H
As the title says, Gear 4th has run its due course. It’s simply ineffective vs Kaido with Luffy still having the same drawback it was introduced with back in Dressrosa. The drawback isn’t the only reason why G4 is ineffective vs Kaido but that on top of G4’s firepower frankly not being enough makes it inefficient and borderline useless in the hopes of defeating Kaido.
Luffy first gave off the impression that the haki drain problem was minimized to a favorable degree, as was seemingly implied with his frequent usage of it earlier in the raid:
Would’ve used it for a 3rd time had it not been for Yamato intervening:
You’d think with Luffy’s willingness to pretty much spam a form that previously took a toll on his haki reserves that he’s minimized the problem somewhat. But naw turns out the dude passes out in the middle of the most pivotal battle and has to be carried figuratively and literally by Zoro:
Seemingly defenseless to the point where he’d be susceptible to getting biten to death:
If Luffy could have stayed in G4 for a longer period of time, things wouldn’t be half bad. But even if he could, G4 simply lacks the firepower needed to put down Kaido. Atleast with the likes of Doflamingo, Cracker and to a lesser degree Katakuri...multiple bouts of G4 would be enough but not enough for Kaido even with advanced armament haki. This has already been well evidenced in the first bout of its usage in this fight.
Let me briefly run by all the attacks Luffy has landed on Kaido whilst in Gear 4th:
In chapter 1001, Luffy goes in for a Kong Gun:
*
Kaido laughs it off and goes into his Dragon Form.
In Dragon form Luffy lands more blows, much of which Kaido doesn’t really flinch at and labels “tricks”.
Kong Gatling put him down for a good several seconds:
However it just ultimately prompted him to go into his Hybrid Form and as of 1008, Kaido looks unfazed for the most part with a few bruises even after he presumably took more hits off panel.
So to recap, G4 is only usable for a set amount of time and after that time is up, Luffy can’t use haki for 10 mins and/or has exhausted himself to the point where he has to get carried by others. And in the time its being used, its inducing a negligible amount of damage on Kaido who
a) has shrugged most of it off with no issue
& b) is more than likely an awakened zoan, adding atleast heightened endurance and recuperative abilities to make matters worse.
One doesn’t have to wait for Leo Bazooka and King Kong Gun to see how G4 simply isn’t cut out to get the job done. Which can only mean a new ability is on the way. Whether that new ability is going to be awakening, gear 5th, or gear stacking isn’t clear at all, yall can shoot your shot down below or the poll. However what’s become crystal clear is that G4 is no longer Luffy’s trump card going forward . A new ability is definitely around the corner.
Awakening makes the most sense to me right now. Luffy has seen atleast 2 confirmed awakened paramecia users in Kata and Doffy after all, possibly a 3rd in Cracker so you’d think he’d atleast try to tap into it.
Tho for anyone that thinks it’s too soon for Luffy to get a new gear or tap into awakening they’ve been missing out on the overarching implication of Wano’s climax and how it ties to the endgame of the series. If it wasn’t enough that Shanks said he’d meet Luffy soon, Kaido saying the victor of this fight will be “that much closer to Pirate King” pretty much spells it out for you. Luffy won’t be victorious if his best bet is a form that drains his haki like there ain’t no tomorrow and renders him weak for 10 minutes. I rest my case.
Side Note: Apologies for the dark text, I’ll try to fix that in a bit.
Luffy first gave off the impression that the haki drain problem was minimized to a favorable degree, as was seemingly implied with his frequent usage of it earlier in the raid:
Would’ve used it for a 3rd time had it not been for Yamato intervening:
You’d think with Luffy’s willingness to pretty much spam a form that previously took a toll on his haki reserves that he’s minimized the problem somewhat. But naw turns out the dude passes out in the middle of the most pivotal battle and has to be carried figuratively and literally by Zoro:
If Luffy could have stayed in G4 for a longer period of time, things wouldn’t be half bad. But even if he could, G4 simply lacks the firepower needed to put down Kaido. Atleast with the likes of Doflamingo, Cracker and to a lesser degree Katakuri...multiple bouts of G4 would be enough but not enough for Kaido even with advanced armament haki. This has already been well evidenced in the first bout of its usage in this fight.
Let me briefly run by all the attacks Luffy has landed on Kaido whilst in Gear 4th:
In chapter 1001, Luffy goes in for a Kong Gun:
*
As evidenced by the blood, Luffy used advanced armament haki to induce internal damage.
In Dragon form Luffy lands more blows, much of which Kaido doesn’t really flinch at and labels “tricks”.
Kong Gatling put him down for a good several seconds:
So to recap, G4 is only usable for a set amount of time and after that time is up, Luffy can’t use haki for 10 mins and/or has exhausted himself to the point where he has to get carried by others. And in the time its being used, its inducing a negligible amount of damage on Kaido who
a) has shrugged most of it off with no issue
& b) is more than likely an awakened zoan, adding atleast heightened endurance and recuperative abilities to make matters worse.
One doesn’t have to wait for Leo Bazooka and King Kong Gun to see how G4 simply isn’t cut out to get the job done. Which can only mean a new ability is on the way. Whether that new ability is going to be awakening, gear 5th, or gear stacking isn’t clear at all, yall can shoot your shot down below or the poll. However what’s become crystal clear is that G4 is no longer Luffy’s trump card going forward . A new ability is definitely around the corner.
Awakening makes the most sense to me right now. Luffy has seen atleast 2 confirmed awakened paramecia users in Kata and Doffy after all, possibly a 3rd in Cracker so you’d think he’d atleast try to tap into it.
Tho for anyone that thinks it’s too soon for Luffy to get a new gear or tap into awakening they’ve been missing out on the overarching implication of Wano’s climax and how it ties to the endgame of the series. If it wasn’t enough that Shanks said he’d meet Luffy soon, Kaido saying the victor of this fight will be “that much closer to Pirate King” pretty much spells it out for you. Luffy won’t be victorious if his best bet is a form that drains his haki like there ain’t no tomorrow and renders him weak for 10 minutes. I rest my case.
Side Note: Apologies for the dark text, I’ll try to fix that in a bit.
Last edited by a moderator:
