One Piece Officially Teases Luffy's Next Devil Fruit Awakening
One Piece Chapter 1188 was released officially on July 12, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #33. This chapter showcased the immense battle between Nerona Imu and Monkey D. Luffy, and it was one that had been 800 years in the making within the world of One Piece. Finally, Eiichiro Oda delivered it in Elbaf.
Yet, while we expected an all-out battle of two titans on equal footing, Eiichiro Oda shocked us when Nerona Imu was shown to be completely dominant in the fight. In fact, at the end of the battle, Nerona Imu completely overwhelmed Monkey D. Luffy and stabbed him directly through the torso, utilizing the Blade of Nothingness: Vohu. With Monkey D. Luffy's defeat, Eiichiro Oda is now lining up his next Devil Fruit Awakening to strengthen him even further and stand as the true Sun God of the world.
One Piece Chapter 1188 Confirm Luffy's New Power Up Beyond Devil Fruit Awakening
July 12’s release of One Piece Chapter 1188 came as a massive surprise to all of the fans of the story, and this is primarily because of the shocking defeat that Monkey D. Luffy faced. However, while this defeat is truly crushing for Luffy, at the same time, it is great for his overall character. This is because this defeat officially confirms that Luffy will get even stronger and grow as an Emperor of the Sea and, more importantly, as Sun God Nika.
In One Piece Chapter 1188, when Nerona Imu struck Monkey D. Luffy down utilizing the Blade of Nothingness: Vohu, he officially stated that he knew that Luffy was not Joy Boy, simply because Joy Boy would never be that weak to begin with. As that happened, Nerona Imu blitzed Luffy completely, and before the Straw Hat Emperor could even tell where he came from, he was already skewered by Imu using the powerful sword, which withered away his body and left him bleeding.
Imu: Blade of Nothingness: Vohu!
Luffy: What? The forest withered away!
Imu: The view is far clearer now.
Luffy: Same from up here!
— Imu prepares to stab Luffy with the Blade of Nothingness: Vohu, One Piece Chapter #1188
Now, Monkey D. Luffy is on his last legs already and finds himself in a very difficult situation. But this also means good things for Luffy's character because it officially lines up a major power-up for him. Luffy is clearly not on the same level as Nerona Imu at the moment, and for him to attain that level means that he must upgrade his overall Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika powers even further.
While Luffy's Nika Fruit is incredibly strong, it might not yet have fully been unlocked. We know for a fact that the Sun God Nika is strong enough to fight on even footing against Nerona Imu, thanks to Imu's respect for Joy Boy's immense strength and a reaction to his ability usage. Imu might hate Joy Boy, but he also holds a certain level of respect for him, which stems directly from his level of strength. Luffy not being on that level once again confirms that he has to grow even further as Sun God Nika, which means that a massive upgrade to his Devil Fruit Awakening is already on the way.
"Of course I know that thou art not Joy Boy! Joy Boy was not this weak!!" — Nerona Imu hypes up Joy Boy while calling Luffy weak, One Piece Chapter #1188
Why Luffy's True Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika Awakening Has Not Been Revealed Yet
Luffy's true Mythical Zoan Hito Hito no Mi Model: Nika Awakening has likely not been revealed to us yet. This makes a lot of sense when going back to One Piece chapter 1044, which was released on March 28, 2022, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #17, where Eiichiro Oda juxtaposed him against the moon instead of the sun. Luffy is the Sun God, yet he became the Sun God for the first time against the moon. Luffy's transformation is also completely white, and there is no element of the sun attached to this transformation at all. Despite everything, the people of the world revered Nika as the Sun God, yet Luffy displays no qualities of the sun.
"Possessing a body with the powers of rubber, and fighting in whatever way he fancies, bringing smiles to the faces of people, the Warrior of Liberation...also known as the Sun God, Nika!" — Eiichiro Oda explains Luffy's powers as he awakens Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, One Piece Chapter #1044
This is rather peculiar and might just be done by Eiichiro Oda on purpose. This could suggest that Luffy's Devil Fruit Awakening has not fully manifested yet and that once it is awakened, he is going to reach the next level of strength and finally become a match for Nerona Imu. In the Elbaf Arc, Monkey D. Luffy simply cannot lose because if he does, then Elbaf will completely fall, and countless people will die. As such, the only way for Luffy to drive Nerona Imu out of Elbaf is to grow even further in terms of strength. This could only come in the form of full Devil Fruit awakening and proper realization of his Devil Fruit powers.
Luffy's Full Sun God Nika Form Will Push Him To Imu's Level
In order to reach Joy Boy's level, Luffy will have to strengthen his Devil Fruit powers even further. By fully realizing the abilities of the Hito Hito no Mi Model: Nika and standing on an equal footing with Nerona Imu, Luffy can do just that. It must be remembered that when Nerona Imu showcased himself in One Piece Chapter 1179, which was released on April 5, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19, he displayed a ring of black flames behind his back. Similarly, Rain God Zaza, which debuted in One Piece Chapter 1182 on May 10, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #24, debuted with a giant water ring behind her back.
“Appearing to the rhythm of the prayers for rain...Rain God Zaza!” — Saint Killingham explains Zaza, One Piece Chapter 1182
Monkey D. Luffy does not have a sun ring behind his back, despite being the Sun God. Perhaps, the full Devil Fruit Awakening will give him a giant sun ring, which he can then manipulate freely and use in combat, just as Nerona Imu uses the black flames of Omen. This Devil Fruit upgrade could put Luffy on par with Imu and allow him to rise as the true Sun God of the world. The sun ring would also explain why Nika is called the Sun God, because, as things stand, there is nothing truly striking about him that indicates he is the God of the Sun.
It will be interesting to see how the fight between Nerona Imu and Luffy develops further over the course of the next few weeks in the Elbaf arc. For now, Luffy's defeat is actually not a bad thing at all. Instead, it only lines up his greatest Devil Fruit upgrade yet, and we are eagerly waiting for this massive reveal.
All the new manga chapters of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
One Piece
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
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