Summary
The Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nikais one of the most incredible Devil Fruits to exist in the world ofOne Piece.This fruit was eaten by Luffy at the beginning of his journey, however, it wasn’t until recently that its true nature was revealed to the fans. The Nika fruit is an incredible ability the truth of which only came to light after it was awakened. In Luffy’s fight against Kaido, he ended up dying and awoke as the Sun God, Nika. All across this fight, it was quite clear to see that this Devil Fruit was actually quite incredible.
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Even though one would underestimate its powers, given that it is just rubber, once Luffy awakened it, it offered him an array of possibilities. Even Kaido, a powerful pirate in his own right, could not stand up to its power and compete against it. It is quite clear that this Devil Fruit Is one of the most overpowered ones in the series, if one knows how to use it and, at the same time, it is also the most ridiculous ability. That said, there are some limitations to the power of this Devil Fruit that have been already hinted at inOne Piece.
What Is The Nika Fruit?
The Nika fruit is the very same Devil Fruit that Luffy ended up eating after a particular conversation with Shanks nearly 12 years ago, although it had a different name back then. When Luffy was only 7, he wanted to become a pirate and sail with shanks. However, Shanks would refuse to let him come every single time. On one particular day, Luffy, after talking with Shanks, decided to eat a particularly weird-looking fruit, which he considered to be dessert. Immediately after, the Red Hair Pirates realized that Luffy had eaten the treasure that they had stolen from an enemy ship.
This treasure was, of course, the Gomu Gomu no Mi. As soon as Luffy ate the Devil Fruit, his body turned into rubber and, ever since that day, he has been training his abilities to the fullest and incorporated this power into his fighting style very well. While most people just assumed that this Devil Fruit offers a rubber body to the user, it was only revealed in Wano that this fruit is actually much more than just that. Its true name was revealed by the Five Elders moments after it awakened and they confirmed that it is actuallycalled the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika.The classification of the Devil Fruit was also revealed to be Zoan, specifically, Mythical Zoan. The fruit was only called the Gomu Gomu no Mi to hide its true nature and to erase it from history itself. It is safe to say that the attempt of the World Government to erase all mentions of it succeeded, however, they could not stop it from falling into Luffy’s hands.
The Power Of The Nika Fruit
When it comes to the power of the Nika Devil Fruit, it is quite simple. On a surface level, this fruit only grants a rubber body to the user. When Luffy ate this Devil Fruit, his body permanently turned into rubber. Luffy can stretch and squeeze himself however he wants and, this fruit also has some very good perks such as being impervious to any blunt damage. No matter how hard Luffy is hit, as long as the damage is blunt and on the surface, he does not take any damage because his body is rubber. However, he does take damage from sharp attacks and pointy things, as has been showcased on several occasions in the story already.
That was the extent of the Gomu Gomu no Mi, however, when the true nature of the Devil Fruit was revealed, it was made quite clear that this ability offers much more than just that. The fact that the user’s body turns into rubber is only one facet of this Devil Fruit. In fact, this is the “Mythical Zoan” ability of this fruit. The true power of the Devil Fruit is freedom. It grants freedom and laughter to Luffy and lets him spread it to all those around him. He becomes the Warrior of Liberation and goes from place to place, spreading joy and liberating people everywhere. Luffy, in this Devil Fruit form, is free to do whatever he wants.That is what truly makes him very dangerous, especially given how Luffy’s mind works.
What Are The Limitations Of The Nika Fruit?
The Nika fruit is exceptionally strong.It allows Luffy an incredible amount of freedom to do whatever he wants in battle, to squeeze and stretch as he likes, and to even transfer his power to his surroundings as well as his enemies. By all means, transferring powers to other living things should not be possible for any Devil Fruit user, however, it is for Luffy because the laws that apply to his Devil Fruit can only be governed by his own sense of freedom.
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Essentially, the only limitation that Luffy has on his ability is his own imagination. Fanta already saw this come into play on several occasions during his fights across Wano and Egghead. For instance, Luffy imagined that he could run in the air by moving his feet too fast and he was able to pull it off. He imagined that he could grab lightning and turn it into rubber and he was able to pull it off. He imagined turning all ash like a cartoon when struck by Boro Breath and that is precisely what happened.
On Egghead, Luffy imagined creating goggles out of nothing and was able to magically conjure them. It is quite clear that whatever Luffy can imagine, he can give life to. However, there might be certain limitations to this power because Luffy’s own imagination can only go so far. Luffy cannot give rise to things that he cannot think and his mind is very simple and would, thus, only give rise to simple things. Is also very clear that Luffy can, in fact, be matched in combat, just as Kaido did with his Flame Dragon Torch. If Luffy had the means to do whatever he wanted, he could have easily countered this technique as well. This implies that the power of toon force that he possesses works to a great degree but can be fought against.
How The Devil Fruit Affects Luffy
Imagination is certainly not the only limitation of the Devil Fruit. It is also affected by standard Devil Fruit weaknesses, at the very least, for now. So, for instance, Luffy being submerged in water should render his Devil Fruit useless. There’s also means that Luffy should be affected by the sea prism stone as well as things such as the bubble gun that was created by Dr. Vegapunk. The Mother Sea still holds a grudge against Luffy, even though he is the Warrior of Liberation.
At the same time, there are also other weaknesses of this Devil Fruit. One particular limitation that Luffy has highlighted on several occasions now is the fact that Gear 5 burns quite a lot of stamina. This means that Luffy cannot always keep Gear 5 up for long without risking his own health. Against Kaido, Luffy exclaimed that this form was way too demanding and he had to tap into it once again after it deactivated. On Egghead, fans sAw Luffy turn into an old man once again afterthe power of Nikawas deactivated. Every single time that Luffy uses this devil fruit, he puts strain on his body, and that in itself is proof that there are weaknesses and limitations to this power.
One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and theManga Plusapp. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1093, is set to be Jun 29, 2025.
