One Piece 1198: Luffy Monkey Form, Dark Nika and Imu

In short In One Piece 1198, nearly five years after the Gear 5 reveal, Luffy loses control of his Zoan fruit and becomes the monstrous black monkey fans call Dark Nika. The chapter also unveils Imu’s gigantic fifth form on Elbaph and shows Zoro and Sanji fighting the Holy Knights on equal terms.

Chapter: One Piece 1198
Chapter 1 date: July 19, 1997
Chapter 425 date: September 6, 2006
Elapsed time: Nearly five years
Ancient structure: 3,000-year-old structure from chapter 1114

Key points

One Piece 1198 shows Luffy losing control of his Zoan fruit and becoming a monstrous black monkey called Dark Nika.
Imu unveils a gigantic fifth form on Elbaph, standing near the Adam tree and wielding a huge white blade.
Zoro and Sanji identify the Holy Knights’ hearts as their weakness and fight them on equal terms.
The chapter strengthens theories linking Luffy, Nika, Monkey, and the animal form of his Zoan fruit.

Key moments 4

Luffy transforms into a monstrous black monkey
Zoan instincts threaten to overwhelm Luffy
Imu reveals a gigantic fifth form
Zoro and Sanji target the Holy Knights’ hearts

Questions answered 4

What is Luffy’s monkey form in One Piece 1198?

The video theory identifies Gear 5 as Luffy’s hybrid form and the black monkey as his animal form. Fans call this monstrous transformation Dark Nika. Read the section

What are the three Zoan forms of Luffy’s Hito Hito no Mi?

The theory presents Luffy’s three names as three forms of one man: Monkey, Luffy, and Nika. It suggests Gear 5 is the hybrid form and the monkey is the animal form. Read the section

Is Dark Nika actually Luffy?

If the theory holds, the dark Nika shown in the Elbaph mural and giants’ legends is simply Luffy. Read the section

What is Imu’s new form in One Piece 1198?

Imu’s fifth form is gigantic, perhaps a kilometer tall beside the Adam tree. It resembles a statue with wings and a halo, is close to an iron maiden, and carries a huge white blade.

One Piece 1198 is a turning point for Monkey D. Luffy. Nearly five years after the Gear 5 reveal on Onigashima, the Straw Hat captain loses control of his Zoan fruit and turns into a monstrous black monkey, the form fans now call Dark Nika. In the same chapter, Imu unveils a towering new form on Elbaph, and Zoro and Sanji finally fight the Holy Knights on equal terms. Here is our full recap of the chapter, with the biggest reveals and the fan theories they feed for the rest of the Elbaph arc. Before this chapter, fans were already asking what Luffy’s next hybrid awakening in Elbaph could look like.

Note: much of the analysis below comes from a French video breakdown. The theories are fan opinion, not official facts.

One Piece 1198 Recap: What Happens in the Chapter?

Luffy becomes a giant black monkey, a form that looks like the will of his Zoan fruit taking over his mind.
Imu reveals a new, gigantic form, cuts down Loki and heads for the West Village, where a powerful Haki signature was spotted.
Zoro and Sanji both discover that the Holy Knights’ weakness is their heart.

What Is Luffy’s Monkey Form in One Piece 1198?

Luffy heads to the West Village and immediately engages the enemy, scratching himself like a monkey along the way. He is no longer himself. Sanji admits he does not recognize his captain, because the Zoan has taken control.

Zoan users have their own will inside the fruit, and awakening them risks letting that nature overwhelm the user. The beast guardians of Impel Down are the usual proof. Scopper Gaban also reminds us in this chapter that Luffy’s fruit is a Zoan.

The Three Zoan Forms of the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika

The video’s theory is that Gear 5 is the hybrid form and the monkey is the animal form. It also suggests that the three names of Luffy are really three forms of one man.

Zoan form	Name	Meaning for the giants	Theory
Human	Luffy	Liberation	The emperor
Hybrid (Gear 5)	Joy Boy	Laughter	The white warrior
Animal (monkey)	Nika	Destruction	The sun god

If this holds, the dark Nika from the Elbaph mural and the giants’ legends is simply Luffy. We covered that legend in our look at the three Nikas and the double end of the world.

Luffy’s Monkey Form and the Hanuman Connection

His name has always pointed here. Chapter 1 came out on July 19, 1997, and in chapter 425 (September 6, 2006) Chopper already called Luffy’s instincts wild. Oda took “Monkey” from Dragon Ball, whose Goku was inspired by Sun Wukong of Journey to the West, who in turn draws on the Hindu monkey god Hanuman.

It is also close to an iron maiden, and it wields a huge white blade that cuts Loki with ease.

Hanuman	Luffy
Called the monkey god	In a databook, Oda wrote “Hanuman, monkey god” next to the Gear 5 sketches
Second name Bajrang	Bajrang Gun, written as “Bullet of the Monkey God”
Tries to eat the sun, thinking it is a fruit	Eats the Sun God fruit by accident, hungry
Struck down, then revives	Struck on Onigashima, then rises as the sun god
Immune to lightning	Grabs lightning in Gear 5
Child of the wind god	Monkey D. Dragon, presented in the video as a wind-fruit user

In the myth, the wind god’s anger stops the world from breathing. The video speculates that Dragon could answer Imu in the same way. That is a theory, not a confirmed plot point.

Imu’s New Form in One Piece 1198

Imu’s fifth form is gigantic, perhaps a kilometer tall next to the Adam tree. It looks like a statue with wings and a halo. It is also close to an iron maiden, and it wields a huge white blade that cuts Loki with ease.

Imu form	Where it appeared
Human silhouette	Throne room
Animal silhouette	Throne room
Satan-like form	Arrival on Elbaph
Baphomet-like form	Elbaph
Iron maiden, angel-like statue	One Piece 1198

The face resembles the masks of the CP0 Aegis agents, and flipped upside down the design looks like the empty throne. Imu again says it must return to the Holy Land, which fits earlier signs of failing health. Our earlier coverage of Imu’s terrifying new form and Imu’s true form and the vacant throne helps put this chapter in context.

Imu asks Loki about the ancient technology of Elbaph. He does not understand. The video links it to the 3,000-year-old structure from chapter 1114, and notes that time passes about three times faster on Elbaph. The video suggests it may not exist yet, as with Roger and Poseidon.

Zoro and Sanji vs the Holy Knights

Zoro and Sanji realize the Holy Knights’ hearts are the weak point and race each other to destroy them. Sanji turns Zoro’s earlier “my colleague will handle yours” line back on him, a nice parallel to chapter 1187.

One Piece 1198 shows Luffy as a monstrous black monkey, a likely Dark Nika.
The Zoan will appears to have overtaken his mind.
The monkey and Hanuman links are strong.
Imu’s fifth form is a winged statue that cuts Loki down.
Zoro and Sanji find the Holy Knights’ weak point.

One Piece 1198 turns Luffy’s name into a transformation and gives Imu the most unsettling design so far. Whether Nika was always Luffy, or the shield and sword imagery becomes real (see the Sun God Nika shield symbol explained), the rest of the Elbaph arc looks wild. Read the chapter on MANGA Plus or buy it on VIZ.