I'll concede to your last point about his basic attacks not doing much to harm Jinbei because he was able to block Jet Stamp. If he hadn't of been quick enough to block a head on attack, then he would of sustained a lot more damage. However, I still might give Luffy the edge in this fight. I was looking back at that chapter, and I'm under the impression Jinbei will most likely have a hard time keeping up with Luffy's second gear speed. We haven't seen Jinbei move anywhere as fast as steroid pumped Hody in battle, and Hody was arguably able to move just as fast as Luffy during their final fight on the ship. I acknowledge Jinbei was able to block a straight on second gear attack he saw coming, while sustaining minimal damage to his arms. Nonetheless, if Luffy started side blitzing Jinbei from different directions with his fast speed, then Jinbei would've had a difficult time defending against all of his attacks especially if Luffy is attacking him relentlessly. Luffy may a be reckless fighter, but he's smart and tactical at times. I doubt Luffy would continue to attack Jinbei straight on if his opponent commenced using techniques that would manipulate the water in his body for the rest of the fight. Jinbei may have an incredibly durable body, but he would eventually get worn out having to keep up with Luffy's speed attacks if he stays in second gear.
I don't think jinbe has even the slightest disadvantage in terms of speed. There are two instances at which speed has been relevant here so far. When jinbe first easily blocked luffy's gear second and when they both hit each other. In neither of those scenarios has jinbe ever been at a disadvantage. Perhaps the case can be made that speed isn't jinbe's thing but that would actually put luffy at a extremely severe disadvantage because so far jinbe has kept up pretty well with luffy's speed which is a bit of a thing for gear 2. If speed, a potential weakness for jinbe, has not been an issue then odds are that once the fight comes down to things which are "jinbe's thing" luffy will be at an even greater disadvantage to put it mildly.
Difference is that Luffy did not went around with full gear second against Jinbe. If he would use it on his legs and punch Jinbe from different directions I do think that chances of Jinbe barely keeping up or not keeping up after some time are quite big. Its big of a strech when you basically say that pre TS Luffy was catched by Jinbe and then after time skip ONE gear second attack - stamp - was blocked.
Luffy didn't use his speed effectively in the that brief fight because he attacked Jinbei head on in both instances in a very predictable manner. Jinbi saw Jet Stamp coming because luffy jumped up and stretched his legs, so all Jinbe had to do was simply raise his arms in time to block the technique. Afterward, Luffy just ran slowly (I say slowly because we've seen Luffy move much faster than what was displayed in that chapter, and Sanji had enough time to jump in between them plus Robin) straight at Jinbe with his fist raised. What do both instances have in common? Luffy's attacks were very predictable, and he did not use his superior speed to his advantage. I believe that notion is pretty much indisputable. In addition, you can't claim Jinbe wouldn't have some type of speed disadvantage, because Luffy didn't even bother using his quickness to gain the upper hand in his short brawl with Jinbe. Look at the chapter again and examine how Luffy proceeded to attack Jinbe in both instances. You should come to my conclusion. Anyway, that matter aside, Jinbe has not once shown any considerable feat during battle that would suggest he could move anywhere as fast as Luffy's top second gear speed. As a result, Jinbe would be at a considerable disadvantage if Luffy started blitzing him from different directions, instead of engaging him in a head on manner where Jinbe could easily read his attacks like he did in their short fight.
That's not true.
how long can Luffy keep up using second gear? Even if Jinbei isn't as fast, he's tough - didn't he tackle Akainu when Akainu was trying to finish off Ace and/or Luffy? I don't remember Jinbei getting damaged from the tackle. As mentioned, both men were holding back, so the kick isn't enough to determine who'd win. I doubt Jinbei would have been hurt that badly if he could take the kick without a problem.
I would argue that moment is indication enough that jinbe would be able to handle luffy's speed. There is no reason for us to think jinbe is in any form or context slow, he has not once been displayed that way. Jinbe looks slow because he is 15 feet tall and a perfect circle but appearances alone don't justify him being slow in the least. As far as we know jinbe is perfectly capable of handling luffy's speed and perhaps more.... I am going to make the same point I have made in other threads regarding speed. The difference between two people has to be enormous for it to be a decisive factor.... I mean, kizaru moves supposedly at the speed of light and yet he has been countered at every turn by relevant people. Kuma supposedly teleports (I think he is simply reflecting himself with his paw powers though, it merely looks like he is teleporting) and yet he even had trouble with ivankov.... How does it make sense that luffy has any degree of speed advantage over jinbe? Even if he did, it wouldn't be a decisive factor in the battle. Luffy did use a pretty straightforward attack but why does that take anything away from what we saw? most of luffy's attacks are straighforward, its only a few notable exceptions that aren't (say, snakeshot). Jinbe hasn't shown he is capable of keeping up with gear 2? He easily blocked a gear two attack at first and subsequently tied in a fistfight with luffy. As far as we have seen jinbe is at least a match for luffy in that department, there is no reason for us to think luffy is "undoubtedly" faster than jinbe.
