One Piece Manga Addresses Gear 5’s Core Weakness After 4 Years

Four years after Gear 5 debuted in Chapter 1044, Eiichiro Oda is now tackling one of the transformation’s most criticized limitations in the Final Saga. This narrative choice has the global fanbase of the manga dialed in on every new chapter release.

Gear 5 unlocked Luffy’s awakened Devil Fruit power, the Mythical Zoan Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. This transformation gives him rubber-based reality-warping abilities. However, it comes with a major downside: the massive stamina drain causes Luffy’s heart to slow down, and his hair and body temporarily lose color. This forces him out of the transformation at crucial moments. As a result, this weakness has diminished the tension in several key fights since its introduction.

According to Game Rant’s analysis, Oda is now working on a solution to this stamina issue in the current arc of the Final Saga. It looks like this resolution is connected to Luffy’s ongoing growth beyond Gear 5’s base state. Recent chapters hint at a new Mythical Zoan transformation. This could lead to the next evolution of his power and might reduce or even eliminate the exhaustion penalty that has limited the form since Wano.

The timing of this development is intentional. Oda has been carefully establishing characters Luffy has now surpassed in power during the post-Wano chapters. The Elbaf arc and its follow-up are significantly raising the threat level, introducing three new god-tier antagonists. For Luffy to sustain Gear 5 longer or gain a more stable successor form, it’s a necessary narrative shift if those conflicts are going to feel believable.

Away from the manga, One Piece fans are enjoying an incredibly strong summer in 2025 on multiple fronts. Netflix has confirmed a Season 3 renewal for the live-action adaptation. LEGO also announced an official One Piece collaboration set. Plus, the first U.S. Mugiwara Store has opened, giving the franchise impressive multi-platform momentum as it heads into what Oda has called the manga’s concluding chapters.

For players who enjoy interactive experiences, One Piece Odyssey — the turn-based RPG created by ILCA and published by Bandai Namco — is currently available on Steam for $9.99, a significant drop from its launch price. The game boasts an 80% positive rating based on 1,816 Steam reviews, making it a solid entry point for newcomers before the Final Saga’s plot thickens.

By The Numbers

Gear 5 Manga Debut	Chapter 1044 (2022)
Years Since Gear 5 Introduction	4 years
One Piece Odyssey Steam Score	80% Positive (1,816 reviews)
One Piece Odyssey Current Price	$9.99 on Steam
Live-Action Seasons Confirmed	3 (Netflix)

The community response to the Gear 5 stamina fix has been very positive. One Steam reviewer, who has logged hours in One Piece Odyssey, summed up the broader fanbase’s feelings perfectly: “If you like One Piece and you like turn-based strategy games, then you’ll like this.” This sentiment reflects how manga readers are responding to Oda’s careful power-scaling work. Fans who stayed loyal during Wano’s lengthy storyline are now witnessing those narrative threads pay off in real time.

What To Watch

• Scope of the Gear 5 fix: Whether Oda removes the stamina weakness completely or reframes it as a manageable factor will shape how future arcs approach Luffy’s power ceiling. Keep an eye on the next 4-6 chapters.
• The three new gods setup: With the Elbaf arc wrapping up and three new god-tier threats being introduced, the structure of the Final Saga’s endgame antagonists should become clearer by Q3 2025.
• Live-action Season 3 scope: Netflix’s renewal without a release window leaves the coverage of the Alabasta or Skypiea arcs unconfirmed. Casting announcements will be the first sign of how big the production will be.