Chapters · Water Seven › Enies Lobby

Chapter 388: Gear Two

Arc: Enies Lobby · Saga: Water Seven · Released: (unknown)

Summary

On the courthouse roof, Luffy in Gear Second overwhelms Blueno: the steam-pumped speed boost beats every Door-Door / Six-Powers counter Blueno throws (an Air Door escape, Iron Body + “Top Strength,” a body-hardened counter-charge), and Luffy lands Jet Pistol, Jet Stamp, and finally Jet Bazooka to put Blueno down. But Gear Second has a price — once the boost fades, Luffy’s body “still can’t keep up” and he is left gasping and exhausted (“I’m really tired”); when he tries to show Blueno “something even more interesting” — “Gear…” — he simply collapses face-first instead. The view pulls back to the wider assault: the defecting giants Oimo & Kashii smash toward the courthouse for the Straw Hats, the giant frog Yokozuna holds the drawbridge, and the Franky Family (twins Mozu & Kiwi, King Bulls Sodom & Gomora) battle the gate-guards while Sanji & Chopper punch through the courtroom — where Chief Justice Baskerville has already condemned Franky and Robin “Guilty” and Spandam orders them taken through the Gates of Justice to the Tower of Law. As the convoy preparations stall, Luffy reaches the courthouse roof and shouts to Robin: “ROBIN!! I’ve come for you!!” — Robin: “Luffy… He came.”

New reveals

• Luffy beats Blueno in Gear Second — Jet Pistol, Jet Stamp, and Jet Bazooka land cleanly; Blueno’s Air Door retreat, Iron Body + “Top Strength,” and counter-charge all fail against the boosted speed.
• Gear Second has a cost. After the boost wears off, Luffy’s body “still can’t keep up,” he’s “really tired,” and when he tries to show “something even more interesting” he collapses — establishing that the technique drains him.
• Luffy teases a further escalation — “Then I’ll show you something even MORE interesting!! … Gear…” (p. 12) — a named-but-undelivered tier (Chekhov tell). He passes out before demonstrating it.
• Chief Justice Baskerville condemns Franky and Robin “Guilty,” and Spandam orders them taken through the Gates of Justice to the Tower of Law — the convoy is being prepared.
• The Pluton stakes restated (Battle-Layout recap, pp. 20-21): “Robin has the ability to awaken an Ancient Weapon, and Franky has the design blueprints for it” — the Pluton motive behind the rescue race, spelled out in the recap diagram.

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Luffy, Blueno, Nico Robin, Franky, Spandam, Sanji, Tony Tony Chopper, Oimo, Kashii, Yokozuna, Sodom, Gomora, Mozu, Kiwi, Baskerville, Chimney, Jabra, Kumadori, Fukuro
• Groups: CP9, Franky Family, Galley-La Company, Giant Warrior Pirates (Oimo & Kashii), Straw Hat Pirates
• Fruits / systems: Gomu Gomu no Mi (Gear Second), Doa Doa no Mi (Air Door), Six Powers (Rokushiki) (Iron Body)
• Locations: Enies Lobby (Courthouse Roof, Courthouse Courtroom, Tower of Law, Island Gate, Main Gate, Gates of Justice)
• Threads: Ancient Weapons (Pluton stakes restated in the Battle-Layout recap)
• Cover story: Ms. Golden Week’s Big Plan, A Baroque Reunion Vol. 22 — “Mr. 3 Surrenders?!” (Mr. 3, Miss Goldenweek)

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title splash: “Chapter 388: GEAR TWO.” Cover-story header: Ms. Golden Week’s Big Plan, A Baroque Reunion Vol. 22 — “Mr. 3 Surrenders?!” (Mr. 3 bound on a cart, Mr. 5 / Miss Valentine-style Baroque Works figures present).
• Page 4 — “JET PISTOL!!!!” — Gear Second strike rocketed at Blueno’s face.
• Page 6 — “KAPOW!!! / STAMP!! / TO-MP!!! — Jet Stamp” — the stomping follow-up.
• Page 7 — Blueno realizes Luffy is “using the Shave technique… and perfectly”; Luffy’s Gear Second speed reads as the Six-Powers Soru.
• Page 9-10 — Blueno’s last gambit (Iron Body + “Top Strength”) is blown apart by “JET BAZOOKA!!!” — Blueno defeated.
• Page 12-13 — “Then I’ll show you something even MORE interesting!! … Gear… Watch this.” → “THUD…!!!” Luffy collapses from exhaustion (Gear Second cost).
• Page 14 — Mini-map inset of Enies Lobby Main Island (Tower of Law / Courthouse / Island Gate / Main Gate).
• Page 14-17 — The wider assault: Oimo & Kashii smashing the courthouse for the Straw Hats; Yokozuna holding the drawbridge; Franky Family twins Mozu & Kiwi breaking through.
• Page 17 — In the courtroom: Chief Justice Baskerville pronounces “Guilty. Guilty.” over Franky and Robin; “Take Franky and Nico Robin to the Gates of Justice!!” — Tower of Law named the “ultimate destination.”
• Page 19 — Luffy on the courthouse roof: “ROBIN!! I’ve come for you!!”; Robin (in restraints): “Luffy… He came.”
• Pages 20-21 — Full-spread “Enies Lobby Battle Layout” recap infographic (a labelled diagram, not a color spread): maps the assault (Kokoro/Rocketman, Sniper King, Oimo & Kashii, the giants, Gates of Justice, Tower of Law, Courthouse, the Jurors “mysterious men,” the 10,000 navy troops), the CP9 roster (Director Spandam, Lucci, Kaku, Blueno, Kalifa, plus the bottom-left portraits Jabra, Kumadori, Fukurō), and prisoners Robin & Franky. Restates the Pluton stakes: “Robin has the ability to awaken an Ancient Weapon, and Franky has the design blueprints for it.”

Open questions raised

• What is the higher “Gear” tier Luffy teased but couldn’t show?
• Can the rescue reach Franky and Robin before the convoy takes them through the Gates of Justice?
• Will the courthouse “Jurors” (the masked “mysterious men” in the recap) factor into the fight?