Luffy Unleashes the Power of Gear Second

High above, on the screen showing Jianying's video, a rare look of seriousness appeared on Luffy's face. Looking at Blueno a short distance in front of him, he said, "This won't do! I can't keep going like this!"

"When I lost to Aokiji, I started wondering: what would I do if another enemy that strong showed up farther ahead on this sea? I had to become stronger than them."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to protect my friends!"

"Even if they aren't strong, I want them to stay by my side. After all, they're the friends I've always wanted. If I don't become stronger than anyone else, I'll lose them."

"So I racked my brains and thought of countless ways to fight."

At that, Luffy suddenly lowered his head, spread his feet, and crouched slightly. He placed his hands on his knees and pressed down. His legs immediately acted like pumps, rapidly accelerating the blood flowing through his body. His entire body turned red, and white steam began pouring out of him. "I did it because I don't want to lose any of them, so everyone can stay safe by my side."

Luffy raised his head and looked confidently at Blueno. "You're no match for me anymore! From here on, all my moves are going up a level."

"Gear Second!"

"Gear Second? Your moves are going up a level?" Blueno looked disdainfully at the steam rising from Luffy. "Steam's coming out of your body. Are you copying a steam engine? What's with all the smoke and mirrors?!"

Luffy wasn't angry at Blueno's mockery. Instead, he grinned at him. "I'm really glad I ran into you guys here! Now I won't lose my friends!"

The next second, Luffy stood up, held his open left hand toward Blueno, and clenched his right hand into a fist. "Gum-Gum Jet Pistol."

Whoosh!

A red afterimage shot forward at tremendous speed and struck Blueno.

Blueno immediately flew backward like a kite with its string cut and slammed into the wall on the courthouse roof, smashing a huge hole through it.

Dust filled the air. A moment later, Blueno stood up in the hole, looking utterly bewildered.

But before he could figure out what had happened, he caught sight of a red figure charging toward him at incredible speed. Another fist struck him in the face, sending him flying.

For a while, the entire Jianying video showed nothing but Blueno getting beaten and Luffy's shadow moving at high speed.

Most people in the pirate world were stunned. They had never imagined there could be such a way of fighting.

East Blue, Goa Kingdom, Mount Colubo, the mountain bandits' home.

"Nice one, Luffy! Beat the crap out of that guy!"

"S-so fast! My eyes can't keep up at all. Luffy's so much stronger than he used to be!"

"Of course! Whatever you say, Luffy's a pirate with a bounty of one hundred million now! How could he live up to that bounty without some strength?"

"I wonder if Luffy will still remember us after he becomes a great pirate famous throughout the world?"

"He definitely will! Luffy isn't the kind of person to forget the people he cares about!"

"Not necessarily. Haven't you heard the old saying? When you're poor, no one knows you in a bustling city; when you're rich, distant relatives find you deep in the mountains. Luffy will probably have forgotten all about obscure little mountain bandits like us by then!"

"You do have a point!"

"Like hell he does!" An enraged Dadan gave each of them a hard flick on the head from behind and roared, "Luffy isn't that kind of person! That boy has always been loyal to the people he cares about. So no matter what he becomes in the future, he'll definitely remember us. Definitely."

Somewhere on the Grand Line, on an uninhabited island.

"What an amazing way to fight! He accelerates his own blood flow to strengthen his body, allowing him to unleash even greater power. Straw Hat-ya really knows how to use his fruit ability! But that consumes a lot of stamina and puts a considerable strain on the heart. It'll shorten your lifespan, Straw Hat-ya," Law murmured, leaning against Bepo as he watched the screen high above.

Somewhere on the Grand Line, in a town engulfed in flames.

"You dared to say the 'ONE PIECE' doesn't exist? You were asking to die." Kid gave the corpses scattered across the ground a cold glance, then looked up at the screen in the sky. "It's been so long! I've already finished off this bunch of trash, and he's still fighting. This Straw Hat Luffy really is weak! Someone like that can even become material for a Jianying video? Heh! This God from Beyond the Domain has pretty low standards!"

"Kid, I'd advise you not to underestimate Straw Hat Luffy," Killer warned from beside him. "His bounty is second only to yours among all the Supernovas. Before long, he might even be our greatest enemy!"

"Heh! That's because he hasn't met me. Otherwise, he'd already be dead at my hands!" Kid reached out, and countless pieces of metal flew toward him, forming a giant mechanical arm on his hand.

New World, aboard the Red Force.

"Luffy really has grown a lot! Looks like he's developed the Gum-Gum Fruit's abilities pretty well," Benn Beckman said appreciatively.

"And that way of fighting is just like Luffy," Lucky Roux added. "Ever since he was little, he liked to boast about how his fists were like guns or bullets. Now he's actually made it happen!"

"But the Gum-Gum Fruit's abilities go far beyond that! Luffy, you still need to draw out its true power," Shanks said meaningfully.

"Huh? Boss, what do you mean by that?" Lucky Roux asked curiously.

"You seem to know a lot about the Gum-Gum Fruit, Shanks?" Benn Beckman asked as well.

"Huh? Do I? You must have heard me wrong!" Shanks smiled mysteriously, then turned to Yasopp, who had been silent all this time. "Hey, Yasopp, don't you have anything to say? Your Usopp is one of Luffy's most important friends on his ship now!"

"Huh? Boss, what do you want me to say? I haven't seen my boy in a long time! All these years, I've done him and his mother wrong. I really don't know what to say," Yasopp said, guilt showing on his face. "But I really didn't expect him to become Luffy's crewmate! I did mention him to Luffy before, but I never expected the two of them to be so fated to meet that they'd actually end up together. They were both so little back then, but now they're already on their way to catching up with us! I can't help but say it: the new waves really do push the old ones aside!"

"Yeah! We old-timers from the previous era really will be replaced by newcomers from the new era one day!" Shanks agreed. He looked up at the screen, and a smile rose to his lips. "Looks like Luffy's fight is about to be decided!"