Eiichiro Oda Teases Luffy’s New Sun God Form After Gear 5

August 23, 2026, marked the release of One Piece Chapter 1191 in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #39, and it was a significant addition to the climax of the Elbaf arc. Currently, Monkey D. Luffy has joined forces with Hajrudin and Loki to help him drive Nerona Imu out of the Land of the Giants and save the country for good.

To do that, however, Luffy needs more power, and Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the story, has teased a new Sun God form for him on top of his already existing Gear 5. This new transformation was teased through Nerona Imu’s own Akuma no Mi form, which goes to show that even fully mastered Devil Fruits can have multiple transformations, opening the door for Luffy to tap into a completely new form.

One Piece’s Elbaf Climax Highlights Gear 5’s Limits

Monkey D. Luffy first tapped into the power of Gear 5 following the awakening of Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, which came on March 28, 2022, in One Piece Chapter #1044, which was published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #17. Since then, Luffy has been utterly dominant in all the fights that he has taken part in. In the battle against Kaido, Luffy had not even gotten used to his new powers but was still able to crush the Yonko. Against Kizaru, he was still dominant, and against the likes of the Elders, he put up quite an impressive performance despite not being able to deal any lasting damage to them.

In Elbaf, Luffy faced his first stumbling block when Nerona Imu arrived in Chapter 1179, which was released on April 5, 2026, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19. Luffy vs Imu began officially in One Piece Chapter 1187, and it was clear to see that he was outclassed, as he lost one chapter later. To make matters worse, Nerona Imu painted the difference in strength between Luffy and Joy Boy quite clearly, stating that he was not anywhere close to the latter’s level. As such, even though Luffy has access to all three types of Haki and has fully awakened his Devil Fruit power, he is nowhere close to Nerona Imu in terms of strength.

Image via Toei Animation.

“Of course I know that thou art not Joy Boy! Joy Boy was not this weak!!” — Imu defeats Luffy, One Piece Chapter #1188

Even his predecessor, that is Joy Boy, was on a completely different level. This goes to show that Luffy is limited in combat despite being one of the Emperors of the Sea and has to grow further. Thankfully, One Piece Chapter 1191, which was officially released on August 23, 2026, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #39, paves the way for Luffy to gain a new Sun God form. This is all possible now following Imu’s new transformation.

One Piece Chapter 1191 Sets Up New Sun God Form For Luffy Through Imu

Image via Manga Plus

In One Piece Chapter 1191, Nerona Imu was seen reeling following Scopper Gaban’s powerful Yachitakeru attack. This attack not only chopped off a massive portion of the Adam Tree and crushed a mountain range in the Underworld of Elbaf, but it also caused severe Injuries to Nerona Imu. Imu was seen bleeding from his head, mouth, and nose, and had massive cuts all across his chest, lying in a pool of his own blood. Given that Imu sustained so much damage, he realized that in order to triumph in Elbaf, he needed to power up further. To that end, he used a new Devil Fruit form, which made him bigger, gave him four horns, massive wings, and covered his arms and legs completely in the black flames of Omen, which stem through the power of the Akuma no Mi. This new transformation of Nerona Imu gave him significantly more physical strength and powered him up to a level where he stated that his next attack would kill both Luffy and Loki at once.

Imu: An impressive feat! To escape Honebami’s wrath while losing only one arm. There will be nothing left of thee after the next one!

Luffy: Is that him? But he looks completely different?

— Imu unleashes his second Devil form, One Piece Chapter #1191

While this transformation is interesting on its own, it does more than power Imu up. It also confirms to us that Monkey D. Luffy also has multiple Sun God forms. Luffy and Imu are two sides of the same coin. Imu arrived in Elbaf and immediately utilized his full-power Akuma transformation, but now he has freely changed his forms and taken a new, stronger appearance. Luffy must be able to do the same. One of the most interesting differences between Luffy and Imu currently is that the latter has a ring of black flames, which stems directly from his Devil Fruit ability. This ring was floating behind his back at one point and is now around his waist and wrists. Luffy does not have a ring of sun flames around him yet, and his new Sun God form could perhaps give him this new power-up, taking his attacks to a completely new level.

Why Luffy’s Gear 5 Evolution Is Inevitable

As things stand, One Piece Chapter 1191 has already set up Luffy’s Gear 5 evolution on August 23, 2026, and for him to grow even further in terms of strength is inevitable. Luffy’s Gear 5 is strong, and there is no denying that, but when it comes to taking on enemies as strong as Nerona Imu, it is not enough. This was confirmed by Imu himself when the two fought, and the former was defeated. For Luffy to stand against Imu in the final war, he needs to grow much stronger, and simply upgrading his Supreme King Haki is not possible.

“Though you can control the Color of the Supreme King, you can’t train it to be stronger directly. It is the embodiment of the spirit of the user. The only way to make it stronger is for the user to grow stronger.” — Silvers Rayleigh explains Supreme King Haki, One Piece Chapter #597

As confirmed by Rayleigh in One Piece Chapter 597, Supreme King Haki cannot be trained directly. The only way for it to grow stronger is for the user to grow stronger. In other words, the level of Haki output that Luffy currently has with Gear 5 cannot be improved upon further unless he gains a new tier of strength, which could only come through a new transformation. It is only after attaining a new transformation that Luffy’s Supreme King Haki can be strengthened, and in other words, his Gear 5 evolution is now inevitable. It is a matter of when, not if, Luffy will gain a new Sun God form, and we are eagerly waiting to see when Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the series, unveils this transformation to us. For now, Monkey D. Luffy is set to return to action against Nerona Imu on September 6, 2026, in One Piece Chapter 1192, which will be published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump issue #41.

All the latest One Piece manga chapters by Eiichiro Oda, published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump, are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.