Chapters · Water Seven › Enies Lobby

Chapter 421: Gear Three

Arc: Enies Lobby · Saga: Water Seven · Released:

Summary

The Buster Call begins: the Marine warships open fire on Enies Lobby (“Carry out the Buster Call!! … Let no one escape! Raze Enies Lobby to the ground!!”), bombarding the island indiscriminately — sparing only the Tower of Law (the Bridge of Hesitation) where Nico Robin is held, “by private agreement with Admiral Aokiji.” CP9’s Spandam panics amid the shelling while the Straw Hats and the sea-floor evacuation party (Nami, Chopper, Kokoro, Gonbe, Chimney via the under-sea passage; Zoro, Sniper King, Sanji elsewhere) scatter, and the tower’s lower passage begins to flood. At the Bridge of Hesitation, Luffy refuses to break off his fight with Rob Lucci to help his crew (“I’m not taking my eyes off of you!!! … But if I let you get away… you’ll go kill them!!!”). Lucci, in full leopard-hybrid form, repeatedly counters Luffy’s strikes with Rokushiki — Finger Pistol, Tempest Kick, a “Leopard Tail” whirl, and Iron Body, which shrugs off Luffy’s Gum-Gum Rifle and Stamp. Pressed, Luffy unveils a new tier: he bites his thumb and inflates his bones with air (“Bone Balloon”; “The air’s moving through my bones, picking up power!!”), declaring “Gear… Three!!” His arm balloons to the size of a giant’s, and he answers Lucci’s Iron Body with “Gum-Gum… Giant Pistol!!!!” — a colossal fist that punches straight through the Tower of Law, ending the chapter on a full-page splash of the tower exploding (KA-BOOM).

New reveals

• Luffy debuts Gear Third (“Gear… Three!!”, p. 15): he bites his thumb and blows air into his bones — “Bone Balloon” (p. 16) — to inflate a limb to giant size. “The air’s moving through my bones, picking up power!!” / “It’s the arm of a giant!!!” (pp. 16-17). The second numbered Gear state after Gear Second (Ch. 387).
• Gear Third finisher named on-page: “Gum-Gum… Giant Pistol!!!!” (pp. 17-19) — a giant fist that punches through the Tower of Law (full-page splash, p. 19), even after Lucci’s Iron Body brace.
• The Buster Call is carried out on-page for the first time on Enies Lobby (pp. 2-4) — the first DEPICTED Buster Call bombardment. Order: “Let no one escape! Raze Enies Lobby to the ground!!” Indiscriminate (WG forces not exempted); only the Tower of Law (where Robin is) is spared “by private agreement with Admiral Aokiji.”
• Luffy vs. Rob Lucci proper begins — Lucci in Neko Neko Leopard hybrid form, cycling Finger Pistol (Shigan), Tempest Kick (Rankyaku), a “Leopard Tail” whirl, and Iron Body (Tekkai); reads Luffy’s strength as “fuel injection” he’ll exhaust.

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Luffy — fighting Lucci on-page; debuts Gear Third / Bone Balloon / Giant Pistol.
• Rob Lucci — fighting on-page in Neko Neko Leopard hybrid form; Rokushiki + Leopard Tail.
• Nico Robin — cover-page splash (p. 1); the Buster Call’s named target (“the criminal Nico Robin”); held in the spared Tower of Law.
• Sanji / Usopp — Sniper King (“the sniper king”) with the new “Kabuto” weapon, alongside Sanji, fleeing the bombardment (pp. 5-6 wanted-poster strip names “ZOLO, SNIPER KING, SANJI”).
• CP9 — Spandam (Director of CP9) panicking amid the shelling (pp. 4-5).
• Marines — the Buster Call fleet executing the bombardment.
• Buster Call — the annihilation order, carried out on-page.
• Six Powers (Rokushiki) — Lucci’s Finger Pistol (Shigan), Tempest Kick (Rankyaku), Iron Body (Tekkai).
• Gomu Gomu no Mi — Luffy’s Gear Third / Giant Pistol.
• Neko Neko no Mi, Model Leopard — Lucci’s hybrid form + Leopard Tail.
• Straw Hat Pirates — the scattered crew (Nami/Chopper/Kokoro/Gonbe/Chimney in the under-sea passage; Zoro/Sniper King/Sanji elsewhere).

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Cover-story splash (B-plot): Nico Robin, in an opulent room, playing billiards surrounded by koala-faced bears; a chalkboard scoreboard. Part of a running cover serial featuring Robin among the bears. (Decorative cover-serial page; defer to cover-tracker.)
• Pages 2-4 — The Buster Call begins: warships open fire (“BA-BOOM”, “KA-BOOM”); “Carry out the Buster Call!!”, “Let no one escape! Raze Enies Lobby to the ground!!”; targets named (“Straw Hat Luffy and his accomplices”, “the criminal Nico Robin”, ~80 people); Tower of Law spared “by private agreement with Admiral Aokiji.”
• Page 5 — Sniper King with his new weapon “the Kabuto” (Usopp/Sogeking persona); Sanji nearby; the group fleeing the shelling.
• Page 6 — Wanted-poster-style strip naming the two split groups (“NAMI, CHOPPER, KOKORO, GONBE, CHIMNEY” / “ZOLO, SNIPER KING, SANJI”); caption “THE UNDER-SEA PASSAGE.”
• Pages 7-8 — The Tower-of-Law lower passage floods (“…it’s flooded now… Soon this room too will be at the bottom of the sea!”); Luffy vs. Rob Lucci framed (“A support under the Bridge of Hesitation… Luffy vs. Rob Lucci”).
• Page 9 — Luffy: “I’m not taking my eyes off of you!!! … But if I let you get away… you’ll go kill them!!!”
• Pages 10-13 — Lucci’s Rokushiki barrage (Finger Pistol, Tempest Kick, Leopard Tail) vs. Luffy’s Gum-Gum Rifle; Lucci blocks with Iron Body (“Iron Body… Rifle!!!”).
• Pages 14-15 — Lucci’s Tempest Kick + Luffy’s “Stamp”; Luffy: “I’ll give you one! I’ve got a few tricks left! … Gear… Three!!” (“BWOING!”).
• Page 16 — “Bone Balloon!!!”; “The air’s moving through my bones, picking up power!! … See my left arm!!” (BLOOP).
• Page 17 — Lucci: “It’s the arm of a giant!!!”; Luffy winds up “Gum-Gum…” against Lucci’s “Iron Body.”
• Page 18 — ”…Giant Pistol!!!!” — the giant fist launches at the Tower of Law.
• Page 19 — Full-page splash: KA-BOOM — the Giant Pistol smashes through the Tower of Law, debris flying (”?!!!”).

Open questions raised

• Does the giant Gear-Third Giant Pistol fell Lucci, or does Iron Body absorb even this? (Cliffhanger on the tower-shattering splash.)
• What is Gear Third’s cost? The “bone-inflation” mechanic is shown without its drawback this chapter (the later chibi-shrink penalty is not yet on-page).
• Will the spared Tower of Law (Robin’s location) survive the Buster Call once the “private agreement with Aokiji” lapses?
• Cover story: the running Robin-among-the-bears serial (p. 1) — track its through-line (defer to cover-tracker).