Monkey D. Luffy/Relationships

The Straw Hats are a very infamous and powerful pirate crew led by the captain, Monkey D. Luffy. The Straw Hats are made up of people who have dominated Luffy's adult life and were all recruited personally by him. They have all developed a deep bond with each other and it is fair to say that Luffy values no one more than his Straw Hat crew members, seeing them less as his crew and more as his family. His dedication to them is boundless and he will go above and beyond for any of them, with this sentiment being reciprocated by all of them.

Overview


Each member of the Straw Hats has gained extreme notoriety because of their association with Luffy and for aiding him in nearly every single one of his exploits. This has resulted in a cumulative bounty of a staggering 8,816,001,000, across ten members, ranging from as low as 1000 to as high as 3,000,000,000. This reputation and notoriety have strengthened their bond with their captain as they feel they could not be anywhere else but on their ship alongside him. Luffy does not discriminate against any of them when recruiting or giving them orders and is consistently grateful for the support his friends provide him. Part of Luffy's ability to succeed is him being able to have absolute faith in his crew members' abilities in any situation they find themselves in. This was made most apparent when Luffy fought Rob Lucci and he noted that he could not go and save his crew as he would have to take his eyes off Lucci, who would then quickly kill them all, and so chose to trust his friends to save themselves instead, which earned him the CP9 agent's praise. Following the timeskip, when his crew was concerned about his plan to team up with Trafalgar Law to take on the Emperor, Kaidou, he openly stated that he is not concerned if Law ends up betraying him as he has faith in all his crew members to back him up since they have gotten much stronger, which caused Nami, Usopp, Franky and Chopper to comically blush.

What a capable captain... If only a certain idiot could have heard you.

Compared to other pirate captains, Luffy does not impose any sense of superiority over his crew and treats them as complete equals. He is easily the most laid back out of them all and is dominantly responsible for the fun that his crew has on their journey, being the life of every party, they have, and succeeds in putting a smile on all their faces even through the worst of times. He is comfortable with surrendering his authority when the situation calls for it, something that is dominantly seen with Nami, his navigator, as he allows her to be the voice of authority when it comes to sailing the ship across the seas. Another time was when he allowed Sanji to be the acting captain after he is separated from Nami, Chopper, and Brook by the Big Mom Pirates whilst on Dressrosa. None of his crew members refer to him as ‘captain’ and instead call him by his name, a sign of how close they are. Despite the fact that they can all be frustrated by some of Luffy's reckless decisions, they all share an undying loyalty to him and will follow his orders without question whenever he is serious. Unlike most pirate crews, Luffy's crew seems to be the only one to commit some act of violence towards their captain, mostly in comedic fashion, as a way to vent their frustration with him, Nami being the biggest culprit.

As noted earlier, Luffy does not have a preference when recruiting someone, not on sex, race, age, or even strength. He is somewhat aware of having to recruit people who are capable in specific professions, such as cooking, medicine, and navigation, and has managed to recruit some of the very best in each one. He has pestered most of his crew members to join, such as Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Chopper, Franky and Brook, with Usopp, and Robin, joining of their own accord. Jinbe is much more mixed on this front as he wanted to join but only after he had concluded some unfinished business. He also has the tendency to recruit people he just met, such as Brook, and again with numerous zombies he found interesting whilst on Thriller Bark. For Luffy, his crew act as a source of inspiration for him. When he had reached his lowest point and fell into a pit of despair after the death of Ace, he was able to recover when Jinbe reminded him of his crew and, realizing he has something to live for, cried out that he wanted to see them all again.



Luffy's determination for his crew has been put on full display numerous times. After Nami had betrayed him, he followed her back to her home village and managed to defeat Arlong, the fish-man who had cruelly oppressed her since she was a child, in order to free her from him and have her return to his crew. He carried a sick Nami on his back and an injured Sanji up a 5,000-meter mountain in order to get them medical attention during a blizzard, which was made even more grueling due to rubber's reaction to the cold. When Nico Robin was taken by CP9 to Enies Lobby he stormed the facility, fighting through thousands of Marines and defeated two members of CP9, including their strongest fighter, Rob Lucci, to get her back. After Sanji had been taken by the emperor, Big Mom, he infiltrated her territory, sabotaged the wedding, fought Charlotte Cracker and Charlotte Katakuri for eleven and ten hours respectively, and remained defiant even as Sanji brutally attacked him just so he could get him to return. He was left completely distraught after he fought Usopp and kicked him out of the crew, feeling great sadness over the loss of his friend, and was overjoyed once he returned. He was extremely angry when he saw Robin and Zoro had been defeated by Enel whilst Nami had been taken captive by him and vowed to defeat the supposed god. When the Franky Family had assaulted Usopp, Luffy stormed their home along with Zoro, Chopper, and Sanji and defeated them all to avenge their crewmate. After he witnessed Kaidou destroy Oden Castle, where his crew was hiding, he flew into a rage and attacked him.

Luffy's crew are among the handful of people he told his dream he wanted to achieve after he became the Pirate King; they reactions ranged from baffled to astonishment to the very concept of such an idea. He has the habit of putting his crew in great danger, however, he does not do so out of a disregard for their lives but instead because he has absolute faith in his and their abilities. He burdens himself with the responsibility of protecting every single member of his crew if the situation calls for it and although this has dominantly worked out in his favor it eventually led to him losing every single one of them whilst on Sabaody Archipelago when Bartholomew Kuma used his Devil Fruit abilities to scatter them across the seas. This experience crushed Luffy as he lamented himself for not being able to save a single one of his friends. ​​​​​All of his crew members are aware of the effort he puts in trying to protect them as he always takes on the strongest opponent in every fight, they get involved in. This eventually led to some self-reflection for all of them after they heard that, whilst they were stuck on their respective islands, Luffy had fought in a major war between the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates to rescue his brother, Ace, that ended with the latter's death. Having discovered he lost his brother and received Luffy's message to wait two years, they all independently decided to do everything they could to become stronger and more capable for their captain. Their dedication to Luffy has been a consistent theme of their friendship and was best shown when they all, in unison, bluntly refused Kuma's offer to save their own lives in exchange for their captain's. At varying points, members of the crew, specifically Usopp, Zoro, Brook, Chopper, Sanji, Nami, and Jinbe, have ridiculed anyone who has insulted Luffy's dream and have shown unwavering faith that he will become the Pirate King. On top of this, they all feel a debt of gratitude towards Luffy for being responsible for either reviving or initiating their own respective dreams.

His crew is very much aware of Luffy's idea of an adventure, with some, such as Nami, Usopp, and Chopper, often trying to hide information from their captain that could lead to him making a dangerous decision on their behalf. This was notable when Luffy overheard the details of Nami's new Log Pose and how it points to the most dangerous island, causing Nami and Usopp to panic once they realized Luffy understood what had been said and even threatened to break the compass. This difference over 'adventure' often leads to them bickering about who decides to go where, particularly Luffy and Nami, nonetheless, they always look to him for a direction to go and for a decision to be made. Though Luffy has caused conflict due to his unorthodox thinking and rationale, his crew often accept that Luffy can understand what to do in each difficult situation they find themselves in and have come to rely on Luffy's abilities and power to pull them through tough battles, a fact stated by Robin to Bartolomeo.

The straw hat that Luffy dons has become the moniker of their crew and is extremely precious to Luffy, having received it from Shanks when he was just a child, and thus deeply cares for it, remarking that it is his treasure. He becomes greatly upset whenever he loses it or it has been damaged, with the hat having to be repaired by Nami. He rarely lets anyone else hold on to it aside from Nami, placing it on her head during the Arlong Park and Skypiea Arcs and letting her hold onto it during the Drum Island and Jaya Arcs. It is purported to be a sign of Luffy's absolute trust in whoever he gives it to. The only other member to have worn it is Usopp, briefly, during the Long Ring Long Land Arc. This trend has mostly subsided now that a string has been attached to his hat so that he no longer loses it whilst fighting.

Roronoa Zoro
The world's greatest swordsman? That's great! As a member of the Pirate King's crew, any less would make me look bad!



The first crew member to join the Straw Hats, and the second friend Luffy made out at sea, Roronoa Zoro is a former bounty hunter that hunted down pirates. He has become one of Luffy's most reliable crew mates due to his unwavering loyalty to him. Even though the two can sometimes clash they highly respect and admire each other. They are good friends and are easily the deadliest duo among the Straw Hats, and out of all the crew members, Zoro and Luffy share the most apparent ‘brothers in arms’ relationship.

When Zoro met Luffy for the first time in Shells Town he was initially completely against his offer to join his crew, finding the idea laughable due to the nature of his work. However, upon discovering that he would be receiving a dishonorable death at the hands of a corrupt Marine he agreed to Luffy's offer if it meant being saved. Zoro's extreme affinity for honor meant he followed through on his deal with Luffy after he had been saved by him but warned his new captain that he if he got in the way of his dream to become the World’s Strongest Swordsman, he should commit hara kiri. However, Luffy shrugged this off and simply said that the Pirate King should have the World's Strongest Swordsman by his side.



Since then, Zoro has followed Luffy faithfully and has been with him every step of his journey. The two have clashed from time to time, such as on Whiskey Peak when Luffy mistakenly believed that Zoro had slaughtered innocent villagers because they gave him food he did not like. Nonetheless, Zoro has never given Luffy any reason to doubt his loyalty and his actions have shown that he is perhaps the most dedicated to him. He trusts his captain's judgement, despite his simple-mindedness, and followed Nami back to her home village on Luffy's order after she had betrayed them, despite disagreeing with the decision to get her back. He saved Smoker, even though he is a hostile Marine, because Luffy ordered him to do so. He followed Luffy's order when he told him not to fight back whilst they were being assaulted by the Bellamy Pirates on Mock Town. At the risk of his own life, he attempted to cut down Giant Jack when Luffy and Nami requested him, and the others, to do so, which led to him being directly attacked by Enel. Due to his belief that he must follow a captain's order without question he can often be frustrated by Luffy's mellowed personality and lack of initiative when it comes to leadership duties, and at one point threatened to leave if Luffy accepted Usopp back into the crew with open arms so readily. He regularly enforces Luffy's rights as captain and reminds his fellow crewmates that a captain’s words are absolute.

Zoro is one of Luffy's most trusted advisers and often acts as the unofficial first mate as he compensates for what Luffy lacks, particularly a stern approach when reprimanding crew members who fail to maintain their composure. This notably occurred during the Davy Back Fight when he admonished Chopper after he became frantic because he was forced to join the Foxy Pirates. He reminded Luffy, after his fight with Usopp, that a life of a captain is not easy and that if he wavers the crew has no one else they can turn to. He later reminded Luffy that Usopp went against his captain, something that is unforgivable, and believed that accepting his return so easily would tarnish his authority as captain. This advice convinced Luffy not to immediately let Usopp return and instead waited for him to apologize first. He also reprimanded Luffy on Punk Hazard after he let his guard down against Caesar Clown, as he felt frustrated that they had just entered the New World and are already struggling. When he arrived on Zou with Luffy and the others and discovered the situation regarding Sanji, he advised Luffy to not be concerned over him as he had gotten himself involved with Big Mom, an Emperor, which complicates their current plans against Kaidou.

Luffy recognizes Zoro as one of the strongest members of his crew and has complete faith in his abilities. He is never overly concerned about Zoro as he is well aware of his incredible sword skills and knows he can take care of himself. When he was told by Mr. 5 that his colleague had captured his swordsman, Luffy was not at all worried and warned him that Zoro would comfortably defeat them. Whilst on his way to Enies Lobby, Luffy casually asked Zoro to cut an oncoming train cart in half, which left the Franky Family stunned, as he knew Zoro was more than capable of such a feat. Whilst making his way towards Donquixote Doflamingo he reassured a concerned Viola that Zoro will be fine taking on Pica by himself. Nonetheless, he still cares for Zoro and was distraught when he believed that Mihawk had killed him and tried to attack the Warlord of the Sea, but was relieved to see he had allowed his swordsman to live. He was upset to see what Enel had done to Zoro, and the others, and swore to take him down. After Zoro was put into a coma, by Bartholomew Kuma, Luffy tried to make him well again by giving him a barrel full of sake knowing it is his favorite drink.

The friendship Luffy shares with Zoro is something he cherishes and was overjoyed when he was reunited with him in Wano, launching himself towards the swordsman and hugging him. Zoro returned the sentiment and greeted Luffy with a big smile. However, Luffy can still frustrate Zoro and is not above trying to pull pranks on him such as when he put his booger in his drink, however, this did not turn out in his favor. Due to Zoro's fierce rivalry with Sanji, he had expressed indifference when he had been taken away by the Big Mom Pirates, however, Luffy teased him when he found Zoro eavesdropping on what happened to Sanji, showing that he secretly does care. Luffy sometimes propels himself at Zoro when he wants to catch up to him, causing them to collide, and has grabbed Zoro when jumping off high places to quickly reach the bottom, something the swordsman does not enjoy. He also unintentionally upset Zoro due to his poor handling of a katana he had borrowed and for throwing the scabbard about, but still chose to tease the swordsman by refusing his request to inspect his sword.



Zoro shares a similar composed mentality to that of Luffy's as he is rarely shocked or overwhelmed by the dangerous situations, he finds himself in and takes on any challenge in front of him with a smile. He has a blood lust for battle and is thus a valuable and dependable ally to Luffy during fights as he is never fazed by who he is up against. On top of this, his sword skills, physical prowess, and mental fortitude, especially post-timeskip, has made him one of Luffy's most dangerous combatants and has earned him the second highest of Straw Hats with a bounty of 1,111,000,000. Zoro tends to take on the second strongest person of any group they face, with Luffy facing the strongest opponent, this has included Cabaji, Hatchan, Mr. 1, Ohm, Kaku, Ryuma, Hyouzou, Pica, and King. He has also fought the strongest opponent on occasions, such as Buggy, Mihawk, Enel, Kuma, Hody Jones, the Admiral Fujitora, and even the Emperor, Kaidou. He has dropped his initial condition of cutting Luffy down if he ever got in the way of his dream, tearfully declaring to his captain, after his defeat to Mihawk, that he will never lose another fight again whilst he is his swordsman, a promise he has somewhat maintained. Whilst on Thriller Bark, he was prepared to give up his own life for Luffy's when given the choice by Kuma, stating that he cannot achieve his own dream if he cannot help Luffy achieve his. This led him to take all of Luffy's pain that he had accumulated from his fight with Gecko Moria, on top of his own, that left him in a coma for three days.

Although he has the habit of reassuring people about Luffy's well-being during fights, often telling them to believe in their captain, he does care for Luffy and will try to protect him if he is in trouble, such as when he rowed all the way to Orange Town after Luffy was captured by a bird and came to his aid when he was subsequently made a prisoner of the Buggy Pirates. He even carried the cage Luffy was locked inside despite being grievously wounded. When Luffy was about to be executed by Buggy in Loguetown, Zoro, alongside Sanji, desperately tried to reach the platform he was on in order to free him. Whilst on Jaya, he held Bellamy at the edge of his sword after he attacked Luffy before warning him to think about his next step. He also managed to slice Kuma, whilst on Thriller Bark, when the Warlord tried to take Luffy away. He tried to leave Kuraigana Island after discovering that Luffy had fought in the Summit War of Marineford and lost his brother, Ace, right in front of him, as he worried for his captain’s well-being. After receiving Luffy's message to wait two years, he decided to forgo his pride and begged Mihawk to train him in order to become stronger for Luffy's sake. Zoro implied during the Long Ring Long Land Arc that Luffy is the sole reason for him being a pirate and stated he'd have no reason to continue being one if he could not have him as his captain.

Zoro thinks highly of Luffy and greatly admires him for his unwavering determination, complete lack of fear, incredible fighting abilities, and even, at times, his craziness. He was impressed when he took a blade to the back of the head from Jango only to pull it out and remain mostly unfazed. When on Thriller Bark, he emphatically stated to Kuma that Luffy would become the Pirate King. On Dressrosa, he intercepted Pica's attempts to attack Luffy multiple times and told him that he is not worthy to face his captain. He was pleased to see Luffy was able to use Haoshoku Haki on Fish-Man Island to knock out 50,000 of Hody Jones' crew, jokingly remarking that if he was not capable of doing that much he was not worthy of being his captain. He has shown to have complete faith in his captain such as when, after Luffy stayed behind to fight Crocodile, he ordered Chopper to keep the crab they were riding on moving and reassured a worried Vivi that Luffy will be fine.

Nami
Nami...!! You're one of us now, okay?!!

Nami, who was originally part of the Arlong Pirates, is the second person to join Luffy's crew. She and Luffy share one of the closest relationships among the Straw Hats and have a mutual reliance on each other, with Luffy relying on Nami as his navigator and for day-to-day tasks whilst Nami relies on Luffy as a pillar of strength during dangerous and frantic times. The two are often seen arguing due to Nami getting frustrated by Luffy's antics and stupidity and Luffy being annoyed at Nami for being overbearing and ruining his fun.

Luffy is dominantly responsible for changing Nami's views on pirates. Due to her experience with Arlong she held a strong hatred for pirates and Luffy was no exception, and at one point she tried to attack him after seeing the devastation that had been done to Orange Town. However, after seeing his interaction with the dog, Chouchou, working alongside him to defeat Buggy, and realizing he is not as bad as she originally thought, she decided to cooperate with him as a means to an end, but eventually joined his crew after getting closer to him and seeing his kindheartedness firsthand. However, Nami betrayed Luffy and the crew during the Baratie Arc, stealing their ship with all their treasure on board, and returned to Arlong. She did so with tears in her eyes as she wondered if she would ever meet them again and hoped Luffy and the others would still consider her their friend. Following his victory over Don Krieg, Luffy traveled to Nami's village and freed her and her village from Arlong's rule. Since then, she has been a mainstay of the crew and has developed a fierce loyalty to Luffy, feeling indebted to him for everything he has done for her.

Nami acts as one of Luffy's negotiators and counsels him numerous times throughout their journey. When the crew first met Princess Vivi, in Luffy's absence, Nami negotiated the agreement with Igaram to return her to Arabasta, thereby instigating the entire Arabasta Saga. On Water 7 she also negotiated the money that Luffy and their crew earned from the treasure they had stolen from Skypiea that eventually allowed them to pay for a new ship. Luffy often listens to Nami's requests, such as on Punk Hazard where he forced Law to help him save the children there because Nami, as well as Chopper, wanted to do so. Nami is also the only crew member, besides Luffy, to have invited somebody else to join the crew, doing so back on Drum Island to Chopper.Very often, Nami tends to be the one to make sure Luffy does not do anything too reckless, having to explain to Luffy why he cannot do some of the crazy things he wants to do and frequently berates him for his careless actions, big or small. This has been seen when she stopped Luffy fighting with Zoro on Whisky Peak, and when the crew landed in Mock Town Nami made him promise her not to fight anyone. When talking with Haredas, she says that it is her responsibility to deal with Luffy's reckless nature and to make sure he does not die when traversing the seas. Although admitting that he is high maintenance, she tells Haredas that she wants to help him as much as possible after she reflects on what he has done for her and acknowledges that she owes him so much. Since the time skip Nami has become less strict with Luffy. Whereas before she would try and keep Luffy under control to avoid him causing chaos, which normally ended in failure, she now accepts whatever chaos Luffy brings with him. This change notably started on Sabaody Archipelago when she just accepted that her captain had punched a Celestial Dragon and brushed it off despite the severe repercussions.



To Nami, Luffy is the person she can turn to and rely on when emotionally distressed or feeling frightened. This was first seen on Syrup Village where she was relieved to see he was ready to fight after she had managed to wake him up. When she broke down after Arlong denied her the chance to free herself, and her village, from him, she turned to Luffy in tears and asked for his help. This moment showed Nami's great trust in Luffy, as up to this point she had refused to ever ask for help from anyone. When she fell sick with a mysterious illness, she sided with Luffy when he wished to carry her to the doctor who lives on top of the mountain on Drum Island and openly stated her complete faith in him getting her there safely, despite the extreme risks. She was overjoyed when Luffy had come to save her after Enel had taken her to his ship. When she was kidnapped by the Yeti Cool Brothers she scolded them and warned them that Luffy would come and save her. When Luffy arrived on Zou she immediately ran up, tearfully hugged him, and apologized for allowing Sanji to be taken away by the Big Mom Pirates.

Like all the other members of the Straw Hats, she has complete faith in Luffy's abilities. She rarely doubts him in a fight and is often left amazed and inspired by his feats, strength, and determination. Luffy's victories over enemies, especially in the case of Arlong and his declaration that she is his friend, which caused her to cry tears of joy,​ has given her unwavering belief in her captain and she revealed as much when Vivi worried for Luffy after he went to fight Crocodile on his own. When he defeated Big Mom's Sweet Commander, Charlotte Cracker, she was left amazed and soon overjoyed at their victory. And when Luffy defeated an even stronger Sweet Commander, Charlotte Katakuri, she was both relieved that he was safe and stunned at his victory. On Water 7 she was left utterly astonished by Luffy's lineage when she found out the Marine hero, Monkey D. Garp, is his grandfather and was even more shocked when she was told his father is the Revolutionary Army's leader, Monkey D. Dragon, commenting that he is an outrageous man.

Despite her faith in him she is regularly concerned for Luffy and tries to look out for him. This has been seen during Luffy's numerous battles, including Arlong, Enel, Hody Jones, Sanji, Big Mom's army, and Katakuri. In the case of Sanji, she was much more distressed and angrier at the beating Luffy was getting, as he refused to fight back, and furiously slapped Sanji in retaliation. She has also shown to worry for him outside of battle, this was seen when she caught him after he had defeated Kuro and he caused her distress by tryinf to rip off his own arms in order to escape the prison, they were trapped in. Notably, when faced with Kaidou's declaration that he had killed Luffy, Nami started to cry and called the emperor a liar. When she fell to the floor following Kaidou's attack towards her she weeps Luffy's name. Nami is also aware of how close Luffy is to his brother, Portgas D. Ace, and showed her concern when, after leaving Thriller Bark, she goes to Luffy and asks how he is doing after being informed about the state of Ace's Vivre Card, but smiles when he reassures her. When she read that Luffy witnessed Ace get killed before his very eyes she became distraught and tried to escape Weatheria whilst telling herself she needs to get to him before his heart completely shatters as she knows full well what he is going through. When Haredas pointed out her "fake tears" were still flowing she became embarrassed and punched him.

Luffy has absolute loyalty and faith in Nami and has never doubted her. Even when she betrayed him Luffy's opinion of her did not waver and he remained determined to have her in his crew, in spite of Zoro and Usopp's protests, flat out stating to them that he would not accept anyone else as his navigator. He was greatly angered when Johnny mistakenly believed that Nami had killed Usopp and called him a liar and threatened to "kick his ass" for saying such things. This differs greatly when he believed the accusation that Zoro had slaughtered the people of Whisky Peak in cold blood despite the source being unreliable. Luffy was determined to have Nami back in his crew and completely disregarded her request to leave her village, despite angering her, and chose not to listen to Nojiko tell the story of Nami's past as nothing she could tell him would change his mind. Even though Nami has no talent for fighting he does not hesitate to have her by his side in battle, such as when they worked together to defeat Buggy and again to defeat the Sweet Commander, Cracker. He never tries to stop her fighting tough opponents, as he trusts her to win, and has no qualms when she goes off to complete tasks she has been assigned regardless of the danger. However, they can differ when deciding what routes to take, as Nami prioritizes safety and Luffy desires danger as its more fun and adventurous. He has complete trust in her intuition and knowledge as a navigator and never questions her. When Inuarashi praised her navigation skills, Luffy chimed into state how amazing she is and patted her on the back but, typically, annoyed her by how hard he was hitting, although she was briefly thankful for the compliment. He also trusts her enough to let her be in charge of the finances of the crew.



Frequently, Luffy shown that he truly cared for her well-being. It was showcase in Arlong Park, when he angrily told Arlong, after punching him, not to make his navigator cry after the fish-man had upset her. Later, Luffy became furious when he deduced that Arlong had imprisoned Nami in a room throughout her childhood to draw maps for him and told the fish-man that he knew how to save her as he proceeded to destroy the entire room. This act caused Nami to tear up and thank Luffy as he was freeing her from the mental and physical prison, she was trapped in. When Nami fell sick with a mysterious illness Luffy became worried and sought to get her to a doctor immediately and carried her up a 5,000-meter-high mountain, whilst barehanded and in a blizzard, to do so. Luffy's care for Nami is such that, despite his steadfast refusal to ever share his meat, he made an exception for her when he saw she was upset as they left Arabasta. When Nami came to him in tears and told him the real reason why Robin left them, he reassured and promised her that he would not let Robin die. Notably, Luffy and other members of the crew holds a grudge on Nami's behalf for all the suffering she went through as he initially refused to save Hatchan because he is a former member of the Arlong Pirates, however, he agreed to save him after Nami wished for him to do so.

Throughout their adventures Nami has been one of the persons Luffy has given his straw hat to, either to wear as a source of comfort before he fights or to look after it. The first time she held it was on Syrup Village after Luffy had beaten Kuro. Whilst on Cocoyasi Village Luffy placed his straw hat on her head right before his fight with Arlong as a sign of his promise that he will defeat him for her. Nami remembered Luffy saying his hat is his only treasure and teared up at the gesture and later placed it back on his head after he had won. He gave Nami his hat again, before he continued his fight with Enel, to reassure her after she began to panic. This act has mostly subsided now that Luffy has a string attached to his hat that stops him from losing it during a fight and Nami has become more active in battles.

Realizing her own shortcomings, and wishing to be more helpful for Luffy, Nami turned to Usopp to help make her a device so she can be more capable in fights, feeling guilty that Luffy and the others constantly have to save her. When she received Luffy's message to wait two years she was notably the only one frustrated by this decision but decided to spend her time to get stronger and become a more capable navigator for Luffy's sake, believing she owed him so much for all he has done for her. The two have rarely fought side by side but did so against Buggy when they first met and again when they fought Cracker, where she proved to be crucial to Luffy's victory both times. She also stayed by Luffy's side to fight against Big Mom's army when he refused to hide, which ended with them both being captured. When she found out Luffy was going to save Sanji she insisted on going with him because she knew his group could not get there safely without her and felt responsible for getting Sanji back. During her fight with Cracker, she remained defiant towards him, telling him that he might be the right-hand man of an Emperor but her captain will become the Pirate King. Nami tearfully reiterated her belief in Luffy becoming the Pirate King during the Raid on Onigashima despite the threat of certain death from another attack by Ulti and being given the option to live if she stated he would never become Pirate King.

Despite this she still has arguments with him, which has become a staple of their friendship and are usually started by Nami herself. They also have a running gag, which is Nami's tendency to habitually overcharge Luffy for various reasons, such as after she lent her jacket to him during the Drum Island Arc, she charged him a heavy sum for ruining it. However, she has since toned down this habit as it once inadvertently led to Luffy destroying their food supplies when he tried to cook in Sanji's absence because she would not cook for free.

Usopp


Usopp, the former captain of the ‘Usopp Pirates’, became the third member to join Luffy's crew. The two share a close bond of brotherly love and act like best friends. Whilst Usopp is cowardly and weak Luffy does not disparage him for it in the slightest and values him as a crew member, being distraught when he was forced to kick Usopp out and overjoyed when he had returned. They are seen engaging in silly antics on the ship and the two are notorious for being the idiots of the crew. Like Nami and Chopper, Usopp greatly fears Luffy's lust for dangerous adventures.

Luffy had first heard of Usopp when he was child as he met his father, Yasopp, who would talk about him. They first met on Syrup Village when Usopp, being a habitual liar, tried to intimidate Luffy, Zoro, and Nami with his exaggerated crew size. Later, during Usopp’s confrontation with Kuro, Luffy remembered that he had met Usopp’s father, who is an officer and sniper of the Red Hair Pirates, back on his home village. He informed Usopp of this and the two quickly bonded. After Luffy's victory over Kuro, who plotted to kill his friend, Kaya, Usopp became inspired to go out to sea and start his own pirate journey. Initially believing they would not want him to join, he became overjoyed when he was invited aboard the Straw Hats’ ship to sail with them, becoming their newest member.

Since then, he has been a faithful member of Luffy's crew and does his best to contribute wherever he can. He was initially responsible for patching up the ship before the crew recruited Franky and is also a gadgets expert who invents various equipment and weapons to become more useful to Luffy in fights, particularly with Dials. When testing the cannon on the Going Merry, he greatly impressed Luffy with his accuracy and was made the gunner of the Straw Hats. He was also responsible for designing the official flag of the Straw Hat Pirates after Luffy proved to not have a talent for art. Usopp has aided Luffy in battle, as well, such as when he tried to help him when he was at Mr. 5's mercy and later was responsible for breaking Luffy free of Miss Goldenweek's Color Traps. Whilst on Skypiea, he launched a barrage of attacks on Giant Jack so it would fall westwards after Luffy, through Nami, asked him and the others to do so, despite having seen Zoro get struck down by Enel earlier for attempting the same thing. Despite being weak, he proved to be the only person capable of defeating Perona on Thriller Bark, who had effortlessly subdued Luffy himself, as well as Zoro, Sanji and Franky. He has also taken down a slew of difficult enemies, including Jango, Chew, Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas, Perona, Daruma, and Sugar.

Usopp holds great admiration for Luffy and often lies about himself in the mold of him, falsely claiming credit for some of his achievements. Luffy has made such a profound impact on him that he has mostly shed his cowardly personality, although some of it still remains, having become more comfortable and adept at fighting and adventuring. This change first started whilst on Cocoyasi Village, when, despite normally trying to discourage going into any kind of danger, he chose to walk by Luffy's side when he stormed Arlong Park for Nami. Whilst on Water 7, he felt extreme guilt after he was assaulted and robbed by members of the Franky Family, losing a large portion of the crew's money, and tearfully told Nami he could not face Luffy and the others as a result. Although they are close, Usopp is capable of irritating Luffy, such as when he proclaims himself to be the captain or when he once tried to redesign the crew's jolly roger to resemble him which prompted both Luffy and Zoro to hit him. When he tried to recruit Chopper, Luffy chastised Usopp after he scared him off by calling him a "monster". Although rare, he has even managed to anger Luffy, such as when he asked the former first mate of the Roger Pirates, Silvers Rayleigh, for the location of One Piece. This resulted in Luffy delivering an impassioned speech to him about the importance of adventure and convinced him that it is better not to know at all.



The two reached a breaking point over the decision regarding the Going Merry. Usopp cherished the ship as it embodied his friendship with Kaya and took great pride in his responsibility to repair the Merry, the only thing he felt he was truly useful for. He also was absent when Luffy heard the news about the condition of the ship for the first time, and therefore didn't get to hear Luffy's initial objection nor Luffy's anguish at the thought of leaving the ship behind. Thus, when Luffy told him the news later. he was extremely angry that Luffy was so casually willing to abandon it. The was the only Straw Hat to have seen the spirit of the ship before and therefore knew that the ship was "alive" also contributed to his feelings of betrayal. In his anger, he quit the crew and challenged Luffy to a duel for the Going Merry but lost the fight despite putting on a good show. Luffy himself was left in tears about having to fight his best-friend and despised every moment of it. Having won, Luffy left the Going Merry to Usopp and solemnly walked away, kicking him out of the crew. This did not affect their genuine concern for each other, however, as upon discovering the situation with Nico Robin, and his desire to help but knowing he could not face Luffy, he disguised himself as 'Sogeking' in order to help. He succeeded in fooling Luffy, as well as Chopper, that he was not Usopp but failed with everybody else. Under this disguise he successfully aided Luffy and the crew in their quest to save Robin. At the end of the Enies Lobby Arc he was expecting to be welcomed back into the crew with open arms but panicked when he saw they were sailing away. The realization of his mistakes caused him to break down and scream out he is sorry, regretting his actions, which prompted Luffy to stretch his arms over and grab him, tearfully welcoming him back into the crew. Luffy was actually more than prepared to allow Usopp to return, desperately wanting to do so, but was counseled by Zoro that doing so would tarnish his authority as captain and thus had to wait for him to apologize first. Therefore, when Usopp attempted to rejoin Luffy, the latter pretended that he could not hear him until the sniper gave a heartfelt apology. Their friendship immediately recovered following his return and they continued with their shenanigans aboard their new ship, the Thousand Sunny.

Usopp cares for Luffy and was devastated when Miss Merry Christmas told him that he had apparently died before refusing to believe her. After hearing the news of Ace's death during the Summit War of Marineford he desperately tried to escape the island he was trapped on as he felt he needed to be there for Luffy. He later resolved to become stronger for his captain’s sake after he received Luffy's message to wait two years. He trained with his new friend, Heracles, and made one of the most notable improvements among the Straw Hats. He is also an adamant believer in Luffy's dream to become the Pirate King, being fully convinced that his captain will succeed and proudly declared so to both Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas on Arabasta. Although a coward, he will ridicule anyone who insults Luffy, even though he might be much weaker than them, and will defend his dream from people who laugh at it. He notably remained defiant in front of Bartholomew Kuma when given the option to save his own life in exchange for Luffy's. During Luffy's fight with Rob Lucci, he gave an emotional speech to his captain, reprimanding him for losing and even threatened the CP9 agent himself as a way to spur his captain to get back on his feet. On Dressrosa, he became so worried about the thought of losing his memories of Luffy, due to Sugar's Devil Fruit abilities, that he awakened his Kenbunshoku Haki in order to accurately launch his attack to stop her turning Luffy into a toy.



Despite generally looking down on people who are cowardly, such as Koby and Shirahoshi, Luffy has never insulted Usopp for his cowardly nature and treats him as an equal member of the crew. He is often concerned for Usopp's well-being as he is aware of his lack of fighting skills and timid personality when faced with danger, but still has faith in him. Luffy has shown to also be protective of Usopp, such as when Kuro went to attack him, and he intervened by punching Kuro to the ground. Whilst fighting the Black Cat Pirates he became furious with them when they began to laugh at Usopp and threatened them. After Usopp was brutally assaulted by the Franky Family, he became extremely angry and attacked all of them alongside Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper, whilst destroying their house in the process. After the timeskip, he has gained a lot more confidence in Usopp's abilities and stopped Trafalgar Law from going after Caesar Clown because he knew Usopp could comfortably capture him. He had no reservations with Usopp being involved in the Tontatta's plans, alongside Franky, as he believed he would be of great use to them. He was also pleased that Cavendish acknowledged Usopp for his success in defeating Sugar and ending her Devil Fruit ability over the people of Dressrosa. He also seems to view Usopp's habit of lying as an admirable skill, remarking to Arlong that, alongside not being able to use swords, navigate or cook, he is also not capable of lying as Usopp can.

A key feature of their friendship is how often they like to fool around and have fun, occasionally doing impersonations of other crew members such as Zoro, Sanji and Chopper. Like some of the others, Usopp fears his captain’s affinity for adventure and panicked when he realized Luffy had overheard how the New World Log Pose works and tried to tell Nami to destroy it. When he discovered that Luffy had partnered with Law, in order to take on an emperor, he became frantic and tried to overrule this decision with a vote. He has become one of the characters to occasionally beat up Luffy for saying or doing silly things, even by his standards. When he found out about Luffy's father being Monkey D. Dragon, and his grandfather being Monkey D. Garp, he was left completely stunned. Usopp is the only other member of the Straw Hats, alongside Nami, to have worn Luffy's hat, very briefly doing so during the Long Ring Long Land Arc after he made Luffy wear an afro for his fight with Foxy. Before leaving with Zoro to get Nami back, he returned Luffy's straw hat to him after he lost it when he tried to attack Dracule Mihawk. They both share a similar desire of meeting the Red Hair Pirates, with Luffy wanting to reunite with Shanks and Usopp wanting to reunite with his father. They are both extremely prone to being amazed by pretty much anything, such as ninjas, Franky's robotic inventions and Bon Clay's Devil Fruit abilities.

Sanji
Be sure to come back, Sanji! Without you...I can't become the Pirate King!



Sanji is a former cook of the Baratie and the fourth member to join the Straw Hats. He is arguably one of Luffy's favorite crew mates because of his incredible cooking skills that satisfies his gluttonous nature. He is somewhat more antagonistic to Luffy than most, as he gets frustrated by his reckless nature and dimwitted-ness, but nonetheless respects him immensely and values him as his captain and as his friend. He was in tears from having to fight Luffy after he had left the crew and was delighted to return to them, as was Luffy, who was excited for him to cook again.

The two first met during the Baratie Arc when Luffy was caught up in a dispute with the Head Chef, Zeff, for damaging the Baratie. When a starving Gin entered the restaurant and threatened the staff there he was kicked out, however, Sanji still gave him a dish to eat despite his actions. Luffy, seeing this act, was impressed and was insistent he join his crew, but he refused. Soon after, Don Krieg arrived and threatened to claim the Baratie into his fleet, prompting Luffy to fight him. After being inspired by Luffy's fearless and determined victory over Don Krieg, and overhearing his colleagues' desire to see him achieve his dream of finding the All Blue, he agreed to join Luffy's crew and gave an emotional farewell to Zeff and everyone at the Baratie.

Since joining he has been the official chef of the Straw Hats and regularly makes everyone’s food. Although he admitted to Luffy that he prioritizes the women first and cooks the leftovers for him and the others, Luffy was not at all bothered by this as his food still tasted good. On top of being the cook he is one of Luffy's most capable combatants and is easily in the top four strongest members of the Straw Hats having earned the fourth highest bounty within the crew, standing at 1,032,000,000. He has proven to be extremely valuable to Luffy and has taken on some of the strongest opponents such as Kuroobi, Bon Clay, Jabra, Absalom, Vergo, Donquixote Doflamingo, Charlotte Daifuku, X Drake and Queen. He also works well with him as a fighting partner and even fought by his side against Big Mom. Besides regularly fighting by his side in battle he has made a habit of saving Luffy whenever he can. He saved Luffy immediately after his victory over Don Krieg when he fell into the water, again when he freed Luffy after he had been trapped underwater at Arlong Park and when escaping Crocodile's casino via a flooded tunnel. Whilst in Loguetown, he desperately tried to save Luffy from Buggy's attempt to execute him and even fought Smoker, alongside Luffy, whilst they escaped. Sanji was also the one responsible for freeing Luffy, as well as Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Smoker, from Crocodile's cage. After Luffy had fought Big Mom in his Gear 4 form, Sanji carried him away from the emperor to keep him safe. Later, he waited patiently for his captain’s return from his fight with Charlotte Katakuri and proceeded to carry an unconscious Luffy from Cacao Island back to the Thousand Sunny, fighting through hordes of Big Mom’s crew and suffering numerous injuries along the way.

Luffy loves Sanji's cooking and will stop whatever he is doing in order to have whatever he makes. After the timeskip Luffy was excited to eat more of Sanji's food, having gone two years without any, but had to settle for the food Boa Hancock gave him as Sanji was unconscious. When Sanji had returned to the crew, following the events on Whole Cake Island, Luffy became excited when he said he would cook something for them. He values Sanji highly as part of his crew and outright stated that he cannot become the Pirate King without him which caused Sanji to burst into tears. Due to Sanji's honest personality, Luffy rarely gets annoyed with him but did so when he would not admit he wanted to come back to the crew and punched him in response even though he had refused to fight back against him earlier. Luffy also bears a grudge on Sanji's behalf, as he disregards all but one of Sanji's family members because of how cruelly they treat him. When Vinsmoke Judge questioned Luffy as to why he was so determined to get Sanji back in his crew, listing all of his 'faults', Luffy simply said goodbye and asked why he was listing all the good things about Sanji. Luffy's trust in Sanji is so high that he gave him the authority of captain when he, along with Nami, Chopper, Brook, as well as their prisoner, Caesar Clown, was forced to leave Dressrosa with the Thousand Sunny whilst being chased by the Big Mom Pirates.

After he had discovered that Sanji had been taken away to Big Mom's territory his determination for Sanji was put on full display. He traveled to the emperor's territory, gatecrashed the wedding, fought against Big Mom, her army and Sweet Commanders Charlotte Cracker and Katakuri, for an extensive amount of time against both of them, just to make sure he could get Sanji to return. Even after Sanji's assault on him he still promised that he would not move from where he was stood nor eat any food unless it was made by him, showing Luffy's deep understanding of Sanji's principles as a chef. He stuck by this promise and even declined Reiju's offer for food despite how badly his health had deteriorated. He was furious with Cracker’s comments over Sanji's loyalty and attacked the Sweet Commander for saying Sanji would prefer to live a life of luxury with his new family than to come back to his crew. Luffy did not waver in the face of Sanji's stubbornness when he refused to return and chose to take the full brunt of Sanji's attacks without retaliating. Such was Luffy's desire for Sanji to return he was more than willing to allow his bride to join the crew so long as Sanji came back with her but was disappointed to find out that the marriage would mean they'd join have to join the Big Mom Pirates. When Sanji requested Luffy's help to save his family, as they were about to be assassinated by Big Mom and her crew, Luffy accepted immediately as he understood that he could not force Sanji to leave his family behind.



Sanji is incredibly dedicated to Luffy and competed with Zoro to be the one to take Luffy's place when Bartholomew Kuma tried to take him away but was knocked out by the swordsman. Even though he was not happy being stuck with the Okama, he remained there for two years in order to get stronger for Luffy's sake. Luffy's strength greatly impresses Sanji, and he was not surprised to see Luffy being able to use Haoshoku Haki, remarking that he suspected he was capable of such a thing. When Pudding worried over Luffy's chances against her brother, Katakuri, he calmly told her that her brother will experience his first defeat. When meeting Monkey D. Garp, Sanji remarked on his incredible strength and was shocked when he found out he is Luffy's grandfather, and even more shocked by the identity of his father, Monkey D. Dragon. Sanji is also a firm believer in Luffy's dream to become the Pirate King and told Capone Bege that he would never do anything to risk it and told him that Luffy would succeed in this goal. Although he mocked this dream when he fought Luffy, this was only because he wanted to try and discourage him from chasing after him. Whilst he did leave the crew, he did so with great reluctantance, but was forced to do so under the threat of his former colleagues, adoptive family, and friends being killed. It was clear he intended to return when he arrived on Whole Cake Island, however, as despite genuinely liking Charlotte Pudding, who was his betrothed, he initially refused to marry her so he could go back to Luffy. Sanji also appeared guilt ridden for his actions towards Luffy as, echoing Zoro's beliefs, he stated he had lost the right to rejoin the crew for attacking his captain, but he quickly gave in to Luffy's refusal of this excuse.

Whilst he has respect for Luffy as his captain, he is not above attacking or insulting Luffy for his stupidity. He has chastised his captain if he does anything to a woman, he perceives to be unbecoming, such as when he punched Vivi, when he believed that he had done something terrible to Nico Robin, or any time he argues with Nami. Due to his lustful desires, Sanji has been seen from time to time getting jealous of Luffy, such as when he discovered that he had been sent to Amazon Lily by Kuma, an island inhabited by the Kuja Tribe that are made up exclusively of women, and for having gained the affection of the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock. He was also seen to be jealous of Luffy for gaining the admiration of Shirahoshi, shouting at him that he is a lucky bastard when she hugged him after he had saved her. Luffy's eating habits and endless appetite can be a source of frustration for him as well. This has led him to set up numerous safeguards to stop him from emptying the fridge during the night and whenever food goes missing his first suspect is always Luffy. He was also annoyed and embarrassed when Luffy had discovered his raid suit that was given to him by Niji, with Luffy begging him to try it on.

Tony Tony Chopper
SHUT UP!!! LET'S GO!!!!



Tony Tony Chopper is a doctor from Drum Island who was formerly under the service of Dr. Kureha and was a student of the late Dr. Hiriluk. He is the fifth member to join the Straw Hats, the first Devil Fruit user and is the crew’s doctor. Due to being the youngest member of the crew he is very impressionable of Luffy and gets involved in his silly antics despite his innocent nature. The two greatly respect each other and he admires Luffy as his captain, only questioning him whenever he is at risk of injuring himself or does not adhere to his medical orders. His admiration stems from Luffy accepting him for who he is, as opposed to a monster by nearly everybody else.

After Luffy had carried Nami and Sanji to the top of the mountain where Chopper resides with Dr. Kureha, he found the trio and nursed them all back to health, having been amazed by Luffy's effort for his friends. He got off to a chaotic start with him as he is an extremely timid person and was thrown off by Luffy's eccentric and bubbly personality. He was chased by Luffy when he was hungry as he was tempted to eat Chopper, but in reality, he wanted to ask him to join his crew. He was moved by Luffy's determination to protect his pirate flag, which belonged to Dr. Hiriluk, atop his home from Wapol's attacks and became grateful after he had defeated the former king. Still, he refused to join Luffy's crew despite desperately wanting to do so, but whilst trying to explain how being half human and half reindeer made him a monster, and as to why he cannot join, Luffy flat out told him to shut up and to come with them, causing Chopper to cry and agree to join him.

He is grateful to Luffy, not just for accepting him for who he is, but for also being interested in him and his abilities. The fact that Luffy is not at all fazed by his appearance, having been treated so poorly by reindeers and humans for much of his life, makes him happy. Luffy, and the crew's acceptance of him has given him a family and the confidence to interact with people again. He is a determined member of the crew as he always looks to help Luffy in any way he can, from fighting to medical aid. Although he is not as brave as Zoro, he is not as cowardly as Usopp either, having shown he is a capable fighter despite his bounty only being 100. His former teacher, Dr. Hiriluk, first introduced him to what a pirate is, with Hiriluk leaving a strong, positive, impression on Chopper on the ideal pirate, and has come to see Luffy as the personification of the pirate Dr. Hiriluk was talking about. Chopper has become a faithful admirer of Luffy and is constantly astounded by his impressive feats, especially when he goes beyond his human limitations, however, the excessiveness of how far Luffy pushes himself can irritate Chopper as a doctor. He was stunned when he found out that Luffy had developed an extremely strong immunity to most poisons. He inquired to Luffy if he defeated Charlotte Katakuri and was amazed when he replied that he had. After receiving Luffy's message to wait two years, Chopper resolved to become a "monster" so he can become stronger for Luffy's sake. Like the other members of the crew, Chopper firmly believes that Luffy will become the Pirate King and reassures a sobbing Mocha that Luffy will defeat Caesar Clown because of this.



Luffy is very friendly with Chopper and acts as an older brother of sorts. He does not patronize him for being the youngest member of the crew and treats him on an equal footing with everybody else. He often gets caught up in a lot of fun with Chopper as they mess around on the ship quite a lot. When Sanji was given his raid suit by his brother, both Chopper and Luffy fantasied about trying it on and desperately wanted Sanji to use it for their own entertainment. He has complete faith in Chopper’s abilities as a medic and demonstrated this when he allowed the children on Punk Hazard to suffer from withdrawal symptoms on Chopper’s orders. Such is this faith, he intentionally allowed himself to be afflicted with the Mummy (Virus) because he knew Chopper could cure him. He also listens to Chopper from time to time about his health, although this tends to be rare. Luffy also has faith in Chopper's fighting abilities and is never too worried about his well-being during battles, full believing in his strength, such as when he trusted him to take on Wapol's subordinates. They both also possess a strong sweet tooth, as shown when they arrived on Cacao Island and ate Charlotte Pudding's cafe. Some of the other crew members have concerns about how much of an impression Luffy has on the young Chopper, not wanting him to lose his innocence.

As a comedic gag, Chopper will jump into the water to try and save Luffy whenever he is drowning, having forgotten he is also a Devil Fruit user and cannot swim. This has led to Chopper copying Luffy's party trick of sticking two chopsticks up his nose and into the bottom of his mouth. Although Luffy greatly values Chopper, he has found himself contemplating eating Chopper whenever he has begun to starve such as on their way to Totto Land. Chopper is also prone to emotional outbursts whenever Luffy is in danger or appears close to death, he notably doubted his own medical skills when Luffy was poisoned Armored Stonefish. Both of them also share a childish mentality, as they were both fooled by Usopp's alter-ego, Sogeking. They also get amazed by numerous things, such as ninjas, robots and superhero suits. Both Luffy and Chopper possess the ability to understand animals, Luffy because he possesses the ability to hear the "Voice of All Things" and Chopper because he is half reindeer, although this ability is much more inconsistent for Luffy.

Nico Robin
Robin! I haven't heard you say it! SAY YOU WANT TO LIVE!!!!



A former agent of Baroque Works, and Crocodile's right-hand woman, Nico Robin became the seventh member to join Luffy's crew and the third Devil Fruit user. Out of all his crew members, Robin is the one he shares a complete wholesome relationship with as the two get on extremely well and have yet to be seen arguing. After she rejoined the Straw Hats, following the Enies Lobby Arc, she has continued being a reliable and devoted friend to Luffy. She is the archaeologist of the Straw Hats and deciphers the Poneglyphs for them.

Luffy and Robin briefly met for the first time as he and his crew sailed out of Whiskey Peak where she boarded his ship, temporarily took his hat, offered some advice for their next location, and left. Luffy was very mixed on how to view her as she seemed friendly but still worked for the enemy, ultimately, he chooses to distrust her and destroyed the log pose she had given him. They met again when Robin saved Luffy after his first fight with Crocodile and made it apparent she has an interest in him because he carries the initial, "D.", in his name. Later, she saved Luffy's life again by providing the antidote for the poison Luffy had been afflicted with by Crocodile after his victory against him. When Luffy woke up, he chose to save her from the collapsing underground grave despite her protests. She then turned up on the Going Merry as the Straw Hats sailed away from Arabasta and argued that Luffy had forced her to live and thus should take responsibility by letting her join his crew, with Luffy accepting this proposal without hesitation, shocking everyone with the exception of Sanji.

The two get on extremely well with each other. Their interactions can be somewhat infrequent compared to the rest of the Straw Hats, but when they do interact it is always positive. They both deeply care for each other and respect one another’s abilities. Robin's relationship with Luffy can best be described as motherly, as she has been seen feeding Luffy some of her food and, out of all the crew members, is by far the most patient and calm with him. She is not at all irritated by his stupidity, recklessness, or carelessness, unlike the rest of the crew, and in fact, seems to admire these qualities. She tends to smile, and sometimes laugh, at Luffy's antics, which was first seen back on Arabasta when Luffy decided to drink a full barrel of water in order to take on Crocodile, causing her to chuckle at his bizarre improvisation. She also has a keen interest in Luffy since they first met, taking a liking to the Straw Hat captain's bold and upfront personality. This interest in her captain has been prevalent since she first met him and whilst talking to Gan Fall on Skypiea she acknowledged his comment on Luffy's strange aurora that reminds him of Gol D. Roger, telling him that Luffy is a very interesting person. Although this interest was an initial motive behind her decision to join his crew, she has come to see Luffy as a genuinely close friend.

She is very grateful to Luffy for having saved her life, twice. Due to her past, where she lost her family and friends and became an orphaned child hunted by the World Government, she struggled to find a place she could call home until she met Luffy. Whilst thinking of her past, she remembered her friend, Jaguar D. Saul, tell her that one day she will find people that will risk everything for her sake and came to the conclusion that Luffy and his crew are the friends she has been longing for. It was Luffy who convinced her to keep living even if the world does not want her to, with these words having a great impact on her. She no longer felt lonely by the fact that she was chased by the World Government as Luffy pointed out to her that he and his crew are also enemies of the world. Slowly, but surely, she became more comfortable with Luffy and his crew and began to open up, bonding with Luffy and growing to respect him as her captain and, more importantly, her friend. Her friendship with Luffy developed to such a point that, following the Summit War of Marineford, she was shown to be greatly relieved that Luffy was well before receiving his message to wait two years. After reflecting on all the things Luffy has done for her, she decided to try and become stronger for his sake. Whilst blushing, she noted that the idea of doing such a thing has never occurred to her before.

Similar to Zoro, she is completely accepting of Luffy's decisions as captain and does not hesitate in any situation she is put into by his reckless adventuring. She is often among the first people to follow Luffy into battle and is fully prepared to take on whoever is put in her way for the sake of helping him. She was the one to save Luffy after his fight against Rob Lucci by using her Devil Fruit abilities to carry him onto the Going Merry. Whilst on Sabaody Archipelago, she saved an exhausted Luffy from being attacked by a Pacifista and a monster Chopper by carrying him under her arms. Due to being very accepting of Luffy's decisions, she rarely offers up advice but has occasionally done so, such as when, after Luffy had formed an alliance with Trafalgar Law, she warned him that, although she is happy to go along with him, alliances are often marred by betrayals and that he should be certain he can trust Law. After discovering Sanji's situation, Robin advised Luffy again by warning him about the strength of Big Mom when he proposed trying to get Sanji back, which prompted Luffy to decide to try and sneak into the emperor's territory instead. She also has a fundamental understanding of how Luffy's mind works and has come to be one of the very few people who is capable of helping Luffy understand information or scenarios that are originally too complex for him. She clarified to Luffy the situation between Smoker and Tashigi when he was fighting them both on Punk Hazard, and when Luffy could not remember who Marco was, despite everyone telling him he had met the Whitebeard Pirates' First Division Commander at the Summit War of Marineford, Robin was able to jog his memory by simply telling him he is the person who looks like a pineapple.



Luffy cares for Robin immensely and does not tolerate anyone hurting or taking her away. He has faith in her abilities as a fighter and trusts her whenever she goes out on her own to complete tasks. On Skypiea, he was furious when he found a heavily wounded Robin after she fought Enel and held onto her as she explained that Nami had been taken away by him. During his encounter with the Admiral, Aokiji, he became furious when he threatened to take Robin away. When he proceeded to turn her into ice and tried to smash her, Luffy was just about able to save her. He was upset and angry after being told that Robin had been taken against her will by CP9 in order to keep him, and the rest of the crew, safe and promised Nami to rescue her. Such was his anger, he charged headfirst into Enies Lobby on his own, fighting through a thousand Marines and two CP9 agents, including their strongest fighter, Lucci, just to reach her. He was more than willing to burn the flag of the World Government to show Robin his complete disregard for them and his willingness to take on the world for her sake. This act of rebellion shocked Robin and caused her to cry at how far Luffy was willing to go just to save her. Luffy then passionately demanded her to say she wants to live and when Robin responded by saying she does and begged him to take her out to sea with him and his crew, he became even more determined to save her. After his victory over Lucci, he called out to Robin and told her that they will all leave Enies Lobby together, causing her to cry. When on Sabaody, Luffy tried to reach out and save Robin from Bartholomew Kuma but failed to do so, with her being the final crew member he lost to the Warlord before being sent away himself.

Robin's faith in Luffy is absolute, like most of the crew, and she is often impressed by the actions of her captain. Whilst on Skypiea, she played a key role in convincing Wyper, a hostile Shandia warrior, to aid Luffy by informing him of the reason why he wants to ring the famous Shandorian Bell and expressed admiration for her captain's determination. Following the time-skip, she was impressed by the improvements Luffy had made and was astonished when he used Haoshoku Haki to knock out 50,000 of Hody Jones' crew. Although, for the first time since she met him, she expressed genuine horror over Luffy's actions when news that he had been captured by the Emperor, Kaidou, reached her. She showed her faith in Luffy whilst being escorted by Spandam and Lucci, as she became elated when he had finally caught up to her and could not help but smile when she heard his voice call out her name. When Nekomamushi warned her that a person of her abilities, to read Poneglyphs, is rare and that a lot of people would try to kidnap her, she simply responded that she has faith in her captain and crew to not allow such a thing to happen because they are strong, causing Luffy to comically blush over the compliment and state he would fight anyone for her.

Due to her knowledge of world affairs, she was greatly surprised, and intrigued, upon discovering that Monkey D. Garp is Luffy's grandfather and Monkey D. Dragon is his father. She was further surprised to hear that he has connections with the Emperor, Red-Haired Shanks, and asked Nami for clarification whilst finding Luffy all the more interesting. Out of all the Straw Hats, including Luffy himself, Robin is the only one who has met Luffy's father, Dragon, doing so during the timeskip. Luffy has shown he is well aware of how intelligent Robin is, such as when he complimented her to Iceburg, and will often turn to her whenever he wants to know information about certain individuals, including his own father.

Franky


Franky is the former head of the Franky Family, the seventh person to join the Straw Hats and is the shipwright of the crew. He is responsible for building their new ship, the Thousand Sunny. He and Luffy share a good bond and get on extremely well. Franky acts as a sort of older brother to his captain and enjoys entertaining him with his various inventions and robotic body. He has tremendous trust in Luffy's abilities, respects him as captain and holds great admiration for him. Luffy is often amazed by Franky's cyborg body and finds him to be greatly entertaining. He has complete faith in his skills as the shipwright and as a fighter.

The two first met on Water 7 and got off to a bad start when Franky and his family assaulted and robbed Usopp. This seriously angered Luffy and led to the Straw Hat captain, as well as Zoro, Chopper, and Sanji, beating up the Franky Family and destroying the Franky House. This, in turn, led to Franky wanting revenge and he attacked Luffy in broad daylight whilst he was with Nami. Their fight was soon interrupted, however, and Luffy successfully fled. Franky was later attacked by CP9 whilst with Usopp and the two were taken hostage, along with Robin. He ends up becoming an ally to the Straw Hats after being inspired by Luffy's determination to save his crewmate and finding a common enemy in CP9. After successfully doing so he received his first bounty for his role and was convinced to join the Straw Hats as their official shipwright after building them the Thousand Sunny from the Adam Wood he had bought with the money stolen from Usopp.

Throughout the Enies Lobby Arc, Franky came to respect and understand Luffy. He was amazed by his strength and determination to save his crew and wished to aid him directly in his fight with Rob Lucci but agreed to try and save Robin for him instead. When he discovered Luffy's family members he was stunned at how notorious they all are and commented that it partly explains how he is so strong. Franky's respect was such that he personally wished for Luffy and his crew to sail the rest of their journey in a ship he built, deeming them worthy. He wished to join Luffy's crew but was conflicted with his wish to remain on Water 7 due to still being guilt-ridden about his mentor's death. After Robin and Iceburg were able to convince him to move on he agreed to join Luffy's crew. After being separated by Bartholomew Kuma on Sabaody Archipelago, and receiving Luffy's message to wait two years, he chose to spend his time modifying his robotic body in order to become more useful, and more capable, for his captain. Franky proudly declared to Nami that they are a member of the crew that will make Luffy the Pirate King when he faced the Emperor, Big Mom.



Luffy has a great amount of trust and respect for Franky. He completely accepts his knowledge as a shipwright and mechanic, and although he rarely understands what he is talking about, he trusts him anyway. Luffy also acknowledges him as a capable fighter, happy to have him by his side in a fight and has faith in Franky completing individual missions, such as recovering the Thousand Sunny whilst on Punk Hazard and aiding the Tontatta Kingdom. Such is Luffy's trust in him, he was willing to let Franky eat his late brother's Devil Fruit, the Mera Mera no Mi, despite not wanting anyone else to have it. Due to his child-like mentality, he is easily amazed by Franky's cyborg modifications, something Franky happily indulges him in, and is left dumbfounded by some of the weapons and constructions he makes, especially General Franky. He believes Franky epitomizes a boy’s dream.

Franky shares a similar outgoing personality like Luffy, but without the stupidity, which helps them get along. Due to Franky's emotional sensitivities, he has sometimes cried profusely with, or for, Luffy. He is very laid back with his captain and finds him funny and endearing. He still respects his authority, though, and asked for his permission to aid the dwarves whilst on Dressrosa and was overjoyed to hear Luffy approve his request. He refused Luffy's offer to eat the Mera Mera no Mi as he did not wish to give up his ability to swim but encouraged Luffy to go and retrieve his deceased brother’s Devil Fruit, despite being aware that it is probably a trap, as this might be his only chance and if it slips away, he will regret it. Despite having gotten used to Luffy's reckless nature, he was left in complete horror after discovering he had been captured by the Emperor, Kaidou. He was subsequently relieved Luffy broke out and gathered followers.

Brook


Brook is the former musician, and acting captain, of the Rumbar Pirates. He is the eighth person to join the Straw Hats, the third Devil Fruit user and is the oldest member of the crew. He is one of Luffy's most loyal crew member. The two get on extremely well due to their similar upbeat and eccentric personalities. Their relationship is defined by their identical childish nature. Brook is continuously excited and bubbly and finds the joy in most situations just like his captain. Luffy adores Brook because of his music, his humor and for being a skeleton. Brook will often play songs for Luffy and the crew with piano, violin, or guitar.

Luffy first met Brook as he traveled through the Florian Triangle and sailed past the skeleton's ship. The Straw Hats spotted him and immediately became frightened, apart from Luffy who was bemused and intrigued. He boarded Brook’s ship and, after finding him hilarious, he immediately asked him to join his crew, much to the chagrin of his crew mates. Brook accepted and went to their ship and explained his past, and current, situation. He ultimately declined Luffy's offer to join his crew as he could not leave the Florian Triangle without his shadow that had been taken by Gecko Moria. However, Luffy immediately decided to get Brook’s shadow back so he could join. Once he succeeded in defeating Gecko Moria, and returning his shadow, Luffy found Brook still somewhat hesitant to join his crew as he had a commitment to a whale he had befriended, called Laboon, and wished to know if he is still alive. Luffy and his crew also met Laboon when they first entered the Grand Line and Luffy happily informed him of the whale's well-being. Brook cried in relief at this news and revealed his wanted poster to pledge his loyalty to Luffy.

Their relationship is immensely positive, and they get on very well with each other. They also respect each other’s positions, with Luffy being the captain and Brook being the musician and the second swordsman of the crew, after Zoro. They both acknowledge each other’s capabilities as Brook always believes that Luffy will win his fights and Luffy trusts Brook to handle the situations he finds himself in. His trust in Brook is so high that he allowed him to join Pedro to recover the Road Poneglyph that is in Big Mom's possession, an extremely important task that is fundamental to finding Laugh Tale where One Piece is allegedly located. Although not as skilled as his compatriot, Zoro, he has proven himself to be a talented and capable swordsman for Luffy. He also holds the special accolade of being the only member of the Straw Hats, besides Luffy himself, to have fought an Emperor in one-on-one combat. Furthermore, Brook has proven himself to be the lynchpin for plans to come to fruition for the Straw Hats. He successfully acquired the Road Poneglyph from Big Mom, despite the emperor herself trying to stop him, and he also discreetly broke Mother Caramel's portrait in order to send Big Mom into a frenzy so the assassination plan could go ahead. On Wano, he discovered yet another Poneglyph whilst searching Orochi's castle.



Brook is extremely grateful for Luffy welcoming him into the Straw Hats due to having spent the last fifty years alone and has experienced extreme isolation and depression from losing all of his friends. Luffy was able to end that misery by giving him a family to call his own among the Straw Hats. Just the offer of joining his crew brought Brook a lot of happiness because he has been alone for so long. It is because of this that Brook’s loyalty to Luffy is extremely high and prefers to only take orders from him, as he initially declined Momonosuke's request to provide entertainment, stating he only takes orders from his captain. He also feels a special bond with his captain over their shared friendship with Laboon. Even crying tears of joy that the whale is still alive. After the two-year timeskip, he was in tears when he reunited with Luffy, stating that he had missed him so much and happily gave up his life as a rock-star in order to return to the crew. He tends to join Luffy, alongside Usopp and Chopper, in immature antics and will often indulge and encourage some of Luffy's childlike behavior. He is a firm believer that Luffy will become Pirate King and proudly stated so whilst being held up by the Marines on Sabaody Archipelago during one of his concerts. Here he also revealed to his fans that Luffy is actually alive and will one day rule the seas before leaving the stage after a final song. During his fight with Zeo, he once again states that Luffy will become the Pirate King. Whilst fighting Big Mom, he praised his captain highly to her, informing the Emperor that there isn’t a wall that Luffy cannot breakthrough in the pursuit of his ambitions.

Luffy likes Brook a lot and respects him as a swordsman of the Straw Hats. Unlike the rest of the crew, he was immediately friendly with Brook and enjoys his company immensely. Luffy is greatly intrigued by him being a skeleton and enjoys his humor, especially the Skull Jokes that he makes. His initial impressions of Brook were so positive that he offered him a place on his crew despite having just met him, finding him hilarious, and chose to help Brook regain his shadow for the purpose of recruiting him. Another huge reason why Luffy likes him so much is that he is a musician, something Luffy has wanted in his crew since the start of his journey and even prioritized getting a musician before a doctor or a cook and is very fond of Brook’s rendition of Binks' Sake. Brook is also one of the few crew members that can consistently make him laugh.

Jinbe


Jinbe is a former ally of the Big Mom Pirates, the former captain of the Sun Pirates, and a former Warlord of the Sea, who is the ninth person to join the Straw Hats and is their helmsman. Luffy and Jinbe hold each other in the highest regard and share a relationship of mutual respect, with Jinbe acting as a key adviser to Luffy, whilst Luffy acknowledges his wisdom. Jinbe is amazed by Luffy's tenacity, strength, and kind-heartedness, and Luffy is impressed with his talents as a fighter and helmsman. Between Luffy's initial invitation for Jinbe to join his crew at Fish-Man Island to Jinbe officially joining at Onigashima, Luffy was frustrated by Jinbe's existing obligations keeping him from joining despite his desire to do so.

They first met in Impel Down when Luffy infiltrated the Marine base to rescue his brother, Ace, who Jinbe had been imprisoned with. Jinbe convinced Luffy to let him out as he wished to aid him in saving Ace as he considered him a good friend. He proved to be an extremely helpful ally when escaping out of Impel Down and during the Summit War of Marineford, where the two grew to respect each other. Having helped Luffy overcome Ace’s death the two parted on very good terms and wished to see each other again. They would meet on Fish-Man Island after two years and worked together to defeat Hody Jones and his crew, the New Fish-Man Pirates. Whilst receiving his blood after his fight, Luffy officially asked Jinbe to join his crew, but he declined due to business he had to attend to first but asked Luffy to make him the offer again when they next meet. They would meet again on Whole Cake Island where he saved Luffy and Nami from being tortured and worked with the Straw Hats to help Sanji escape and assassinate Big Mom. It was during the wedding ceremony that Jinbe officially declared to the Emperor that he will leave the Big Mom Pirates and join the Straw Hats.

The two share a great admiration for each other, as Jinbe came to highly respect Luffy for his reckless rescue effort in Impel Down just for his brother, and his incredible determination on the battlefield at Marineford, showing no fear despite some of the strongest individuals in the world being present. Jinbe possesses the unique ability to talk sense into Luffy and to get him to understand the precarious situation he finds himself in, hoping that the Straw Hat captain will act accordingly. Luffy respects Jinbe's counsel and tries to take in some of his reasoning before he acts. Although this has led the two to get into heated arguments, and at one point, a brief fight, but this was quickly resolved. He is one of Luffy's most powerful crew members and is in the top four strongest fighters, having the third-highest bounty in the crew at 1,100,000,000. The two have fought alongside each other when they tried to escape Impel Down and proved to be a devastating force.

Jinbe has a high amount of admiration for Luffy and will try to protect and save him whenever he can. During the Summit War of Marineford he took on Gecko Moria in order to protect Luffy. Despite his desire for Luffy to not die, he agreed to his request to launch him over the barrier and onto the platform, allowing him to be the first to breach the Marines’ defense, even though Luffy would have to face all three Admirals on his own. His admiration reached a point where he bluntly told Admiral Akainu that he would happily lay down his life to protect Luffy, a monumental statement as Jinbe rarely respects anyone outside of the Whitebeard Pirates. He took a powerful hit from Akainu during his escape whilst carrying Luffy, only to apologize to Luffy for allowing him to get hurt. He almost died because of it but managed to survive thanks to Trafalgar Law. Whilst talking to Law he stated how greatly worried he was for Luffy and his well-being once he realizes that Ace is dead. He chose to stay by Luffy's side whilst he recovered on Amazon Lily and was the key to helping him come to terms with Ace’s death, reminding him that he still has people to live for, namely his crew. On Fish-Man Island he offered up his own blood when Luffy had lost a lot of his, despite being a Fish-Man in a country that forbids fish-men sharing blood with humans. He saved both Luffy and Nami from Charlotte Opera and freed them both from captivity. He saved Luffy from Katakuri's attack by throwing tea on the Sweet Commander’s leg which nullified his Devil Fruit abilities. When he announced his decision to leave the Big Mom Pirates he had no fear of the emperor's wrath, rendering her Devil Fruit powers useless, and proudly stated to her that he has no fear because he is joining the crew of the next Pirate King. He praised Luffy highly to his crew in the immediate aftermath of Pedro's death, recognizing his qualities as captain for not getting caught up in his emotions and instead took Katakuri away to the Mirro-World so his crew could set sail.

Luffy reciprocates the respect Jinbe has for him and talked positively of him to his crewmates, acknowledging him as the reason why he survived the war. His praise for him encouraged Nami to forgive Jinbe for his indirect role in Arlong's oppression of Cocoyashi Village and who had tormented her since childhood. Luffy values Jinbe as his ally and crewmate and appreciated how much he tried to help him during the Summit War of Marineford, as well as helping him bounce back from Ace’s death. By the end of the Fish-Man Island Arc, he gleefully requested Jinbe to join his crew and was extremely disappointed when he declined but made him promise him that once he had completed his unfinished business, he would find him again so he could join his crew, with Jinbe promising to do so. He was happy to be reunited with Jinbe on Whole Cake Island and was overjoyed when he announced to Big Mom of his decision to join the Straw Hats. He was extremely happy to have him as part of his crew and trusted him to look after Brook, Carrot, Nami, and Chopper whilst he was away fighting Katakuri. He was very annoyed by Jinbe's decision to not travel with him and his crew to Wano but understood that he could not leave his former crew behind at the mercy of the Big Mom Pirates. Luffy then reminded Jinbe that he is his captain now and ordered him to not die and reunite with him in Wano. After escaping Big Mom's territory, the newspaper arrived with reports of the events on Whole Cake Island, Luffy immediately wanted to read it to find out about Jinbe but could not find anything on him. When Jinbe finally arrived on Wano and reunited with the crew Luffy was overjoyed.



Despite his vast experience and affiliations with some of the most notorious pirates, he is still left shocked by Luffy and his actions. He was stunned that he would infiltrate Impel Down for Ace, something that not even Whitebeard attempted. He was frustrated by Luffy's determination to fight Hody Jones despite the repercussions it would have on the relations between fish-men and humans, at one point calling him foolish, and he was further shocked at Luffy's declaration that he does not wish to be a hero. When Luffy defeated Katakuri, out of all the crew members, Jinbe was the most surprised, understanding what Luffy had achieved. He was intrigued when Fleet Admiral Sengoku revealed that Luffy is the son of Monkey D. Dragon but was not as surprised as a lot of the others.

He is capable of talking sense into Luffy and have him follow the plans that are best to tackle the situation they are in. The first time was during Impel Down when he convinced Luffy not to waste time fighting Blackbeard as Ace was more important, despite his own desires to attack Blackbeard. He was able to stop Luffy from heading back into Impel Down to try and rescue Bon Clay, explaining that doing so would make his sacrifice count for nothing. Whilst on Fish-Man Island he, despite a tedious process and a brief fight, convinced Luffy to follow his plan on making him a hero to Fish-Man Island, although he had to bribe him with meat. He was able to convince Luffy to work with Capone Bege despite Luffy's strong dislike of him for trying to kill Pekoms and was able to keep the peace at their meeting. He successfully had Luffy follow the plan to assassinate Big Mom as opposed to Luffy's usual habit of just charging into his fights.

Nefertari Vivi


Nefertari Vivi is a princess of the Arabasta Kingdom, a former undercover Baroque Works agent and a former member of the Straw Hat Pirates. She and Luffy are close friends, despite having started off as enemies, and see each other as family. Even though she is often amazed by his stupidity, laid back attitude, and recklessness, she completely trusts him and finds it incredible just how strong he is. Luffy sees Vivi as an extremely kind person and someone he wishes to help. However, he also thinks of her as naive and was reluctant to continue helping her at one point until she understood his reasoning. Nonetheless, he adores her and was filled with crushing disappointment when she did not join his crew.

He first met Vivi during the Reverse Mountain Arc whilst she was undercover as "Miss Wednesday", when she and her partner, Mr. 9, tried to kill Laboon for his meat but failed due to the intervention of Luffy and his crew. She met Luffy again on Whiskey Peak and attempted to fight the Straw Hat Pirates but this comically ended in failure. Once her identity as an undercover agent, as well as her history, were revealed to Luffy and the crew they agreed to help her. She traveled with the Straw Hats to various locations, such as Little Garden and Drum Island, and throughout their adventures grew very close to Luffy. Once they arrived in Arabasta she worked alongside Luffy and his crew to defeat Crocodile and end the uprising against her father, King Nefertari Cobra.

Vivi is often left astounded by Luffy's laid-back attitude and lack of concern for the dangerous situations he finds himself in. This attitude still endears her to him, and she was seen occasionally engaging in the crew's banter that tends to revolve around Luffy. She sometimes copies Luffy's antics, such as when he grabbed Usopp by his nose and she started to do the same. She is often worried about Luffy because of how far he pushes himself and felt the need to watch over him from time to time. She was distraught when Luffy was being relentlessly attacked by Mr. 5 whilst on Little Garden. Despite her concerns, she is reassured by the strength Luffy possesses and is left in shock at his raw power and was relieved when he finally arrived to save her, as well as Nami and Zoro, from Mr 3's candle wax. Although she is tolerant of Luffy's attitude to most things, she does try to counsel him on what it means to lead people, such as when they arrived on Drum Island and she explained to him that he could not convince the local residents to help him by beating them up, despite having shot at her. Nonetheless, she has great respect for him and is eternally grateful for his aid in saving Arabasta. When she was crossing the desert with Luffy she was upset by his statements regarding her wish to prevent conflict from happening in her kingdom and got into a fistfight with him, however, she came to accept Luffy's points, and she immediately reconciled. Her bond with Luffy strengthened from this exchange and now has absolute confidence in Luffy and his crew.

She became so close to Luffy and the others that she was almost willing to abandon her life as a princess and continue sailing with them but chose not to do so in the end. Vivi passionately follows the Luffy's adventures and was one of the very few people able to deduce that Luffy had a message for his crew when he rang the Ox Bell following the Summit War of Marineford. She was not at all upset when she discovered Nico Robin, a former ally of Crocodile, has joined Luffy's crew, instead choosing to trust his judgement. She becomes friends with both Rebecca and Shirahoshi through their shared admiration of Luffy.

Luffy values Vivi to such a degree that he was willing to help her fight Crocodile and save her kingdom and got angry at the Warlord of the Sea for the torment he had put Vivi and her kingdom through. He was furious when Crocodile taunted Vivi after they were captured by him. He cares for Vivi a great deal and is very upset when someone tries to harm her, such as when Mr. 5 attempted to do so whilst on Little Garden, and he came to her aid when Crocodile dropped her from the top of the palace plateau, catching her with the aid of Pell, and reassured her that although her voice could not reach everybody that was fighting, her voice reached him and his crew. Luffy is not afraid to criticize her outlook on the world as he got into an argument with her that ended in a fistfight as he tried to get her to understand that she cannot carry the burden of saving her kingdom on her own, and to let him and his crew aid her in defeating Crocodile as that was the best way to save her kingdom. He agreed with Crocodile that her views of stopping the conflict in Arabasta without bloodshed are foolish, but chooses to unwaveringly help her, nonetheless. He has praised her, however, and did so after she successfully showed him that pleading for the villagers on Drum Island to help them, when Nami was sick, was a better option than fighting them.

By the end of the Arabasta Saga, Luffy begged her to join his crew. Although Vivi contemplated permanently joining them, she, with a heavy heart, declined due to her responsibilities as a princess. This upset Luffy as he wanted to continue their adventures together. However, he sees her as an honorary member of the Straw Hats and cherishes the time he shared with her as a part of the crew. Before leaving, he and his crew reassured her that they see her as a full-fledged member of the Straw Hats by displaying the cross Vivi had marked on all of them as they sailed away, leaving her in tears of joy.

When news reached the crew that Vivi was missing after the Levely in which Sabo attacked, Luffy tried to head directly to Arabasta, and then Mary Geoise, to save her, until Zoro managed to remind him that similar to Ace, they should have faith in her powers to defend herself.