@flandrian15:
Does there really need to be a gear 5 though?
Doesn't need to be, but it seems likely there'll be at least one more before the end, just because its been so mmany years since 4, and so many years still to go.
Heck, 4 even has a couple variants like tank and snake, so if we don't get 5 we're certainly going to at least get another one of those.lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
I was happy with it stopping at 2 and 3, but whatcha gonna do? Battle shonen that run for years have to keep freshening up.
And Rubber awakening, what good would that do? Luffy can make any surface rubber?
First Doflamingo and then Katakuri set up that awakening is THE final step in mastering your fruit, and its been clued in since Impel Down. Luffy IS going to get it eventually. (Only for Blackbeard to then negate it.) And maybe Chopper who seems like he'll have to get soemthing new when he hits his new 30 minute timelimit because side efects have been foreshadowed.
There's no telling what form or function it'll take, but Oda's generally pretty good about making creative use of powers. Especially when he does stuff with weird japanese puns.
Seriously though, can anyone think of a useful way to have Luffy's fruit awaken?
American comic writers spent literal decades trying to make mr. Fantastic and Plastic Man and Elongated Man have rubber powers that were interesting and no one ever did anything cool with it until Oda. Dude's creative and only he knows what Awakening can ACTUALLY do, so Luffy's could end up being almost anything.