Gomu Gomu no Mi/Gear 3 Techniques

Gear Third is another powerful form that is first hinted at during the climax of the fight between Luffy and Blueno, and first used, but not witnessed, to knock down a steel door in Enies Lobby. It was first fully seen in Luffy's fight against Rob Lucci.

Overview
Luffy corks his mouth with his thumb, bites into his thumb joint (making a small opening) and blows very hard into it, which inflates his arm. He is then able to transfer the air through his entire body, requiring the torso to act as an interface for his various limbs. Luffy blows so much air into his body that when they are all focused on a single limb, they become the size equivalent to (or greater than) that of a giant's, if anything resembling Oars size. Used with his already-strong physiology, this apparently gives his arm more mass and a larger area to attack with far greater strength, but he sacrifices mobility for this strength, as his limbs are now so large that Luffy has trouble moving. This is called Gear Three in the Viz Manga, Third Gear in the FUNimation subs, and Gear Third in the FUNimation dub.

Gear Third is generally used when raw physical strength is needed, the bones are the key difference between this form and his old "Gomu Gomu no Fusen" move, where his balloon form was soft and squishy like a regular balloon, whereas the inflated bones are very hard, similar to an inflated car tire. Unlike the normal Gomu Gomu no Fusen technique, bullets ricochet off of Gear Third instead of bouncing off. The bones being much harder also mean a lot of compression of air takes place when using Gear Third, making Gear Third not just a "for-show" move as Lucci initially thought, but like a giant mace of astounding mass when used in attacks. Because of Luffy's raw strength, he is able to move his gigantic arm with ease.

In between his attacks, Luffy brings the air back to his chest and then shifts it into another body part. The downside is, the lag time in which it takes Luffy to transfer and re-channel the amount of air trapped inside his bones through his very being can be disadvantageous.

Before the Timeskip
Before the timeskip, while in Gear Third, it proved quite difficult for Luffy to move while part of his anatomy has been converted to gigantic proportions, making the Gear inadvisable to use against opponents capable of moving at high speeds (like Lucci) or in an enclosed place as he is leaving himself vulnerable to attack, which is why since his battle against Rob Lucci, Luffy tends to only activate Gear Third against massive and often slow-moving targets whom he likes to assault with his Gear Third moves coming from high above in mid-air, where the said attacks could not be obstructed. To deactivate Gear Third, Luffy leaves the form by exhaling heavily, which can cause him to be propelled backwards.

The deactivation of Gear Third brings about shrinking, which is a negative side-effect for Luffy due to the massive expansion undergone prior to release. The amount of time Luffy spends in his shrunken form is roughly equivalent to the amount of time spent in Gear Third mode. This shrunken form has shown little to no ability to stretch at all, and it has been shown that Luffy loses an incredible amount of strength when he kept hitting Lucci's face to no effect. The best strategy Luffy could use, while waiting for himself to return to normal, is to run and hide from an opponent for the duration of the shrinkage. Another strategy is only using Gear Third for a few seconds for only one move so his shrinkage is minimized. But during the Impel Down Arc, Luffy demonstrated using his Gear Third with great speed. Being fast enough to defeat Demon Guards, who possessed Soru-level speed. During the Whitebeard War, this drawback was not shown during every use, perhaps being glossed over by the many different battles taking place all at once; but the anime still includes the drawback.

After the Timeskip
After the timeskip, as with Gear Second, Luffy seems to have obtained better skill at utilizing Gear Third. Previously, Gear Third would increase the size of the majority of Luffy's arm, thus reducing the speed of the attack in exchange for a powerful impact. However, Luffy after two years can seemingly control where the air is stored within his limbs, where his fist becomes large and instead of the air being equally distributed throughout his arm, an equivalently large mass forms behind the fist. This allows a majority of Luffy's arm to remain as it is, permitting him to stretch it, thus allowing him to attack and withdraw much faster than pre-timeskip. He was seen being able to enlarge his right fist while inside a Yarukiman bubble (where there is limited air supply) rapidly upon engaging against the Kraken, demonstrating the use of infusing Busoshoku Haki into his colossal-sized arm to enforce its durability and defeat the sea monster. Luffy is confirmed to have overcome his weakness of shrinking when deactivating this Gear, after inflating both his arms and using "Gomu Gomu no Elephant Gatling" on Noah for a prolonged period of time and not turning into his chibi form.

Techniques Utilized
Most of the techniques in this mode are named the same as the regular attacks with "Gigant" added after the "Gomu Gomu no" prefix. "Gigant" is German for "Giant". In some techniques like Gigant Whip and Gigant Axe, Luffy uses the English name of the technique instead of the Japanese name, saying "Axe" and "Whip" instead of "Ono" and "Muchi". The known named techniques that have been used by Luffy so far in this form are as follows:

Before the Timeskip

 * Hone Fusen (骨風船): Luffy inflates his body by blowing air into his bones. This is done by biting into his right thumb, presumably cutting it open down into to the bone, and then blowing air directly into the opened bone. This technique seems to give Luffy a sturdier defense than the regular balloon, since bullets now ricochet off of him instead of bouncing off of him. Due to this form having a disadvantage of moving about, he can transfer his air into his torso, and then launch himself with his "Gomu Gomu no Rocket" technique. This was first fully shown in Luffy's battle against Rob Lucci. In the Viz Manga, this is called Bone Balloon.


 * Gomu Gomu no Gigant Pistol (ゴムゴムの巨人の銃（ギガント･ピストル）): Luffy delivers a Gomu Gomu no Pistol with extreme force due to the larger size of his fist. This was first fully seen being used against Rob Lucci. Its sheer power was able to fling him from the Bridge of Hesitation on to a Buster Call Battleship. In the Viz Manga, FUNimation dub, and FUNimation subs, this is called Gum-Gum Giant Pistol.


 * Gomu Gomu no Rocket (ゴムゴムのロケット): A Gear Third version of Luffy's normal Gomu Gomu no Rocket. While using this move, Luffy's chest bones are inflated, and bullets ricochet off his body. This is not explicitly name as a "Gigant" move. This was first seen being used to propel Luffy onto a Buster Call battleship in pursuit of Rob Lucci.


 * Gomu Gomu no Gigant Axe (ゴムゴムの巨人の斧（ギガント･アックス）): A Gomu Gomu no Ono with even more power due to his enlarged foot and leg. This was first seen being used against Rob Lucci. Its sheer power is able to damage and create a hole in the deck of a Buster Call Battleship. In the Viz Manga, this is called Gum-Gum Giant Axe.


 * Gomu Gomu no Gigant Whip (ゴムゴムの巨人の鞭（ギガント･ウィップ）): Gomu Gomu no Muchi with more power due to his enlarged foot and leg. This was first seen being used against Rob Lucci. Its sheer power is able to damage the mast of a Buster Call Battleship. In the Viz Manga, this is called Gum-Gum Giant Whip.


 * Gomu Gomu no Gigant Bazooka (ゴムゴムの巨人のバズーカ): A Gear Third version of Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Bazooka attack. To create this attack, Luffy inflates both his arms by biting both his thumbs and blowing into them. With both his arms inflated to large proportions, Luffy then delivers the attack onto an opponent the same way he regularly does with a normal Gomu Gomu no Bazooka attack, except with much greater power. This was first seen being used against Oars to break his spine. In the Viz Manga, this is called Gum-Gum Giant Bazooka.


 * Gomu Gomu no Gigant Jet Shell (ゴムゴムの巨人のＪＥＴ砲弾（ギガント・ジェットシェル）): This was Luffy's strongest technique at the time. While he is still in Gear Second, Luffy goes into Gear Third with Hone Fusen. With the combination of Gear Second's high speed and Gear Third's air within his bones, Luffy launches his air filled body and rams into an opponent like a large cannonball. This move is quite reckless, as Luffy suffers both from the excess burn on his body from Gear Second, and the difficulty of moving his body from Gear Third. This was first seen being used against Gekko Moriah while he is in his Shadow's Asgard form. In the Viz Manga, this is called Gum-Gum Giant Jet Shell.


 * Gomu Gomu no Gigant Rifle (ゴムゴムの巨人回転弾（ギガント･ライフル）): Luffy activates Gear Third to expand one of his arms and then use it to launch a giant version of the original Gomu Gomu No Rifle at a target with greater power, drilling hard into the unfortunate target. This attack is strong enough to destroy the heavily-armored Pacifista, and was first seen being used to defeat PX-4 on the Sabaody Archipelago. The fist produced in this attack is approximately the same size as the entire body of the giant Luffy uses it to defeat. In the Viz Manga and FUNimation subs, this is called Gum-Gum Giant Rifle.


 * Gomu Gomu no Gigant Stamp (ゴムゴムの巨人のスタンプ): Luffy activates Gear Third and expands his foot to deliver a giant version of Gomu Gomu no Stamp with greater force. Incidentally, this was first used in conjunction with Mr. 3's Giant Candle Wall to push it back. This was first seen being used against Magellan in Impel Down. In the Viz Manga and FUNimation subs, this is called Gum-Gum Giant Stamp.


 * Gomu Gomu no Gigant Fusen (ゴムゴムの巨人の風船): Luffy activates Gear Third and expands his torso to create a giant version of his traditional Gomu Gomu no Fusen, with a much sturdier defense. This move was strong enough to cushion the impact from a massive adversary and was first used to protect Ace and Mr. 3 from a punch of Sengoku in his giant form. In the Viz Manga and FUNimation subs, this is called Gum-Gum Giant Balloon.

Video Game Only

 * Gomu Gomu no Gigant Gatling (ゴムゴムの巨人の銃乱打（ガトリング）): Luffy activates Gear Third and expands both his fists to deliver a giant version of his powerful Gomu Gomu no Gatling technique. This technique is completely exclusive in the fighting game, Jump Ultimate Stars (using Luffy's strongest battle set) and One Piece: Pirate Warriors (during the final fight against Akainu to deliver the final blow) but it does not appear in either the manga or in the anime. While appearing counter-intuitive with using increased mass and rapid firing, the idea was incorporated post-timeskip.

Haki Enhanced Gear Third Attacks
Like his normal and Gear Second forms, Luffy named his new techniques (after the timeskip) with a gun and artillery concepts theme related to an animal. Having learned to make the air "sit" in a specific part of the body, his Gear Third attacks are now both faster and stronger than they were prior the timekip. Furthermore, he no longer shrinks after using these attacks.


 * Gomu Gomu no Elephant Gun (ゴムゴムの象銃（エレファント・ガン）): The Haki enhanced version of Gomu Gomu no Gigant Pistol. After activating Gear Third, Luffy will also implement Busoshoku: Koka into his attack, turning his arm black. Just like his Gomu Gomu no Bullet, Luffy launches his attack at his enemy with great destructive power. However, the Gear Third's air only fills the end of his arm, giving him a giant fist with an elephantine round wrist. It is named after an elephant gun, a large caliber firearm used to hunt elephants that used black powder at first and then started using smokeless powder. This attack was first seen underwater against the Kraken. In the Viz Manga and FUNimation subs, this is called Gum-Gum Elephant Gun.


 * Gomu Gomu no Elephant Gatling (ゴムゴムの象銃乱打（エレファント・ガトリング）): After enlarging and imbuing both his arms with Busoshoku Haki in a similar manner as Gomu Gomu no Elephant Gun, Luffy performs his Gomu Gomu no Gatling, which, with the heavily enforced arms, causes massive damage. Since the bulk of the air sits in his forearms and fists and not in his upper arms, it allows him to punch and pull back rapidly. This technique was first seen used to break apart the falling Noah. In one of the specials, it was shown that he can also perform this technique with a single arm while retaining enough power to cause extensive damage to a large Marine base. In the Viz Manga and FUNimation subs, this is called Gum-Gum Elephant Gatling.


 * Gomu Gomu no Grizzly Magnum (ゴムゴムの灰熊銃（グリズリー・マグナム）): A Haki enhanced version of Gomu Gomu no Gigant Bazooka. Luffy gets distance away from his opponent and activates Gear Third on both his arms simultaneously. He then runs towards the target with both his arms still static behind him before leaping in the air. While flying toward the enemy at a great speed he implements Busoshoku Koka into his arms, turning them black. He retracts his arms, and launches his attack with a great destructive power. The technique is named after the Grizzly Win Mag made by the gun manufacturer L.A.R. This attack was first seen being used to defeat Caesar Clown.


 * Gomu Gomu no Thor Elephant Gun (ゴムゴムの雷将象銃（トール・エレファント・ガン）): An enhanced version of Gomu Gomu no Elephant Gun, first seen when Luffy used it to defeat Chinjao in the Corrida Colosseum, restoring the latter's head to its original drill-shaped form in the process. The attack differs from a regular Elephant Gun in that he launches himself into the air with Gomu Gomu no Rocket first, which has the effect of increasing the velocity of his punch, causing sparks to fly upon impact. The attack is named after the Norse hammer-wielding god Thor. Mentioning of Thor happens for the first time in the One Piece Film: Strong World.

Anime Only

 * Gomu Gomu no Gigant Hae-tataki (ゴムゴムの巨人ハエたたき): After enlarging his hand, Luffy slaps his opponent with his palm. He first used this against a flock of Kung Fu Mynahs in Episode 542, the second One Piece x Toriko Crossover special.

Video Game Only

 * Gomu Gomu no Gigant Jet Gatling (ゴムゴムの巨人のJET銃乱打（ガトリング）): in One Piece: Gigant Battle! 2 New World the post timeskip Luffy uses a variant of Gigant Gatling from Jump Ultimate Stars, adding to it Gear Second, Busoshoku: Koka, and Elephant Gun.

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