One Piece and Naruto form two-thirds of the Big Three of anime. They are crucial figures when it comes to helping the anime industry to boom. But due to both of them being superpowers in the anime world, there is always a sense of competition between the fandoms. When it comes to their creator, they are the complete opposite of the fandoms.
It is a common notion between mangaka to get inspired by each other’s works. Masashi Kishimoto, creator of Naruto, and Eiichiro Oda, creator of One Piece, also walked the same path. Masashi Kishimoto once revealed that Monkey D. Luffy’s Gear Third was inspired by a character from Naruto. Luffy has nothing in common with this character, yet Eiichiro Oda was amazed to see a great attack form that he used in his magnum opus.
Monkey D. Luffy’s Gear Third Is Inspired From Choji Akimichi
Choji Akimichi is one of the side characters in Naruto. He was in the same class as the protagonist and always proved to be a significant and loyal ally to Naruto Uzumaki. Choji belonged to the Akimichi clan. Like all the other major clans, the Akimichi clan also possessed a secret Jutsu known as the Partial Expansion Jutsu.
Fun fact: Luffy’s Giant Pistol from Gear 3 was inspired from Choji’s ‘Baika no Jutsu’ in NARUTO 🔥
— 𝗞𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗼 岸本斉史 (@kishimotomasshi) August 11, 2023
Oda told me “Hey, I’m kind of copying your style here. Sorry !” #ONEPIECE pic.twitter.com/jsiXAr4UAO
The Partial Expansion Jutsu allows its user to expand any part of his body. Choji showcased his power to the full extent during the Sasuke Retrieval arc when he fought Jirobo. It is a powerful method and can be used to overpower strong defenses. Eiichiro Oda was inspired by the Partial Expansion Jutsu and created Gear Third in One Piece.
When Monkey D. Luffy turns into Gear Third, he puts his thumb in his mouth and blows air into it, and his hand grows in size. It follows the mechanism of blowing into a balloon since he is a rubber man. Luffy first used this technique against CP-9’s Rob Lucci. In both instances, the abilities were used when either of them was in a tight situation.
Jirobo was overpowering Choji when he used the Partial Expansion Jutsu for the first time. On the other hand, Luffy gave it his all to defeat Rob Lucci and used Gear Third to punch him through the building into the sea.
There Are Several Uncanny Similarities between Naruto and One Piece
The similarity between Partial Expansion Jutsu and Gear Third was something very few people knew about. Masashi Kishimoto revealed this information on his social media. But these are not the only similarities between the two. Several other similarities make Naruto Uzumaki closer to Monkey D. Luffy, unlike their fans.
Eiichiro Oda wanted to name Sanji Naruto but changed it after seeing Kishimoto sensei’s work. Even though the situation was the same, the functionality was different in the case of the Partial Expansion Jutsu and Gear 5. Choji Akimichi possessed the ability since it was a hereditary technique, while Luffy was creative with his Gomu Gomu no Mi.
But it does not require anyone to say that Naruto and One Piece started a cult movement and attracted a generation of anime watchers. Nowadays, anime has become mainstream, but back in the day, it was these two, along with Bleach and Dragon Ball Z.
One Piece and Naruto is available on Crunchyroll for streaming.
