy Boy.
“Of course I know you're not Joy Boy! Joy Boy wasn't that weak!!” — Nerona Imu, disappointed in Luffy, One Piece Chapter #1188
This directly tells us that Joy Boy was significantly stronger than Monkey D. Luffy and had enough power to stand on equal footing with Nerona Imu in battle. But at the same time, we know that Luffy's Gear 5 is his ultimate Devil Fruit transformation, which he called his peak in One Piece Chapter 1044, March 28, 2022, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #17. The simple conclusion from here is that Luffy needs to further develop his Devil Fruit powers and tap into the true awakening of his fruit, which would then allow him to develop a new equipment while achieving greater power as he continues to fight Nerona Imu.
“What's going on? How can I still stand? I just lost, but I feel like I'm having a blast! Ahahahahaha! I feel like anything is possible now. I can keep fighting a little longer. This is my peak. This is Gear 5.” — Monkey D. Luffy uses Gear 5, One Piece Chapter #1044
Why the Gear 6 is a necessity in the final saga of a piece
As it stands, Luffy hasn't gained access to Gear 6, and Gear 5 remains his pinnacle. But there are some abilities of Gear 5 that can be improved to create Gear 6. For example, Monkey D. Luffy is called the sun god, but almost none of his abilities are even close to the sun itself. If Nika was called the Sun God, there must have been a significant reason behind it. Still, Luffy's Gear 5 transformation doesn't connect to the sun in any way. In fact, when Luffy debuted his Gear 5, Oda specifically set it against the moon to portray that this transformation may not be at its peak yet.
This is further supported by the fact that One Piece Chapter 1179, released on April 5, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19, featured Nerona Imu with a ring of black flames behind her back. Meanwhile, One Piece Chapter 1182 showed Rain God Zaza with a ring of water behind his back. Luffy doesn't have this ring yet, and maybe when he manages to manifest this ring it will be a ring of flames, which would explain why Nika was called the sun god. Once this power is awakened, Luffy can potentially call this form Gear 6 and thus be able to receive a significant buff to be able to fight on equal footing against Nerona Imu. In any case, Luffy needs a big power buff, both in terms of Devil Fruit abilities and Haki, if he's really going to beat Imu. As it stands, without Imu even going out, Luffy is already unable to take him down.
All the latest manga chapters of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
