One Piece Makes Luffy’s Power More Important Than Ever Before

Besides utterly breaking fans’ hearts, One Piece’s Kuma flashback is also unexpectedly proving to be a treasure trove of information. This includes not only the infamous God Valley Incident but also Sun God Nika, with Kuma’s father surprisingly revealing that the legend of Nika has been passed down through generations of the Buccaneer clan that Kuma and his father belong to. The intrigue surrounding Sun God Nika continues to grow and it only proves that Luffy’s Nika powers and the origins of his devil fruit are going to be more important than ever going into the second half of the Egghead Arc and the Final Saga of One Piece as a whole.

Other than introducing a whole new clan called the Buccaneers, Episode 1129 of One Piece also reveals more of the lore surrounding Sun God Nika, the presumably mythical figure that Luffy’s devil fruit is modelled after. In the episode, Kuma’s father attempts to cheer up a young Kuma by telling him about the legend of Sun God Nika, reassuring him that the warrior of liberation will come and save him, and take him out to sea, where he’ll be free under the sun. Kuma’s father also shares how Nika is always laughing and making others smile with his unique rhythm, going on to emulate Nika’s drumbeat. The same episode also includes a flashback of Kuma cheering up a young Bonney by imitating Nika’s beat and dance, hinting that Nika’s importance in the Kuma flashback will not stop here.

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One Piece Continues to Prove Gear Five and Nika’s Importance

When Gear Five and the truth about Luffy’s devil fruit were first revealed on Wano, many felt as though the development came out of nowhere during One Piece’s run. At that point, all that fans knew was that Nika was a legend among slaves and that Luffy was the first to awaken the devil fruit in centuries. The latter did somewhat hint at Luffy going down the cliche “chosen one” path, though many still hoped that this would not be the case. However, the revelation that the World Government had been trying to get its hands on the Nika Fruit for centuries already hinted that Luffy was going to be much more important than he’d signed up for, whether he and fans liked it or not.

The Egghead Arc has only continued to hammer home Nika’s importance, with the latest episodes hinting at a connection to the ancient Iron Giant on the island. Kuma’s flashback also proves how many lives the legend of Nika has touched while also adding to Nika’s legacy that Luffy now inevitably has to uphold. As such, Sun God Nika will likely continue to be at the center of the Egghead Arc as well as One Piece’s future arcs henceforth as the series continues to unravel the mystery surrounding this enduring myth.

One Piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Netflix.