After 30 Years, Luffy’s Faith In The Straw Hat Pirates Breaks With One Big Twist

Published Nov 14, 2026, 8:00 AM EST

Since graduating from The Los Angeles Film School, Jason has worked as an editor for the local news, as well as a producer of several short films and podcasts. His extensive knowledge of film production and narrative storytelling has enabled him to travel the world, writing about the projects he is passionate about in the realms of film, anime, and gaming.
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WARNING: SPOILERS FOR ONE PIECE CHAPTER #1198The Straw Hat crew’s continuous faith that they put in each other is one of their most admirable traits, but One Piece's Elbaph arc features a betrayal of that trust between Luffy and his crew. The World Government's covert mission to kidnap Giant children from their homeland has evolved into a battle so large and grand that Usopp seems convinced he's witnessing the end of the world. While he’s normally exaggerating, several new transformations of prominent characters might be capable of such chaos.

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Almost as soon as it looked like the Straw Hats and the Giants had successfully defeated the Holy Knights threatening Elbaph, the tables suddenly turned. The World Government's secret ruler, Saint Nerona Imu, descended on the island in an attempt to regain control of the island, enslave its inhabitants, and steal hidden ancient technology. But he never expected Luffy and Loki to push him to exert so much effort in a battle that has also forced the Straw Hat captain to evolve his Devil Fruit to a level that threatens to change him and his relationship with his crew.

Luffy's New Form Is Making Him Do Things He Normally Wouldn't Do

As the battle against Imu raged, Sanji and Zoro were increasing their powers to a level closer to Luffy's in their fights against the enhanced and nearly immortal Holy Knights. The crew and all of Elbaph were counting on the two to take care of Imu's subordinates in charge of securing the children and a means of escape. But after the two Straw Hats finally learned how to control their Conqueror's Haki, they were able to overwhelm their foes, sabotaging Imu's plans.

Both Zoro and Sanji were trusted to complete their objectives, and just as they seemed to have things under control, Luffy in his new beast form suddenly arrived and made short work of the Rain God construct that had been summoned by one of the Holy Knights. However, there were several signs in chapter #1198 that this version of Luffy is not the same person who's led the Straw Hat crew all this way, but a much more chaotic figure that's willing to betray the Straw Hats.

Throughout One Piece's many arcs, Luffy has consistently counted on his crew mates to accomplish important tasks while he focused on confronting the enemy leader. With Saint Nerona Imu wreaking havoc in his colossal, god-like form, there couldn't be a worse time for Luffy to ditch the fight to go interrupt the situation that Zoro and Sanji had under control. And that interruption is a betrayal of the faith Luffy normally places in his cherished crew.

Why Luffy Isn't Acting Like Himself

It's been previously established in One Piece lore that when a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user fully awakens their abilities, they run the risk of the fruit's animalistic spirit overtaking the user's mind. In the worst cases, awakened Zoan users permanently become extremely powerful humanoid animals devoid of logical thought and the user's original personality. With Luffy being the user of the Mythical Zoan Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika, chapter #1198 finally explored what it looks like when Luffy's fruit fully awakens. But after seemingly losing control, there is no telling what he might do next.

Luffy has consistently been a character who has extremely high levels of emotional intelligence and acts on instinct rather than thinking of a complex plan. Because of this, author Eiichiro Oda rarely gives the character internal dialogue represented with thought bubbles. After Luffy's awakened into his full Nika form, he's shown using thought bubbles that are completely blank and speech bubbles that have reduced his vocabulary to "oookee ookee" monkey sounds. And now, Luffy more closely resembles a tumultuous monkey god who laughs at the laws of logic and physics than the captain of the Straw Hat crew.

The following chapters will undoubtedly see whether Luffy’s new form will fulfill the prophecy that described Nika as both a liberator and a God of Destruction, and if he will be a danger to Elbaph and the Straw Hats. Keeping those facts in mind while also taking into account his interruption of Zoro and Sanji's current situation, it's clear that One Piece's main character is now more monkey than man, and I have a feeling that will lead to some unwanted consequences.