Warning: SPOILERS for chapter #1070 of One Piece.
An official preview for chapter #1070 of One Piece, shared during Jump Festa 2023, shows that Luffy has added a powerful attack to his arsenal, which makes full use of his Gear Fifth abilities. Luffy unleashes this new move, called White Rocket, against Rob Lucci during their ongoing battle in Egghead Island.
Gear Fifth debuted not too long ago in One Piece, creating a huge commotion among fans. This is not only Luffy’s most powerful form but also the awakening of his Devil Fruit, which came with a reveal that the Gomu Gomu no Mi than fans were familiar with since the very first chapter is actually a Mythical Zoan type. After the awakening, Luffy is able to use the abilities of the legendary Sun God Nika, making him able to manipulate his body and his surrounding with “complete freedom”, resulting in some ridiculously powerful attacks, such as grabbing a lighting bolt and using it as a spear.
On Egghead Island, the island laboratory of Dr. Vegapunk, Luffy found a match for his new powers. His old nemesis, Rob Lucci, has also awakened his Devil Fruit and engages Luffy in a spectacular battle. The One Piece panel held during the Jump Festa event shared a lot of exciting news with fans of the franchise, including a sneak peek at the upcoming chapter #1070 of the manga. In the page, Luffy uses his abilities to turn a tube into a giant, rubber slingshot, then propels himself towards Lucci at incredible speed and hits him square in the chest with a devastating attack that he calls Gomu Gomu no Don Rocket, which means “white rocket”.
Gear Fifth’s Attacks May Look Ridiculous But They Are Still Deadly
Some things stand out from this sequence. First, Luffy’s attack almost goes through Lucci’s body, exactly like he did with Kaido in a very controversial panel during their fight. This confirms Gear Fifth’s ability to also manipulate the opponent’s body, no matter how strong their Haki is. Second, before the attack, Luffy materializes a pair of aviator goggles from his hair. This is purely for comedy reasons, but it feeds the theories that Luffy’s new powers essentially give him the ability to turn his imagination into reality. Finally, it’s possible that from now on, the names of Luffy’s attacks in Gear Fifth will all contain the word Don (white), as this transformation is white-colored.
The way that Luffy fights has changed dramatically since he acquired Gear Fifth. According to Eiichiro Oda, these new powers are a way for the author to bring the series back to its comedy roots by showing their often ridiculous effects, but this does not mean that they are not effective. As Luffy showed in this sequence, Gear Fifth can deliver attacks that, despite looking ridiculous, can take down even the strongest fighters in One Piece.
The latest chapter of One Piece is available from Viz Media.