Monkey D. Luffy/History

Shanks and the Straw Hat


Luffy was born in Foosha Village to Monkey D. Dragon and an unknown woman. Dragon left Luffy in the care of his grandfather Monkey D. Garp, and Garp did many dangerous things to Luffy like leaving him alone in the woods and tying him to a balloon in order to make him stronger. When Luffy was 6, Shanks and the Red Hair Pirates stationed themselves in Foosha Village. While they were there, their sniper Yasopp frequently told Luffy that he had a son his age named Usopp. Luffy wanted to join the Red Hair Pirates, and after they had been in the village for nearly a year, he stabbed himself under his left eye to prove he was tough enough to be a pirate.

Luffy and the Red Hair Pirates then went to the Partys Bar, where Luffy continued to unsuccessfully get Shanks to let him join them. He found the Gomu Gomu no Mi in a chest and ate it with his meal, not knowing what it was. Right as he did this, the mountain bandit Higuma and his gang entered the bar and demanded sake. The bartender Makino informed them that the Red Hair Pirates had consumed all the sake available, and when Shanks offered him the last bottle, Higuma smashed it against his head. Shanks only responded by cleaning up the mess, and Higuma abused him some more before leaving. Luffy was outraged that Shanks did not retaliate, and Shanks grabbed his arm when he tried to leave, causing it to stretch. The Red Hair Pirates realized in shock that Luffy had eaten the Devil Fruit they took, and revealed to Luffy that he would never be able to swim for the rest of his life.



The Red Hair Pirates later set sail, and Luffy enjoyed his new rubber body. One day, he was sitting in the Partys Bar when Higuma's gang returned. Luffy picked a fight with them, and they easily overpowered him. Before Higuma could kill Luffy, the Red Hair Pirates then arrived, and Lucky Roux shot one of the bandits that threatened them before Benn Beckman defeated the rest of Higuma's men by himself. However, Higuma threw a smoke bomb and escaped to sea with Luffy. There, he kicked Luffy overboard, and a Sea King known as the Lord of the Coast came and ate Higuma before going to eat Luffy. However, Shanks then arrived and saved Luffy before scaring away the Sea King; however, Luffy was left deeply saddened due to Shanks having lost his left arm in the process of saving him.

Master Rayleigh, I was really surprised!! Over in the East Blue...! There was a kid who said the same things as Captain Roger...! Those exact same words as the captain!

Later, the Red Hair Pirates prepared to depart Foosha Village for good, and Luffy had decided that he would rather set sail on his own. Shanks teased him about being too weak, and Luffy declared to him that he would become a great pirate and form a crew that was stronger than Shanks'. In response, Shanks gave Luffy his straw hat, telling him to return it once he had become a great pirate.

Luffy's New Family: Bandits and Brothers
After the Red Hair Pirates left, Garp took Luffy to Mt. Colubo and placed him in the care of the mountain bandit Curly Dadan and the Dadan Family. He introduced Luffy to Dadan's other ward Portgas D. Ace, but Ace was cold toward Luffy. Every day, Ace would travel away from the Dadan Family hideout and Luffy attempted to follow him. Ace would put obstacles in his path to stop him, but Luffy continued following him.

Eventually, Luffy made it all the way to Gray Terminal, where he found Ace counting money with a boy named Sabo. When Luffy went up to them, Ace and Sabo captured him and talked about killing him to keep their secret safe. Porchemy of the Bluejam Pirates then came walking through the woods, and as Ace and Sabo hid from him, they left Luffy to be captured. Porchemy took Luffy to his base and interrogated him about the money Ace and Sabo had stolen from his crew. Luffy refused to answer him, even when Porchemy nearly beat him to death with spiked gloves. Ace and Sabo then came to the base and freed Luffy, with Ace beating Porchemy.



After this incident, Luffy, Ace, and Sabo became friends and went on many adventures together, becoming known throughout the Goa Kingdom. One day, they went to a restaurant in Goa and broke out without paying. As they ran away, a man called out to Sabo, though Sabo did not respond. After escaping the city, Luffy and Ace forced Sabo to tell them who the man was. Sabo admitted that the man was his father and a member of Goa's nobility; he had ran away from his family due to their preoccupation with maintaining their status. Luffy, Ace, and Sabo then shared their dreams, deciding to each set sail as pirates to achieve them when they turned 17. They then exchanged sake cups to become sworn brothers, solidifying their bond.

The three brothers continued adventuring and honing their abilities, with Luffy struggling to attack properly with his Devil Fruit. However, their time was cut short as Sabo's father had the Bluejam Pirates capture Luffy and Ace to force Sabo to return to his family. Sabo agreed to return, on the condition that the Bluejam Pirates not harm Luffy and Ace. After Sabo left, Bluejam put Luffy and Ace to work moving boxes around Gray Terminal. A few days later, Bluejam told the two brothers to help him burn down Gray Terminal that night. Luffy and Ace refused, and Bluejam asked about the location of their treasure. They did not tell him, causing him to tie them to a pole in Gray Terminal. As night fell, the Bluejam Pirates set Gray Terminal ablaze, and Ace managed to free himself and Luffy as they were surrounded by flames. The Bluejam Pirates then confronted the duo to get the location of their treasure, but Ace knocked most of them out with Haoshoku Haki before the Dadan Family came to the rescue. Luffy fled Gray Terminal with the Dadan Family, while Ace and Dadan stayed behind to fight Bluejam.



The next morning, Ace and Dadan returned to Mt. Colubo heavily injured but alive. However, Dogra later told Luffy and Ace that Sabo had been killed by a World Noble while setting out to sea, leaving them devastated. Luffy went to the coast and cried all night, and Ace came to him the next morning. Luffy made Ace promise that he would not die, swearing to become stronger. For the next seven years, the two continued adventuring and training to get stronger, with Luffy learning to throw effective long-range punches with his stretching. A 14-year-old Luffy then bid farewell to Ace, who sailed out to sea as a pirate upon turning 17. Three more years passed before Luffy became a pirate himself, and he bid farewell to the Dadan Family before going to Foosha Village to say goodbye and set sail. When the Lord of the Coast emerged to confront him, Luffy punched it away with Gomu Gomu no Pistol. As he sailed, Luffy plotted to recruit ten crewmates, get a Jolly Roger, and become the Pirate King.

Luffy's First Battles and Crewmembers


The first thing that Luffy came across on his voyage was a whirlpool, which pulled his ship in. Luffy managed to survive by hiding in a barrel, which washed ashore on Goat Island. The Alvida Pirates' cabin boy Koby rolled the barrel to a storehouse, and some of his crewmates went to open it, causing Luffy to accidentally knock them out as he emerged. Luffy asked Koby for a ship, and Koby gave him a boat he had made to escape, revealing that he was serving the Alvida Pirates against his will but was too afraid to try to get away. Luffy did not think much of Koby's lack of resolve, telling the cabin boy that he intended to become Pirate King. Koby's captain Alvida then came and destroyed the boat, but as she confronted Koby, the cabin boy found the resolve to stand up to her. Luffy was impressed with Koby, and intercepted Alvida's attempt to strike Koby with her mace. The mace had no effect on Luffy, and he knocked out Alvida with one punch. Luffy then told the Alvida Pirates to get him and Koby a boat, and they complied.



As they sailed, Koby was concerned about the fate Luffy would meet when sailing on the Grand Line, known as the pirate's graveyard. Luffy replied that he would assemble a powerful crew, starting with the powerful bounty hunter Roronoa Zoro. With Koby's navigation skills, they made it to Shells Town where Zoro was being held captive by the Marines led by Captain Morgan. After eating at a restaurant, Luffy and Koby prepared to split up at the Marine base. Luffy looked over the wall and saw Zoro tied up, and Zoro offered to help him if he was freed. Luffy and Koby then watched as a little girl named Rika climbed over the wall to feed Zoro some rice balls. However, Morgan's son Helmeppo then came and stopped her, having his Marine guards throw her over the wall. Luffy caught Rika, and as Helmeppo's group left, he climbed over the wall to talk to Zoro. Zoro refused to join Luffy's crew, saying Helmeppo had promised to let him go free if he could survive without nourishment for a month. However, he asked Luffy to feed him Rika's rice balls that Helmeppo had smashed into the ground, and told him to tell Rika that they were delicious.

Luffy returned to Shells Town and relayed the message to Rika, and she revealed that Zoro was imprisoned after protecting her from Helmeppo's dog. Helmeppo then came into town and announced to the citizens that Zoro would be executed, and when Luffy questioned his promise, he revealed that it was a lie. Luffy then punched Helmeppo, and as Koby held him back from attacking him more, Helmeppo said his father would get revenge on Luffy. Luffy then went back to the Marine base to recruit Zoro again. When he found out that Zoro's sword had been confiscated by the Marines, Luffy went to go find them and offer to give them back if Zoro joined his crew. Hearing voices on the roof of the base, Luffy stretched his arms and pulled himself up. However, he sent himself flying over the roof and grabbed ropes that the Marines were using to erect a statue of Morgan, causing the statue to fall and break. Luffy then captured Helmeppo and ran inside, telling Helmeppo to give him the location of Zoro's sword. Helmeppo did so, and Luffy used him as a shield to keep from being shot by the Marines. Luffy went to Helmeppo's room, where he saw three swords. Seeing Zoro and Koby being confronted by Morgan and the Marines outside, Luffy took all the swords and jumped out the window, intercepting the bullets being shot at Zoro and Koby.

Luffy's rubber body absorbed the bullets and sent them flying back at the Marines. Zoro said that all three of the swords were his, and agreed to join Luffy if they survived this battle. As Luffy tried to untie Zoro, Zoro told him to give him his swords instead. Zoro cut himself free in time to intercept the charging Marines, and Luffy kicked all of them away. As Morgan told his subordinates to shoot themselves, Luffy attacked the Marine captain and quickly overpowered him. Helmeppo then threatened to shoot Koby, and Luffy turned to attack him, turning his back on Morgan. However, Luffy was able to punch Helmeppo as Zoro cut down Morgan. To the pirates' surprise, the Marines celebrated the defeat of their captain.

Luffy, Zoro, and Koby then went to eat at Rika's family's restaurant, but the Marines came and told them they had to leave. They questioned if Koby was going with them, and Luffy started talking about Koby's past in order to goad Koby into hitting him. This plan worked, and Koby joined the Marines. As Luffy and Zoro set sail, Koby and the Marines came to the coast and saluted them as thanks for freeing them from Morgan.

The Encounter with the Clown
As they sailed toward the Grand Line, Luffy and Zoro both realized that neither of them had any navigation ability. They quickly grew hungry, and Luffy attempted to catch a bird flying above them, only to be dragged away by the bird. The bird flew over Orange Town, where the Buggy Pirates shot a cannonball at it. The bird dropped Luffy into the cannonball's path, blasting him onto the ground between a woman and a group of Buggy Pirates chasing her. The woman greeted Luffy as her boss, causing the pirates to attack him to find a treasure map she had stolen. They knocked Luffy's hat off, causing him to quickly defeat them. Afterwards, the woman asked Luffy if he wanted to join her, saying her name was Nami and she stole from pirates.

Luffy refused to join Nami, and they went in a house as she told him that she was planning to use Captain Buggy's treasure map to reach the Grand Line and rob even more powerful pirates. When he found out that Nami was a skilled navigator, Luffy asked her to join his crew, but she refused due to hating pirates. However, Nami said she would go with him if he went with her to visit Buggy. Luffy did so, but to his shock, Nami tied him up and offered him to Buggy as a prisoner, causing Buggy to put him in a cage. As the Buggy Pirates partied on the roof of the tavern, Luffy tried biting through the bars and pleading to be let go. Buggy decided to execute Luffy with a Buggy Ball, and he leveled an entire row of houses in a demonstration of its power. He told Nami to fire the Buggy Ball at Luffy, but she decided not to and rebelled against the Buggy Pirates. As the Buggy Pirates went to attack her, Zoro arrived and stopped them. Zoro then cut Buggy into pieces, but Buggy revealed that he could separate his body parts at will with the Bara Bara no Mi as he stabbed Zoro with his disembodied hand. Luffy then called Buggy "Big Nose", causing Buggy to send one of his hands to cut Luffy with a knife. However, Luffy caught and broke the knife with his teeth, and he had Zoro and Nami flip the cannon around and fire the Buggy Ball at the Buggy Pirates.



Afterwards, Zoro picked up the cage and dragged Luffy away from the tavern. They stopped in front of a pet food store that a dog named Chouchou was guarding. Luffy poked Chouchou to see if he was alive, causing Chouchou to attack him. Nami then found Luffy and Zoro and gave them the key to Luffy's cage, but Chouchou immediately ate it. As Luffy was shaking Chouchou, Mayor Boodle came and told him to stop, explaining why Chouchou stood in front of the store. Buggy's subordinate Mohji then came to confront Luffy on his lion Richie, and Richie destroyed the cage in a single attack. The lion then hit Luffy through a house and onto the street behind it, though Luffy was unharmed. Luffy then walked back to find Zoro, and he saw that Mohji had set the pet food store ablaze. He went to confront Mohji and Richie, and defeated the lion by spinning his arms around before grabbing his face and spinning him facefirst into the ground. Luffy then grabbed Mohji and defeated him with one punch to the ground. Luffy went back to the store, and gave Chouchou the pet food that Mohji had taken.

Boodle had had enough of Buggy's tyranny and went to fight him, and Buggy demolished many of the buildings around them with a Buggy Ball. Zoro emerged unharmed from the destruction, and Luffy intended to go help Boodle. Nami agreed to work with him, even though she still refused to be a pirate. Luffy came to the tavern, where he removed Buggy's disembodied hand from Boodle's neck. Boodle protested against the pirates helping him, and Luffy knocked him out because he was getting in their way. Luffy insulted Buggy again, and the pirate shot a Buggy Ball at him. However, Luffy ballooned himself with Gomu Gomu no Fusen and sent the Buggy Ball flying back, demolishing the tavern. Buggy emerged from the wreckage and threw Mohji at Luffy, and Luffy easily kicked him aside. Luffy then watched as Zoro battled Cabaji, and as Nami went to a shack to steal Buggy's treasure, Luffy stomped on Buggy's hand to prevent him from interfering in Zoro's fight, allowing Zoro to defeat Cabaji.

Luffy then confronted Buggy, and dodged the clown's long-distance knife strikes with his disembodied hands and legs. Buggy split off his body parts to dodge Luffy's attacks, and managed to graze Luffy's face and damage his straw hat with a knife before stabbing the straw hat again. Luffy was enraged to see Buggy damaging his hat, which Buggy recognized as he was once on the same ship as Shanks. Luffy punched Buggy in the stomach, telling him to never compare himself to Shanks. Buggy then detached his torso and flew to attack Nami, but Luffy stopped him by kicking his groin. Buggy split himself into many pieces and flew them around to prevent Luffy from attacking him, but Luffy noticed his feet on the ground and tickled them. While Buggy was caught off-guard, Nami attempted to hit him with a bag of treasure, but he grabbed it instead. However, Luffy ran up and kicked Buggy in the face, and he saw Buggy's map to the Grand Line fall to the ground. Buggy then attempted to reform his body, but only got his hands and feet back as Nami had tied up his other parts. Luffy then hit Buggy with Gomu Gomu no Bazooka, sending him flying off the island.

Luffy and Nami gathered up Buggy's treasure, with Nami agreeing to join the crew and find more treasure. They returned to Zoro and were confronted by the citizens, who were concerned about Boodle. Luffy admitted that he was a pirate and had knocked out the mayor, causing the citizens to chase after them in anger. However, Chouchou then stopped the citizens from chasing the Straw Hats, and Luffy left Buggy's treasure behind for the citizens to rebuild their town. They came to their boat and a boat that Nami had stolen from the Buggy Pirates, but the pirates she had stolen it from emerged from it to get revenge. However, they immediately ran away upon seeing Zoro. As the Straw Hats set sail, Boodle ran up to the dock and thanked them for saving him and the town. Later, Nami found out that Luffy left the money behind and got mad at him, but then laughed.

The Man in a Chest


Nami fixed Luffy's straw hat, and Luffy and Zoro wondered what they should do next. When they spotted a nearby island, they immediately rowed toward it despite Nami's protests. Luffy and Nami disembarked on the seemingly uninhabited island, leaving Zoro to sleep on the ship. Luffy and Nami met several strange animal hybrids, and a man called out to them from afar, calling himself the guardian of the island and telling them to leave. Luffy and Nami ignored him, causing him to shoot Luffy. They then spotted the guardian, a man named Gaimon who was stuck in a treasure chest. Luffy and Nami talked to Gaimon and told them about their voyage, and he warned them that they would likely die trying to conquer the Grand Line. Gaimon then told them that he was once a pirate, and he had attempted to find treasure on this island on top of a cliff. However, he fell off the cliff and into a chest, and his crewmates had left him on the island; he could not even reach the treasure again due to being stuck in the chest.

Luffy and Nami offered to go and get the treasure for Gaimon, and Luffy pulled himself up the cliff face. He said nothing once he got to the treasure, and Gaimon understood that the chests were empty. Luffy asked Gaimon to join his crew and find the One Piece with him, but Gaimon decided to remain behind on the island and continue taking care of the animals. The Straw Hats then bid farewell to Gaimon and sailed off the island.

Meeting a Liar
Nami told Luffy that they needed to plan ahead to find a real ship and more crewmates before they headed to the Grand Line, and she plotted for them to sail to the nearby Syrup Village. When the Straw Hats made landfall, they noticed the Usopp Pirates spying on them from atop a cliff. The captain, Usopp, tried scaring them away by claiming he had 80 million men, but they knew he was lying. They went with him to the village restaurant, and he said their likeliest chance of getting a ship was by asking Kaya, a bedridden girl who lived in a mansion. Usopp offered to join the crew as their captain, but they refused.

Usopp then left to see Kaya, and the Straw Hats told his crewmates Ninjin, Piiman, and Tamanegi this when they came looking for him. The trio of children told the Straw Hats that their captain was telling lies to Kaya to cheer her up, and Luffy decided to go ask Kaya for a ship. They came to her mansion and climbed over her gate, and met her and Usopp at her window. However, Kaya's butler Klahadore then came and confronted the group, saying he and Kaya could not give the Straw Hats a ship. He then degraded Usopp for being the son of a pirate, and as Usopp punched him, Luffy remembered hearing about Usopp from Yasopp.

Klahadore forced the Straw Hats and Usopp Pirates off the property, and Luffy left Zoro and Nami to find Usopp on the cliff over the coast. There, he revealed to Usopp that he had met his father. However, Luffy and Usopp then spotted Klahadore meeting with Jango on the beach below, and overheard them plotting to murder Kaya so Klahadore could inherit her fortune. They found out that Klahadore was actually the pirate Kuro, and his crew, the Black Cat Pirates, was planning to raid Syrup Village during Kaya's assassination. Luffy shouted at the duo that they had heard them, and Jango hypnotized Luffy to put him to sleep. Luffy fell off the cliff and was unharmed but remained asleep, so Kuro and Jango believed him to be dead and left him there.

Luffy was found by Zoro, Nami, and Usopp's underlings, and he told them about Kuro's plot. As they headed back to Syrup Village, Usopp came and lied to his crew that he had lied about the impending pirate attack. As night fell, Usopp and the Straw Hats camped out on the beach, and Usopp swore to fend off the Black Cat Pirates, with the Straw Hats offering to help him. They decided to wait for the Black Cat Pirates at the path to the village, and put oil on the path to impede their progress. However, they then heard the pirates coming from the north, and Usopp realized that they were heading toward Syrup Village from the opposite coast. He and the Straw Hats ran to the north, but Luffy went in the direction that felt coldest and so got lost. Eventually, he and Zoro managed to make it to the north pass and beat back the Black Cat Pirates. Jango hypnotized his subordinates to get up and become stronger, but Luffy fell under the hypnotism as well and charged toward the pirates. He easily beat all of them up and ripped off the stem and figurehead of their ship to swing at them, but Jango then hypnotized him to fall asleep, causing him to collapse with the stem pinning him to the ground.



Luffy was eventually woken up by Nami stepping on his head and rejoined the fight, to which Kuro had arrived. Kaya then came and confronted Kuro, and as Kuro attempted to attack Usopp, Luffy punched the pirate in the chest from afar. As Zoro and the Usopp Pirates went to protect Kaya, Luffy started battling Kuro. Kuro dodged Luffy's attacks with his sheer speed, and stood on Luffy's outstretched arm, allowing him to run on it and kick Luffy in the face. However, Luffy managed to intercept Kuro's left-hand Cat Claws with a rock, allowing him to rip them off. Luffy was then able to start keeping up with Kuro's quick movements and land more attacks on him. In response, Kuro initiated his ultimate move Shakushi, in which he raced around the clearing at a blinding speed and indiscriminately attacked both Luffy and his subordinates. However, as Kuro slashed Luffy across the chest, Luffy was able to grab onto his jacket and slam him into the ground. Luffy then wrapped his arms and legs around Kuro and headbutted him with Gomu Gomu no Kane, defeating him.

Luffy threw Kuro back to the Black Cat Pirates, allowing them to run away. He then collapsed due to blood loss and was caught by Nami. Later, Luffy, Zoro, and Nami were eating at the village restaurant when Kaya came to offer them a ship. She took them to the coast, where she and Merry presented them with a caravel named the Going Merry. Usopp then came rolling down to the coast to start his own voyage, but the Straw Hats told him to come aboard and join them. They then sailed away on the Going Merry, and partied as a crew of four.

One Piece: The Movie
On the Going Merry, while Luffy and Zoro was starving to death, a group of thieves came to steal their treasure supplies. Luffy wrecked their getaway boat, which had a kid who was the hostage of the thieves. Suddenly, a pirate ship lead by a large, ferocious, Aztec Indian like man named Eldoraggo, appeared. The thieves worked for his pirate crew, so, Eldoraggo, using his Devil Fruit ability, while aiming at Luffy, destroyed the thieves' getaway boat. Luffy and the kid fell in the sea and Zoro jumped in to save them. As a result, Luffy and Zoro were separated from Nami and Usopp.

The kid's name was Tobio and he wanted to become a pirate like Woonan, the Great Gold Pirate, who according to the legend obtained almost one third of the world's gold and disappeared with it to a remote island. Tobio lived with his grandfather, Ganzo, who owned a floating Oden stand, so Luffy and Zoro went there hastily to eat. There, Luffy and Zoro learned from Tobio that Eldoraggo was determined to find Woonan's loot, too. And he had the treasure map which had the coordinates of the location of Woonan's treasure in possession. So, Luffy decided he also wanted to meet Woonan. When Luffy and Zoro were about to leave, Gonzo told them that it would cost them for all the Oden they ate. And they so happened not to have any money on them at all. So they were stuck with the bill and Gonzo tied them in chains.

Then, while Tobio was daydreaming in the soars of the island they believed Woonan disappeared to, a small breeze threw Luffy's hat to him. Then, Tobio argued with his grandfather and ran in the forest with Luffy's hat. As a result, Luffy, while chained with Zoro, ran after Tobio and when they found him, they were all lost in the forest. Meanwhile, Eldoraggo, who Usopp and Nami as hostages, found Woonan's castle and tried to bring it down so he could find the treasure. With all the ruckus, Luffy was able to find Eldoraggo and his crew and while still chained with Zoro he escaped with Usopp, Nami and Tobio. Nami managed to steal the treasure map from Eldoraggo, unlocked the chains and the crew realized where the treasure actually was. They all went to find it and while climbing a mountain, they found Ganzo, who turned out to be a childhood friend of Woonan's and realized where the treasure was. Luffy and company eventually found a house at the top of the mountain, but shortly afterwards they were attacked by Eldoraggo and his pirate crew. Luffy fought with Eldoraggo and managed to defeat him by throwing back his own attack.

Finally, with Eldoraggo's pirate crew defeated, Luffy and the others went inside the house hoping to find Woonan and the treasure at a hidden chamber inside. It turned out it was the resting place of Woonan himself and that he returned all the gold he stole to its rightful owners. So, Luffy and the Straw Hats bid farewell to Tobio and Gonzo and sailed away to their next adventure.

The Floating Restaurant


As the Straw Hats sailed on their new ship, Luffy drew his vision of the crew's Jolly Roger, but Usopp drew a final version due to Luffy's poor art skills. Luffy then unsuccessfully attempted to hit a distant rock with the cannon. Usopp shot the rock perfectly, causing Luffy to deem him the crew sniper. Later, as the Straw Hats sat indoors, the bounty hunter Johnny came onboard and caused a commotion. When Luffy came out, Johnny attacked him for shooting the rock that he was resting on. However, he stopped attacking when Zoro came out, as he had worked with Zoro in the past. Johnny revealed that his partner Yosaku was on the verge of death, and Nami recognized that Yosaku had scurvy and so instructed Luffy and Usopp to give him some lime juice. After Yosaku regained his strength, the Straw Hats decided that they needed a cook before going to the Grand Line, and the two bounty hunters told them they could find one to recruit at the floating sea restaurant Baratie.



Two to three days later, the Straw Hats reached Baratie. The Marine Lieutenant Fullbody pulled up alongside them and had his crew fire a cannonball at the Merry. Luffy deflected the cannonball with Gomu Gomu no Fusen, but accidentally sent it flying into Baratie. He was then apprehended by Baratie's staff and taken to the head chef Zeff, and since he did not have money to pay for the damage, Zeff made him work in the kitchen for a year. Luffy protested against this sentence, causing Zeff to attack him. However, their scuffle inadvertently caused them to fall through the floor. They fell into the seating area, where they saw the sous chef Sanji beating up Fullbody. Gin of the Krieg Pirates then came into the restaurant from Fullbody's ship, but was forced out by the cooks due to not having any money. However, Luffy later watched from afar as Sanji secretly fed Gin outside, and decided that Sanji would be his crew's cook. Luffy then approached Sanji and Gin and attempted to recruit the former, but the sous chef declined. After hearing of Luffy's goal, Gin warned him against going to the Grand Line.

Luffy was then put to work as a chore boy, but was quickly ejected from the kitchen due to destroying the dishes and was reassigned to work as a waiter. Two days later, Gin brought his captain Don Krieg to Baratie, and Sanji fed the starving pirate despite the other cooks' wishes. However, Krieg then attacked Sanji after returning to full strength and decided to take over Baratie to take his crew back to the Grand Line after they had been chased out. Luffy challenged Krieg to prevent him from conquering the Grand Line before him, and the cooks intended to fight as well. However, Zeff gave Krieg food to feed his starving subordinates outside. As Krieg went out, a commotion suddenly started outside, and Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp went to check on Johnny and Yosaku. The bounty hunters were left hanging on the edge of Baratie, as they revealed that Nami had taken the crew's treasure and the Going Merry.

Intent on having Nami as his crew's navigator, Luffy told Zoro and Usopp to take Johnny and Yosaku's ship and chase after her. However, they then saw Dracule Mihawk, the greatest swordsman in the world and a member of the Shichibukai, approaching the Krieg Pirates' damaged galleon. Luffy watched as Zoro confronted Mihawk to take his title, but Mihawk defeated him easily. As Zoro fell into the ocean, Luffy pulled himself toward Mihawk and attempted to attack him. However, Mihawk revealed that he had left Zoro alive, as he was impressed with the swordsman. Mihawk hoped he would meet Luffy and Zoro again as he departed, leaving Krieg's galleon in ruins. Zoro, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku then left to pursue Nami, with Luffy staying on Baratie to fight the Krieg Pirates and recruit Sanji. Luffy asked Zeff if he could be relieved of his chore boy duties if he fought off the Krieg Pirates, and Zeff readily agreed.

Battle for Baratie
Luffy pulled himself toward the Krieg Pirates, and hit several of them at once with his outstretched arms. He watched as Baratie's front deck expanded and the cooks rushed into battle, but Krieg then hit him away with a chained spiked ball. Luffy flew back to the Baratie and landed on the back of Pearl's head, causing Krieg's subordinate to hit his face on his shield and get a nosebleed. In response to being injured, Pearl lit himself on fire and forced Luffy and Sanji back with his flames. As Sanji fought Pearl, Krieg attempted to intervene by throwing his spiked ball, but Luffy hit it away. He sent the ball flying into Krieg's galleon's mast, causing it to fall onto Pearl.

However, Gin then held Zeff at gunpoint, forcing Sanji to stand down and take Pearl's attacks. With Sanji refusing to fight, Luffy decided to destroy Baratie and shattered the front deck with Gomu Gomu no Battle Axe. Sanji was very angry with Luffy, as he wished to keep Zeff and the restaurant safe to honor his debt to the head chef, but Luffy told him that getting killed was a bad way to repay his debt. However, Gin then attacked Pearl and defeated him with one blow, as he wished to repay Sanji for saving his life by taking Sanji on himself. Luffy riled up the Krieg Pirates by failing to take them seriously, and Krieg fired an MH5 poison gas cannonball at him. Luffy tried to kick it away, but the cannonball turned out to be a shuriken bomb that cut Luffy with a burst of shuriken. As Sanji battled Gin, Luffy charged toward Krieg to fight him, but was forced back as Krieg rapidly fired stakes at him. Luffy tried charging again while Krieg was distracted, but to the same result.



Gin emerged victorious in his fight with Sanji, but then broke down as he could not kill the cook. In response, Krieg fired his MH5 ball at him. Luffy pulled gas masks off two of the Krieg Pirates and threw them at Sanji and Gin; he then desperately looked for one for himself and found one next to him right as the cannonball hit. However, after the poisonous gas cleared, Luffy realized that Gin had thrown his mask back at him, and the Krieg Pirate had thus inhaled the gas. Angered at Krieg's attitude toward harming his subordinate, Luffy rushed toward him again and kept running even as he was hit by stakes. Krieg shrouded himself in a spiked cloak when Luffy geared up to punch him, but Luffy simply punched through it and injured his hand to hit him.



Krieg got up and repelled Luffy, but Luffy then kicked him in the head. In response, Krieg brought out his Great Battle Spear, and overwhelmed Luffy as its swings caused explosions. He was eventually able to hit Luffy with the explosions, but Luffy was able to hit and shatter the spear blade in the process. Krieg continued to try to hit him with explosions, but Luffy swung around the mast in the wreckage and barraged Krieg with attacks. Krieg was unharmed due to his Wootz Steel Armor, and stood atop the mast as he unleashed bombs on the wreckage below. Luffy ran up the mast and Krieg hit him with an explosion, but Luffy continued running and hit Krieg into the air. The attack did not harm Krieg, but Luffy then jumped over him in midair and slammed both fists into his chest with Gomu Gomu no Bazooka, which finally broke his armor. Although now injured, Krieg quickly responded by shooting an iron net around Luffy so he could throw him into the sea. However, Luffy managed to get his legs out of the net and twist them around until he clasped Krieg's face with his feet. He then spun Krieg around and slammed him into Baratie's deck with Gomu Gomu no Ozuchi, defeating him. Luffy landed in the ocean, but was quickly rescued by Sanji.

Luffy woke up on a bed in Baratie, and Sanji told him that Gin hoped to meet him again in the Grand Line. Luffy asked Sanji to join his crew, and Sanji wished to remain at Baratie, but did tell Luffy that he dreamed of going to the Grand Line someday to find the legendary sea All Blue. Luffy was then fed by the Baratie cooks, and they abused Sanji to try to get him to leave. When Sanji went outside, they told Luffy to take him as a crewmate, but Luffy refused until Sanji himself accepted. Yosaku then swam to the Baratie, and told Luffy that they had tracked Nami's course to an unbelievable island. Luffy immediately went to head off, and Sanji then agreed to join him. Luffy and Yosaku boarded a small ship belonging to Sanji, and Sanji bid a tearful farewell to Zeff and his coworkers before he set sail with his new captain.

Encounter with the Worst Man of the East Blue


As Yosaku took Luffy and Sanji to Nami's location, he told them about the Shichibukai, who were one of three organizations with power over the Grand Line. He revealed that one of them, Captain Jinbe of the Fish-Man Pirates, had unleashed a fearsome fish-man known as Arlong into the East Blue, and Nami had likely gone to his base at Arlong Park. Luffy was intrigued to hear of fish-men, and drew a picture of what he thought one would look like. As Sanji prepared food for them, the giant sea cow Momoo approached the trio's ship. Luffy punched Momoo to keep it away from their food, but only made it mad. Sanji tried to feed Momoo, but then beat the sea cow into submission after it tried to eat him as well, and so the crew made Momoo pull them to Arlong Park.

Momoo eventually reached Arlong Park and crashed into the shore, sending Luffy, Sanji, and Yosaku flying over the island on their ship. They landed in a clearing and crashed into Zoro in the process, and as the four of them recovered from the landing, Johnny ran toward them and revealed that Nami had killed Usopp. Luffy refused to believe Johnny and was about to attack him when Nami approached them. She confirmed Johnny's report and told the Straw Hats to leave the island, saying she only pretended to be their friend to steal from them for her real captain Arlong. Johnny and Yosaku decided to take her advice and leave, but Luffy chose instead to lie down and take a nap. Some time later, Usopp came across Luffy's group and revealed that Nami had only pretended to kill him to save his life from Arlong; he believed that Nami had an ulterior motive for working with Arlong. Nami's older sister Nojiko then approached the Straw Hats and told them that they should leave this island, but she offered to explain everything before they did. However, Luffy had no interest in hearing her explanation and so walked away.



Luffy walked to Cocoyasi Village, and he watched as Marine 16th Branch Captain Nezumi led a raid on Nami's home to confiscate the money she had stolen. During the commotion, Luffy asked Nami if he could help, but she angrily told him she wanted nothing to do with him before running away. Nami later returned to try to stop the villagers from going to attack Arlong, but failed. She then started stabbing her Arlong Pirates tattoo when Luffy grabbed her arm to stop her. Nami tried to get Luffy to leave, but as he stayed she eventually broke down and asked him to help. Luffy accepted this request as he put his straw hat on her head and headed for Arlong Park, and when he reached Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji, they immediately went along with him. Luffy then punched through the gate to Arlong Park and asked which fish-man was Arlong.

Destruction of Arlong Park


After Arlong identified himself, Luffy beat aside two of his subordinates before punching the fish-man. Hatchan then summoned Momoo to come to their aid, and although the sea cow was afraid of Luffy and Sanji, Arlong intimidated it into attacking. However, Luffy planted his feet in the concrete and grabbed onto Momoo's horns; he then spun it around Arlong Park, taking down several of the Arlong Pirates before hurling the sea cow into the ocean. Luffy was unable to get his feet out of the concrete, though, forcing his crew to protect him and try to pull him out as they fought off the Arlong Pirates. Luffy attempted to punch Arlong but missed, and the fish-man tore off a chunk of the concrete that Luffy was stuck in and threw it into the pool, causing it to pull Luffy to the bottom. Luffy could do nothing but hold his breath, and could not hold it for long as he fell unconscious and started swallowing water.

Nojiko and Genzo swam down to Luffy and pulled his head above water before taking turns holding it and pumping his chest to force the swallowed water out. Eventually, Luffy regained consciousness and Sanji managed to go down and destroy the concrete chunk, causing Luffy's body to fly out of the pool. Luffy pulled himself toward Arlong and pummeled him with a variety of attacks that inflicted little damage. Arlong mocked Luffy for his physical inferiority as a human and questioned what skillsets Luffy had in comparison to his crewmates; Luffy simply replied that his skillset was beating Arlong.

Arlong then attempted to bite Luffy with his powerful teeth, and Luffy tried breaking them only to find that the fish-man could instantly regrow them. Luffy knocked out multiple sets of Arlong's teeth and tried to use them as weapons, but his attempt to bite Arlong did little damage due to his lesser jaw strength. Arlong responded by biting Luffy in the shoulder, but Luffy managed to dislodge the fish-man's jaw by slamming him into the ground, preventing his arm from being bitten off. Arlong then leaped at Luffy multiple times and stabbed him with his hard and sharp nose, but Luffy was eventually able to respond by stretching his fingers into a net around Arlong and slamming him into the ground below. This attack only enraged Arlong, and he rapidly attacked Luffy with his saw-like sword Kiribachi. Arlong's attacks forced Luffy up the tower, and the fish-man eventually hit the pirate through the wall and into a room on an upper level.

Arlong revealed that this room was where Nami spent the last eight years making sea charts for him to use to take over the East Blue, and Luffy grew enraged as Arlong spoke of Nami as little more than his property. After shattering one of the blades on Kiribachi, Luffy started destroying the equipment in the room to prevent Nami from ever going there again, knocking them through the walls and causing them to fall to the ground below. Arlong bit Luffy's neck to stop him, but Luffy grabbed his nose and snapped it out of place. He then stretched his leg up and smashed Arlong through the floor with Gomu Gomu no Battle Axe, sending him crashing all the way to the ground and defeating him. The destruction caused by the attack resulted in the tower collapsing, but Luffy emerged from the wreckage victorious and declared that Nami was now his crewmate.

Nezumi then stepped in with his men to announce that he would be taking the Arlong Pirates' money as well as the credit for their defeat, but the Straw Hats beat them up. As they swam away, Nezumi promised revenge on Luffy. Later, Luffy was with Zoro as the latter had his wound from Mihawk stitched up, and the doctor Nako recommended that they find a doctor for their crew. The pirates and villagers then partied into the night, and Luffy encountered Genzo at a gravesite while looking for a raw ham melon. Genzo made it clear to Luffy that he would kill him if he made Nami stop smiling. On the day of departure, Johnny and Yosaku bid farewell to the Straw Hats as they resumed their lives as bounty hunters. As the Straw Hats waited for Nami to come aboard, she told them to start sailing from the back of the crowd of villagers. She then raced through the crowd and leaped onto the Merry, and Luffy laughed as she revealed that she had pickpocketed the villagers.

Loguetown Arc
Nami purchased a newspaper as the Straw Hats were sailing, and the crew discovered that Luffy had received a 30,000,000 bounty as his bounty poster slipped out of the paper. They decided it was time to head straight for the Grand Line, and came across an island known as Loguetown that was close to the entrance. Nami revealed that it was the site of the Pirate King Gold Roger's execution, so when the crew docked there, Luffy went to go see the execution platform.

Have you ever seen a pirate who smiled at his execution stand? He smiled the same way that the Pirate King did, 22 years ago in that very same spot!



Luffy reached the execution platform and climbed up it. A police officer ordered him to come down, but was then attacked by Alvida, who had become much thinner after eating the Sube Sube no Mi. Alvida said that she now admired Luffy after being defeated by him, but he did not recognize her. After she revealed who she was, the Buggy Pirates then made their entrance. Buggy revealed that he had formed an alliance with Alvida to get revenge on Luffy, and sentenced him to a flashy execution as Cabaji trapped Luffy by forcing him to the floor and putting a block on his neck. Buggy asked Luffy if he had any last words, and Luffy proclaimed to the crowd that he would become the Pirate King. Zoro and Sanji arrived and attempted to rescue Luffy, but with Buggy's sword swinging toward his neck, Luffy could only smile and accept his death.



However, lightning then struck and destroyed the execution platform, which incapacitated Buggy but left Luffy unharmed. Zoro and Sanji then dragged him away from the approaching horde of Marines and ran back to the Merry as a thunderstorm began. On the way, they were confronted by the Marine Tashigi, and Zoro stayed behind to fight her. Marine Captain Smoker then confronted them, and used his Moku Moku no Mi abilities to grab Luffy with a plume of smoke. Luffy tried attacking Smoker, but the Marine turned his body into smoke to pass through the attack before subduing Luffy. However, a mysterious wanted man known as Dragon then came to stop Smoker, and a powerful gust of wind forced Smoker away from Luffy. Luffy and his crew managed to run back to the Merry and set sail. As Nami navigated the crew through the powerful storm, she told them that the entrance to the Grand Line was past the lighthouse in front of them. Sanji brought a barrel to commemorate this moment, and each of the Straw Hats proclaimed their dream while placing one foot on top of the barrel. Once each of them had done this, they destroyed the barrel and headed for the Grand Line.