Straw Hat Pirates

The Straw Hat Pirates, also known as the Mugiwara Pirates, Straw Hat Crew or simply the Straw Hats, are an infamous and powerful pirate crew that originated from the East Blue. They are the main focus and protagonists of the manga and anime One Piece and are led by the main protagonist Monkey D. Luffy.

The "Straw Hats" are named after Luffy's signature hat that was given to him by Red-Haired Shanks and are first referred to as the Straw Hat Pirates by Smoker in the Arabasta Kingdom. The crew sailed on the Going Merry, their first official Straw Hat ship, up until the Water 7 Arc. During the Post-Enies Lobby Arc, Franky and Iceburg built them a new ship which was named the Thousand Sunny by Iceburg, even though the members fought over different names.

Following the events on the Sabaody Archipelago, all the members were separated from one another by Bartholomew Kuma, a then-Warlord of the Sea and undercover agent of the Revolutionary Army. For two years, they trained in relatively isolated locations, becoming stronger for the sake of helping each other. They then reunited and have since continued to be a dynamic force in the New World, greatly disrupting the balance of the Three Great Powers, which would eventually lead to their captain being recognized as one of the Four Emperors.

Jolly Roger
The Jolly Roger emblem is a cartoon-like depiction of traditional skull and crossbones, with the skull wearing Luffy's trademark straw hat. Due to Luffy's morbid drawing skills, Usopp was the one who drew the flag. In addition to being on their flag, the jolly roger has also been shown on the sails of the Going Merry and the Thousand Sunny.

Main Crew


The crew currently consists of ten members, being smaller than a typical pirate crew; when he first set sail, Luffy set a goal of gaining ten crewmates. They have one former member, Nefertari Vivi, who sailed with the crew from Reverse Mountain to the Arabasta Kingdom.

Despite their small size, the Straw Hats are an extremely diverse group possessing a large variety of backgrounds. Their members' origins range from ordinary islanders and workers to bounty hunters, royalty, criminal gang members, and veteran pirates; Jinbe was once part of the renowned Seven Warlords of the Sea while Robin was an active enemy of the crew at one point with Baroque Works. The crew consists of eight humans, one fish-man, and one animal with Devil Fruit-powered human intellect; of the humans, Sanji possesses superhuman modifications given to him at birth, Franky is a cyborg, and Brook possesses a skeleton body after being resurrected by a Devil Fruit power. They range in age from 17 (Chopper) to 90 (Brook); the median age of the crew is 21.

Sub-Groups
During their adventures, the crew members have often split into smaller groups to achieve multiple targets or tasks. Mostly, the group are divided by the common tasks of island exploring (often led by Luffy), ship guarding (often led by Zoro who wishes to nap or by Usopp who is afraid to disembark), and supply gathering (led by Sanji or Nami for food and finance). When encountering enemies, the crew would often fight individually against their rivals, but they sometimes fight in small groups like Usopp and Chopper in Arabasta or during the Davy Back fight.

They first started splitting into teams during the Skypiea Arc. After realizing that the lost city of Gold was on Upper Yard, they split the crew into the Escape Team (脱出組) consisting of Sanji, Nami and Usopp, as well as their patient Gan Fall, and the Search Team (探索組) which was made up of Luffy, Zoro, Chopper and Robin. The Exploration Team was assigned to find the city and steal the treasure before making it back to the ship, however they ended up getting split up after running into the giant python Nola. The Escape Team were meant to sail the ship to their rendezvous point at the coast, though Sanji and Usopp ended up getting ambushed by Enel, who stopped by to talk to Gan Fall. The ship eventually made it to the coast thanks to Conis and Pagaya, but Nami (along with Aisa who was picked up by the two) was chased away from the ship by Nola.

In the filler G-8 Arc, after the Straw Hats realized that their gold was taken after accidentally landing in Navarone Island, the crew split up into teams. Nami, who had used the waver to escape the ship earlier, was sent with Sanji to get it back as part of the Waver Retrieval Team (ウエイバー回収班). The rest of the crew (except for Chopper who was assigned to watch the ship) was sent to find the gold, as the Gold Retrieval Team (黄金奪還班) though this ended in failure, as it wasn't located where they thought it would be.

During the Dressrosa Arc, the crew temporarily split in half due to the Big Mom Pirates' unexpected attack on the Thousand Sunny, with one group staying to finish business on Dressrosa and the other heading on to Zou in order to protect Caesar Clown and Kozuki Momonosuke. The group heading to Zou (Sanji, Nami, Chopper, and Brook) was referred to as the Curly Hat Crew (ぐるわらの一味), named after Sanji, the de facto leader of the group. This same group forms the core of the Sanji Retrieval Team (サンジ奪還チーム) during the Whole Cake Island Arc, but with some personnel changes: Luffy has resumed leadership, Sanji was at Whole Cake Island, and the minks Pedro and Carrot accompanied them in their quest to "retrieve Sanji". During their mission, they were joined by Jinbe who would later officially join the Straw Hats.

Grand Fleet
At the end of the Dressrosa Arc, the crew becomes the leader of an alliance called the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, which involves seven groups who sided with Luffy in the conflict between himself and Doflamingo, becoming subordinate to the Straw Hats, while maintaining their status as individual crews with their own free will.

Cavendish, Bartolomeo, Sai, Ideo, Leo, Hajrudin, and Orlumbus asked to become Luffy's subordinates by offering him a cup of sake. Luffy refused but said they would still be bonded by their fight against Doflamingo and they would help each other out at any time. However, the captains decided to drink the sake anyway, pledging to come to Luffy's aid whenever he needed them, while Luffy was not obligated to do the same. The Straw Hat Grand Fleet, consisting of 5640 people, was then formed, and a party ensued as their fleet departed from Dressrosa.

Non-Canon Members
In the anime adaptation of the Long Ring Long Land Arc, the Straw Hats acquired 497 members of the Foxy Pirates, with the exception of 3 members who are Hamburg, Porche and Foxy. In the process, they confiscated the Sexy Foxy. However, they were all immediately kicked out by Luffy and left to pursue their old captain due to the Going Merry not being able to fit 497 extra members.

In the game, Legend of the Rainbow Island, Dias, a young boy, and Atoli, the Princess of Silver Arrow Island, join the crew. However, they leave the crew at the end of the game.

Territories
While the Straw Hat Pirates have not shown any interest in taking control of territories like the other big name crews, they have managed to become friends and allies with the leaders of several island nations.
 * Fish-Man Island's ruling royal family has shown interest in wanting to declare their island a territory of the Straw Hat Pirates and after news of their fight against Big Mom was made public, they decided to declare that their island was under the protection of the Straw Hat Pirates.
 * Luffy announced to Momonosuke that if anyone ever gave them any trouble, just show them his flag and let them know they’re picking a fight with the Straw Hats as well, implying that Luffy is declaring that Wano Country is now under his protection.

Crew Strength
The Straw Hat crew has left nothing but sheer miracles in its wake.

Despite having a small number of members, the Straw Hats are an extremely powerful crew with great potential, as stated by Kuzan when he first met them, eventually growing to the point of being capable of challenging and surpassing Warlord organizations like Baroque Works, the Thriller Bark Pirates, and the Donquixote Pirates, and later crews captained by the Four Emperors like the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates. As their captain Monkey D. Luffy is now an Emperor, this makes them one of the four most powerful pirate crews in the world. It should be noted that this accomplishment and level of strength and infamy has been achieved in just over 2 years from the start of their voyage.

The crew itself has done things which most would think impossible and were dubbed completely insane for even trying to, but have succeeded nearly every time. They have entered and attacked the most hostile territories without fear in order to accomplish their objectives; this includes invading World Government stronghold Enies Lobby and defeating their superhuman assassin force CP9, infiltrating Big Mom' territory of Totto Land and participating in an assassination attempt against her, and assaulting the Beasts Pirates' stronghold of Onigashima in the closed-off nation of Wano to defeat both Kaidou and his forces as well as Big Mom. In all of these expeditions, they did battle with military forces numbering in the tens of thousands as well as vast fleets including the Marines' Buster Call, an attack force designed to annihilate entire islands. Their campaigns against the Seven Warlords and Four Emperors have attracted the attention of the Five Elders who publicly rule the World Government and have caused them to be labeled as threats to the balance of the world; following their victory over Kaidou and Big Mom, they plunged the world into a level of chaos of very little to no precedent.

Good fortune has also played a role in the Straw Hats' successes up to this point, though said fortune is not always due to pure coincidence; on some occasions, the Straw Hats have been aided by the arrival of an unexpected connection, or they have unwittingly done things in the past that help them in the future. An example of the former was when the Warlord Bartholomew Kuma saved them from certain defeat on Sabaody by transporting them to different islands, while an example of the latter was when the Straw Hats unwittingly caused an explosive-laden Tamatebako to be sent to Big Mom; the chest would go on to explode while the Sanji retrieval team was surrounded by the Big Mom Pirates, thus enabling them to escape. Another example of inexplicable fortune occurring was when the Going Merry arrived at Enies Lobby, seemingly on its own, to help the Straw Hats escape the Marine Buster Call in its final voyage.

A testament to the crew's reputation across the world is that Demaro Black and the Fake Straw Hat Crew were able to successfully use the crew's name and image to accumulate a large number of powerful followers which included Super Rookies, and their actions instantly attracted the attention of the Marines. Upon realizing that the crew was composed of impostors, Sentomaru derided the strength of Black and his men in comparison to the Straw Hats, showing a level of respect for the crew despite his enmity with them.

One of the most prominent testaments to their strength is that they are the only known crew where every single member has a bounty on their head. The Straw Hats' combined bounties across their ten members amount to at least 4,661,000,100; proving how dangerous the World Government sees them.

Fighting Capabilities
Despite their small crew size, the Straw Hat members are all accomplished fighters to various degrees, each member possessing notable accomplishments and victories over infamously powerful opponents. They have fought against multiple armies numbering in the thousands and have typically dominated the grunt troopers of these armies, as shown in their battles on Enies Lobby (vs. 10,000 Marines), Fish-Man Island (vs. 100,000 New Fish-Man Pirates), and Onigashima (vs. 30,000 Beasts Pirates).



Three of the top fighters of the crew Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, are called the Monster Trio (怪物3人組) due to their immense strength, with Zoro and Sanji in particular being referred as the Pirates King's Wings (海賊王の両翼) to Luffy, showing their dynamic. The Monster Trio typically act as the vanguard against powerful enemies and protect the other crew members in dangerous situations. During major battles, they tend to fight the strongest enemies on the opponent's side.

Among the Monster Trio, Luffy has received individual distinction for his fighting capabilities and is generally recognized to be the crew's top fighting asset by himself, the Straw Hats, and those familiar with him. He has stated that his primary role in the crew, aside from being their leader, is to beat their opponents. On Enies Lobby while fighting Rob Lucci, the most powerful member of CP9, Luffy directly acknowledged that if he could not defeat Lucci, the assassin would kill the other members of his crew without issue. In instances where Luffy has been rendered unable to fight against the primary opponent, his comrades have stood up to face the threat with the mindset of buying time for Luffy to return, believing only he would be able to attain victory in the end. Luffy has been primarily responsible for defeating the captains of the crews, leaders of organizations or any other powerful opponent the Straw Hats fight, including the three Warlords (Crocodile, Gecko Moria, and Donquixote Doflamingo) they have beaten as well as Hody Jones, the captain of the New Fish-Man Pirates, the tyrant Enel of Skypiea, the infamous assassin Rob Lucci of CP9, Two of the Big Mom Pirates top officers, Sweet Commanders Charlotte Cracker and Charlotte Katakuri and the fierce Emperor of the Sea Kaidou. Zoro and Sanji, meanwhile, have generally fought the top subordinates of enemy captains and other opposing foes; Zoro has also defeated formidable opponents on the opposing side such as Daz Bonez, Kaku, and Pica; Sanji has too defeated very powerful, high-ranking officers of enemies such as Bon Clay and Jabra. These two have most recently defeated King and Queen, who are two of the Beasts Pirates' top executives known as the All-Stars.

Robin, Franky, Brook, and Jinbe have not been recognized as members of the strongest or weakest subgroups of the crew, with the four of them each demonstrating themselves to be powerful combatants capable of easily defeating groups of grunt fighters and challenging lower-ranking officers of enemy groups. Most recently, Robin, Franky, and Jinbe have singlehandedly defeated members of the Tobiroppo (Black Maria, Sasaki, and Who's-Who respectively) which are highly reputed officers of the Beasts Pirates who rank below only the All-Stars and Kaidou himself. Other notable feats performed by this group include Brook challenging Big Mom in single combat and, though falling, being recognized for putting up a determined fight, as well as Jinbe overpowering the Warlord Gecko Moria during the Summit War of Marineford. Some of these members have even defeated multiple officers and underlings of powerful like Senor Pink against Franky and Yama against Robin.



The lower three fighters, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper are called the Weakling Trio (弱少トリオ). By contrast to the the Monster Trio, the Weakling Trio are often the most hesitant to partake in combat and collectively voice their fear in the face of frightening places or foes, unless their hand is forced or they consider their enemies' actions or words unforgivable enough to want to take action. Despite this, they have often factored into the Straw Hats' greatest battles with enemy groups, with Nami having defeated Baroque Works officer agent Miss Doublefinger, CP9 agent Kalifa, and Tobiroppo Ulti (besting the former two singlehandedly), Usopp defeating the Thriller Bark Pirates Mysterious Four member Perona and Donquixote Pirates Special Officer Sugar, Chopper beating CP9 agent Kumadori, and Usopp and Chopper together beating officer agents Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas; Chopper has even taken on the All-Star Queen and managed to physically challenge him for a brief period.

All members of the Monster Trio possess Haki, with Luffy and Zoro possessing all three types and achieving advanced applications. Jinbe also possesses Busoshoku and Kenbunshoku Haki which he is quite proficient in, and despite his placement in the Weakling Trio, Usopp has awakened Kenbunshoku Haki which he has used to aid in his sniping.

Each time we've passed an island, we've gotten stronger. And each time he's been on an island, he's cheated death. No one who dies easily would still be with us!!

The Straw Hats' growth in strength throughout their journey has often been marked by their constant innovation of their abilities and tools as they develop new techniques to better challenge the steadily stronger opponents they meet. Four members of the crew possess Devil Fruit abilities: Luffy, Chopper, Robin, and Brook. Luffy has awakened his fruit and has used its alteration of his body in a massive variety of creative ways to adopt new forms which increase his power and fighting capabilities. Chopper has used his scientific intellect to go beyond the standard three forms of a Zoan user, shifting his body into numerous different fighting forms. Robin and Brook have both demonstrated significant advanced development of their Paramecia abilities, with Brook discovering methods of using his fruit in battle when it was previously thought to have no fighting capabilities. Nami, Usopp, and Franky, who use special weapons and machinery in combat, have constantly upgraded their tools in order to unleash more powerful, effective, and creative techniques.

Specializations and Teamwork
I'll do whatever you cannot do. And you do whatever I cannot do!!!

Another notable feature of the Straw Hats is that each of their members possesses a specific and unique position in the crew which maximizes their talents, and each member has been recognized for having a significant level of competency in their role.
 * Luffy, the captain, has been highly regarded for his leadership by numerous people not in the crew, as evidenced by the massive number of allies and pledges of servitude he has unwillingly attracted.
 * Zoro, the combatant, has almost never lost a fight with the crew and has commanded great respect and fear for his fighting skills even before joining; his combat skills have evoked the image of a pirate captain to some onlookers.
 * Nami, the navigator, possesses advanced knowledge in geographic science which has aided in her navigation and cartography work; her cartography skills were coveted by the infamous pirate Arlong even going back to her childhood.
 * Usopp, the sniper, has consistently demonstrated remarkable sharpshooting skill since the beginning, to the point of pulling off nearly physically impossible feats.
 * Sanji, the cook, has a vast culinary knowledge and repertoire; he currently knows how to prepare the okama Attack Cuisine and was able to lead a team in making a wedding cake in just hours (when it took days previously) that its consumer, Big Mom, enjoyed in a way she has never done for a wedding cake before.
 * Chopper, the doctor, is well-versed in treating a litany of injuries and illnesses; one of his most notable accomplishments was developing a cure for the devastating man-made virus Ice Oni in less than an hour's time.
 * Robin, the archaeologist, possesses the extremely rare knowledge of how to read the Poneglyphs, a skill vital to reaching Laugh Tale.
 * Franky, the shipwright, constructed the Straw Hats' current ship the Thousand Sunny which has traversed extremely treacherous waters while sustaining little damage overall. He also possesses highly advanced technology developed by the world's greatest scientist Vegapunk, which he has been able to develop and use to suit his interests.
 * Brook, the musician, has demonstrated the ability to weaponize his music during combat situations, in addition to its entertainment value which led to him becoming a worldwide celebrity during the timeskip.
 * Jinbe, the helmsman, was noted during the Straw Hats' escape from Totto Land to "know all there is to know" about the ocean's waves and currents, which he utilized to outpace the Big Mom Pirates' fleet and frustrate them.

The Straw Hats are very familiar with what strengths each of their crewmates possess, and have been consistently willing to defer situations to the person most well-suited for them without issue, or intervene with issues involving a crewmate they know is not suited for them. This intimate familiarity with each other's abilities has made the Straw Hats able to achieve great results when teaming up in combat, including performing effective tag-team attacks as well as instances of one member using their abilities to weaken an opponent and thus aid another member in attacking them. A notable example of successful teamwork occurred when Nami, Chopper, Brook, and Jinbe were able to put together an effective counterattack against Big Mom herself when she attacked the Sunny, keeping the Emperor at bay for a considerable period of time despite the vast difference in power between the two sides.

Allies and Subordinates
The Straw Hats have formed numerous alliances, both official and unofficial, across the world in nearly every location they have visited, giving them a vast network spanning just about all of the world's organizations and social classes. These allies range from other infamous pirates, to citizens, and even to royalty and other influential government members; they have even managed to win the favor of Marine soldiers, although such collaborations have typically been limited and temporary. Luffy is considered to be the primary factor in their accumulation of allies, being noted by onlookers to have a unique gift for turning just about anyone he meets into an ally. These allies have assisted the Straw Hats in the majority of their large-scale battles, namely in Enies Lobby, Punk Hazard, Dressrosa, Whole Cake Island, and Wano Country.

Out of admiration for Luffy's actions and leadership during the Dressrosa conflict, seven groups which fought alongside the Straw Hats decided to serve under them, forming the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. This fleet consists of 5640 total members across the seven crews, with most of the crews being led by infamous rising New World pirates who defeated officers of the Donquixote Pirates in single combat. The crews are also diverse, containing giants, dwarves, longarms, and longlegs in their ranks.

What has made the Straw Hats' current command over subordinates and territory special is that they have never actively sought to obtain them, as noted by the circumstances of Fish-Man Island becoming their territory. In fact, Luffy actively rejected the Straw Hat Grand Fleet's request to serve under him, as he believes that having subordinates would restrict his freedom. In spite of this rejection, the Grand Fleet's admiration of him was so great that they declared their allegiance to Luffy anyways, being willing to serve him whenever he should call on them.

Weaknesses
Though they have performed numerous unlikely feats, the Straw Hats are not invincible and have not always come out victorious in the battles they instigate. The crew splits up very frequently during their expeditions, which causes their already small numbers to be stretched even thinner and leaves them more vulnerable to concentrated enemy attacks. Given the disparity in strength amongst their members, this may result in weaker members ending up in one-on-one mismatches with members of more balanced enemy groups. Additionally, their small size has resulted in them being vulnerable against enemy reinforcements following victories against their initial foes, which tend to leave them weakened. The Straw Hats' worst defeat came on the Sabaody Archipelago, where they were left almost completely spent after defeating a single Pacifista, only to be confronted by more Pacifistas, Sentomaru, and Marine Admiral Kizaru. It was this total defeat that ultimately led them decide to train for two years to become stronger, and they have generally done well at recognizing the need to progress their abilities for coming conflicts which has allowed them to remain active and grow in power despite the extremely dangerous situations they get into.

The majority of the Straw Hats, particularly Luffy, tend to be very trusting and sometimes gullible which has led to them being trapped on occasion. One such instance came on Whisky Peak, where they were very nearly captured by Baroque Works after unquestioningly accepting their hospitality; only Zoro taking measures to catch this trap saved the rest of the crew.

Bounties
We'd never have tried anything here... if you hadn't attacked us first!!

Though they are pirates in name, the Straw Hat Pirates do not engage in the stereotypical activities of pirates. They are all kindhearted for the most part and only fight in self-defense or vengeance for their friends. In fact, before the Enies Lobby Arc, when CP9 initiated the conflict by blackmailing Nico Robin and detaining her, the Straw Hats mostly fought only other pirates (except for Luffy and Zoro, who took down the dreaded Axe Hand Morgan and several of his unwilling subordinates, Sanji, who beat up Fullbody and possibly some other unfortunate Marines before becoming an official Straw Hat, and Jinbe, who had numerous skirmishes during his time as a member of the Sun Pirates). It seems they were considered dangerous to the World Government and given bounties simply because they called themselves pirates.

They are considered villains by the World Government and the general public who are not familiar with them, making this is a hassle for them at times. Like most other pirates, the majority of the Straw Hats see their bounties as a form of achievement, a sign of how much fame and recognition their actions have produced. Nami notes that, as pirates, they are used to taking the blame and being portrayed as the villains. Their current bounties now total up to 4,661,000,100.

Relationships Amongst the Crew
Don't you dare insult my captain in front of me. He would never think about betraying us! No matter how much easier it would make things! (...) But no matter what he has to do...what hardships he has to overcome...he puts his absolute faith in us...and we reciprocate in kind! So we gladly risk our lives, since he does the same without a second thought!



Each member of the crew values their friendships very highly. Despite their usual comic annoyance with each other from time to time, they very much love being together as well as being a member of the crew. So much so, that they tend to forget their worries and burdens, as shown with Nami, Robin, Franky, and Brook.

One of the major themes of the series is how committed they are to each other, to the point where they are willing to give up what is important to them, such as their lives, and even their dreams, for one of their crew members. If one single member is hurt by an outside force (physically or emotionally), the other members will become enraged and take drastic action to avenge their friends. Previously, they have gone as far as to take on an entire organization, make enemies with the World Government, and even attack the World Nobles.

Examples of their camaraderie include: During their fight with Bartholomew Kuma, Sanji, Zoro, and Brook threw themselves in front of their friends to keep Kuma from getting to them. After Luffy was overwhelmed with grief over Ace's death, not only was he able to overcome his pain by remembering that he still had his crew, but the others struggled to return to him for support when they realized how hurt Luffy would be. Upon receiving his message to wait two years, they all reminisced on how Luffy changed their lives for the better and resolved to use that time to hone their skills in order to be more useful to him and protect each other better from any danger.

If any of them encounter a person that the crew dislikes either because of a past event or simply because that member is against what that person is doing, then the rest of the crew will hold a deep grudge against that person and will express the desire to attack them and will not show them any mercy. When Vivi (despite not being a crew member) showed her hatred of Crocodile, the rest of the crew, especially Luffy, all had the intention of taking him down without even knowing him. When Brook told the Straw Hats of how Moria stole his shadow, Luffy immediately asked where he was so he could get Brook's shadow back despite just meeting the skeleton, while the others were all behind him.

A common trait shared among the crew is that they all enjoy beating up their enemies and refuse to show mercy no matter how much they apologize. This trait seems to be the strongest for Luffy. Even after beating up the person, they despise, they still hold a very deep grudge against them and refuse to show any empathy or kindness towards them, even if they claim to have changed or if they have tried to do anything to make up for what they have done. The most notable example of this is how every member of the Straw Hats show a very deep hate-filled grudge against Caesar for what he did back at Punk Hazard and even after Luffy defeated him, they all still abused him by punching, kicking, and yelling at him for as so much as talking back at them, showing how merciless the crew can be. A notable exception to this is Bentham, a major antagonist of the Arabasta Arc who battles against Sanji. After fleeing from Arabasta, he steals Going Merry, only to tell the Straw Hats he was keeping it safe from the Marines. He later acts as a decoy so the Straw Hats can escape from the Marines after being moved by their wish to see their friend Vivi again. Later in Impel Down, Luffy meets up with Bentham and their friendship reaches new heights, with Bentham screaming for three days straight to support Luffy's recovery, before again staying behind to open the gates so Luffy and the other prisoners can escape.

However, there have also been occasions when the Straw Hats argue amongst themselves for various reasons. Most prominently, such confrontations take place between Zoro and Sanji (mainly caused by their frequent dislike towards various aspects of one another), and are relatively comic in nature. However, there have also been occasions when other crew members have experienced major conflicts between each other, which have been known to end in tragedy and heartbreak. One notable example is Usopp's fury at Luffy opting to abandon the Going Merry in favor of another ship at Water 7. As a result, Usopp seemingly left the crew, heartbroken and angry at Luffy's apparent disregard for Merry. However, these conflicts, though indeterminate in length, rarely ever last - Usopp nonetheless accompanied the crew in his guise as Sogeking, before formally rejoining them as they set off on their new ship, the Thousand Sunny. In addition to this, the likes of Sanji and Zoro will often put aside their rivalry to accomplish a common goal, though this ranges from their having a mutual enemy to outright competing against each other.

As such, the Straw Hats are a group that works towards their personal morals and convictions, with each member of the crew being ready and willing to help out the other, often putting aside all misgivings. For example, when Nami and Chopper both expressed their wish to help out the kidnapped children on Punk Hazard, and the poison gas victims on Zou, though the others did warn them of potential troubles that may occur if they do so, they unhesitatingly helped them regardless. However, if one crew member acted out against the wishes of the rest, the others will do everything in their power to steer them back towards themselves, just like how they went out of their way to rescue Robin, after she attempted to sacrifice herself for the Straw Hats without their consent in the Water 7 Saga.

Dreams
Each member of the Straw Hats has a dream they want to achieve. These dreams are their reasons for joining Luffy's crew, and essentially the driving force behind their lives. Each crew member's dream was inspired by tragedies (often deaths) in their childhoods that involved at least one person they idolized and cared for deeply.

Some, like Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, Franky, and Jinbe are fulfilling their dreams by accumulating knowledge and/or achieving a certain task while sailing the Grand Line. Others, like Luffy, Sanji, Robin, and Brook are searching for a person, place or thing that can only be found on the Grand Line.

Whatever the reason, each of the Straw Hat's dreams involves traveling the Grand Line, and each Straw Hat member refuses to die before achieving their dreams. However, their determination does not extend to sacrificing or abandoning their comrades for the fulfillment of their dreams.

Members' Dreams

 * Luffy's dream is to become the Pirate King and gather his own pirate crew to back him up. To become the Pirate King, he must find Gold Roger's famed treasure, One Piece, which is implied to be on Laugh Tale. As for a crew, he has brought together nine people so far who have caught his attention. Luffy is also looking to meet up with Red Haired Shanks again and return his straw hat to him, but will only do this after his crew has surpassed Shanks' crew in strength.


 * Zoro's dream, shared with Kuina, is to become the world's greatest swordsman. To fulfill this dream, he must surpass every swordsman in the world, including the world's current greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk. Zoro nearly gave up his dream in an attempt to convince the Warlord of the Sea, Bartholomew Kuma to refrain from killing Luffy despite that the first time they met Zoro threatened to kill Luffy if he got in the way of his dream, proving his loyalty towards his captain as well as the rest of the crew, as he believes that he cannot be the world's strongest swordsman if he cannot protect his captain's dream (Luffy, likewise, believes that the Pirate King should have the best swordsman on his side).


 * Nami's dream is to draw a map of the entire world. She has already mapped all the areas that she has traveled, and it can be assumed that she will create a world map once the story is over. Also at the beginning of the story, she was also trying to get 100,000,000 in order to buy and save her hometown, Cocoyasi Village, from the clutches of the Fish-Man pirate Arlong; while her savings were confiscated after stealing 93,000,000, in the process of stealing from pirates, she met Luffy, who defeated Arlong and freed the village.


 * Usopp's dream is to become a brave warrior of the sea like his father, Yasopp. Although he implies that he has accomplished this dream (before he leaves the crew), but eventually realizes on his confrontation with Luffy that he has yet to achieve it, Usopp has a second dream. After the Little Garden Arc he hopes to visit Elbaf and see the warrior giants he idolizes, and during the Post-War Arc Usopp develops yet another dream, to be the true Sniper King, after he got Luffy's message to get stronger in two years.


 * Sanji's dream, shared with Zeff, is to find the All Blue, a legendary ocean. It is assumed to be in the Grand Line, a place where all waters from all over the four seas gather, bringing fish from all over the globe. During the early-Arlong Arc, Sanji had stated that he wanted to visit Fish-Man Island someday to see a Mermaid, which has been fulfilled; sure enough, the chef broke down crying upon seeing all the mermaids and implied that meeting the mermaids was on an equivalent level to finding the All-Blue. He also wished to consume the Suke Suke no Mi but unfortunately for him, Absalom destroyed that dream as he had already eaten it. However, upon seeing Absalom's detestable actions, Sanji changed his mind about his desire to consume it. Ironically, because of his recently acquired Raid Suit and its power of invisibility, Sanji's childhood dream of turning invisible has been restored and fulfilled through the Germa technology he hated. Sanji nearly gave up on his dream of locating All Blue when he prioritized protecting Zeff from the death threats of his father and the Big Mom Pirates.


 * Vivi's dream was to save her home country, the kingdom of Arabasta, from the coup planned by then Warlord of the Sea, Crocodile and his secret organization, Baroque Works. After her cover as a member of the group was revealed, she enlisted the Straw Hats' help, initially as a business arrangement, though it later became a matter of friendship. After the crew stopped Crocodile's plan and her dream achieved, she decided to stay behind to rebuild her home and repair the damage caused by Baroque Works, both physical and social.


 * Chopper's dream is to become a great doctor that can cure any disease, much like his father figure Dr. Hiriluk's ambition, as well as to travel across the world, exploring with his friends, and expanding his horizons.


 * Robin's dream is to find the Rio Poneglyph which tells the True History of the One Piece world including the Void Century, continuing the research of her mother Nico Olvia and her old mentor Clover. Robin had an opportunity to learn about the Void Century after talking to Silvers Rayleigh, but decided to continue her journey. Recently, she learned about the Road Poneglyphs, which point to Laugh Tale and the Rio Poneglyph.


 * The Going Merry's dream as the crew's ship was to sail with the Straw Hats forever which it revealed to the crew upon its demise. Due to its destruction, the Going Merry's dream appeared to go unfulfilled. However, Merry's spirit inhabits the Straw Hats' new ship, the Thousand Sunny, and therefore its dream can live on through it.


 * Franky's dream is to create and travel on a dream ship which would experience countless battles, can overcome extreme hardships and can reach the end of the Grand Line. He has created the ship which the Straw Hats are riding and it's his task to keep it in good condition. Previously, one of his dreams was to beat Spandam to pieces. Fortunately, this was fulfilled toward the end of the Enies Lobby Arc.


 * Brook's dream is to return to Laboon, whom his former crew, the Rumbar Pirates, had left behind at Reverse Mountain for his safety, with the promise to return after crossing the Grand Line. He wishes to fulfill that promise to Laboon, as well as that of his former crew-mates, who died at their journey, to deliver their final song recorded in a tone dial before their death.


 * Jinbe's dream, which he inherited from his former captain, Fisher Tiger, is the coexistence of humans and the undersea dwellers. He initially resigned from Neptune's Royal Guards to join Tiger in his quest for equality, and then allied himself with the World Government by becoming a Warlord of the Sea, and with two Emperors (Edward Newgate and Charlotte Linlin) in order to protect the citizens of Fish-Man Island from being attacked. However, as stated by the Sun Pirates, those actions were mostly for the benefit of others, as they encouraged him to follow his new desire to help Luffy become the next Pirate King.

The X Mark


The X Mark is something the first seven Straw Hats (Luffy to Chopper), as well as Karoo, had on their left forearms.

During the Arabasta Arc, they had to face a very tricky opponent, Mr. 2, with his Devil Fruit Power, which can make him look like any one of them. Zoro came up with an idea to counteract this power.

They made a black X mark on their left arms, as a symbol of their belonging to the Straw Hats. To prevent this being copied by Mr. 2, it was covered by a bandage and only revealed as proof of identity. The intention being that the band appeared to be proof, but in fact, concealed the true sign. Luffy then stated that the X mark was a symbol of their friendship.

The X mark came into play three times in Arabasta:
 * 1) When Karoo reached Alubarna to deliver a message to Vivi's father, Nefertari Cobra, Chaka noticed his bandage and, thinking Karoo was wounded, tried to examine it. Karoo promptly slapped his hand away.
 * 2) When Vivi is heading toward Alubarna, the capital city of the Arabasta Kingdom, she met Usopp but she was not sure if he was him or not. As she asked him to show their recognizing symbol, he showed the bandage, but without uncovering the X mark. Vivi understood that he was Mr. 2 disguised as Usopp and ran away.
 * 3) When the Straw Hats were leaving Arabasta, they could not say goodbye to Vivi in a proper way, to avoid the princess being recognized by the marines as their crewmate. So, they stand with their backs facing Vivi, raising their left hands and showing their X mark. Vivi and Karoo replied in the same way too, as a symbol of their unbreakable friendship.