When Does Luffy Use Gear Four Techniques?
Luffy’s Devil Fruit is a well-known element of One Piece. The Gomu Gomu no Mi is one of the things that makes Luffy so great and one of the things that has been helping him achieve his goal to become the best pirate in the world and find the Gol D. Roger’s One Piece treasure. Luffy’s Gears are the special techniques he has developed while using his Devil Fruit, but what about Gear Fourth techniques? When does Luffy use Gear Four Techniques?
Luffy first used the Gear Four techniques in Chapter 784 (“Gear Fourth”) of the manga, after which they first debuted in Episode 726 (“Gear Fourth! The Phenomenal Boundman!”) of the anime series. He has, since, used them on several occasions, debuting new methods along the way.
In the rest of this article, we are going to give you additional details about Luffy’s Gear Four techniques. You’re going to find out exactly when and how he used each of the techniques, how he got them in the first place, and what happens to Luffy when he uses these extremely powerful techniques.
In Which Episodes Does Luffy Use the Gear Four Techniques?
Well, since Gear Four techniques have been shown throughout the manga and anime series, we can’t really pinpoint one exact episode. Now, the first Gear Four technique debuted in Chapter 784 (“Gear Fourth”) of the manga, which corresponded to Episode 726 (“Gear Fourth! The Phenomenal Boundman!”) of the anime, but that was just the general debut.
Different individual techniques debuted later on and this is our overview of them (includes only canon techniques):
| Technique | Manga Debut | Anime Debut |
|---|---|---|
| Kin’niku Fusen | Chapter 784 (“Gear Fourth”) | Episode 726 (“Gear Fourth! The Phenomenal Boundman!”) |
| Python | Chapter 784 (“Gear Fourth”) | Episode 726 (“Gear Fourth! The Phenomenal Boundman!”) |
| Gomu Gomu no Kong Gun | Chapter 784 (“Gear Fourth”) | Episode 726 (“Gear Fourth! The Phenomenal Boundman!”) |
| Gomu Gomu no Rhino Schneider | Chapter 784 (“Gear Fourth”) | Episode 726 (“Gear Fourth! The Phenomenal Boundman!”) |
| Gomu Gomu no Culverin | Chapter 784 (“Gear Fourth”) | Episode 726 (“Gear Fourth! The Phenomenal Boundman!”) |
| Gomu Gomu no Double Culverin | Chapter 785 (“Even If Your Legs Break”) | Episode 727 (“A Massive Counterattack! Doflamingo’s Awakening!”) |
| Gomu Gomu no Leo Bazooka | Chapter 785 (“Even If Your Legs Break”) | Episode 728 (“Luffy! An All-Out Leo Bazooka!”) |
| Gomu Gomu no King Kong Gun | Chapter 790 (“Heaven and Earth”) | Episode 733 (“Attack on a Celestial – Luffy’s King Kong Gun of Anger”) |
| Gomu Gomu no Kong Organ | Chapter 838 (“Choniki”) | Episode 800 (“1 and 2 — Assemble! The Vinsmoke Family”) |
| Gomu Gomu no Kong Rifle | Chapter 1002 (“Four Emperors vs. New Generation”) | N/A |
| Gomu Gomu no Kong Gatling | Chapter 1002 (“Four Emperors vs. New Generation”) | N/A |
| Gomu Gomu no Jet Culverin | Chapter 895 (“Pirate Luffy vs. Commander Katakuri”) | Episode 870 (“A Fist of Divine Speed – Another Gear Fourth Application Activated!”) |
| Gomu Gomu no Black Mamba | Chapter 895 (“Pirate Luffy vs. Commander Katakuri”) | Episode 870 (“A Fist of Divine Speed – Another Gear Fourth Application Activated!”) |
| Gomu Gomu no King Cobra | Chapter 895 (“Pirate Luffy vs. Commander Katakuri”) | Episode 870 (“A Fist of Divine Speed – Another Gear Fourth Application Activated!”) |
| Tankman: Manpuku Version | Chapter 842 (“The Power of a Full Stomach”) | Episode 806 (“The Power of a Full Stomach – New Gear Fourth Tankman!”) |
| Gomu Gomu no Cannonball | Chapter 842 (“The Power of a Full Stomach”) | Episode 806 (“The Power of a Full Stomach – New Gear Fourth Tankman!”) |
This is an overview of all the canon Gear Four techniques that have appeared in the manga so far. Some of them haven’t made it to the anime just yet, but we might be seeing them in the near future, as well as some additional Gear Four or even some new Gear Five techniques.
How Did Luffy Get the Gear Four Techniques?
The story of how Luffy achieved the Gear Four level was never fully revealed. He utilized the techniques for the first time during his clash with Donquixote Doglamifingo, after having trained on Rusukaina.
Similar to Gear Second, Gear Fourth allows Luffy to use techniques of his own invention by mimicking some of the Rokushiki’s abilities. For example, his technique of “flight” strongly resembles the Pas de Lune. This technique allows Luffy to better exploit the elasticity of his body thanks to the combination of his fruit and his weapon haki: he can not only bounce in the air, but also attack.
Now, in order to fully understand how Rusukaina helped Luffy achieve his goal, we have to tell you why the island is so specific, but also important for the overall lore of One Piece. Rusukaina Island is located on Calm Belt northwest of Amazon Lily. This island has 48 seasons which change every week.
Life is very harsh on this island, humans wanted to settle there but the too frequent change of seasons and the ferocity of living beings on the island made the inhabitants disappear, leaving only ruins. There is a tree that animals never approach and it can be considered the only safe area in Rusukaina. We do not know what makes this tree so spared by animals (it is assumed that it is a less toxic cousin of Daft Green).
It seems, according to Silvers Rayleigh, that there are more than 500 animals that Luffy could not defeat before the time skip. This is where Luffy trained for 2 years, along with Rayleigh who will teach him the basics of Haki for a year and a half. Thanks to the extreme nature of the island, Luffy will learn the 3 types of Haki, but will not yet master them to perfection and a new technique the Gear Four.
- RELATED: When Does Luffy Learn Haki?
He came out with much more power and is ready to find his way back to his friends to conquer the New World.
As you can see, Rusukaina plays a pivotal role in the franchise and is basically the most important location related to the famous time skip in the One Piece narrative. This was an essential step on Luffy’s journey to become the greatest pirate in the history of the world.
What Happens When Luffy Uses Gear Four Techniques?
In order to activate Gear Fourth, Luffy equips one of his arms (often the left arm) with Haki from the Armament, bites his forearm, and then, similarly to Gear Third, blows an incredible amount of air into his. body, this time not to inflate its bones but to inflate all its muscular structure. This technique makes Luffy’s body extremely tense, preventing him from standing on the ground, causing him to bounce.
He is therefore obliged to remove his sandals which he usually keeps on him at all times. The Gear Fourth gives him black skin in the manga and red in the anime. The Boundman and Snakeman were both tuned to take down the ferocious creatures found on Rusukaina during his training. It is not known, however, if the Tankman was planned in advance by Luffy, due to the highly unpredictable nature of the circumstances required to activate this one.
His body, in this form, is strong enough to withstand frontal attacks. However, there seems to be a limit to how long you can use the Gear Fourth, as Luffy and then Doflamingo noted. This theory is validated in the next chapter where Luffy, no longer able to control Gear Fourth, is hit hard by the side effects of this technique.
These effects cause an involuntary expulsion of the air contained in his body, and a decrease in his Armament Haki, or even a disappearance of the latter, and therefore of his strength. During the first few uses of Gear Fourth, maintaining this form required considerable energy, it also made Luffy consume a lot of calories, causing him to lose weight considerably after his transformation.
He must wait 10 minutes for his Haki to be recharged and therefore to be able to reactivate the Gear Fourth. He can also combine Gear Third with this Gear, as he did with his “King Kong Gun” technique. The first few times Gear Fourth is used, Luffy’s body is worn out, strained, and his stamina is affected; after regaining his Haki and using it again, he had barely enough strength to fight and its brief use for a second time left him unconscious that lasted for three days.
However, his endurance seems to improve a lot during the fight between him and Charlotte Katakuri, and seems to improve enormously during chapter 975 where Luffy uses the Gear Fourth directly against ordinary soldiers, a sign that his training in Udon has surely greatly improved his stamina. Luffy now takes much less time to change into Gear Fourth.
Who Does Luffy Use Gear Four Against?
Since Gear Four techniques include a lot of different, individual techniques, there is no single answer to this question. Luffy has used these techniques against several different opponents, among which are Donquixote Doflamingo, Charlotte Linlin, Katakuri, and Kaidou. But they are not the only ones, no.
