Since Gear 5 debuted, One Piece fans have treated it like a cheat code. Luffy turns the world into a cartoon, no-sells damage, and laughs his way through fights that should kill him. Chapter 1189 just showed exactly where that stops working.
Gear 5 runs on Luffy’s Sun God Nika powers, and it’s built on a simple premise: reality bends around Luffy’s will, so nothing can seriously hurt him as long as he’s still fighting for fun. It’s why he tanked hits from Kaido that should have ended him and why the entire Wano finale felt more like a slapstick cartoon than a war.
That premise has held up against nearly everyone Luffy has faced. But Imu isn’t nearly everyone.
What Actually Happened to Luffy in Chapter 1189
After stabbing Luffy with the Sword of the Wailing Void in the previous chapter, Imu doesn’t ease off. Chapter 1189 has Imu summon a second weapon, the Sea God Sword, and use both blades together to pin Luffy against a giant tree. He’s stuck there, bleeding, while Imu casually arms two more Holy Knights for their own fights against Zoro and Sanji.
Then Imu draws a third weapon, the Xingtian Axe, and moves in to finish him off entirely. Luffy doesn’t dodge. He doesn’t laugh it off. He doesn’t turn the moment into a joke the way Gear 5 usually lets him. He’s simply pinned, hurt, and out of answers until Scopper Gaban steps in from nowhere and blocks the strike himself.
Why Gear 5 Isn’t Saving Luffy This Time
The gap between Luffy and Imu isn’t about stamina or raw Haki, but about who the fight actually belongs to.
Gear 5 thrives when Luffy is the one setting the terms, turning a serious battle into something absurd and unpredictable on his own terms. Imu never lets him get there. Every exchange in Chapter 1189 happens on Imu’s terms, with Imu choosing the weapon, the pace, and the punishment.
That’s a genuinely new problem for Luffy. Kaido, Blackbeard, and even Rob Lucci in his prime all eventually got pulled into Luffy’s chaos. Imu just keeps escalating past it instead.
Whether that’s a permanent limit on Gear 5 or just Imu operating on a tier nobody has tested yet is still unclear, but for the first time since the timeskip into the Final Saga, Luffy needed someone else to physically save him mid-fight.
Usopp already senses something is wrong with his captain from a distance, so a rescue attempt is likely coming. One Piece Chapter 1190 releases on August 10 after next week’s scheduled break.
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