After 4 Years, One Piece Bids Farewell To Luffy's Biggest Flaw

4 years ago, on March 28, 2022, in One Piece Chapter 1044, which was published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #17, series creator Eiichiro Oda unleashed the strongest transformation for Monkey D. Luffy with the Awakening of his Mythical Zoan Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. This transformation is Luffy's Gear 5 or the Sun God Nika form. Immediately upon Nika's descent on the world after 800 years, Eiichiro Oda confirmed that he was the Warrior of Liberation who brought laughter and joy to the faces of everyone around him. While the power that the Nika Awakening offered Luffy was absolutely tremendous, it significantly simplified Luffy's tendency to joke around in battle. Gear 5 took this character trait to the absolute maximum level and, at times, led to all the tension being eradicated from the battle.