The Final Saga of One Piece is doing something few long-running series ever manage: it’s pushing the story into its most ambitious territory while also rewriting what fans thought they knew about its core powers. One of the clearest examples of this is Jewelry Bonney’s surprising “Gear 5” transformation, a moment that left viewers stunned, confused, and eager to understand how it could even be possible with the Age-Age Fruit.
While debate rages across the fandom about whether this scene makes sense, there is a way to interpret Bonney’s power that keeps it consistent with the story’s logic—at least on a thematic level.
The God Valley Arc Has Taken Over the Fandom
All of this is happening against the backdrop of the God Valley Incident, which has quickly become one of the most captivating storylines in One Piece history. Many fans aren’t ready for it to end. Eiichiro Oda’s exploration of this long-mysterious event has brought together legendary figures like Rocks D. Xebec, Gol D. Roger, Monkey D. Garp, and even the enigmatic Imu, turning the flashback into a sweeping historical epic rather than a simple detour.
The arc dives deep into the power struggles that shaped the modern world of One Piece, revealing long-hidden secrets about the Celestial Dragons, the World Government, and the early days of piracy. For many, it’s a rare glimpse into the “true history” of the world—something fans have been waiting for since the manga’s earliest chapters.
In the middle of all this lore-heavy greatness, Bonney’s Gear 5-esque moment stands out as one of the strangest, most talked-about scenes in recent memory.
What the Age-Age Fruit Actually Does
To understand how Bonney could appear in a form resembling Gear 5, you first have to look closely at the Age-Age Fruit. Bonney’s power has consistently allowed her to:
- Change her own age, shifting between child, adult, and elderly versions of herself.
- Alter the age of others, turning enemies into children or old men in an instant.
- Create versions of herself that represent “possible futures”, hinting that her ability can manipulate not just age, but the idea of what she could one day become.
That last point is the key. Bonney doesn’t just rewind and fast-forward time like a simple clock—her power often carries a conceptual edge. She can show what someone might look like if their life had progressed differently, or what she herself might be in years to come, depending on the situation.
Bonney’s Gear 5: A “What If” Future, Not a True Awakening
When Bonney appears in a Gear 5-like form, the most consistent way to interpret it is not that she has actually awakened a Mythical Zoan or become Nika, but that she’s temporarily forcing herself into a hypothetical future version of herself.
In other words, the Age-Age Fruit is doing something like this:
- Taking Bonney’s existing potential and “fast-forwarding” it to an extreme, exaggerated state.
- Borrowing the visual language of Gear 5—white hair, cartoonish elasticity, joyful expression—as a way of showing the audience the kind of wild, toony power she imagines or could one day approach.
- Presenting this form as a projection or possibility, not a literal copy of Luffy’s Nika-based awakening.
From this perspective, Bonney isn’t truly using Gear 5. She’s using the Age-Age Fruit to pull herself into a future that borrows the style and energy of Gear 5, much like how her other transformations exaggerate age, strength, or combat potential.
The Difference Between Luffy’s Nika and Bonney’s “Gear 5”
The distinction that many fans cling to—and rightly so—is that Luffy’s Gear 5 is rooted in his specific Devil Fruit and his identity as Nika. His powers are tied to:
- The Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, a Mythical Zoan.
- A genuine awakening, which transforms his body and surroundings in impossible, cartoon-like ways.
- A godlike role in the story’s deeper mythology.
Bonney, by contrast, does not:
- Gain access to Nika’s true power.
- Rewrite reality in the same way Luffy can.
- Suddenly become a Mythical Zoan user.
Her Gear 5-like form can instead be read as:
- A cosmetic, temporary state created by her fruit.
- A reflection of how she envisions peak power or a wild future self.
- A way for the anime (or story) to visually nod to Gear 5 without actually handing her Luffy’s unique abilities.
This interpretation keeps Luffy’s Gear 5 special, while still allowing Bonney’s transformation to exist as part of her time-and-potential-based toolkit.
Why the Scene Still Feels Controversial
Even with a lore-friendly explanation, it’s easy to see why the scene has caused such an uproar. Many viewers felt the anime didn’t clearly label Bonney’s form as hypothetical or symbolic, making it look instead like anyone can just “switch on” Gear 5 if the plot demands it.
For some fans, that:
- Undermines the years of buildup behind Luffy’s awakening.
- Makes Gear 5 feel more like a gimmick than a once-in-a-generation power.
- Blurs the line between serious, canon-defining moments and playful visual experiments.
Others, however, are more forgiving. They see the sequence as a natural extension of Bonney’s Age-Age powers and a fun, over-the-top tribute to Gear 5’s chaotic style, rather than a strict power-scaling statement.
Fans Don’t Want to Return to the Straw Hats Yet
What makes this whole debate even more surreal is that many fans aren’t even focused on the present timeline right now—they’re still emotionally locked into God Valley.
Social media is full of people admitting they don’t want to go back to the Straw Hat Pirates just yet. This arc feels, to many, like the most thrilling part of One Piece in years, thanks to its darker tone, intense storytelling, and dense lore. While Luffy and his crew are the heart of the series, the God Valley storyline offers something entirely different: a look at the legends and events that shaped everything we know.
One fan captured the mood perfectly on X (formerly Twitter):
“If we return to the Straw Hats now, it’ll feel like waking up from a dream.”
At a time when the past is stealing the spotlight from the present adventure, moments like Bonney’s Gear 5 become lightning rods for larger anxieties about tone, power consistency, and how the Final Saga will balance hype with coherence.
A Testament to Oda’s Storytelling and Legacy
Despite the controversy, the broader enthusiasm around the God Valley flashback speaks volumes about Eiichiro Oda’s enduring skill as a storyteller. After more than two decades, he’s still revealing new layers of history that connect pirates, marines, and rulers across generations.
The arc’s pacing, emotional weight, and massive scope have reminded readers of One Piece’s golden eras—a blend of mystery, world-building, and drama that few series can rival. Even as some fans worry that decisions like Bonney’s Gear 5 moment might overcomplicate the power system, others argue that this blend of wild creativity and deep lore is exactly what makes the series unique.
In the end, how Bonney turned into “Gear 5” with the Age-Age Fruit may remain a point of debate, but it also shows just how closely fans are watching every detail of the Final Saga. Whether the flashback ends soon or continues, the God Valley storyline—and bold, controversial scenes like Bonney’s—have already cemented this period as one of the most defining phases in One Piece history.
