One Piece: Does Bonney’s Gear 5 Ruin Luffy’s Greatest Power-Up?
In the Egghead arc of One Piece, fans saw quite a lot of focus being thrown on Jewelry Bonney. In many ways, it can be said that the Egghead Island arc was Bonney’s to quite an extent. She played a major role in this part of the series, and she continues to be extremely important here. More recently, Bonney could utilize the abilities of her Devil Fruit to the full extent, and essentially, tap into the powers of Gear 5. Luffy taught Bonney how to use this power, and now, there are essentially two people with the power of Nika on Egghead Island.
Of course, fans are split as to whether this is a good decision by the author or not. Gear 5 is an incredibly amazing power-up that Luffy awakened in the Wano Country arc. However, now, this power is also accessible to Bonney, which, for some, might ruin its uniqueness.
Bonney Gaining Gear 5 In Egghead
Bonney’s Toshi Toshi no Mi Gave Her Access To The Powers Of Nika
Jewelry Bonney was under a lot of focus in the Egghead Island arc of One Piece. In the flashback that fans got in the Egghead Island arc, surrounding the character of Kuma, fans got to see Bonney utilize the powers of her Toshi Toshi No Mi in interesting ways. Even as a child, Bonney could access various futures. For instance, she could transform into a Buccaneer whenever she wanted, and at the same time, towards the beginning of her journey, Bonney could summon a Nika-like future, where she manifested a rubbery body and essentially take out even a member of the Cipher Pol at the young age of 10. This was incredibly surprising for quite a lot of the fans, especially because Bonney could essentially utilize Luffy’s Devil Fruit powers without even having it.
Its powers might allow you to transform into any future, but the more you know of reality, the narrower your future possibilities become.
That said, back then, Bonney could only access the basic version of Luffy’s powers. In other words, Bonney could manifest a rubbery body and, with that, do what Luffy could do without utilizing his Awakening. Bonney was seen creating an absolutely massive fist to strike down Alpha, and, in other words, that suggests that she has displayed a power similar to Gear 3 around the same time as, or before even Luffy.
If that wasn’t enough, on the Egghead Island arc, Bonney took things one step further. Towards the end of the arc, as fans saw in One Piece chapter 1118, Bonney actually managed to manifest Luffy’s strongest power-up, Gear 5. This happened after Luffy taught Bonney how to utilize this ability in the first place. Knowing that Bonney has the ability to somehow transform, Luffy pushed her to utilize powers similar to him and she was successfully able to bring about a future where she was the freest. Essentially, with that, Bonney manifested the powers of Nika, and her transformation is just like that of Luffy. She has white hair, white clothes, and an incredibly rubbery body, which means that she’s just like Luffy right now.
How Bonney Gaining Gear 5 Affects Luffy’s Uniqueness
Bonney And Luffy Have Similar Powers Now, But Are Still Different
If one looks at Bonney’s powers on a surface level, then, of course, it might seem like her powers are just like that of Luffy, and they affect the uniqueness of the main character of the series. Luffy is the protagonist, after all, and his incredible uniqueness should always be maintained. Luffy has always had a unique fighting style, and if someone else were to have it, then of course, It would just cheapen what Luffy has access to. This is one of the reasons why many fans don’t like the fact that Bonney can access Gear 5. However, one needs to look at it from a broader perspective.
I don’t know how your powers work, but you’ve got this, Bonney!
The very first thing that fans need to know is that this was established by Oda when Bonney’s Devil Fruit was actually revealed. Bonney gaining Gear 5 isn’t something that Oda decided randomly. In fact, many theories, which were even put forward by Game Rant, clearly suggested that Bonney would be able to use Gear 5 later down the line. Of course, just being able to predict something doesn’t mean it makes sense, or that it is good writing. However, in the case of Bonney, this is a magical touch from Oda, and it will certainly elevate this character tremendously. For one, fans need to look at Bonney’s very own character arc. Bonney was born in the most terrible conditions, without her own mother. For her entire life, she was caged. Bonney had no freedom up until her 10th birthday, as she could not even step out of her home in the sun. The very first time Bonney saw what the sun looked like was when she stepped out after her 10th birthday, on an adventure alone.
Bonney sought out her very own father, and even then, she was in shackles. As a kid, Bonney’s only request was to be able to see the world one day and be free. In fact, both Bonney and Kuma talked about Nika often and wanted him to come one day to free them from their miseries. In fact, Bonney even asked Kuma if Nika would ever free her. To this, Kuma replied that he would, most certainly. As such, Bonney is a character who deserves to be free more than anyone else.
It is also very interesting that Bonney had a very limited future when she was born. Most didn’t even expect her to survive. She was an experiment done by Saturn and should have died. Her future was limited, but Kuma sacrificed herself to make her future absolutely limitless. It was because of his sacrifice that Bonney is alive today, and, thanks to that, Bonney can essentially carve out her own future.
Because of this, Bonney having the power of a Devil Fruit that allows her to access various futures, that is, the Toshi Toshi no Mi, is absolutely perfect. And, above all, following the laws of the Toshi Toshi no Mi, Bonney should be able to take any future that she wants. Bonney’s father, Kuma, was connected to Nika, given that Nika’s lore is very prevalent in the people of the Buccaneer race. Kuma’s very own powers were known as the Hands of Liberation. As such, a connection to Nika runs down this family and Bonney is no different. It was only natural for her to want to be like her hero. To Bonney, Nika is a superhero to look up to who would save her one day from her misery.
Every child has a dream to be like their heroes. And, in the case of Bonney, she wanted to be like Nika. Born with a limited future, the immense sacrifice Kuma made for Bonney allowed her to turn things around and create a limitless future for herself. As such, Bonney could access any future that she wished, be that of a Buccaneer, a Giant, or Nika himself. With that, Bonney was able to manifest this power, and become the freest person of all. This is absolutely beautiful, because out of all the characters, Bonney wanted to be free the most. She wanted to see the world and experience freedom like no other. Bonney does not want this just for herself, but she also wants this for her own father and that is why Kuma’s very own daughter gaining powers similar to that of Nika is very important to the story.
Bonney getting access to Gear 5 is perfect and something that fans should understand has deeper meaning. This does not cheapen Gear 5 in any way. Bonney cannot manifest Gear 5 like Luffy. Even though she has the powers of Nika, there is only one person who can change the world and that is Luffy. That doesn’t mean that Bonney does not have a role to play. Furthermore, her role isn’t going to be as Nika, but as an individual who can manifest many futures. Bonney’s Gear 5 is special, and perfect for a character such as herself. Luffy and Bonney are two separate individuals, and their version of freedom is going to be ruled by different personalities.
