The Devil Fruit eaten by none other than One Piece’s protagonist Straw Hat Luffy, the Gum-Gum Fruit is ridiculous. No, really, that’s what the Gorosei call it when the big Gear Fifth reveal happens. So, what is this Devil Fruit that was secretly a Zoan type, and how does the Gum-Gum Fruit grant Luffy all of his insanely strong powers?
Fair warning, this article contains spoilers for One Piece through chapter 1090, the most recent manga to release. One Piece is available to read on MangaPlus and Viz.
What is the Gum-Gum Fruit?
Yes, it just recently went through a name change but the Gum-Gum Fruit is what fans have known for nearly twenty-five years. The Gum-Gum Fruit is a Paramecia type Devil Fruit that changes the users body into rubber! When it’s initially introduced it’s just this fruit that Luffy eats without knowing what it is. Shanks stole it from a Navy transport ship captained by Vice-Admiral Whose-Who before they stop in Windmill Village. It’s there that Luffy eats it and becomes a rubber boy, as well as loses his ability to swim.
The first thing he does when training his Gum-Gum Fruit abilities is make a load of creative moves with it. The first introduction of Luffy’s ability is the Gum-Gum Pistol, and it just gets wilder with things like the Gum-Gum Ax or Gum-Gum UFO. It’s this creativity that helps lend even more weight to the later reveal of the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika.
Gear Second
The first step that Luffy takes toward reaching his Devil Fruit Awakening. Gear Second was really a surprise when Luffy debuts it in Alabasta when he was having so much trouble fighting Blueno of Cipher Pol 9. Gear Second lets Luffy rapidly stretch and contract his rubber limbs, which rapidly moves oxygen through his blood. It sounds more technical than he’s capable of, but it works and gives Luffy a massive speed boost. He’s even faster than Blueno’s Shave ability, which allows Luffy to knock Blueno out in a matter of seconds after he goes into Gear Second.
Luffy refines Gear Second throughout the time skip and eventually makes it his default state. Now, he’s able to keep his body in Gear Second at all times subconsciously and maintains the huge speed/power boost with it. Luffy does find a way to further speed himself up later while also in Gear Third, and this leads to the Gum-Gum Red Roc he uses against Kaido.
How Does Gear Third Work?
Gear Third was just like adding shock on top of awe in the Enies Lobby arc. It wasn’t long after Gear Second was shown off for the first time, and nobody was expecting another new power. Fans were left in mystery when he first uses it and it flashes away, only to reveal him as a tiny version of Luffy. It’s not until his rematch with Rob Lucci that Luffy pulls out the big guns with a Gum-Gum Giant Axe against the CP9 agent. This is only the first Gear Third move too, as Luffy debuts plenty more through the next few arcs until Marineford. After the time skip he overcomes the issue of shrinking after Gear Third use, and incorporates the techniques into his regular move set while fighting.
The way Gear Third works is that Luffy bites down, usually on his thumb or forearms, to the bone and blows himself up like a balloon. After he blows up the limb, he can pass the air through his body to wherever he needs it, whether it be both fists, a foot, or just his entire body for Gum-Gum Jet Shell. When Luffy finally masters Color of Armament Haki, he’s able to coat his limbs with that while they’re inflated, which makes his Gear Third attacks even more dangerous.
What is Gear Fourth?
Luffy has made dozens of different Gear Fourth figurations, yet so far the only ones seen in One Piece are Bounceman and Snakeman. Every different Gear Fourth form is specially made for some different combat situation Luffy may face, though it looks like with Gear Fifth it may be a thing of the past. For Gear Fourth, he blows air into his bones just like Gear Third, but now distributes it throughout his body. From there, he coats different areas of his body with Haki to reinforce the form.
Bounceman, the first to debut in Dressrosa, gives Luffy an aerial advantage in battle. It inflates his arms to massive Haki-coated fists of destruction, legs constantly bouncing to keep him on balance. He’s able to quickly pump his legs like pistons to fly as well, as seen on Onigashima.
Snakeman, meanwhile, gives him a significant speed boost by narrowing him down, along with Haki-coated arms again. Snakeman uses Haki and Luffy’s Color of Observation Haki to chase opponents down, turning his elongated limbs after enemies.
Hito-Hito no Mi, Model: Nika the Sun God
The real name of the Gum-Gum Fruit which is a huge reveal during the climactic battle with Kaido. The Gorosei, and in turn, Imu, have been trying to keep this Devil Fruit a secret for centuries. They finally had it in their possession and en route to them when Shanks steals it, so imagine their surprise when it turns up in the East Blue with an upstart young captain. Still, they hope to keep it quiet and snuff his light out before he Awakens his Devil Fruit.
That only goes so far, as they tell Guernica to interrupt the fight between Luffy and Kaido. It works, but that just leads to the Fruit Awakening anyway as Luffy’s mind and body finally catch up. Now, the legendary Nika the Sun God, a mythical figure that brought joy and freedom, is alive once more. The Gorosei have done everything they can to erase his name from history. Even so, Nika is awake once more, and the Drums of Liberation are beating loud.
What is Gear Fifth?
Gear Fifth had a high bar to clear after Bounceman and Snakeman previously, plus the earlier Gum-Gum Red Roc. When he suffers the fatal hit by Kaido he starts to melt, and speculation went wild. Nobody knew what would happen or what the power could be. Then the Drums of Liberation began to beat and Luffy’s hair turns white as he gets a second wind. He bounces up, bounding along the Onigashima rooftop to fight Kaido again. The ground beneath him bounces like rubber, and so does Kaido in their battle. Meanwhile, the Gorosei reveal the most ridiculous Devil Power in existence, the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika. This Fruit gives the power of the Sun God Nika, letting him fight freely, only his imagination as the limit.
With Luffy imagination is limitless, as the Straw Hat Captain does everything he’s always wanted but could never make work. His limbs grow without the need for inflation, he bends impossibly, and grows to a giant!. Further, he adopts a madcap Looney-Tunes behavior, zooming around and reacting to things like an old cartoon character. The eye pops and various gags are hilarious companions to the ridiculous damage he inflicts on Kaido. The big finish to the fight is a combination of the Gum-Gum Bajrang Gun and his Conqueror Haki. It’s a massive fist almost bigger than the island, and sends Kaido to a possibly literal hell.
Wills of Zoan Fruits
The Gorosei mention that Zoan Fruits exhibit a will of their own among other Devil Fruits. Vegapunk even goes further to reveal that Devil Fruits themselves come from people’s desires or wishes. Basically, enough people want a certain power or ability for normal humans, and a Devil Fruit grants it. That said, he does note that Zoans, in particular, seem to have their own Will. These Fruits frequently will evade anyone but the person they feel best suits their power. This is evident in Lucci, who receives the fruit of a brutal jaguar or Kaido’s dragon.
Notably the Gorosei have been trying to get it for the entire eight-hundred-year span since the Void Century. They claim that the Fruit avoids their capture this entire time, despite their best attempts at erasing it from history. They rename it to the Gum-Gum Fruit from the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika to downplay the true power.
Now, Luffy knows the power of his Devil Fruit, using the will of Nika the Sun God whenever he pleases. Gear Fifth gives him ridiculous, imaginative powers that he’s had since the beginning with the freedom to finally do everything he wants. So, though the Gum-Gum Fruit may no longer go by that name, Luffy is still going to name his moves after it since it’s a tradition at this point. The most important Devil Fruit of One Piece by far, the Gum-Gum Fruit is sure to get some lore expansion soon.
