Oda unveils Luffy's Mastered New Gear 4

This article contains spoilers from the One Piece arc.

Key foods

• Luffy's mastery of Gear 4 allows him to use it on specific parts of his body, improving his stamina and hockey.
• Luffy's ability to freely switch between Gear 4 forms and techniques makes him more versatile in battle.
• The introduction of the Gear 5 does not make the Gear 4 obsolete. Luffy still uses it in strategic ways against opponents.

Luffy has shown significant growth in strength and personality over time each piece. With the New World being where the real challenge lay, Oda always intended for Luffy to reach a whole new level of power in this particular part of the story. A two-year time warp caused him to be greatly enhanced, and thanks to Reilly's help, Luffy developed a new incredible power called Gear 4. Gear 4 was first introduced in the battle against Doflamingo. Luffy's normal Gears were ineffective against the Heavenly Demon, so he had to pull out his trump card and that was Gear 4.

Since then, Luffy has gone Master Gear 4 in many exciting ways, but more than that, he developed a brand new power called Gear 5, which was featured in the Wano Country Arc. However, the existence of the Gear 5 does not mean that the Gear 4 is already obsolete. It's still a very useful ability, and Luffy has recently shown off new ways to use this power that further cement his mastery over it.

Luffy's previous fight with Gear 4 In One Piece

• Luffy couldn't hold Gear 4 for long
• Luffy Lost Haki After Gear 4

It goes without saying that Gear 4 is one of Luffy's greatest powers. The power this incredible transformation gives Luffy is absolutely incredible. In fact, one punch from Gear 4 was strong enough to take down many beasts in Ruskaina, where Luffy trained for 2 years. In the battle with Doflamingo, a Gun Kong was powerful enough to send him flying from one end of the country to the other without him realizing exactly what happened. Even stronger enemies like Katakuri couldn't defend against Gear 4's power despite having superior Haki. In fact, Gear 4 was so strong that even Kaido was sent back by attacks from it, though they did little damage to him due to his tough exterior.

I can't use hockey for 10 minutes! – Luffy

The thing is, in terms of raw power, the Gear 4 is absolutely magnificent and remains one of Luffy's greatest assets. However, this incredible power came at a very high price. Gear 4 saw Luffy using his Devil Fruit and Haki power at maximum output, that's why it had a timer. Basically, Luffy couldn't maintain Gear 4 for very long, and eventually, he always ran out of steam, which was when he was at his weakest. For about 10 minutes, Luffy couldn't use hockey at all, which is exactly why he had to circle around his enemies or someone else to defend him. Gear 4 had a major flaw. However, with the passage of time, this problem decreased. Luffy was able to use Gear 4 for a longer period of time, as seen in his fight with Kaido.

Once Luffy learned how to incorporate Haki Conqueror into his Gear 4 attacks, his battle with Kaido became more even. Luffy could freely switch between Gear 4 forms such as Bounceman and Snakeman, creating completely new techniques that surprised even Yonko. However, despite all of this, at the end of the day, Gear 4 had to run out at some point, which was still problematic for Luffy, as he couldn't use Haki until about 10 minutes later.

What Luffy accomplished in Wano was to extend the life of the Gear 4 tremendously and gain the ability to freely switch between its multiple forms without losing evolution. This was already a big step, but now, Luffy has taken things to another level and achieved the best Gear 4 form he was ever shown in. each piece Chapter 1129.

How Luffy mastered Gear 4 in Albuf

Luffy can use Gear 4 without fully transforming

As it was clear to the fans each piece In Chapter 1129, Luffy now has full control over Gear 4. In this season, Luffy tried to use Gear 4 on the wall to break it. Usually, the way Luffy does this is by pumping air into his muscles and inflating his body, covering it with maximum hockey power, then unleashing powerful blows on his enemies.

This gives Luffy a gigantic body that is even taller than Doflamingo. However, now, Luffy is doing something completely different. Instead of transforming his entire body into Gear 4, Luffy basically only uses Gear 4 on one arm.

Go away! It's time to have a “small” Gear 4. – Luffy

Fans of this in each piece Chapter 1129 was a surprise to many when Luffy tried to break through a wall. Luffy just turned one of his arms into Gear 4 and coated it with Haki. His remaining body remained as it was, showing that Luffy now has incredible mastery over Gomu Gomu no Mi.

Although it may seem like this to fans, it's something similar to what happened to Luffy's other Gears. For example, when it comes to the weakness of the Gear 3, which is that Luffy basically turns into a chibi version of himself, Oda eventually removed this over time. This was supposed to mean that Luffy was learning to better control his Devil Fruit powers.

But, when it comes to wear and tear and shortened lifespan as a side effect, the Gear that was most like the Gear 4 was the Gear 2. When Luffy first used Gear Second, he did so at the cost of his life. This was also confirmed by the Strawhat Pirates in the Thriller Bark Arc, and Luffy was basically considered too dangerous for him from Gear Second. However, when Luffy returned from the timeline, fans got to see a completely new version of Gear Second, at least in the manga. Luffy used Gear Second only through selected body parts. For example, when Luffy had to use a jet pistol, he simply used Gear Second on one of his arms and legs to reach the spring and then deliver a powerful blow to the enemies. This allowed Luffy to turn Gear Second on and off more and only use it on select body parts, avoiding full wear out.

What Luffy is doing now with Gear 4 is exactly what he did with Gear Second. Luffy now uses Gear 4's powers on select parts of his body and only when he needs them. This ensures that he maintains his stamina and his hockey at the same time while maintaining the incredible firepower that the Gear 4 has.

The use of New Gear 4 will be more

Luffy now uses more powerful Gear 4 attacks

Luffy has fully mastered Gear 4 and can be seen using this form more often. Against strong enemies, Luffy will likely dive headfirst, and Gear 4 techniques will only be used on a few parts of his body. He probably covers it with Armament and Conqueror's Haki. Fans worried that Gear 4 would be irrelevant now that Luffy had Gear 5, but it's clear that Luffy has devised ways to use it against weaker opponents, where it doesn't require too much effort.

One Piece is available to read through Viz Media. Fans can read this series officially and for free in the Shonen Jump and Manga Plus applications. The release date for the next One Piece chapter, One Piece 1129, is set for October 13, 2024.