Wow.
Yet kinda boring at the same time.
That's my description for Gear Fourth. I only got four hours of sleep last night due to thinking so much on what it could be, but now I'm kinda disappointed. Gear 4 was not vulcanisation as I had hoped, but rather Luffy expanding his muscles and doing some super stretchy stuff. I will admit, the first thing I thought was "He's going to make his whole body huge." Then I thought, BELLAMY! Luffy must have taken his Devil Fruit powers during their fight in the palace. Sorry Blackbeard, you're not special anymore. But of course, a reveal this big, coupled with a hiatus (yes, it's Golden Week next week for those of you who don't know, so no chapter again)
One is the effect on Luffy's body. I do hope that it negatively affects him in some way, because let's be honest, it's fucking Gear 4. Gears Two and Three got much less interesting after the timeskip due to Luffy mastering them so much. Hell, he's facing opponents whose caliber is so high that he basically has to keep up Gear 2 permanently just to survive. So what do you think will happen to Luffy after Gear 4 is done?
Also, how will Doflamingo counter it? I will legitimately be very disappointed with this battle if Luffy just blows Doffy into the Birdcage with no opposition whatsoever. If Doflamingo can survive his organs getting roasted, he'll certainly find a way to counter Gear 4 at least somewhat. My guess is he'll create body armor out of string, but what other ways could he counter it?
So that's all. What did you think of Gear 4? How do you think Luffy will be affected by it? How will Doflamingo counter it? What will Gear 5 be like