While mangaka Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece series is known for its incredible plot twists and long-term narrative foreshadowing, one of the biggest surprises revolves around its protagonist. More specifically, Monkey D. Luffy’s Devil Fruit hides one of the series’ biggest secrets, the truth of which is only revealed over a thousand chapters into the series.
Likewise, many franchise newcomers find themselves asking, “What is Luffy’s Devil Fruit?” due to hearing about this twist from other fans online. Luffy’s Devil Fruit in One Piece is the Mythical Zoan-type Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika, with its true name hidden from the world by being incorrectly identified as the Paramecia-type Gum-Gum Fruit.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the manga/anime.
Luffy's true Devil Fruit name, explained

While the above may satisfactorily answer the question of “What is Luffy’s Devil Fruit in One Piece?” it also creates many more questions as a result. The Gum-Gum Fruit is introduced in the manga’s first chapter, with Shanks saying its name before Luffy eventually eats it. While there are some inconsistencies in the Fruit’s abilities throughout the series relative to other Paramecia Fruits, no characters are seen questioning if it has a hidden true name.
This leads fans to the Wano Arc, where the Gorosei reveal that they changed the Fruit’s name in order to make it less desirable and easier for them to attain. As mentioned above, Luffy’s Fruit is then truly revealed to be the Mythical Zoan-type Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika. Often shortened to simply the Nika Fruit, the Fruit allows its user to transform into the legendary “Sun God” Nika and gain his rubbery abilities.
Likewise, this is how the Fruit was able to be hidden; until its user Awakens the Fruit, it behaves like a normal Paramecia-type. The aforementioned inconsistencies the Fruit showed only came about after Luffy’s two years of training, at which point he had put himself in a position to Awaken the Devil Fruit. The Gorosei’s explanation of the Fruit’s true name also didn’t come until Luffy Awakened it, which he initially referred to as his Gear 5 form and still does.
Luffy’s powers and abilities in One Piece
In turn, Luffy’s various powers and abilities in One Piece are incredibly varied. In its base form, the Fruit turns his body into rubber, allowing him to stretch his body parts almost without limit. While one is confirmed to exist, it has yet to be seen. Early on in the series, Luffy relies solely on this basic ability of his Devil Fruit. His creative ingenuity in how to apply this ability is what makes it particularly dangerous, as seen with several of his early moves.
Later on in the series, Luffy applies this ability to create various transformations, which he calls Gears. Gear 2 sees him utilize his body’s rubber properties to enhance his speed and mobility, which also requires him to speed his blood flow throughout his entire body. Gear 3 sees him inflate his bones with air, allowing his body parts to grow to gigantic sizes. Luffy can inflate various parts of his body and send the stored air to different limbs and sections at will.

Gear 4 sees Luffy combine the use of Armament Haki with the Gum-Gum Fruit’s base abilities. Gear 4 is also the only form with multiple variations, some focused on pushing his speed and strength to abnormal limits and others on increasing his defense. Like Gear 2, Luffy has also learned to isolate Gear 4’s activation to certain parts of his body. For both forms, such an approach limits their strains and negative consequences of use and provides more flexibility.
Gear 5 represents the last major area of Luffy’s powers and abilities in One Piece as the Awakened, true form of his Devil Fruit. Gear 5 is also unique in that it has almost no limits since it allows Luffy to fight in any way he pleases; likewise, the Gorosei calls it “the most ridiculous power in the world.” Luffy also gets the Zoan-type Awakenings boosts to physical attributes like strength, speed, durability, and the ability to recover from and heal severe injuries.
In summation
The answer to “what is Luffy’s Devil Fruit in One Piece” can be simply answered as the Mythical Zoan-type Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika. Fans may also know the Fruit by its false name of the Paramecia-type Gum-Gum Fruit. In its basic form, Luffy’s Devil Fruit turns his body into rubber and grants him the ability to stretch his body with no realistic limit. After Awakening, Luffy’s Fruit has essentially no limits, allowing him to fight in whatever ridiculous way he wants.