One Piece Chapter 1044 reveals that essentially everything fans thought they knew about the Gum-Gum fruit is wrong, including its name.

One Piece fans have theorized about Joy Boy and his connection to Luffy for years now. Arguably, the most popular theory was that Luffy is Joy Boy reincarnated. It was a controversial theory among fans, as many hate the idea of Luffy’s character falling under the Chosen One or Child of Prophecy tropes like many other protagonists do, like Naruto Uzumaki or even Izuku Midoriya with One For All. Fortunately for everyone, this is not the case with Luffy’s Devil Fruit playing a key part in explaining how he is connected to Joy Boy.

Luffy’s Devil Fruit, the Gum-Gum fruit, is not exactly what it was once believed to be. Back in Chapter 1044, the Five Elders revealed that Luffy’s Devil Fruit was actually the Human-Human fruit, and it’s not a Paramecia type. It’s a mythical Zoan fruit that allows the holder to transform into and gain the attributes of the legendary Sun God Nika. That’s how Luffy unlocked Gear 5 and triumphed over the seemingly invincible Kaido at the end of the Wano saga.

How Does Nika’s Legend Connect to Luffy?

Nika seems to have been a mythical warrior from ancient times who was venerated as the Sun God by enslaved people who believed he would liberate them. Nika was first mentioned by Who’s-Who in Chapter 1018 of the One Piece manga. He heard about the legend from a prison guard who suddenly vanished after telling the tale. He took this to mean that the information was likely meant to be kept a secret, and the World Government didn’t want it getting out. Chapter 1044 proved that his thoughts were correct, and there’s much more to it.

Nika’s legend is clearly reminiscent of Luffy’s character arc. From the very beginning of One Piece, Luffy has been liberating people from all kinds of suffering. Each member of the Straw Hats was freed from an undesired situation by Luffy, whether it was a villain’s tyranny, loneliness, imprisonment, impending unjustified execution, etc. Luffy has never been one to stand by and let others suffer. He liberated entire nations from oppression for no greater purpose other than it simply felt right to him. In fact, this emphasis on individual freedom is what made Luffy a standout shonen star. He fought not to save the world or become the symbol of peace but to project his freedom onto others in benevolent ways. He would rather die free than be someone’s subordinate or slave.

The Mystery of One Piece’s Human-Human Fruit

The World Government has evidently been desperately trying to acquire the Human-Human Devil Fruit for over 800 years. They claim it was so elusive that it’s almost as if the fruit itself was evading them. Initially, this seemed like a joke. However, they go on to casually mention that all Zoan fruits have a will of their own, and this one carries the name of a God. It’s unclear what exactly they mean by this, but if it’s what it sounds like, then it makes sense why Zunesha said Joy Boy has returned partway through the Wano saga. The reveal in the lore that Joy Boy is actually a title given to those capable of liberating the world quashed theories that Luffy was the character reincarnated, even if he is the one to take on the mantle.

The Human-Human fruit grants its user’s body the properties of rubber. It’s said that they’re only limited by their imagination and are the embodiment of the Warrior of Liberation (Nika), putting smiles on faces far and wide. Awakening the fruit greatly increases the strength of their rubber body, giving them more freedom. The Five Elders claimed it was the most ridiculous power in the world. All of these details are why the World Government is adamantly trying to eliminate Luffy. There’s still plenty of mystery surrounding the Human-Human fruit, even after its recent awakening, and surrounding Zoan fruits in general. Fortunately, as One Piece‘s final saga begins, the time is now to finally reveal the truth of this world’s deepest, most consequential mysteries, including Joy Boy and the Drums of Liberation.

Gear 5 Freed Luffy From All Fear

During the climax of the Wano saga, while Luffy’s coalition of pirates and samurai waged war on Kaido and Big Mom on Onigashima Island, the true nature of Luffy’s Devil Fruit and his destiny as Joy Boy became wonderfully clear. Gear 4 was no longer enough — to beat an unbeatable foe, Monkey D. Luffy reached his lowest, most vulnerable point, then bounced back, literally and otherwise. Gear 5 had been awakened as the Gum-Gum fruit awakened, and Luffy became a carefree, cartoony warrior with boundless power. Luffy didn’t just physically transform with his white hair — he kept laughing, free from all fear and doubt, even compared to his old carefree self. He was almost laughing at himself for taking everything so seriously up to this point, freeing himself of that burden. Luffy was trapped in his own mind, but with Gear 5, he transcended all human fear and doubt.

Luffy’s heartbeat became the beats of the drums of liberation, and sure enough, he freed all of Wano from Kaido and Orochi’s tyranny once and for all with his upset victory over Kaido. Luffy even broke the laws of physics, freely using any Looney Tunes moves he could think of to beat an unbeatable enemy. Luffy almost became a meta-character that way with the Gum-Gum fruit’s authentic power, and he’s keeping it up during his battle against Admiral Kizaru/Borsalino on Egghead Island.

This is the reality of the Gum-Gum fruit, the mythical Zoan-type that freed Luffy from One Piece‘s combat system and his own fears and doubts, and just in time for the Revolutionary Army’s endgame, too. All-out war is here, the final struggle to either topple the tyrannical World Government or die trying. Whatever connection the Human-Human fruit might have to things like Imu, the Void Century, and indeed the One Piece itself, the answers are bound to rock the entire world and usher in a new era in ways Gol D. Roger never could. Starting with Wano, the world is no longer afraid of tyranny and oppression, and the beat of the drums of liberation cannot be stopped. Luffy really might become a symbol of peace and freedom for the world, even if he never meant to, and that makes him a bigger target than ever. One Piece fans have no doubt Luffy is ready for the consequences of his historic actions.

One Piece’s Truth About the Gum-Gum Fruit Wasn’t Contrived — It Was Foreshadowed

There is no doubt that the sudden reveal of the Gum-Gum Fruit’s true nature was a game-changer, one that made One Piece fans rethink Luffy’s relationship with the fruit he ate in his boyhood. The question that may divide fans is whether the reveal of the Gum-Gum Fruit’s true nature is a delightful plot twist to keep things fresh or a mere contrivance to inject some much-needed variety in an increasingly formulaic shonen adventure. Each argument has its merits, but ultimately, as many One Piece fans may agree, the reveal of the Human-Human Fruit and its connection to Nika is a natural step forward in the story’s lore, and most of all, it may be surprising, but it’s not totally contrived. There’s little evidence that author Eiichiro Oda made up that plot twist at the last moment just to disorient his many readers.

Earlier One Piece story arcs did not directly mention the Sun God Nika, Gear 5, or the Drums of Liberation, but the story did drop relevant hints that combined to form a solid foundation for the Gear 5 reveal in the Wano saga. To begin with, the concept of a Human-Human Fruit, which may sound ridiculous at first, was established in the Alabasta saga when Tony Tony Chopper the reindeer ate one to become a reindeer-man. For most One Piece characters, such a fruit is obviously redundant, but the mere fact One Piece revealed such a fruit made the Human-Human Fruit for Nika less bizarre. If there can be a basic Human-Human Fruit like the one Chopper ate, perhaps there can be more advanced models, such as mythical types. Having subtypes was how the Devil Fruit combat system became deeper and more intriguing as One Piece continued.

The other major hint of the Gum-Gum Fruit’s true nature was an even subtler but more persistent one in One Piece‘s story. Gear 5 isn’t just a knockoff Super Saiyan mode for Luffy to defeat foes like Kaido — it has a thematic connection to Nika, the liberator of slaves, and Luffy used that power to free Wano’s people from Orochi and Kaido’s tyrannical grip. That was the latest of several examples of Luffy liberating oppressed people, to the point that it’s almost the default One Piece story formula. Examples are many, from Luffy freeing Coco Village from Arlong’s reign in the East Blue saga to Luffy freeing the people of Alabasta from Sir Crocodile’s schemes to Luffy defeating Enel/Eneru, the “god” of Skypiea.

Everywhere Luffy went, he freed innocent people from cruel despots and self-styled kings or tyrants, a trend that continued with the fight for freedom in Dressrosa all the way to the mass jailbreak in the underwater prison Impel Down. In fact, Luffy’s joyous giant shadow after Enel’s defeat was a direct symbol of Joy Boy, even if it wasn’t recognized as such at the time. Looking back, it was a clear “Luffy’s role as Nika the slave liberator is coming!”, almost like a Bat-Signal for the reborn god who would soon arrive in Luffy’s body. All this means that in properly subtle but substantial ways, the story of One Piece laid the groundwork for the truth of the Gum-Gum Fruit and its relation to Monkey D. Luffy, who was always about freedom and joy, with or without his knowledge of the fruit he ate behind Shanks’ back.