One Piece is currently in its Final Saga and the story has recently been delving into some of the biggest mysteries that have remained under the curtains for years upon years. One such massive mystery fans have wondered about pertains to a legendary figure from the past, Joy Boy. In the Wano Country arc, fans were introduced to yet another legendary name, Nika.

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This name holds a lot of significance and it came into play later on in the story, especially towards the climax of the arc. It will be incredibly relevant moving forward as well and fans are already seen Luffy take the form of Nika more than once now. However, there was also a Nika that existed long before Luffy and there are quite a few things that the story has already revealed about this person.

The Nika Myths

The very first mention of Nika in One Piece came during the Onigashima War. Specifically, it was Who's Who who talked about Nika during his fight against Jinbe. Who's Who brought it up because Jinbe was a part of the Sun Pirates and even captained them at one point. Nika, on the other hand, is known as the Sun God so one could see where Who's Who drew the connection from. According to Who's Who, he was once in prison at the Holy Land of Marijoa and, there, he heard about the myth of praying to the Sun God Nika.

According to this myth, Nika was a legendary figure that existed in the past and he freed slaves everywhere. Those who needed him prayed to him and, in the end, he would free them of their misery and bring laughter and joy into their lives. Nika was a savior of the downtrodden and even centuries after his era, he was still prayed to, which just goes to see that his influence was massive. In fact, even the guard mockingly told Who's Who to pray to the Sun God and, what's even more shocking is the fact that the guard completely disappeared after that. Who's Who took his advice and started praying to the Sun God, despite not believing in him and eventually, he managed to break out of this place somehow. Ever since that day, Who's Who has been intrigued by the Sun God and all the history related to it.

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Fans also found out quite a bit about Nika in the Egghead Island arc, when Luffy took this form against Lucci. It was Vegapunk who mentioned that Luffy's transformation in Gear 5 looked exactly similar to the legendary warrior described in histories as the Sun God Nika. He mentioned how Nika is free and fights in the most unique of ways, bringing joy, laughter, and freedom everywhere, making him the legendary warrior from histories.

Luffy As Nika

Fans know that Luffy is Nika ever since the Wano Country Arc. In the fight against Kaido, Luffy pushed himself beyond all his limits and ended up losing to him thrice on Onigashima alone. After his ultimate clash with Kaido was interrupted by CP0, he was struck by the Yonko and his heart stopped beating. Luffy was essentially declared dead, however, it was at this very point that his mind and body had caught up with his Devil Fruit powers, which forced a Devil Fruit Awakening. In his Awakened form, Luffy took the appearance of Nika, the Sun God. It was revealed then that the true name of his Devil Fruit was actually the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. This Devil Fruit was hidden by the World Government because they did not want the world to know about the existence of Nika and, most importantly, they wanted to prevent the rebirth of this exact entity.

In fact, the World Government tried their hardest to get their hands on this power for centuries and they failed every single time. 12 years ago, they had their hands on this Devil Fruit when Shanks made a move and stole it from them and it eventually ended up being consumed by Luffy.

Luffy slowly went on to master its powers and his creativity is what led to it Awakening in the Wano arc. Luffy devised powers such as Gear Second, Gear Third, and after the timeskip, he came out with the incredible ability of Gear Fourth. Finally, Luffy mastered his Devil Fruit to a point where it eventually ended up Awakening, and thus, Nika was once again back. As Nika, Luffy spread laughter and joy all over Wano and, most importantly, liberated the country from Kaido's grasp.

The First Nika

Luffy's return as Nika has intrigued quite a lot of fans as to who the original Nika was. Fans know already that the name Nika and Joyboy are interchangeable in a way. This is evident from the fact that Kaido knew that Joyboy would be the one to defeat him and Zunesha only stated that Joyboy returned when Luffy entered his Nika state after Awakening his Devil Fruit. This pretty much confirms for the fans that Joy Boy and Nika were the same person and the very first Joy Boy, who fought against the World Government, was also Nika.

Of course, bigger questions still remain and one mystery that quite a lot of fans have been wondering about is if Nika was actually a real person or if the previous Joy Boy ate the same Devil Fruit as Luffy. Given that the World Government has been hunting the Devil Fruit itself for centuries and the fact that the original person who was called the Nika was also named Joyboy, it is more likely for the previous Nika to have been a Devil Fruit user as well.

While it is entirely possible that there was actually a godly entity named Nika in the past, and that Joy Boy was a title that he was given later on, at the moment, there isn't enough evidence to support that. That would mean that the Devil Fruit of Nika came to exist after the death of the original Joy Boy and that his soul lived within the fruit. It is much better, at this moment, to assume that the previous Joy Boy was also a Devil Fruit user and that he held the same Devil Fruit as Luffy, instead of being a god himself. It also makes much more sense for him to be revelled as a god because of him being a liberator. However, Nika being a real person is still a very real possibility that Oda could end up making true in the future and one that fans should keep their eye on.

The previous Nika was likely a giant or someone with a much larger body than Luffy. This is indicated by the giant Straw Hat that is currently in Marijoa. This Joy Boy fought against the World Government on behalf of the Ancient Kingdom and was likely the most prominent figure in it. Sadly, the 20 Kingdoms joined forces together and ended up destroying both him and his kingdom. Before dying, however, Nika left behind his treasure on the Final Island, which Roger later named Laugh Tale.

The fact is, quite a lot is still under wraps when it comes to Nika and as the story progresses further, fans will find out more about him, who he was in the past, and how his legend was born. Fans are very curious about this legendary entity from the past and can't wait to see more of him in the Final Saga of One Piece.

One Piece is available to stream on Crunchyroll.MORE:One Piece: Every Yonko Devil Fruit, Ranked