Luffy’s awakened Devil Fruit form, Gear Fifth, has one massive physical weakness that was pointed out by both Kaido and Kizaru.
Monkey D. Luffy made manga history when he awakened his Devil Fruit in One Piece chapter #1044. This form was hereafter referred to as “Gear Fifth” and was said to increase all of Luffy’s rubber-like qualities exponentially, granting the ultimate freedom of form. This form, however, was unable to cover all of Luffy’s weaknesses, and it still has a major vulnerability.Chapter #1047 of One Piece followed the intense brawl between Luffy and Kaido atop the floating fortress of Onigashima. Luffy’s Gear Fifth managed to give him a massive edge in both maneuverability and flexibility when it comes to his style of attack.
While it’s clear that Luffy’s raw power has increased substantially after his Gear Fifth transformation, it’s also clear that Kaido was still holding his own throughout the fight. In fact, as the battle progressed, Kaido noted that Gear Fifth doesn’t make Luffy invulnerable.
Luffy’s Weakness To Slashing Could Be His Downfall in One Piece
Amid the battle, Kaido sent Luffy flying into the rooftop of Onigashima, but Gear Fifth’s power to turn Luffy’s surroundings into rubber caused him to bounce into the sky. Though he was almost unconscious, Luffy held onto Kaido as he flew up. Kaido claimed that this movement had only given away Luffy’s position in the sky, and called out saying that, despite his newfound power, Luffy is weak to slashing attacks. Kaido then used this opportunity to send a flurry of slashes into the air, naming the attack, “Dragon Twister, Demolition Breath.”
This revelation by Kaido shows that Luffy is not as invincible as he seems, even with the advanced power of Gear Fifth. This weakness makes sense as it’s one that Luffy has had ever since the beginning of One Piece, and has proved to be his downfall several times already. Surely enough, this weakness of Gear Fifth appeared again in Luffy’s most recent big battle, which saw him take on Admiral Kizaru. When Kizaru attacked Luffy in chapter #1093 using his light sword, the attack clearly hurt him and even drew blood, despite Geat Fifth.
Which One Piece Villain Could Best Exploit Gear 5’s Weakness
Even if Kizaru is dealt with, this reminder of Luffy’s weakness could be setting up a future villain to use slashing attacks. Luffy has long been touted as the “natural enemy of God,” and if the mysterious ruler of the world, Im-sama, was capable of using some powerful slashing techniques, he would be the most dangerous opponent Luffy could possibly run into by the end of the series. This is a smart way of establishing Gear Fifth as an incredible power-up without destroying the stakes of future conflicts.Besides Im, the captain of the holy knights, St. Figarland Garling, carries a large sword with him and will likely play a big role once the Straw Hats fight against the World Government.The dialogue of One Piece’s villains has always been extremely important when it comes to tying the themes of each arc together and building to their eventual finale. Kaido’s mention of Luffy’s weakness to slashing attacks is important to proving that Luffy’s Gear Fifth does not make him invincible, and the detail in the battle against Kizaru further confirms this. Thus, the future of One Piece will surely bring back Gear Fifth‘s one weak point to harm Luffy in a climactic moment.All chapters of One Piece are available on Manga Plus!
