Nika

Nika is the name of a mythical warrior that was once revered as the Sun God by slaves from the ancient times. He was first mentioned by Who's-Who, who heard about the legend from a prison guard during his imprisonment by the World Government. According to Dr. Vegapunk, Nika's existence is only recorded in the most ancient of texts, having been otherwise erased in more modern documents. Nika's legend has also been passed down for generations in the nearly extinct Buccaneer race, being that Bartholomew Kuma learned about Nika's existence from his father during his days of slavery to give him hope, and Kuma later passed this same legend to his adopted daughter, Jewelry Bonney.

There exists a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit called the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika that allows the consumer to gain Nika's traits and abilities. For unknown reasons, the World Government is extremely interested in this fruit and has even covered up its identity by renaming it to the "Gomu Gomu no Mi", in order to prevent other people and organizations from developing an interest in the fruit and seeking to obtain it themselves, such that not even members of the Four Emperors and their respective crews seem to be aware. Currently, the fruit's power is in the possession of Monkey D. Luffy, who the Five Elders call Nika.

Appearance


Based on his single, silhouetted appearance, Nika seemed to be a lanky, warrior-like figure with noodly limbs and flame-shaped hair. He apparently wore something on his thighs, but nothing else. According to Dr. Vegapunk, Luffy's awakened form looks like Nika as he was described in ancient texts.

Personality
According to the legend heard by Who's-Who, Nika was a heroic and benevolent figure, a friend of slaves and adored by them. It was said that Nika would one day come to free the slaves from their oppressive masters and bring smiles to their faces, while spreading joy wherever he went.

Powers and Abilities
The legend states that Nika was a great warrior. In his silhouette appearance, he was seen holding a sword and a spear.

Nika's signature trait was his body having the composition of rubber, which allowed him to fight in just about any manner he could think of. The variety of ways one could fight with this ability can be seen with Monkey D. Luffy and his usage of the fruit modeled after Nika.

Legend
Nika has been worshipped since ancient times by slaves who believed that he would eventually come to free them from their suffering. It is, however, unknown if such a figure actually existed or not, although Dr. Vegapunk has confirmed the existence of ancient records that mention him, and the legend of Nika was passed from father to son in the Buccaneer race for several generations.

Who's-Who, a former member of CP9 who was once imprisoned for his failure to safeguard the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, heard about the legend from an unnamed prison guard and then started giving his prayers for Nika with the intent of easing his own suffering. When Who's-Who noticed that the same prison guard who told him about the legend suddenly vanished from duty, he suspected that the story was not meant to be shared and that the World Government had done something to the guard. He then decided to break out of prison in order to escape a potentially worse punishment for knowing too much.

Who's-Who mentioned Nika to Jinbe during their fight, as the former associated the fish-man race with slavery, and asked Jinbe about the legend. Angered with the assumption of the relationship between fish-men and slavery, Jinbe chose not to respond and instead delivered a critical blow upon Who's-Who.

Devil Fruit


Although it is unknown whether a "true" Nika has ever existed, there exists a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit called the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika that allows the consumer to gain Nika's abilities. Ever since then, the World Government had been extremely interested in this fruit for centuries, and for unknown reasons, this interest is of a nature that has led them to erase the fruit's existence and original name from all historical recordings, renaming it to the "Gomu Gomu no Mi" and reclassifying it as a Paramecia. Despite the government's efforts to seek after it, the fruit managed to elude them, to the point where one of the Five Elders in the present day questioned if the fruit itself was nothing more than a legend as well. Considering that Zoan-type Devil Fruits have a will of their own and they have failed to obtain it for 800 years, some of them even wondered if the Devil Fruit itself could actually be running away from them.

The government finally acquired this fruit around 13 years before the present day, but it was stolen from one of their ships by the Red Hair Pirates. Ironically, it was Who's-Who that was stationed on the ship, and it was his failure to prevent the fruit's theft that led to him being imprisoned and learning about Nika. The fruit was later eaten by a 7-year-old boy named Monkey D. Luffy who found it lying around with the Red Hair Pirates and mistook it for dessert, and he has possessed this power ever since. While the Red Hair Pirates were aghast when they discovered Luffy had eaten the fruit, it remains unclear if they were aware of the fruit's true nature.



After his last defeat against Kaidou, Luffy managed to awaken the fruit's powers, the first time after centuries. When Luffy realized his new powers, he leaped through the sky in a pose identical to Who's-Who and Clapp's description of Nika. Years prior, when Bartholomew Kuma was informing Jewelry Bonney about Nika, he also took the pose when teaching his daughter about the rhythm that Nika laughed to. Later, the two took a similar pose alongside Sentomaru, Vegapunk and Kizaru during Egghead's Fabiriophase's construction.

Trivia

 * The word "Nika" is similar to the Japanese word niko (ニコ), which roughly translates to "toothy grin" and may be a nod to Nika's carefree and mischievous nature.
 * While Nika's concept is referenced from real-world myths, he is currently the only deity original to the One Piece world with his own original powers. Some real-world references include the following:
 * Nika's epithet, "Sun God", is based on the concept of a solar deity, a common mythos across several real-world cultures that represent the sun or aspects of it. Because of the sun's importance to life as a whole, most solar deities are often recognized as symbols of power, strength, and prosperity.
 * Nika's name may be an alternate spelling for Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.
 * Nika's name may be based on the Christogram abbreviation for "Jesus Christ conquers", "IC XC NIKA", in which the word "NIKA" correlates to "conquers".
 * Nika's name may be based on the "Nika Tree", the alternate name used for the banyan tree in Maldives, which is closely related to the rubber plant.
 * According to Japanese folklore, the Nika Tree is said to be the home of the Kijimuna, a race of mischievous childlike spirits native to the island of Okinawa, who are similar in appearance to Nika's silhouette.
 * According to Who's-Who, there may be a connection between Nika, who is claimed to be a sun god, and the Sun Pirates, though any potential details of it are unknown.
 * Technically speaking, Fisher Tiger may fit the description, as he freed the slaves of Mary Geoise and was the first captain of the Sun Pirates.
 * Some cultures within the world have been shown worshiping the sun or a deity related to it:
 * Mousse of the ancient Shandia tribe from 400 years ago once mentioned that she would "meet the sun god" after her sacrifice. The snake Kashigami, which the Shandia worshiped, featured "God of the Sun" as one of its multiple titles.
 * Otohime, the late queen of Fish-Man Island, had a profound admiration for the sun, frequently using it as a symbol that Fish-Men and Merfolk had to strive for.
 * The giants of Elbaf celebrate the death and rebirth of the sun through the Winter Solstice Festival.
 * During a radio program in December 2021, Japanese comedian Sanma Akashiya, who is a friend of Oda's, speculated that Nika may be based on himself. Oda quickly messaged him to refute this and stated that Nika would show his face the next time he appeared, a statement that proved to be true.
 * Nika seems to have some connection to the legendary figure "Joy Boy", as Zunesha had declared "Joy Boy had returned" when Luffy awakened his Devil Fruit and gained its full powers. However, the details of this connection, including if it exists at all, remain unknown.

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