One Piece's Luffy vs. Naruto: Would Gear 5 Beat Baryon Mode? (2024)

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR BORUTO AND ONE PIECE

Stunningly powerful in their respective universes, it's only natural for fans to wonder how Naruto's Baryon Mode stacks up against One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy and his Gear 5 abilities. Ever since the days of Super Saiyans and Sailor Moon, transformations and power-ups have become a staple part of shonen manga, but which of these modern greats deserves the crown?

Luffy's Gear Fifth debuted in the triumphant episode #1071 of the One Piece anime and chapter #1044 of the manga. Its awakening came with the revelation that Luffy's Devil Fruit is a Mythical Zoan class fruit titled the Hito Hito no Mi: Model Nika and not the Gum-Gum Fruit, as initially believed. The power of this Devil Fruit is said to be the most ridiculous in the entire world, only limited by the user's imagination.

Naruto's Baryon Mode debuted in episode #2016 of the Boruto anime and chapter #51 of the manga. It's a transformation heavily rooted in the application of more grounded scientific principles than Luffy's mythical Devil Fruit powers. In a process similar to nuclear fusion, Naruto sacrifices his and Kurama's chakra as the raw materials used to create new energy, a one-time-use transformation. Both Gear Fifth and Baryon Mode also cause substantial strain to the user, risking their lifespans to prolong their transformations.

Naruto's Byron Mode Would Beat Luffy's Gear 5

The Boruto manga is written by Masashi Kishimoto, Illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto

Naruto: Shippuden

TV-14

Action

Adventure

Animation

Martial Arts

See Also

Goku Vs. Naruto — Who Wins?15 Iconic Anime Characters Who Are Stronger Than GokuTop 10 Strongest Anime CharactersGoku vs Ben 10

Set two and a half years after the events of Masashi Kishimoto's original anime, Naruto Shippuden continues the titular hero's attempts to become the best ninja in the Hidden Leaf Village and bring his former friend Sasuke Uchiha back to the light. The 500-episode series features the return of allies such as Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki's mentor Jiraiya, as well as the villainous organization Akatsuki.

Cast

Junko Takeuchi , Kazuhiko Inoue , Noriaki Sugiyama , Chie Nakamura , Shoutarou Morikubo , Hideo Ishikawa , Nana Mizuki , Houchuu Ootsuka

Release Date

February 15, 2007

Seasons

22

Network

Adult Swim

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll

Franchise(s)

Naruto

Writers

Junki Takegami , Satoru Nishizono , Yasuyuki Suzuki , Yasuaki Kurotsu , Masanao Akahoshi

Directors

Hayato Date , Masaaki Kumagai , Yasuaki Kurotsu , Osamu Kobayashi , Chiaki Kon

In terms of the actual transformations themselves, Naruto's Baryon Mode provides a significant increase in power at the cost of an even greater risk to the user. Before assuming Baryon Mode, the planet-devouring alien Isshiki seemed untouchable, but afterward, Naruto had clearly surpassed the gap in power between them. However, this power only lasted for a short time, and even with his ridiculous levels of stamina, Naruto could only hold out for what seemed like minutes at best.

Gear Fifth is a more interesting case when it comes to determining what the form is capable of. While Luffy is notably much stronger in Gear 5 thanks to his ability to manipulate his body at whim, its increased durability is where Gear Fifth shines. Luffy was capable of tanking Kaido's most powerful attacks just by stretching around them and also molding his surroundings with the same level of durability. However, as Kaido points out, Luffy remains vulnerable to slashing attacks, which is something Naruto's Rasenshuriken is capable of delivering countless amounts of at the microscopic level.

Even with Luffy’s increased durability, Baryon Mode comes with an extremely potent form of durability negation in the ability to shave off an opponent's lifespan through mere contact. However, this occurs when Naruto comes into contact with an opponent’s chakra, which means Luffy (who doesn’t have a chakra system) may be immune, but the power drain may very well affect One Piece's life force-type energy known as Haki.

Luffy's Gear 5 Form May Get Stronger Than Naruto In The Future

One Piece is Written and Illustrated by Eiichiro Oda

One Piece

Created by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is a multimedia franchise that began as a manga series and follows the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates as led by Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy, an enthusiastic pirate with a thirst for adventure, is afflicted by a mysterious curse that gives him various powers he uses to protect himself and his friends. The manga eventually gave way to the anime series, with the two being some of history's longest-running anime and manga series. Along with over fifty video games made over the years, the series entered the live-action world with Netflix's 2023 adaptation.

Created by

Eiichiro Oda

First Film

One Piece: The Movie

First TV Show

One Piece

Cast

Kazuya Nakai , Akemi Okamura , Kappei Yamaguchi , Hiroaki Hirata , Ikue Ôtani , Yuriko Yamaguchi

Character(s)

Monkey D. Luffy , Roronora Zoro , Nami (One Piece) , Nico Robin , Usopp (One Piece) , Vinsmoke Sanji , Tony Tony Chopper , Franky (One Piece) , Jimbei (One Piece)

Video Game(s)

One Piece: Unlimited World Red , One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 , One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 , One Piece: World Seeker , One Piece Odyssey

One important factor in determining who would win between Gear 5 and Baryon Mode is that Luffy's new form may grow even stronger as One Piece gets closer to ending. Author Eiichiro Oda has stated that One Piece's current arc acts as the first part of the story's final saga, meaning fans will see how strong Luffy becomes at his peak before One Piece ends. With the Egghead Island arc providing more than a few opponents worthy of fighting Gear 5, the form's arsenal of abilities and powers continues to grow.

Luffy definitely isn’t lacking in the power department, as he scales past Doflamingo’s strings, which were able to stop a meteor from landing, and past Kaido, who casually held up an island-sized fortress. Naruto, however, can potentially be scaled much higher as he should be stronger than the Perfect Susanoo, which carved apart an entire mountain range, and Kaguya, who threatened to destroy an entire planet within her dimension.

Both fighters have shown the ability to move at relativistic speeds, with Naruto and Luffy having both dodged light-based attacks. Luffy should have an edge due to his future sight ability, a form of advanced observation Haki that can read a foe's movements to predict what they will do seconds before they do it. However, Naruto is used to fighting opponents with similar abilities, such as the Sharingan.

One Piece is a complicated series to measure strength feats with because of its wacky and sometimes inconsistent power scaling. Some of the series' most powerful characters have been known to fight for several days straight, which most Naruto characters can not do. Still, Luffy's strongest attack saw him create an armored fist the size of a mountain at the end of the Wano arc. Gear 5's Bajrang Gun attack hit Kaido's giant dragon form so hard he was sent flying down from the sky and through Wano's layers of earth until he hit underground lava pools.

Naruto Could Probably Beat Gear 5 Without Baryon Mode

The Best Ninja Has More Tricks Up Their Sleeve Than The Best Pirate

Naruto's wide range of abilities, jutsus, and attacks would likely be enough to handle Gear 5 Luffy. Sage Mode alone sees a dramatic increase in reflexes, perception, and durability that were all brilliantly showcased during Naruto's battle against Pain, and the future Seventh Hokage only improved from there. The immense amount of strength that Baryon Mode gives Naruto would be more than enough to stop Luffy's biggest attacks. Stopping and destroying meteors was something Naruto was able to do at the end of Naruto Shippuden, even before using the sacrificial Baryon transformation.

During the Baryon mode fight against Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, Naruto was able to lift and throw Isshiki's massively heavy Disruption Cube. When Boruto tried breaking one of the cubes with his strongest attack, he couldn't even scratch it. Naruto is also no stranger to tanking or blocking devastating attacks like one that split the moon into two during Naruto: The Last movie and Momoshiki's massive energy blast that nearly obliterated Konoha. While Luffy's Gear 5 attacks have stunned and significantly damaged his foes, he has yet to do something that Naruto couldn't handle.

Luffy & Naruto Would Likely Bond Over Food Instead Of Fighting To The Death

Realistically, Naruto manages to edge Luffy out in every stat that matters in this fight, except for stamina. If Luffy wants to stand a chance, he must stretch out the fight as much as possible until Kurama and Naruto burn up all their chakra to maintain the one-time-use Baryon Mode, causing one of them to die. Luffy's abilities are also prone to exhaustion after high-level combat, so any victory would depend on creating a sweet spot that would be difficult to achieve. Without that, Naruto wins in every other category, especially if his ability to lessen Luffy's lifespan is intact.

Like many battles in anime, the strongest fighter doesn't always win. Under some extraordinary circ*mstances, Luffy's Gear 5 could potentially beat Naruto's Baryon Mode. However, Baryon Mode is stronger and faster than what fans have seen of Gear 5 so far. While both Gear 5 and Baryon Mode are iconic transformations, it seems Luffy still has a way to go before he surpasses Naruto. However, One Piece is still far from over, and readers can expect to see the future Pirate King become even stronger by the time the series finishes.

Sources: Crunchyroll Collection (1, 2), MarcoThePhoenix, darkssage2406 /YouTube

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