a piece Chapter 1188 was officially released on July 12, 2026, in Shuisha's Weekly Shonen Jump issue #33. This chapter deals with Nerona the emu and the monkey d. It featured a massive battle between Luffy, and it had been 800 years since the creation of the world. a piece. Finally, Eiichiro Oda delivered on Elbaf.
However, just as we expected an all-out battle of two evenly matched titans, Eiichiro Oda surprised us when Nerona Emu was shown to completely dominate the fight. In fact, at the end of the fight, Nerona the emu killed the monkey D. Completely overpowered Luffy and used the Blade of Nothingness: Wohu to stab him directly in the torso. With the defeat of Monkey D. Luffy, Eiichiro Oda is now lining up his next Devil Fruit Awakening to make him stronger and stand as the true Sun God of the world.
Confirm One Piece Chapter 1188 Luffy's New Power Up Beyond Devil Fruit Awakening
Released on July 12th a piece Chapter 1188 came as a big surprise to all fans of the story, and it was mainly due to Monkey D. The reason for the shocking defeat that Luffy faced. Although, this defeat is really crushing for Luffy, at the same time, it is great for his overall character. This is because this defeat officially confirms that Luffy will become stronger and grow as the Emperor of the Sea and more importantly, as the Sun God Nick.
In One Piece Chapter 1188, when Nerona Imu struck Monkey D. Luffy with the Blade of Nothingness: Vohu, he officially stated that he knew that Luffy was not Joy Boy, simply because Joy Boy would never be weak. As it did so, Nerona Emu struck Luffy completely, and before the Straw Hat Emperor could tell him where he came from, he was already sketched by the Emu using a powerful sword, which drained his body and caused him to bleed.
Emu: Blade of Nothingness: Wohoo!
Luffy: What? The forest is dry!
Emu: Now the scene is very clear.
Luffy: Same from here!
— Imu Blade of Nothingness prepares to stab Luffy: Vohu, One Piece Chapter #1188
Now, Monkey D. Luffy is already on his last legs and finds himself in a very difficult situation. But it also means good things for Luffy's character as it officially lines up a big power-up for him. Luffy is obviously not at Nerona Emu's level at the moment, and for him to get to that level he would have to upgrade his overall Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika powers even more.
While Luffy's Nika Fruit is incredibly strong, it is not yet fully unlocked. Thanks to Emu's respect for Joy Boy's immense power and reaction to the use of his abilities, we know that Sun God Nick Nerona is strong enough to fight even against Emu. Emu Joy may hate the boy, but he also holds a certain level of respect for him, which stems directly from his level of power. Luffy is not at that level once again confirming that he will have to grow even more as a Sun God Nika, which means that his Devil Fruit Awakening has been greatly upgraded.
“Of course I know you're not Joy Boy! Joy Boy wasn't that weak!!” — Nerona Emu hypes up Joy Boy by calling Luffy weak, One Piece Chapter #1188
Why Luffy's True Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika Awakening has not been revealed yet
Luffy's true legendary Zoan Hito Hito no Mi Model: Nika Awakening has probably not been revealed to us yet. Going back it makes a lot of sense a piece Chapter 1044, which was released on March 28, 2022, in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump issue #17, where Eiichiro Oda pits him against the moon instead of the sun. Luffy is the sun god, yet he became the first sun god against the moon. Luffy's transformation is also completely white, and there is no element of the sun associated with this transformation. In spite of everything, the people of the world respect Nikai as the Sun God, but Luffy does not show any of the Sun's qualities.
“Having a body with the power of rubber, and fighting in any way possible, bringing smiles to people's faces, a warrior of liberation…also known as the Sun God, Nika!” — Eiichiro Oda explains Luffy's powers while awakening Hito Hito no Me, Model: Nika, One Piece chapter #1044.
This is rather strange and could only be done by Eiichiro Oda on purpose. This could suggest that Luffy's Devil Fruit Awakening is not yet fully revealed and that once it is awakened, he is going to reach the next level of strength and eventually become a match for Nerona Emu. In the Elbaf Arc, Monkey D. Luffy cannot lose because if he did, Elbaf would completely collapse, and countless people would die. As such, the only way for Luffy to get Nerona Emu out of Elbaf is to grow even more in terms of power. This could only come as a full Devil Fruit Awakening and proper realization of his Devil Fruit powers.
Luffy's full Sun God Nika form will push him to Imu's level
In order to reach Joy Boy's level, Luffy must strengthen his Devil Fruit powers. Hito Hito no Mi Model: By fully realizing Nika's abilities and standing on par with Nerona Imu, Luffy can do just that. It should be noted that when Nerona Emu displayed herself in Shuisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump issue #19 in One Piece chapter 1179, released on April 5, 2026, she showed a ring of black fire behind her. Similarly, Rain God Zaza, who debuted in One Piece Chapter 1182 in Shuisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump issue #24 on May 10, 2026, debuted with a giant water ring on his back.
“Appearing to the rhythm of a prayer for rain… Rain Lord Jaja!” – St. Killingham explains Zaza, a fragment chapter 1182
Although Monkey D. Luffy is the sun god, he does not have a sun ring on his back. Perhaps, a full Devil Fruit Awakening would grant him a Giant Sun Ring, which he could freely manipulate and use in battle, just as Nerona Emu uses Omen's Black Flame. This Devil Fruit upgrade can put Luffy on par with Emu and allow him to rise as the true Sun God of the world. The Sun Ring also explains why Nikkai is called the Sun God, because as things stand, there is nothing about him that would indicate that he is the Sun God.
It will be interesting to see how the battle between Nerona Emu and Luffy develops over the next few weeks in the Elbaf arc. For now, Luffy's defeat isn't really a bad thing. Instead, it only lines up his biggest Devil Fruit upgrade yet, and we're eagerly awaiting this massive reveal.
All new manga chapters of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece are available to read through Manga Plus and Viz Media.
