Despite its power in One Piece, Luffy’s Gear 5 still has its limits.

Luffy’s Gear 5 is one of the most incredible powers that fans have seen in the entirety of One Piece. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to call it the very best power-up that Oda has come up with for any character in his series and this is likely due to the fact that this power-up epitomizes Luffy’s entire character.

Gear 5 was first utilized by Luffy in his fight against Kaido, and ever since then, it has been used on many occasions in the series already. While this power is certainly immense, given that it has helped Luffy break through several powerful enemies, it certainly does come with its set of limitations. While some of them might be apparent, others have been carefully mentioned by Oda on just a few occasions, that only a handful of fans might have noticed.

Why Gear 5 Is Luffy’s Peak

Luffy first awakened Gear 5 after he was killed in the fight against Kaido. Given that his heart had stopped beating entirely and his voice was not heard by anyone, it is fair to assume that Luffy had died and this near that experience is what led his Devil Fruit to finally awaken. When that happened, Luffy felt the surge of energy through his body and he was finally able to transform into Gear 5, which he referred to as the peak of his abilities. This doesn’t mean that Luffy is now at the peak of his powers. Luffy can still grow in terms of his power and skill. However, it simply means that Luffy has unlocked the form that can be considered to be his strongest. There is still quite a lot of work to do in this form for Luffy if he is to become the strongest. That said, Gear 5 is certainly incredible.

Given that the true nature of his Devil Fruit is Mythical Zoan, Luffy gains an incredible physical boost when awakening his powers. Everything about his physical attributes, including his recovery rate, increases tremendously. This is also one of the biggest reasons why Luffy has always recovered from different battles rather quickly. On top of that, Gear 5 gives Luffy the ability to turn his surroundings into rubber. Curiously, this power also extends to other humans or living beings, which is unique to him.

Gear 5 in itself manifests as a transformation, which boosts Luffy’s power greatly. According to Kaido, transformations such as Gear 5 are a sign of Zoan Awakenings, and the Yonko himself was baffled by how Luffy was pulling it off. Regardless, Luffy certainly showed that he was capable of fighting Kaido on an even footing after awakening the power of Gear 5. Awakening the power of Nika meant that he could fight with more creativity, more freedom, and of course, use all of his abilities to their very best. Luffy combined the power of his incredible Haki with his amazing Devil Fruit ability so well that even Kaido was not able to stand against him. After the fall of the Yonko, it was clear to see that Luffy in his Gear 5 was at his very peak.

The Limits Of Gear 5 – Energy Consumption

While Gear 5 is certainly an amazing power-up, there are a few downsides to this ability and one of them is the incredible energy consumption that it shows. Gear 5 is greater than any of Luffy’s powers and it burns through his stamina quite quickly. In fact, in the fight against Kaido, Gear 5 started to run out before the fight was even over. Luffy then forced his body beyond all its limits to make sure that Gear 5 continued. Luffy himself admitted that the energy consumption of Gear 5 was massive, despite the power that it offered. This seems like a fair trade, given that Gear 5 is incredibly overpowered and, when used, pushes Luffy beyond all limitations. This energy consumption downside of Gear 5 showed up in the fight against Kaido, and later on, against Rob Lucci as well.

Even though Luffy defeated Lucci very easily, he then turned into an old man, which suggested that his body needed some recovery time. Later on, when Luffy fought against Kizaru, once again, his body weakened quite a lot after he defeated the Admiral and was almost paralyzed.

After Luffy ate a lot of food, he then regained his stamina, and, given that his energy was full once again, he was raring to go. This is a very big downside, however, it is one that Luffy can get adjusted to with time. Once Luffy uses Gear 5 more often, he will get more used to the energy consumption of this form, and at the same time, his own stamina will grow as well. When that happens, Luffy will grow significantly stronger and he will be able to maintain Gear 5 for longer, which will then erase this limitation.

The Lack Of Imagination

Another downside of Gear 5 is that this power, while incredibly special, is limited by the imagination of the user. Essentially, only someone who possesses a very broad imagination can make full use of disability. There are no other limitations of this power besides the high energy consumption and, as such, this power is very dangerous. For that reason, it is tied directly to the imagination of the user. For instance, a user with an average imagination will not be able to make use of the power the way Luffy does, and, as a result, will most likely not be able to win as many battles as Luffy. However, this downside doesn’t really apply to Luffy.

This is simply down to the fact that Luffy possesses a tremendous imagination and fans have already seen that in the many arcs of One Piece. He is incredibly creative, especially when it comes to combat and he comes up with ridiculous ways to fight. Even Kaido, a seasoned pirate and one of the strongest in the entire world, was absolutely mesmerized by how Luffy was using his creativity during his fight against him. While this is a big downside of Gear 5, it is one that doesn’t apply to Luffy. Should there be a day where Luffy finds himself out of ideas, then the downside of Gear 5 would show more. For now, however, Luffy never seems to run out of ideas, and that only empowers Gear 5 even more.

Is Gear 5 Life Threatening?

Perhaps the biggest downside of Gear 5 is that it is a life-threatening ability. While this has not been touched upon in the series much, Gear 5 absolutely does affect Luffy’s life force and this has already been implied in the fight against Kaido. When Luffy tapped into Gear 5 for the very first time, he mentioned that he gained a surge of power and that he could continue fighting for a bit longer. However, when Kaido started fighting back against him and he realized that the fight was tougher than he had imagined, Gear 5 started to run out first.

Luffy turned into an old man and then, he decided to push through all his limits to enter Gear 5 once again to defeat Kaido. To that, the Yonko responded by saying that if he isn’t careful, he’s going to kill himself. According to Luffy, he isn’t scared of death and that is why he can push his body beyond all his limits. However, the words of Kaido clearly imply that if Luffy were to continue fighting in Gear 5 for too long, then he would essentially die because this form consumes energy at such a pace that Luffy will eventually be rendered immobile and he would then die.

This could also have further implications for Luffy’s life. Clearly, using an ability that drains all your life force when you use it again and again would surely affect your lifespan as well. Luffy likely knows this and, as a result, it is possible that it shortens his lifespan quite a lot. This isn’t something new for him. Luffy has previously shortened his lifespan when using powers such as Gear Second and, later on, when he combined Gear Second and Gear Third. In Impel Down, he shortened his lifespan to save Ace and he has consistently pushed his body beyond all its limits on many occasions. In the future, perhaps, Luffy’s shortening lifespan will come up as a big talking point.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1107, is set to be February 18, 2024.