Luffy's Fourth Gear—Boundman—was undoubtedly his most explosive transformation at the moment.
It was a trump card developed over two years of intense training under Silvers Rayleigh's guidance during his time on Ruskaina, a survival island swarming with gigantic beasts. Designed specifically to bring down monsters, this form combined compression, elasticity, and high-pressure movement using both his Devil Fruit's rubber nature and the Busoshoku Haki he'd trained to mastery.
If Gear Third emphasized brute strength with reduced agility, and Gear Second enhanced speed and reflexes at the cost of stamina, then Gear Fourth was the amalgamation of both—faster than Gear Second, stronger than Gear Third, with a body reinforced by Haki and elasticity. In this state, Luffy's attack power—moves like Kong Gun, Rhino Schneider, and Leo Bazooka—could obliterate most high-tier opponents.
But—
Carl remained still.
He didn't flinch. He didn't brace. He simply looked at Luffy coldly and asked, "Boy… What kind of king do you want to be?"
Luffy's pupils constricted.
Impossible…!
Crackle—!!
Black lightning snapped through the air—Haoshoku Haki clashing—and yet, Luffy's Jet Black Red Hawk-infused Kong Gun stopped cold!
SLAP!
Carl's right hand shot forward, caught Luffy by the forehead, and slammed him mercilessly into the deck.
BOOM!!
Wood splintered. The Thousand Sunny's reinforced deck fractured under the force.
Luffy's eyes rolled back as blood sprayed from his mouth.
"How much do you think your shallow mastery of Haki can really achieve?" Carl's eyes glowed a faint crimson. Smoke curled from his mouth as he exhaled, then effortlessly lifted Luffy's limp form by the collar again.
"Pfft—"
Luffy coughed blood again. His consciousness started to fade.
Carl's voice cut in with mockery and disdain. "You don't think this is some movie special, do you?"
BANG!
He slammed Luffy down again.
BANG! BANG! BANG!!
Three more devastating impacts cratered the deck. With each strike, the elasticity drained from Luffy's body. His pumped-up physique deflated, arms and legs shrinking back to his normal skinny form.
"Pathetic," Carl muttered, letting go.
"So, brat… Let's end your One Piece fantasy here."
THUD—
Luffy collapsed like a broken puppet, sprawled across the wrecked deck. His chest rose faintly. His eyes were blank. The soul of a pirate who dared to be king seemed to flicker.
"LUFFY!!" Boa Hancock shrieked from the Perfume Snake, watching in horror.
A pink heart lit up in her palm as her fury surged.
Scarlet light sparked in Carl's eyes. "Stay still… unless you want your beloved Amazon Lily burned to ash."
His killing intent struck like an arctic wind—cold, sharp, suffocating.
"You…" Hancock's hands froze mid-cast. Her pupils trembled. That monster—Carl—was unfazed by her Mero Mero no Mi's charms. Worse, he radiated a pressure that screamed one thing: if she moved, her entire homeland would be erased.
"I am… a Shichibukai!" Hancock shouted, teeth clenched in defiance.
"Hmph." Carl exhaled, tapping ash from his cigar. "Yes. You are."
"But at the end of the day, the so-called Warlords are pirates the World Government tolerates."
"Assist another pirate—and you've violated that agreement."
He wasn't bluffing. The Seven Warlords of the Sea were a tool—one the World Government had long wielded to balance the powers of the Yonko and Marines. But betray that balance? They could be revoked and rebranded as criminals on the spot.
"…Tch." Hancock's finger twitched. But in the end, she didn't move. Her eyes locked on Luffy, biting her lip as her mind spun.
With someone like Carl standing there, no amount of Haki or Devil Fruit mastery could save her. She could only stay put—and wait for a better chance to act.
"He's… a monster…" From a distance on the deck, Usopp collapsed, trembling. His eyes were wide with terror, tears and snot pouring down.
Carl's gaze drifted to him. "No will to resist?"
He turned toward T. Penn, still hovering above. "Send someone down. Arrest them all."
"Yes, sir!" T. Penn snapped to attention.
On the far side of the harbor—
"That moss-headed bastard and the others…" Perona hovered mid-air, gripping her umbrella tightly. Her face was pale.
"…Sanji…" Dibani murmured, eyes locked on the devastation.
They'd crushed the Marine patrols nearby.
But the situation on the Thousand Sunny?
It was a disaster.
BOOM! BOOM!!
Thunder rolled. The sky cracked.
Below the clouds, Silvers Rayleigh dashed through the battlefield, sweat soaking his brow. His blade parried blow after blow as he fought two deadly opponents at once. But part of his mind—his heart—was somewhere else. Watching Luffy.
"Luffy… he's down."
Rayleigh's chest heaved. He wasn't surprised.
It was too soon for Luffy. Too soon for any of them.
Carl wasn't someone new pirates could face and hope to win.
Even Rayleigh himself—The Dark King—was struggling.
Swish—!
A sudden presence—silent and lethal—teleported behind him.
A palm struck him in the back.
BOOM!
Rayleigh was launched forward by the sudden impact.
"Ngh!"
The calm voice followed.
"Your focus is split, Rayleigh."
'Nobita' emerged behind him—expressionless, composed. Since the start of the fight, Rayleigh hadn't gone all out. His attention was constantly divided, watching the crew on the Sunny.
That distraction cost him dearly.
SMACK!
Rayleigh landed hard, bracing with one knee and a hand. He chuckled bitterly.
"This is what true despair feels like…"
From the moment the War Fortress arrived, he'd known—deep down—that they were outmatched.
But now, watching Luffy brutalized, his worst fears were being confirmed.
And it was too late.
Instead of worrying about them, you should focus on your own predicament first," a bold, determined voice rang out behind Rayleigh.
"Raimei Hakke!" (Thunder Bagua!)
Clang!
Rayleigh's blade flashed horizontally, intercepting the mighty swing. A burst of force erupted, pushing him several meters back through sheer impact. His sandals skidded across the earth, arms straining from the raw power.
Across from him, Yamato—Kaido's own daughter, now wielding the iconic kanabō her father once used—grinned, her eyes alight with a fierce fighting spirit. Her Haki-cloaked swing had almost caught the former right-hand man of the Pirate King off-guard.
Aboard the Thousand Sunny, Marines were dragging the Straw Hat Pirates one by one from the debris and rubble of the shattered deck.
"Put the seastone handcuffs on them," Carl ordered coolly, exhaling a lazy cloud of smoke from his cigar.
"Er… Vice Admiral Oak Dragon," T. Penn hesitated, then awkwardly saluted.
"Sir, there's a bit of a… problem. Our ship doesn't have any seastone handcuffs on board."
"…Huh?" Carl paused mid-puff, his brows furrowing.
"Come again? Seastone handcuffs are standard issue for all Marine vessels, especially those from Headquarters."
Seastone cuffs were essential for any mission involving Devil Fruit users. Their ability to suppress powers was a must for preventing escape or sabotage.
"About that, sir…" T. Penn scratched his head nervously.
"Since you personally sink every pirate ship we come across… we've never really had any prisoners. The ship's quartermaster said there was no point in restocking seastone gear."
The words trailed off. Carl froze mid-step as realization struck.
Right—he never took prisoners. Every enemy he faced was obliterated in the heat of battle. It was only natural the logistics team hadn't bothered supplying him with cuffs he never used.
"Tch." Carl turned and cast a casual glance at Luffy and his crew, who were still dazed and bound.
"Well, should I just sink them too?"
T. Penn blinked, caught between expectation and dread, waiting for Carl to make the call.
After a beat, Carl sighed and waved dismissively.
"Forget it. Just keep watch on them for now. Don't let your guard down."
"Yes, sir!" T. Penn straightened up and saluted crisply.
"I'll guard them with my life!"
Carl's gaze shifted toward the coastline, where the echo of Haki clashes still roared. He exhaled slowly, flicked his half-burned cigar overboard, and vanished from the deck in an instant with a sonic boom.
On the shore, Rayleigh's Haki-infused saber swept through the air in elegant arcs, clashing again and again with Yamato's brutal swings and another assailant's wild attacks.
Opposing him, Yamato fought with the same ferocity that once shook Kaido's crew, her immense strength and mastery of Armament and Observation Haki making her nearly Kaido's equal in raw potential.
Beside her stood the mysterious combatant dubbed "Nobita," who had been revealed in the previous arc as one of the Five Elders' secret weapons—a weaponized warrior modeled after Imu's ideals of "balance and finality."
Rayleigh's goal was simple: break away and reach the coast. Escape. Rejoin his allies.
But then, both Yamato and Nobita suddenly halted, stepping back without a word.
Rayleigh furrowed his brow.
"Is this your way of letting an old man go?" he asked, lips twitching.
"No," Nobita replied evenly, his voice emotionless.
"Your fate is already sealed."
Rayleigh tensed. A chill crawled up his spine.
Instinct screamed— Move!
The seasoned veteran's body reacted before his mind. He pushed off the ground, blurring to the side.
Slash!
The earth split behind him. A deep gash appeared exactly where he had stood moments ago.
He turned sharply—
—and there stood Carl, the Oak Dragon, his blade Sakura Ten cloaked in an intense coating of Advanced Armament Haki. His red eyes were glowing faintly, Observation Haki flaring.
Rayleigh narrowed his eyes.
"A three-on-one against a retired old man… Bit excessive, don't you think?"
Carl stepped forward, brushing ash from his sleeve.
"You're not just any old man," he said calmly.
"You were the right hand of the Pirate King. The man who escorted Roger through Raftel. You once stood before Borsalino and lived. You are 'Dark King' Silvers Rayleigh—one of the few who know the True History."
Rayleigh gave a wry chuckle, raising his blade once more.
"Now I'm just someone trying to grow old in peace."
Carl snuffed the last of his cigar out on his own palm and crushed it. His expression turned cold.
"I warned you before."
Red light gleamed once more in Carl's eyes—another instant death strike was about to fall.
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