One Piece Officially Welcomes Luffy's New Devil Fruit Transformation

The climax of One Piece's Elbaf arc heats up even further with the release of chapter 1188 on July 12, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #33. This week's chapter was highly anticipated, largely due to the battle between Luffy and Nerona Imu. The clash between Sun God Nika and the Devil of the One Piece world ended 800 years ago, but officially resumed in chapter 1187 on July 5, 2026.

Now, One Piece Chapter 1888 continued this clash, and it did so in quite some style by giving Luffy a unique Devil Fruit transformation that we have never seen before. To combat the influence of Nerona Imu, Luffy officially transformed into a massive genie in battle, which once again goes to show his ingenuity and the fact that the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, is the freest Devil Fruit.

One Piece Chapter 1188 Introduces Luffy's New Genie Transformation

Over the years, Monkey D. Luffy, the protagonist of One Piece, has utilized various transformations. The very first form that Luffy received came through witnessing CP9 in the Water 7 Arc. One Piece chapter 387 debuted Luffy's Gear 2 on October 31, 2005, and One Piece Chapter 403 unveiled Gear 3rd to us on March 13, 2006. During the timeskip, Luffy invented Gear 4, which was officially unveiled to us in chapter 784 on April 27, 2015, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #22-23. Gear 4 then went on to showcase Tankman in Chapter 842, and Snake Man in 895. Ultimately, Luffy ended up tapping into the power of Gear 5 in One Piece Chapter 1044 on March 28, 2022, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #17.

"What's happening? 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." — Monkey D. Luffy taps into Gear 5, One Piece Chapter #1044

Since then, Gear 5 has been Luffy's go-to form, and now, within the framework of Gear 5, Luffy has invented a completely new transformation through a Genie Mode, which was first displayed in One Piece Chapter 1188 on July 12, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #33.

“Don't think I missed what happened in your battle against Loki. That guy's death won't be in vain. Gomu Gomu no Majin!” — Luffy uses his new transformation against Imu, One Piece Chapter #1188

In order to combat the power of Nerona Imu properly, Luffy used a new transformation called Gomu Gomu no Majin in One Piece Chapter 1188, and much to the surprise of the fans, this Genie form was actually an ingenious idea. It allowed Luffy to take Nerona Imu by surprise and, at the same time, combat his strength rather effectively. Luffy was able to avoid several of Imu's blows, including the all-powerful Stigma that took Loki out. Luffy even managed to clash with Imu using this transformation, which surprised us all. Despite Luffy's battle against Nerona Imu in the Genie form being short-lived, it was clear to see that he was performing far better than the regular Gear 5 in this form, which is truly a testament to Luffy's own strength. It sets up this Genie mode as one of Luffy's ultimate forms to utilize for the future as well.

Luffy's Genie Powers Rival The Top-Tiers In Elbaf Arc Climax

gear 5 new power up to defeat imu one piece — Gear 5 Luffy assumes the Nika pose on Egghead in One Piece.

One Piece fully introduced Nerona Imu in Chapter 1179, which was released officially on April 5, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19. Imu also unveiled the power of his Devil Fruit, known as the Akuma no Mi, for the very first time in the same chapter. In the subsequent chapters, Imu's full powers were showcased as he made use of Omen and various abilities in the battle against Loki, such as Stigma and Nemesis.

As such, when Luffy vs Imu officially began in One Piece 1187 on July 5, 2026, we knew that this battle was not going to be easy for the Straw Hat Captain. However, Luffy proved that he could rise to the challenge by showing his creative nature in the battle against Nerona Imu.

As he utilized his Genie Form, Luffy was able to counter a significant portion of Imu's attacks and try to land a couple of blows of his own. Despite Loki having stood in battle longer than Luffy, we can say with absolute certainty that Luffy also impressed, before ultimately falling to Nerona Imu's Boufu, the Ultimate attack that pierced him straight through his torso.

“It is clear that thou art not Joy Boy. Joy Boy would never be this weak.” — Imu defeats Luffy in One Piece Chapter #1188

Test your knowledge.

Why Luffy Needs A Much Stronger Transformation To Rival Imu

One Piece Chapter 1188 Defeat Full-Powered Gear 5 Luffy Vs Imu

While Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Majin form that debuted in One Piece 1188 was certainly exciting for us to watch, at the end of the day, it was never going to be enough to take down Nerona Imu. This was evident at the end of the chapter, where Imu utilized his Black Flame of Omen and transformed it into a sword, called Blade of the Void: Boufu, and pierced Luffy right through his torso. Imu also stated that Luffy is far too weak to be Joy Boy and, as such, in a way, a disappointment to Nerona Imu himself.

The first round of Luffy vs Imu is over, and the winner is none other than Nerona Imu, which doesn't come as a surprise to any of us. Being the final villain of One Piece, Nerona Imu carries immense powers at his disposal that Luffy cannot rival right now.

“Omen is my military might. It's a power that dwells within all living things. People crave power. However, if the power they crave is obtained through ease, it leads to corruption.” — Nerona Imu explains his Omen power, One Piece Chapter #1181

In order for Luffy to truly stand in the way of Imu and pose a significant challenge, he needs to use other transformations. Even though Gear 5 was proclaimed to be Luffy's peak in One Piece Chapter 1044, he must evolve past it and develop something even stronger to combat the power of individuals such as Imu. To that end, we are keeping a close watch on Luffy's Conqueror's Haki growth in this arc and, at the same time, his Devil Fruit receiving a potential upgrade through the awakening of a Sun Ring, akin to the Black Ring of Imu. One way or another, Luffy has to strengthen himself even further if he wants to come back from this defeat and attempt to push back Nerona Imu out of Elbaf again. For now, One Piece is going on break, which means that we will have to wait to see Luffy's fate at the end of this battle in One Piece chapter 1189.

All chapters of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.