"Pffft—Hahahaha!"
Watching Luffy's massive, constantly bouncing frame, Mina, standing not far away, burst into laughter. The sheer elasticity of the rubber made it impossible for him to even stand still. She truly couldn't imagine how someone could fight like that.
Beside her, Rayleigh merely offered a faint smile at the sight.
However, Aeridar, who understood the intricacies of the Gum-Gum Fruit, watched with a look that said, "Just as I expected." In this state, Luffy possessed a powerful, massive body and incredible elasticity, he could even use that tension to fly through the air.
While it was true that Luffy couldn't stand normally in Gear 4 and had to constantly bounce, his overall combat capabilities had ascended to an entirely new level. This was the source of the confidence that would later allow him to take down Donquixote Doflamingo.
Luffy might have underestimated Doflamingo's strength, not expecting him to be an Awakened Devil Fruit user, and Gear 4 certainly had its flaws, such as a strict time limit and a massive drain on Haki. But that didn't mean this form wasn't formidable. It was faster than Gear 2 and stronger in both power and defense than Gear 3. By integrating speed, defense, and power into one state, this technique was enough to truly push Luffy into the ranks of the Great Pirates.
"A technique developed using rubber tension... your fruit mastery is coming along nicely!" Aeridar grinned, exposing the secret of Gear 4 in a single sentence.
"For over a year, I've been fighting monsters as big as buildings! To take them down, this giant body and this bounce were the best methods I could come up with!" Luffy continued to bounce, his eyes confident and fierce as he glared at Aeridar hovering in the sky.
"Then let's see if you can truly push this elasticity to its limit." Aeridar leaned forward slightly, looking down at Luffy with a sinister smirk.
"Just watch! I'm gonna beat you until you can't even hit back! Get ready!"
Luffy retracted his thick arms into his shoulders like compressed springs. Then, with a violent kick off the ground, his massive body vanished with a whoosh, traveling at a speed almost invisible to the naked eye.
"So fast!"
Aeridar's eyelid twitched; Luffy was already right in front of him.
"Gomu Gomu no—Kong Gun!!!"
His fist, compressed deep into his arm, snapped outward like a spring released from extreme pressure.
Sensing the sharp, biting wind of the strike, Aeridar's gaze hardened, and he met the blow with a direct punch.
BOOM!
The large and small fists collided with a violent roar. The surrounding air shuddered as a white shockwave erupted, expanding outward and creating a powerful wind pressure that swept across a hundred-meter radius.
"He's so strong!"
Mina's beautiful eyes widened. She hadn't expected that the "Supernova kid" from back then could become this powerful in this state. Rayleigh watched the scene leisurely, clearly satisfied with Luffy's talent and current strength.
"Nani?!"
Luffy looked on in shock as Aeridar caught his punch with such apparent ease. No one knew the sheer power of Gear 4 better than he did.
"Impressive power. You've grown a lot compared to a year ago," Aeridar remarked in a patronizing tone, intentionally mocking him. "But if you think you can beat me until I can't hit back... I'm afraid you're still not there yet!"
"Dammit! Don't get cocky!"
Luffy's feet kicked rapidly against the air, using tension to hover—a move clearly inspired by the Geppo mechanics of Rokushiki.
Swoosh!
Luffy blurred and vanished, reappearing directly behind Aeridar. He retracted his legs into his torso and unleashed a double-kick toward Aeridar's head.
"Gomu Gomu no—Rhino Schneider!!!"
Pop!
The air let out a soft sound as Aeridar instantly vanished, causing Luffy's kick to strike nothing but empty space.
"Where is he?" Luffy adjusted his body in mid-air, frantically looking around.
"Where are you looking?"
A chilling voice echoed from behind him. Aeridar had appeared like a ghost at Luffy's rear. With a twist of his waist, he swung a leg out—a jet-black steel whip that nearly tore the air apart.
WHAM!
The whip-kick slammed ruthlessly into Luffy's waist. A massive amount of steam hissed out, sounding like a punctured tire.
Like kicking a soccer ball, the force in Aeridar's leg almost completely bypassed the defensive tension of the Gear 4 "Rubber Balloon." Luffy was sent flying across the sky.
Rumble—!
A black blur shot through the air, creating several sonic booms in its wake. In the blink of an eye, he crashed into the forest, carving a hundred-meter trench into the earth and snapping a dozen large trees before finally coming to a halt amidst a rising shroud of dust.
"Cough... what a heavy blow!"
Luffy spat out a mouthful of blood, his face pale as he panted heavily, staring deathly at the sky.
"You've utilized your ability well, but the burden must be immense. There's a significant risk involved, isn't there?" Aeridar flew over Luffy, looking down at the gasping pirate with a cruel, mocking laugh. "Straw Hat, how many more seconds can you last? Heh heh heh..."
BOOM!
Luffy said nothing. The sound of a compressing spring echoed as his arms retracted into his body. He stepped off the ground and rocketed upward, reaching Aeridar's face almost instantly.
"Gomu Gomu no—Leo Bazooka!!!"
Both palms struck out, the wind from the impact sharp as a blade.
"Compression Wall!"
Aeridar's gaze went cold as he thrust his hands forward.
Vrummm—
The air thrummed as a massive volume of atmosphere was compressed by an invisible, terrifying impact force, forming an almost visible wall of air.
BOOOOM!!!
The sound was like an atmospheric explosion. A violent gale erupted instantly, sweeping across hundreds of meters like a hurricane, snapping trees and sending dirt flying.
"Nani?!" Luffy's face was filled with shock. He had only managed to shatter the air wall in front of his opponent.
"He broke through?" Aeridar was genuinely surprised. His air walls were composed of high-density compressed air, making them harder than steel. Yet, the Straw Hat's attack had forcibly shattered it.
Aeridar looked at Luffy with newfound appreciation. "Truly impressive. That was a fine attack!"
"Wait... no way! The Captain's defensive wall was broken?!" Below, Mina was so stunned she didn't even bother to fix her hair, which had been blown into a mess by the gale.
"Alright then. Get back down! Palm Shock Slash!"
Aeridar blurred forward, delivering a horizontal palm strike aimed directly at Luffy's chest.
"Oh no!" Luffy winced, his chest instantly turning obsidian as he hardened it with Armament Haki.
CLANG—!
The sound of clashing metal rang out, and sparks flew in the air. As the shockwave dispersed, Luffy felt a colossal force overwhelm him, sending him plummeting toward the earth once again.