One Piece: Is Luffy a God? Theory Explained!
The legend of One Piece and One Piece as well starts with the famed Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. And while a lot have tried to do so, Monkey D. Luffy seems to be the one destined to repeat Roger’s legacy and become the next Pirate King in the world of Eiichiro Oda’s narrative. In order to do so, Luffy will have to rely on the help of his friends, his allies, as well as his own powers. Recently, it has been revealed that Luffy’s Gomu Gomu no Mi is actually the mythical Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, which gave Luffy the powers of the Sun God Nika. In this article, we are going to explain whether that means that Luffy is actually a god himself or not.
Monkey D. Luffy is not an actual god in One Piece, but he is in possession of the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, which was previously known as the Gomu Gomu no Mi. This Devil Fruit gave Luffy the powers of the Sun God Nika, which technically made him a “god,” although he is still just a regular pirate with some exceptional powers and not an actual deity, as the theory might suggest.
The rest of this article will, of course, focus on the theory that Luffy is actually a god in One Piece. We have revealed all the relevant information in our brief answer, and in the rest of the article, we will expand on that by giving you all the relevant information and our analysis of the facts. Of course, if you’re not fully up-to-date with the most recent events in the manga, we have to warn you that there are going to be spoilers present in the article.
Is Luffy a god in One Piece?
Although deities were by no means something unknown in the world of One Piece, until recently, no one really talked about them seriously. But things changed in Wano Country, as Eiichiro Oda revealed a shocking truth about Luffy and his Devil Fruit – the Gomu Gomu no Mi, as it had been known until then, was actually the legendary Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. Alongside activating Gear 5, Luffy also activated the true powers of his Devil Fruit, which made him so ridiculously strong that he easily defeated Kaido in their epic clash. Now, since Nika was introduced to be the Sun God of Oda’s world, fans began to wonder whether this means that Luffy is a god or not. Before we give our final answer, we’ll quickly introduce Nika.
Who is Nika in One Piece?
Both legendary and mythical, Nika was a warrior who some slaves revered in the past as the Sun God. Who’s-Who, who was imprisoned at the time and learned about the tradition from one of the guards in his prison, made the first reference to it. Nika appears to be a dancing figure with flame-like hair and a loincloth based on her figure appearance. In his hands, he has both a sword and a spear, according to what has been shown. Who’s-version Who’s of the folklore depicts Nika as a brave and kind character who made friends with slaves.
It was thought that Nika, who could make the slaves smile, would one day arrive and liberate them from their cruel lords. According to mythology, Nika was a formidable combatant. He can be seen in his silhouette wielding a spear and a sword, as we have said above. He’s said to as a “white” and “liberating” warrior whose pranks make everyone laugh and who won’t go as long as people need him. Slaves had revered Nika for a very long time because they thought he would one day set them free. Nika’s existence may or may not have genuinely existed, nevertheless.
A prison guard informed Who’s-Who, who was once part of the CP9 group and had been imprisoned, of the mythology. Who’s-Who subsequently started praying to Nika in an effort to find relief from his own suffering? Who’s-Who assumed that the legend was not intended to be spread and that the World Government or another party had done something to the jail guard when he discovered that the same guard who had informed him about it had abruptly vanished. He subsequently made the decision to escape his imprisonment so that he could avoid receiving a potentially heavier sentence for knowing too much about Nika. During their altercation, Who’s-Who brought up Nika to Jinbe because he thought the Fish-Man race were slaves, and he wanted to know more about the legend. Jinbe didn’t respond to Who’s Who but became enraged when he compared Fish-Man to slavery and thrashed him with his Fish-Man Karate.
Does this mean that Luffy is a god?
Now that we know who Nika is and what his role in the mythology of One Piece is, we can proceed with our explanation of Luffy’s nature. Now, Nika is considered to be the Sun God in the lore of One Piece, but he is, as we have seen so far, not an actual deity in the traditional sense of the word. He is revered as one, but he is far from a traditional Sun God in that aspect. Alongside him, it is said that there are three other gods: the Rain God, the Earth God, and the Forest God. Their identities have not been revealed yet.
As things stand now, it seems that the powers of these gods are somehow contained within special Devil Fruits and that their possessors can access them by unlocking them. Whether this is true or not is unknown at this moment, but if it is, we have no clue whether the actual possessors of these Devil Fruits, if they are even owned by someone, know of their true natures. Fans speculate that the Rain God might be either Monkey D. Dragon or Vivi, that Blackbeard could be the Earth God, and that Admiral Aramaki could be the Forest God, but as we have said, this is all pure speculation.
What we do know is that Luffy has inherited the powers of Nika, the Sun God. By combining his Devil Fruit powers with Gear 5, Luffy has become extremely powerful and is able to defeat Kaido thanks to his new “divine” powers. But does that mean that he is a god now? Well, no. Luffy never actually changed in any way. He is still the same old human kid who ate Shanks’ stolen Devil Fruit out of spite and now wants to become the Pirate King. Nothing changed with Luffy, and the fact that he actually does have the Sun God’s powers doesn’t influence his nature in any way. This confirms that he is actually not a god.
But, he could be considered as a “god,” although this is a symbolic interpretation. Namely, as someone who uses the powers of the Sun God Nika, Luffy is actually an embodiment of this god and is thus the current iteration of him, i.e., he is a “god.” This could apply to the other three gods as well, but this is a purely symbolic interpretation that has nothing to do with Luffy’s nature. Be that as it may, these Gods are still a big enigma in Oda’s lore, and we’ll have to wait for him to clarify things before we know anything with certainty.