Monkey D Luffy, the protagonist of the One live franchise, and captain of the Straw Hat pirates, is perhaps one of, if not the most interesting shonen protagonists, within the anime community. Luffy, not only the strongest and most formidable fighter of the Straw Hat crew, but he is also one of the most powerful characters in the entire series.
Now having become one of four “Emperors of the sea” with a grand fleet of over fifty-five thousand members under his command, even though he refuses to employ them. Among its immense and loyal fan base, One piece is known for its increasingly mysterious storyline, as well as its immensely complex power structure, that relies mostly upon Haki, and the devil fruits.
The Devil fruits, acting as the cornerstone of the series, are a plethora of fruits that grant their eater, mysterious and unpredictable abilities, from earth shaking tremors to chopping their body, into little pieces. I know it gets confusing.
The powers of Monkey D Luffy
Monkey D Luffy, has eaten one such fruit, namely, the Gum-Gum fruit, which in his own words, has turned him into “A Gum-Gum human”. Luffy’s entire body is made of rubber, a development that Luffy uses in many unpredictable ways, from stretching his arms and legs out for hundreds of feet to inflating himself into a giant balloon in order to deflect cannonballs.
Luffy’s powers may sound somewhat silly in theory, and they are, but unlike we have seen in other characters like Mr. Fantastic and Plastic man, it is the series author, Eiichiro Oda’s ingenuous execution that makes Luffy a formidable fighter.
But a question that many One piece fans have asked themselves over the decades is what is the extent of the Gum-Gum fruit’s effect on Luffy’s body. That is what we will be talking about today.
The question of the day
Does the fruit only affect the outside of his body or are his insides also made of rubber? The proper question being, are Luffy’s organs made of rubber?
This is a tricky question to answer, as with many of the questions associated with this incredibly complex world, but I believe we can find an explanation. Many instances within the series might shed some light on the subject.
Our search for the answer, a look at Luffy’s adventures
Throughout the series, some incidents support the answer to our question, being both yes and no. Such as during the:
- Skypiea arc, when it is revealed, in a shocking turn of events, that Luffy is impervious to Enel’s electrify-based attacks, as he is, indeed, made of rubber. Had the insides of Luffy’s body not been rubber, Enel’s attacks would have at least had some effect or done some infernal damage. The complete ineffectiveness of Enel’s powers suggests that Luffy is made of one hundred percent rubber, inside and out.
- Yet during the, Impel Down arc, Warden Magellan’s poison-based powers do an astonishing amount of damage, indicating that Luffy may, in fact, have ordinary organs, as if they were made entirely of rubber, they would have remained unaffected by Magellan’s poison.
- Similarly, Luffy’s remarkable endurance and healing would also suggest that his organs are not normal, such as having survived being impaled by Crocodile and many other fatal injuries.
- Living through Ivankov’s excruciating hormone treatment, also indicates that his insides are at least partially, rubber. However, the very fact that Ivankov’s hormones work on him would suggest that there is some normal part, within Luffy’s body.
An analysis of Luffy’s abilities, the Gears
Perhaps if we look at the way Luffy uses his powers, we can come to a definite conclusion. The most prominent aspect of Luffy’s abilities is his « Gears, » wherein he alters the shape and form of his body to attack his opponents.
- In « Gear two, » Luffy accelerates his blood flow to increase his speed manifold. The fact that Luffy can stretch his heart, veins, and arteries to alter the flow of blood confirms that the Gum-Gum fruit does, in fact, affect his internal anatomy.
- Furthermore, in « Gear 3, » Luffy increases the size of his body parts, be it an arm or a leg, to gigantic proportions, by filling his body with air. Yet even in this state, he retains all motor function, meaning his bones grow alongside his limbs, further solidifying our answer to the Gum-Gum fruit’s effect.
- With “Gear four”, in all its variants, Luffy changes his entire skeletal structure, providing further proof of the flexibility of his organs.
The answer, that we arrive at
Therefore, it is Luffy’s use of his abilities and events within the story that prove that Luffy’s organs are, indeed, made of rubber. Even if there is some proof indicating otherwise.
Is the question really necessary?
Yet, the very question of Luffy’s anatomy has now become obsolete.
(Spoiler warning for those who have not caught up with the manga yet.)
A relatively recent chapter of the manga revealed during the fight against Kaido of the Beasts at Wano that Luffy’s devil fruit is not the paramecia-type Gum-Gum fruit but is, in fact, the Mythical Zoan type Human-Human fruit, Model Nika, or Sun God. A fruit that grants its user the ability to change reality, according to their imagination, meaning Luffy’s body can be anything that he wants it to be; the only limit is his imagination.
