Monkey D. Luffy/History/Paradise

Reverse Mountain Arc
Nami navigated the Straw Hats up the Reverse Mountain where the four ocean currents converge creating an upward draft. They came to an unexpected surprise, which was a gigantic whale in their way. Fortunately, Luffy was able to slow down the Going Merry before it could hit the whale by firing a cannon. However in the process, Luffy's favorite seat, the Going Merry's figurehead, was broken. Angered by this, Luffy punched the whale's eye to the shock of the rest of Luffy's crew. In response to Luffy's attack, the whale swallowed the Going Merry. Fortunately, Luffy was able to grab the whale's tooth and jump on to its back before it could swallow him along with his ship and crew. As Luffy desperately tried to persuade the whale to spit out his ship and crew, Luffy found a hatch on the whale's back leading into the very whale itself.

Unable to do anything else from the outside, Luffy entered the whale through the hatch. While inside the whale, Luffy accidentally bumped into two strangely dressed people and into the whale's stomach as the whale began thrashing at the Red Line. Within the whale's stomach, Luffy was reunited with his crew and witnessed a scene between the two people he bumped into earlier and an old man living in the whale. From the scene, Luffy learned that the duo, Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9, were planning to kill the whale for food and not even allow the old man, Crocus, to stand in their way. Seeing this and Crocus' attempts to save the whale, Luffy took out the two trouble makers. For doing this, Luffy and his crew were led out of the whale by Crocus.



As Luffy's crew and ship were led out through a canal in the whale and outside to a nearby cape, Luffy and his crew were told about Laboon's tale. From it, Luffy learned that Laboon had been waiting for over fifty years for some pirate friends of his who left him behind in the cape to journey the Grand Line. Luffy also learned that after Laboon heard in disbelief that the pirates might have abandon him, the whale was ramming the mountain itself in a futile attempt to reunite with them. Seeing Laboon's loyalty, Luffy decided to ease the lonely whale's pain, by ramming the Going Merry's mast into an open wound. Having caught the whale's attention, Luffy and the whale began to battle. However, in the middle of it, Luffy told Laboon that they would have to put the fight on hold since he was planning to travel the Grand Line. With this statement, Luffy touched Laboon's feelings and the whale agreed. Having given hope once again to Laboon, Luffy painted a crudely drawn painting of his Jolly Roger on Laboon's scars as a symbol of their pact to meet once again.

After rekindling Laboon's hopes once again, Luffy and the rest of his crew suddenly realized that their compass was not working. With that matter at hand, Luffy and the rest were then taught by Crocus about how the Grand Line works and how they needed a special compass called a Log Pose. Having discovered one of these compasses earlier after beating the two people earlier, Luffy presented it to Nami but unfortunately broke while in a small scuffle with Sanji. Fortunately, Crocus had an extra one for Luffy and his crew to use. In the midst of what was happening, Luffy and his crew also encountered again the two people who tried to kill Laboon. Learning that these two needed to report back to the company they were working for, Luffy and the rest were requested by them to give them a ride back to their island of Whisky Peak. Though a bit suspicious, they learned that Whisky Peak is on one of the paths that the Straw Hats needed to follow to travel the Grand Line anyway. Thus, Luffy and his crew took the two aboard and sailed towards Whisky Peak, leaving Laboon with the promise of returning once again.

Whisky Peak Arc
Upon arriving in Whisky Peak, Luffy and his crew were caught by surprise. Though the two people that they took aboard left before they could land, Luffy and his crew were welcomed graciously by the townspeople of Whisky Peak. There, Luffy and his crew were treated as gods with a grand party. Luffy even ate more than the cooks could put out. Eventually, Luffy passed out from all the excitement of such a celebratory day. However when he awoke later that night, Luffy came to a shocking sight. Scattered everywhere before Luffy were the beaten up bodies of the townspeople that served him and his crew.



Upon learning from one of them that they were defeated by Zoro, Luffy thought that Zoro attacked them as an act of ungratefulness. Confronting Zoro, Luffy and his first crewmate collided into a battle that apparently nothing could deter them from. The two were so immersed in their battle against one another that they completely ignored and defeated two other people in same scene, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, who were apparently distracting them for some reason. It was only when Nami stepped in and interrupted their fight that the two calmed down to listen to reason.

Luffy then learned everything that happened while he was asleep. He also learned that one of the two strangely dressed people that tried to kill Laboon before, Miss Wednesday, was actually Princess Nefertari Vivi of the kingdom of Arabasta in disguise. From her, Luffy learned that she, her pet duck Karoo, and loyal retainer Igaram had infiltrated a secret criminal organization known as Baroque Works in order to learn the organization's reasons for meddling in their country's affairs. Also from Vivi, Luffy and his crew not only learned of Baroque Works' scheme to take over Arabasta but also that the criminal organization was led by none other than one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile. Having gotten involved in all this, Luffy and his crew decided to help Vivi by taking her and Karoo to Arabasta while Igaram distracted Baroque Works with a disguise. However, in the midst of this plan, Luffy and the rest witnessed Igaram's ship engulfed in an explosion. Miss All Sunday, Crocodile's partner and vice president of Baroque Works, suddenly announced herself as she sat on the Going Merry's sails. Fortunately, apart from some tense formalities between them and her, Luffy and his crew did not have to fight her as she let them go for her own reasons. Luffy and his crew were also warned by her of their next destination and even offered them an alternate route. Luffy declined her offer despite protests from the rest of his crew.

Having survived from the ordeals of Whisky Peak and gaining a mission to help a princess, Luffy and his crew sailed away from Whisky Peak to their next destination, Little Garden.

Little Garden Arc


Luffy and his crew eventually arrived at Little Garden. The jungle island fascinated Luffy, not only because of the adventure it could provide, but also because it contained all sorts of prehistoric animals, which ranged from saber-toothed tigers to dinosaurs. Luffy decided to venture out from their ship and explore. Vivi and Karoo decided to travel with Luffy to escape her boredom. Luffy learned that the reason the island was like this was due to the Grand Line's unique environmental conditions. The islands within in develop much more differently than they normally would, and the very island they were on was still in the dinosaur era. As Luffy ventured around the island with Vivi and Karoo, the three soon discovered something much larger than the dinosaurs on the island. In the midst of Luffy messing around with a Brontosaurus, the other members of the crew met a giant.

Meeting Dorry, Luffy and his companions were invited over to the giant's place. There, Luffy was treated to some dinosaur meat and got acquainted with Dorry. From the giant, Luffy learned that he was staying on Little Garden in order to settle an argument with another fellow giant, Brogy, in battle. As the matter was being discussed, the island's volcano erupted, signaling the next match between the giants. With it, Luffy witnessed a titanic clash between two giant warriors that awed him. Eventually, the match ended in a draw and Luffy continued talking with Dorry. Learning further about Little Garden's magnetic field from Dorry, Luffy also learned about two of his crew staying with Brogy. Just as things seemed going well at the moment, something suddenly shocked Luffy and those with him. A barrel of sake that Dorry was drinking exploded. Since the sake was taken from Luffy's ship and given to Dorry by Brogy, Luffy and his crew were suspected of sabotaging the barrel. With this, Luffy and Dorry got into a fight. Fortunately, Luffy was able to knock Dorry down. However, with this sudden turn of events, Luffy started to suspect that his crew were not the only ones on the island as neither they nor Brogy would do such a thing. Before Luffy and those with him could do anything else, the volcano erupted again and Dorry got back up.

With the next match being signaled and knowing that the giants' fight was tainted by someone else, Luffy tried to convince Dorry not to go. However, Luffy's words did not reach Dorry's ears due to the giant's pride and Luffy was pinned down by Dorry with the giant's home. Unable to get out of this predicament to help Dorry, Luffy suddenly encountered Usopp, who had wandered into Dorry's home. Reunited with his crewmate, Luffy and Vivi recounted what had just happened and were likewise filled in by Usopp. As Luffy and his companions were figuring out what to do next, they heard the awful scream of Dorry being defeated by Brogy due to the tainted fight. Angered even more by this, Luffy was filled with more determination to find out who dishonored the giants' fight. Fortunately, Luffy did not have to wait long to find out who it was, as two of the perpetrators of the crime, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, suddenly came before Luffy and his companions, bringing a beaten up Karoo, who had separated from Luffy and Vivi at an earlier time. Because of his current predicament, Luffy was unable to aid his companions and was hit by an explosive kick caused by Mr. 5's Bomu Bomu no Mi powers. Unable to protect Vivi from these Baroque Works agents, Luffy and the other two with him were left for dead.



As Luffy and the two with him were lying, they decided to get revenge for the atrocity caused by the Baroque Works agents. They eventually got back on their feet and charged immediately to where the Baroque Works agents were holding their friends.

Luffy and company arrived and found that their friends were being made into wax statues by Mr. 3's Doru Doru no Mi powers. Luffy engaged in a battle with the artist while his comrades battled with the rest of the agents. Despite some complications from Mr. 3 and his partner, Miss Goldenweek, Luffy was able to free his captured friends with a little help from Usopp.



After finishing off Mr. 3, Luffy rejoined the rest of his crew to the marvelous relief. Due to the giants' weapons being worn out from one hundred years worth of fighting, Dorry was actually okay and had instead passed out from the wound inflicted. With everything done, Luffy and the rest went back to Dorry's place to treat his wounds. As Luffy and everyone were resting from the ordeal and wondering how to deal with the island's magnetic field, they were rejoined by Sanji, who brought with him some great news. From Sanji, Luffy and the rest learned that not only did Sanji trick Crocodile into thinking they were all dead by pretending to be Mr. 3 via a Den Den Mushi call, but the cook also brought with him the solution to their current problem, an Eternal Pose to Arabasta. With the Eternal Pose, Luffy and crew bid their farewells to the giants and set off.

As Luffy and crew sailed off from Little Garden, they were provided by the giants with an act of gratitude. With help from the giants' strength, Luffy and crew were able to pass through a giant goldfish and sail on.

Drum Island Arc


After Nami suddenly came down with a terrible sickness, the crew decided to alter their course from Arabasta and instead look for a nearby island to have Nami treated by a doctor. The crew was suddenly attacked by Wapol, who demanded their log pose. The crew fought back and Luffy knocked him off the ship so they could continue forward as Wapol's crew cursed them and warned them that they would get their revenge. The crew eventually arrived at a snow-covered land called Drum Island, which was renowned for their advances in medicine. There, the current inhabitants tried to scare away the crew until Vivi lowered her head with Luffy in humility. The "leader" of the islanders, Dalton, told the villagers to take the crew to the nearest town while Zoro and Karoo stayed behind on the Going Merry. At the village, Dalton told the crew about the "witch" of the island, Dr. Kureha, who was the only doctor left on the island. To make matters worse, there was no way to contact her as she lived on top of the mountain in the castle previously occupied by King Wapol. Hearing this, Luffy and Sanji decided to carry Nami up the mountain to the castle.



On the way up, Sanji, Luffy, and Nami ran into some Lapahn, which are man-eating rabbits. Sanji fought off the Lapahns as Luffy, while carrying Nami, could not attack or be hit at the risk of Nami being injured as well. Later, the Lapahns caused an avalanche, forcing Luffy and Sanji to escape downhill. Unfortunately, the group was about to run into a sharp and rocky cliff when Sanji rescued them by kicking them out of the way, but Sanji was knocked unconscious in the process. Luffy, now carrying Nami and Sanji, later saved a buried Lapahn. Soon, Wapol caught up to Luffy and attacked him after Luffy showed his back to them. Unable to attack, Luffy tried to flee. However, Chess and Kuromarimo caught up and were about to strike Luffy. At that moment, a large group Lapahns saved him in repayment for Luffy saving one of them earlier.



When Luffy climbed the mountain and reached the top, he nearly fell and was rescued by Chopper, who then took the three pirates to Dr. Kureha. Later, Luffy and Sanji awakened and saw Chopper for the first time. They tried to cook and eat Chopper, until he turned into a giant form and smashed them down, which greatly impressed Luffy. The Straw Hat captain asked Dr. Kureha to join his crew, but she declined.

Finally, Wapol arrived at the castle and began arguing with Dr. Kureha when Luffy suddenly punched him hard. Wapol then retaliated by using his Baku Baku no Mi powers to turn into a house with cannons and fused Chess and Kuromarimo into Chessmarimo. Wapol then shot Dr. Hiriluk's flag, a symbol that Chopper highly values. Wapol fired once again, but Luffy protected the flag. Eventually, the fight began and Chopper started battling Chessmarimo while Luffy fought Wapol. However, Luffy was distracted by Chopper's fight (because of Chopper's ability to transform into several different forms thanks to the Rumble Ball), letting Wapol escape into the castle.



After Chopper won, Luffy went into the castle and kicked a now thin Wapol, who was harassing Nami. Wapol decided to open the weapons room and eat the weapons, but Nami had stolen the key. Wapol was chased up to the top of the castle, where he tried to attack using his special cannon, but it failed due to the snow birds living in there. Wapol then tried to eat Luffy but was stopped so Wapol turned his tongue into a cannon for one final attack, but Luffy dodged it and sent him flying, causing Wapol to get stuck in the roof. Luffy then, ignoring Wapol's pleas for mercy and empty promises, sent him flying far away.

The Straw Hats regrouped at the summit and Dalton thanked Luffy and Chopper. After some persuasion, Chopper decided to go with Luffy and his crew with Dr. Kureha's blessing. As the Straw Hats left, Dr. Kureha initiated Hiriluk's finished research, a powder that makes pink colored snow fall. The Straw Hats formally welcomed Chopper to the crew and continued on to their planned destination, Arabasta.

An Okama, a Brother, and a Desert Crossing


With Chopper on board, Luffy and his crew journeyed onward to Arabasta with Vivi and Karoo. A few days later, while fishing with Usopp and Karoo, Luffy and crew picked up something strange as they passed through the sulfuric steam of an undersea volcano. The thing they accidentally picked up was an okama known as Mr. 2 Bon Kurei. Having passed the steam at the same time Mr. 2's ship was passing through, Luffy and his fellow fishermen accidentally hooked the Baroque Works agent.

Not initially knowing who this person was, Luffy and some of his crew immediately became friends with this flamboyant man as he put on a show for them with his Mane Mane no Mi. It was not until Mr. 2's crew came to pick him up that Luffy and his crew realized that he was an enemy. Fortunately, since Mr. 2 did not likewise know who they were, Luffy and his crew were spared at the time. However, since they were fortunate to meet such an opponent ahead of time, Luffy and his crew decided to take measures to protect themselves from his powers. Taking advice from Zoro, the crew wrapped bandages covering an X on their left wrists. This was so they could tell whether the person before them was the okama in disguise or not.



Upon arriving at the port of Nanohana in Arabasta, Luffy immediately ran off ahead of his crew in search in food. Not caring for the recklessness of his actions, his search for food led him to a restaurant. In his haste to get to the restaurant, Luffy accidentally slammed two men straight through the back of the restaurant and through several houses. To his surprise, one of the men he knocked into was Smoker. Recognizing the Marine, Luffy instantly ran away and was soon being chased by Smoker and his Marines all over the town. In the midst of the commotion, Luffy was saved by the other man he knocked over, his brother Ace.

Regrouping with his crew back on the Going Merry, Luffy explained things to them about Ace. As Luffy was talking, Ace appeared and momentarily asked Luffy and the other Straw Hats to join the crew he was under, the Whitebeard Pirates. Though Luffy bluntly refused the offer and even stated that he would fight against Ace's captain, Edward Newgate, for the position of Pirate King, the brothers parted ways on friendly terms. Before sailing off, Ace gave Luffy a strange piece of paper so that they could meet again. Ace also aided Luffy by obliterating some Baroque Works Billions and their ships.

After sailing across the Sandora River and reaching the other side, Luffy and his crew began their journey to Yuba where Vivi hoped to persuade the rebel leader, Koza, and his troops there to stop the senseless violence. Upon landing, there was a little incident where Luffy defeated and acquired 100 Kung-Fu Dugong apprentices. Though he could not bring such a large group along with him, he had formed an everlasting deep bond with the creatures. As Luffy and his crew were further explained by Vivi about the Dugongs, they passed through the once green town of Erumalu and were further enlightened regarding the problems and conspiracies facing Arabasta.

After traversing across the huge desert of Arabasta and acquiring a new companion, Matsuge the camel, Luffy and his fellow travelers reached Yuba. There, they discovered that the town was plagued by sandstorms and deserted except for one old man. This old man, Toto, was an old acquaintance of Vivi, and from him, Luffy and the others learned that the rebels had moved due to the drought and sandstorms in Yuba. Though Toto was initially hostile to Luffy's group thinking that they were people wanting to join the rebellion, he changed his attitude towards them once he recognized Vivi and offered them shelter for the night.

As the rest took up Toto's offer, Luffy decided to help Toto in his desperate search for water to restore the oasis of Yuba. Though slightly incapable of digging and falling asleep midway in digging, Luffy's efforts had helped Toto dig up some water. The next day as Luffy and the others prepared to travel to the rebel's new base, Luffy was given some of the water he dug up as a present from Toto. With this, Luffy and the others departed Yuba. Just as they were beginning their journey to Katorea, the rebel's new base, Luffy did something that surprised the rest of them. He announced to all of them that he quit.

As Luffy's comrades asked him to stop with this seemingly childish act, he told them his reasons. He explained that even if they stopped the rebels, that would not stop Crocodile. To completely solve the matter, Luffy explained that Crocodile himself must be defeated. As Luffy surprised everyone with his insight over the entire situation, Luffy told Vivi that her desire to save everyone was naïve as people die. This little statement started an argument between the two of them, which escalated in a small fight. As Vivi explained herself and told Luffy that risking her life to save everyone was the only thing she could do, Luffy asked her why she would not risk the Straw Hats' lives as well since they were her friends. Having stated this, Luffy moved Vivi to tears with his statement of trust and friendship.

Seeing her in this state and seeing how she was the one who wanted Crocodile to be defeated, Luffy asked her where they could find him.

Meeting Crocodile at Rainbase
Having understood each other, Vivi told Luffy and his crew where to find Crocodile, Rainbase. Regardless of the fact that Officer Agents would be waiting there, Luffy and his group pressed forward to confront the Warlord. Upon arriving at Rainbase, Luffy and Usopp were sent by the rest to ask for some much needed water after much journeying in the desert island. However, upon finding water in a bar, the two accidentally encountered Smoker and Tashigi. Soon enough, another large commotion was caused with Luffy and his crew being chased all around by the Marines. However, Luffy and some of his crew managed to escape from the pursuing Marines and headed into Crocodile's casino, Rain Dinners.

Though Luffy and his crewmates with him managed to get into the casino, they entered without Vivi to help them identify what Crocodile really looked like. To make matters worse, Smoker had caught up with them and started chasing them all around the casino. As they were running around, Luffy and those with him were tricked into falling through a trap door by the casino staff. Having fallen for the trick, Luffy and the others, including Smoker, found themselves trapped in a seastone cage. As they were pondering their current predicament, they were greeted by Crocodile.



Having finally met the one who orchestrated the whole mess in Arabasta, Luffy and the others with him were unable to do anything because of the cage they were in. As the situation developed with Vivi being brought before Crocodile by Miss All Sunday and the powers of the Devil Fruit Crocodile ate, the Suna Suna no Mi, were revealed, Luffy and the rest learned of Crocodile's awful master plan as he mockingly explained it before them. As it went further, Luffy and the others found themselves being placed in a little game the Warlord decided to challenge Vivi in.

Due to events being carried out, Luffy and the rest needed to get to Alubarna, the capital of Arabasta, fast in order to stop the upcoming war. However, because of Luffy and those with him being stuck in a cage, Vivi would have to get the key that Crocodile presented and threw into a pit, where it was eaten by a Bananawani. Explaining further that he decided to flood the room they were in, Crocodile presented Vivi the choice between getting to Alubarna in time or saving Luffy and those with him before the room completely floods. As Crocodile was explaining this challenge to Vivi, Luffy overheard Toto being mentioned by the Warlord and soon learned that it was Crocodile that was causing the sandstorms that plagued Yuba.

Angered by Crocodile's cruelty, Luffy urged Vivi to get the key so that he and the rest can beat Crocodile. Despite Luffy's encouragement, a single Bananawani proved too much for Vivi. Though all seems lost, Luffy and everyone heard a Den Den Mushi ring amidst the ensuing chaos.

Recognizing Sanji's voice calling from the Den Den Mushi, Luffy and the others realized that there was still hope as Sanji and Chopper weren't captured. As events unfolded with this new development, Luffy and the rest found themselves depending on Vivi finding someone from the outside to get them out. In an attempt to free themselves, Luffy and the others tried to coax one of the Bananawani into biting open the cage. Though their attempt at breaking the cage through this failed, their hopes were however revived as Sanji finally showed up at the scene. With him, the key that Crocodile was found alongside a familiar foe, Mr. 3. Though the Baroque Works agent that came out of the Bananawani threw the key, Luffy and the others with him were however still able to escape the cage via Mr. 3's wax powers. Escaping just in the nick of time, Luffy and the others were able to get out. As the room flooded and they escaped, Luffy told Zoro to grab Smoker along with them.

Having saved the Marine, Luffy and his companions were allowed to go free to get Alubarna. As they were thinking of a way to get to Alubarna fast they were greeted by Chopper who brought Hasami, a giant crab friend of Matsuge whom they can ride on. However just as they were getting aboard, Vivi was literally hooked by Crocodile. Fortunately, Luffy freed her just in time as she was taken away. With Vivi safe, Luffy told his crew to go on as he faced off the Warlord by himself. As Luffy prepared to face Crocodile, he was told that the Warlord would humor him for three minutes. After that, Crocodile would leave for Alubarna to complete his scheme. With the time limit in mind, Luffy fought ferociously against his opponent. Though he attacked the best he could, it was however apparent that no matter how much Luffy attacked, he could not damage Crocodile.

As they continued to fight one another, Luffy's arm was dehydrated by Crocodile. Using the water given by Toto however, Luffy was able to restore himself. Remembering the old man, Luffy declares that no matter how much Crocodile attacks Yuba with sandstorms, it will never be destroyed. As Luffy declared this, his three minutes were up.

As the three minutes ended, Luffy witnessed Crocodile decide to do something horrible. Spurred on by Luffy, Crocodile created a massive sandstorm and sent it towards Yuba. Seeing this new development, Luffy desperately tried to stop Crocodile. Unfortunately in midst of all this, Luffy was impaled by the Warlord and left for dead in the sand.

Despite being heavily wounded and buried in the sand however, Luffy still struggled with the will to fight. As he struggled, in a surprise turn of events Luffy was suddenly pulled out by Miss All Sunday. Having been pulled out from his sandy grave, Luffy was left in the care of Pell, the hero of Arabasta that the Baroque Works agent defeated awhile back.

Battling Crocodile for the 2nd and 3rd Time
With Pell's help, Luffy was able to recover from his wounds and get a ride to Alubarna via Pell's Devil Fruit, the Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Falcon. Through various events that happened in the city, by the time that the two arrived at Alubarna, a great battle was being waged by the rebels and the royal army in the city square with a sandstorm covering the place. As they arrived, they got just in time to save Vivi, who was dropped by Crocodile from the palace walls. With Vivi safe, Luffy flung himself up the walls to face Crocodile again.



During his previous fight, Luffy noticed that water made Crocodile unable to turn into sand as he and the water barrel that Toto gave were pierced by Crocodile's hook. Realizing this, he brought a huge barrel of water to aid him in his rematch against the Warlord. As Luffy thus fought Crocodile again, he soon realized that his barrel of water could easily be jeopardized. Figuring this out, Luffy decided to switch tactics by drinking all of his water and storing it within himself, essentially become what he dubbed "Mizu Luffy". While this new tactic infuriated his opponent, it however proved effective for Luffy. Though Luffy was aided greatly by water this time around, the fight however just made his opponent really mad.

Having landed some good hits on Crocodile and angering the Warlord as well, Luffy had incurred the Warlord to use his most powerful technique. Though Luffy was able to evade Crocodile's devastating powers of erosion, he unfortunately got caught by his opponent. As Crocodile's hand held Luffy, he was severely dehydrated and was once again left for dead. Fortunately however, some water bubbles that Luffy misfired earlier revived him from his near death state. Rejuvenated once again, Luffy set off in search of his foe. Learning from Tashigi while on his search, Luffy headed to royal Arabasta tomb.

As he ran, the wound from his chest unfortunately opened, and Luffy, feeling unusually faint, briefly fell unconscious. Recovering himself, Luffy noticed a passageway and ran down into the tomb. Eventually Luffy caught up with his foe once again in the collapsing ruins. Encountering each other, the two fought each other again, however having been severely wounded from his previous matches with Crocodile, Luffy used his own bloody body to negate Crocodile's powers this time around.



As the climatic battle between Luffy and Crocodile commenced, Luffy was struck by Crocodile's poison hook. This however did not deter Luffy's resolve against his opponent. As the battle continued, Luffy kicked Crocodile into the air. Upon doing so, Luffy was blasted with one of Crocodile's powerful techniques. Luffy however withstood the attack and prepared to retaliate. Using a series of moves, Luffy propelled himself up to Crocodile to deliver the final blow. As a last resort, Crocodile tried to stop Luffy by turning his hand into blades.

This however did not stop Luffy as he broke through the sand created weapons with his bare fist and delivered a flurry of punches onto his opponent. Delivering the punches, Luffy attacked Crocodile with such force that it penetrated a layer of pure bedrock and sent Crocodile flying, defeating the Warlord finally. Falling back into the ruins, Luffy was thanked by Nefertari Cobra for all he had done.

After being given the vial of antidote to Crocodile's poison from Miss All Sunday, Luffy mustered what was left of his strength to carry both the king and the former Baroque Works agent out of the ruins. Having used the last of his strength, Luffy was then carried by the king to his crew.

Farewell to Arabasta and Vivi
For their valiant heroism in saving Arabasta, Luffy and his crew were treated secretly as VIPs by the royalty for three days. Having fully recovered from his wounds from the battle with Crocodile on the third day, Luffy and his crew decided to leave before the awaiting Marines could catch them. Just as they were heading back to the Going Merry which was secured by Mr. 2 Bon Kurei before the Marines could find it, Luffy and the others offered Vivi the choice of joining the crew. They gave her until noon the next day.



Setting sail with the reformed Bon Kurei and his men the next day, Luffy and his crew encountered the blockade the Marines set up to capture them. Through a tearful sacrifice by Mr. 2, Luffy and his crew were able to escape the blockade to go to the rendezvous point to pick up Vivi. Arriving there, they found that Vivi had come as promised. However to their disappointment, she told them that she still had responsibilities as Arabasta's princess and could not come along. Despite this, Vivi asked them that if they ever meet again, would she be accepted to come along again.

While Luffy and the others wanted to reply out loud to Vivi that she would still be accepted, they could not out of fear that the nearby Marines would implicate her as a criminal. Instead however, they quietly showed her the mark that they used to protect themselves if Mr. 2 impersonated one of them, a sign of their friendship. Having delivered their silent response to their friend, Luffy and his crew set sail away from Arabasta and onto their next adventure.

Though depressed about not having Vivi on the crew, Luffy and the other came across a new development. Nico Robin, a.k.a. Miss All-Sunday from Baroque Works, had stowed away on the Going Merry and demanded Luffy take responsibility of saving her by letting her join his crew. Without much hesitation, Luffy agreed much to everyone's surprise.

A Sunken Ship and a Lawless Town
Not long after Luffy and the Straw Hats left Arabasta, a massive ship fell from the sky and into the sea. From Nico Robin and a brief search of the sinking ship which wielded a map, Luffy and his crew learned that the ship fell from an island in the sky called Skypiea.



Needing more info on the matter, Luffy and his crew decided to explore more of the ship. Using special diving suits created by Usopp, Luffy, along with Zoro and Sanji, explored the sunken ship. As they explored the ship and found few things, their search was cut short as the ship was suddenly clamped and filled with air, and a bunch of other people appeared. After taking care of the intruders within the newly created air pocket, the three encountered a monkey-like person bursting into the room. Although Luffy and the stranger initially got along, they unfortunately got on bad terms when they found out that they were after the same thing.

Fortunately with thanks from his two crewmates, Luffy escaped from Masira and a giant turtle that ate the ship at the same time. As Luffy and the others were about to deal with this new foe, they suddenly witnessed something that completely scared them, the shadowy silhouettes of creatures several times larger than regular giants. After escaping from the creatures and getting rid of Masira who accidentally tagged along, Luffy and his crew learned of Jaya from an Eternal Pose that Robin stole from the guy. Needing info on how to get to Skypiea, Luffy and his crew sailed for Jaya.



Arriving at Jaya at the port of Mock Town, Luffy and his crew found that the place they landed on was a lawless town filled with pirates. Wanting to explore the town as well as get information, Luffy, along with Zoro and Nami, went offshore into town. With a promise not to fight while in Mock Town to Nami, the three explored the place and encountered several of the inhabitants. They eventually end up in a bar wherein Luffy has a small argument with another customer. Though the incident ended without a hitch, Luffy and his companions encountered a much more serious one.

Luffy and his companions soon encountered in the bar Bellamy and his crew with the intention of seeing if Luffy was worthy of joining his "New Age" of pirates. However upon learning that Luffy and his crew wanted to go to a Sky Island, Bellamy along with the rest of the bar started ridiculing them and the notion of dreams such as a Sky Island. Though the situation got worse with Luffy and Zoro taking hits from Bellamy's crew, they however refused to fight. As the two were dragged out by a frustrated Nami, the three were congratulated and encouraged by the pirate that Luffy argued with earlier. Though the man assured them that dreams would never die, Luffy and Zoro however sense something up with him and the people that are apparently associated with him.

Returning to the Going Merry, Luffy and the others soon learn that while their search was unproductive, Robin's was successful. Learning that a man by the name of Mont Blanc Cricket might know something, they headed off to the other side of Jaya.

The Saruyama Alliance and Knock Up Stream


After escaping a brief encounter with Masira's brother, Shoujou, Luffy and his crew reached Cricket's home. There they had a brief misunderstanding with Cricket who they found out apparently suffered from decompression sickness. However upon helping Cricket and clearing things with him, Luffy and his crew were able to get better acquainted with the former pirate. For helping Cricket, they were also able to reconcile with Cricket's proteges, Masira and Shoujou.

As they explained their problem and got acquainted with Cricket and his proteges, Luffy and his crew learned of Cricket's past and his ancestor. Showing interest with Cricket's dream, Luffy and his crew convinced Cricket to help them out in getting to Skypiea. While having acquired help from someone who could aid them in getting to Skypiea, Luffy and his crew however found out that they needed an important thing to aid them, the South Bird. This bird as explained to them by Cricket, was needed to find a Knock Up Stream needed to help them get to Skypiea. Having been told this, Luffy and his crew quickly went in search for the bird.

Splitting into various groups, Luffy and his crew searched the nearby forest for one of these elusive birds. Though they encountered all sorts of obstacles and antics while searching for the bird, they were able to catch one in the end thanks to Robin. With the captured bird, they went back to Cricket's. Upon returning however, they discovered the horrid aftermath of an incident that happened while they were away, Cricket and his proteges were defeated and had been robbed by Bellamy and his crew.



Spurred on by this, Luffy decided to go after Bellamy and get his wounded friends' gold back. At Mock Town, Luffy was engaged by Bellamy who wanted to prove once and for all to those around him that Luffy and Cricket's dreams were nothing. Despite Bellamy's over the top display of his Devil Fruit ability, Luffy however defeated the arrogant pirate with a single normal punch. Having completely obliterated Bellamy in front of his crew and the other pirates, Luffy was able to retrieve Cricket's gold without any further trouble.

As the morning of the next day came, Luffy arrived back to Cricket's house. There he saw the newly modified Going Merry as he gave Cricket's gold back. With the new modifications for the trip up to Skypiea and the South Bird, Luffy and crew set sail with the ships of Masira and Shoujou escorting them. As they were leaving, Luffy and his crew were cheered on by Cricket's final words of encouragement. With that, Luffy and crew sailed off to where they could ride a Knock up Stream.

After a long wait out on sea, the weather and the sea started to show signs of a Knock Up Stream. As Luffy and his crew were preparing themselves for the journey to Skypiea, they suddenly encountered the ship and crew of the pirate that Luffy fought with in the bar. From this encounter, Luffy and his crew learned of his and Zoro's new bounties for which the pirate planned on collecting. The encounter however was brief as the Knock Up Stream started. With the Knock Up Stream shooting the Going Merry into the sky, Luffy and his crew set forth to new adventure as well inadvertently escaping from the pursuing pirate.

Adventure and Trouble 10,000 Meters in the Air
The crew ended up floating on the cloud after passing through it, and as they took in their surroundings, Usopp decided to take a swim in the clouds. When he did not resurface, the Straw Hats realized he was falling all the way to the Blue Sea and Luffy quickly stretched his arm down to try and save him. Robin sprouted eyes on Luffy's arm, allowing her to see where Usopp was and generate arms off of Luffy's to grab him. When Luffy pulled Usopp back up, a giant, balloon-like octopus followed him, though Zoro easily dealt with it. As the crew recovered from this experienced, they were suddenly assaulted by a masked guerrilla warrior who landed powerful blows on Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji. However, the "Knight of the Sky" Gan Fall then came flying in on his bird-horse Pierre and fought off the warrior before introducing himself to the Straw Hats. After learning about what the Straw Hats did to get here, Gan Fall gifted them a free whistle to call him should they be attacked by someone again, and then departed. With the crew unsure as to how to keep sailing upward to the Log Pose's destination, Luffy tried to blow the whistle but was stopped by Nami. The crew then came across a cloud waterfall, and Luffy found that the clouds around it were hard enough to stand and bounce on. Upon climbing up the bouncy cloud, Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper found that behind the waterfall was a path. At the end of the path the Straw Hats came to Heaven's Gate, where the gatekeeper Amazon charged them 1 billion extols for entry. The Straw Hats only had belly and were unsure how to convert it, but Amazon then told them that they could pass through without paying. When they did, the Merry was suddenly seized by Speedy Shrimp which took it and the Straw Hats on a winding path to the country of Skypiea up above.

Upon reaching the sea at the end of the path, the Straw Hats found themselves at the coast of Angel Island, a place founded on top of clouds, and Luffy immediately disembarked to explore it. As Luffy examined the various elements on the island, the Straw Hats met a young native girl named Conis as well as her father Pagaya. Luffy rode Pagaya's waver around the sea but ended up losing control and falling in, forcing Zoro and Sanji to rescue him. Nami then tried out the waver and was much better at it, and Pagaya and Conis took the rest of the Straw Hats to their home. There, Conis explained the abilities of Dials, which powered wavers among other things. At that point, Nami was no longer in sight, and Conis became worried that she had wandered over to Upper Yard, the home of Skypiea's "God" Enel which was forbidden for all to enter. This made Luffy very interested in it, and the crew decided to go and rescue Nami if she was in any trouble. The group went back down to the coast, and before the Straw Hats set off Pagaya examined their old waver.

Suddenly, McKinley and the White Berets came marching in and confronted Luffy to charge him and the Straw Hats for illegal entry. They explained the punishment was just a fine of ten times the original entry fee, but after learning the value of extols compared to belly, the crew realized that it would be an exorbitant amount. Nami then returned to the coast on Pagaya's waver, and after learning about the charges she hit McKinley with the waver in anger. Because of this, McKinley increased the charges against the Straw Hats to be punished by execution by Cloud Drifting, and Luffy confronted the White Berets with the intention of fighting. After dodging the Sky Arrows they shot, Luffy pulled against a palm tree and spun himself around, allowing him to wildly attack the force with punches and kicks and take out most of them at once. Zoro and Sanji came ashore to finish the job, and McKinley then proclaimed that due to their crimes, the Straw Hats would be judged by God's priests themselves.

With this news, the Straw Hats bid farewell to Conis and Pagaya and prepared to try to leave Skypiea through Cloud End to the best of their ability. However, as Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji went inside the duo's house to get food, a Super-Express Speedy Shrimp then arrived and carried off the Merry. Pagaya revealed to the trio that their crewmates were being taken to the Sacrificial Altar on Upper Yard where they would be held as hostages; it would be up to the trio to take the Milky Road to Upper Yard and face the trials there in order to rescue the rest of the crew. Conis took Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji down Lovely Street to the port, where she gave them her small boat Karasumaru. Luffy noticed that Conis had been pale and shaking since they had left her house and asked if she was scared. After some hesitation, Conis broke down and revealed that she was the one who called the Speedy Shrimp that took away their crewmates, as failing to turn in criminals was punishable by death. Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji were not angry at her for doing this, instead wondering why she risked her life to reveal it to them. Suddenly, sparks rose in the air, and Luffy quickly grabbed Conis and jumped away right as Enel struck the spot where Conis was standing with a giant thunderbolt. The attack left a gaping hole in the port that Luffy and Conis fell into, but luckily Gan Fall came flying in to save them. Gan Fall took Conis away to a safe area as Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji set sail for Upper Yard.

The Trials of Upper Yard


As the trio entered the heavily forested place, they quickly had to contend with large swinging blades threatening to pulverize them, as well as a giant sky lamprey eel. After making it past those obstacles, they arrived at four gateways, each one leading to a different Ordeal. Luffy wanted to go to the Ordeal of Balls since it sounded the most fun, and so the trio went through that gate. After being dropped off a cliff, they landed back on the Milky Road and found themselves surrounded by large floating balls made of island cloud. However, when playing with one of the balls, Luffy and Usopp were assaulted by a snake that burst out of it, and Sanji tried hitting away an incoming ball only for it to explode. The trio were then confronted by Satori, one of Enel's four priests, who introduced them to his "Surprise Balls" and said they had to defeat him to continue on to the Sacrificial Altar. Luffy attempted to punch Satori, but the priest easily dodged him before striking him with an Impact Dial, which unleashed a powerful blow against him that caused internal damage. Satori sent Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp off the Karasumaru with his Impact Dial strikes, and revealed that the boat would keep moving and leave them behind in his forest if they did not defeat him in time.

Luffy aimed another punch at Satori, but the priest grabbed his arm after dodging it and slammed him into a tree. Luffy then tried attacking Satori with Gomu Gomu no Gatling Gun, but this failed to hit Satori and instead struck several Surprise Balls, causing the Straw Hats to be assaulted by their contents. Luffy was sent falling toward one of the cloud rivers and saved himself by grabbing a vine, though ended up having fun swinging on it and became distracted. Eventually, Sanji got him off the vine and beat him up, but Satori then struck Sanji with an Impact Dial. Satori proceeded to overwhelm the entire trio before assaulting them with his Ball Dragon, which would cause a massive chain reaction if a particular ball in its chain was set off. However, Luffy found the string Satori was using to control the Dragon and broke it. Satori responded by pulling the rope to bring Luffy to him; however, Luffy did not let go of the Ball Dragon and sent it crashing into Satori. The priest managed to avoid the massive explosion, but Luffy avoided it as well by hanging onto his back. Luffy then wrapped his arm's around Satori's body, rendering him immobile and preventing him from dodging their attacks, allowing Sanji to give Satori a powerful kick to the head and defeat him. Immediately afterward, Usopp called to Luffy and Sanji that he had found the Karasumaru and told them to come to him quickly. Once they did, Usopp shot a rope from his belt that successfully wrapped around the boat and pulled them up to it, but they ended up hitting several trees on the way up. As the Karasumaru sailed out of the forest, the trio lay dazed on it.

Some time later, Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji sailed through a field dotted with skulls. A group of Shandia guerrillas then came flying past them, and their leader, Wyper, fired a bazooka shot at the trio. Luffy deflected it with Gomu Gomu no Fusen, and Wyper chose not to attack further, but warned the Straw Hats that he would treat them like Enel if they caused trouble on the island. The trio continued sailing and made it to the Sacrificial Altar by sunset, where they reunited with the rest of the crew. After checking on the injured Gan Fall, the Straw Hats decided to camp out on Upper Yard for the night. After setting up the campsite, the crew talked about their discovery that the lost city of gold that Noland was looking for was here on Upper Yard, and decided to hunt for the gold the next day. The crew then gathered food and supplies for the next day, and Luffy was put in charge of overseeing the boiling of water for drinking. As the Straw Hats ate some stew, they talked about clues to finding the city from Noland's logbook. Afterwards, Robin said the crew should put out the fire to avoid attracting attention from enemies, but Luffy and Usopp opposed this. Despite Robin's and Nami's warnings, the crew built a giant bonfire and danced around it before going to bed.

Hunting for Treasure and Eaten by a Snake
The next morning, Usopp showed the crew that repairs to the Merry somehow happened overnight, which he claimed to be the work of a spirit. The crew then split into two teams to head to the lost city, with Luffy, Zoro, Chopper, and Robin forming the "Explore Team" that would head to the city on foot. The quartet's expedition had just started when they ran into a giant snake named Nola. Luffy told the group to run away from it, and they became scattered as the snake attempted to attack them with its poisonous fangs. Luffy tried to lure Nola toward him, and ended up being separated from the rest of the group. He remembered the direction to go south, but had no idea which way south was and went in a straight line southwest. He became interested upon hearing the bleating of what sounded like a goat, and when a Shandia warrior tried to ambush him, Luffy quickly beat the warrior aside, being annoyed that he was not a goat. Luffy then ran into Wyper, who asked him what he was doing on Upper Yard still.



Wyper told Luffy that Upper Yard belonged to his people, the Shandia, and Luffy accepted this and walked off. However, Wyper had had enough of Luffy and so decided to eliminate him, and Luffy was very willing to fight back. Wyper shot Luffy with eight bazooka shots, all of which Luffy deflected; Wyper then changed his strategy and fired a stream of natural gas at Luffy before using his Burn Bazooka to create disintegrating white flames. Luffy managed to dodge the sudden burst of fire, and traded blows with Wyper in midair. Wyper then readied another Burn Bazooka strike against him, and Luffy responded by attacking him with Gomu Gomu no Bazooka. The two's attacks hit the other simultaneously, causing a notable amount of injury to both of them. Wyper then called out to Luffy to see if he was still alive, and Luffy responded, but he was then suddenly eaten by Nola and fell through its insides before landing among some ruins.

Thinking he was inside a cave, Luffy examined the treasures in the ruins while walking further down Nola's stomach. He came to a dead end and tried striking it with Gomu Gomu no Bazooka to see if there was a secret door, which caused Nola to spin around. Nola ate some sea clouds which almost drowned Luffy, and the pirate continued hitting the walls of its stomach which caused the snake to rampage through Upper Yard in pain. Nola's movements while fighting in the Upper Ruins of Shandora caused Luffy to constantly fall through its stomach as it repositioned, leaving him aghast as to what kind of cave this was. Luffy then attempted to dig his way out of the stomach, causing Nola to laugh. However, he was then joined by Nami, Gan Fall, Pierre, and Aisa after they had been eaten by Nola, and they revealed to him that this cave was the snake's stomach. Nami decided to ride her waver out of the snake through its mouth, and Luffy hung onto the back of the waver while Aisa hung onto him. However, the exhaust fumes of the waver blew Luffy and Aisa off of it, and they fell back down to Nola's stomach; however, Pierre quickly returned to rescue them. Nola was knocked unconscious by a thunderbolt from Enel, and Luffy, Aisa, and Pierre traveled up to its head. Luffy ended up behind its left eye and opened its eyelid, but was quickly guided down to its mouth. They jarred the snake's mouth open and fell down to the ground below, where they found themselves in Shandora, the legendary city of gold. However, Luffy and Aisa then found Zoro, Chopper, Robin, Gan Fall, and Wyper laying unconscious next to a giant hole in the ground. A barely conscious Robin told Luffy that Enel had done this and was plotting to destroy all of Skypiea; he had taken Nami away to an unknown place. Robin believed that Enel would go to the fabled Golden Bell first, and when Aisa sensed the presence of two people with her Mantra, Luffy told the young girl to take him there.

Fighting a God


Aisa guided Luffy to a cave near the city ruins, and Luffy confronted Enel, who was with Nami on the giant ship Ark Maxim. Luffy pulled himself up to the ship's deck, and Enel struck him with a mighty thunderbolt. However, due to Luffy's body being made of rubber, a natural insulator to lightning, the attack had no effect on him. Enel was left stunned and Luffy charged toward him, successfully punching Skypiea's God in the stomach as his rubber body bypassed Enel's Logia defenses. When Enel got up from the attack, Luffy tried attacking him again, but the God used his Mantra to dodge Luffy's attacks and hit the pirate with his staff. Enel used his electricity to reshape his staff into a trident, and Luffy struggled to avoid being stabbed by it. After managing to dodge one of Enel's attacks in midair, Luffy was able to kick him into the floor. However, Enel was able to grab Luffy's arms on his follow-up attack and slam him into the floor as well, and he proceeded to activate the Ark Maxim to bring it up into the air. Luffy watched in anger as Enel used the Maxim to generate a giant thundercloud he called Deathpiea to wreak destruction on Skypiea, and the two then resumed sparring. In an attempt to work around Enel's Mantra, Luffy shut off his mind and dodged Enel's strikes purely on reflex, though quickly went back to normal since he could not attack in that diminished mental state. Luffy then got another idea and ran toward Enel's throne chamber, which was surrounded by a curved wall. He threw rapid punches at the wall, and those punches ricocheted back and struck Enel, who could not anticipate their randomness. With Enel reeling from those attacks, he was powerless to stop Luffy from pummeling him with direct attacks.



Luffy watched as the injured Enel slowly got up and cursed him for messing with his plans, but as Luffy moved to attack him further, Enel quickly responded by reshaping the gold from the wall behind him and forming it into a giant ball around Luffy's right forearm. With Luffy unable to pull his arm out of it, Enel kicked the ball and sent it rolling off the edge of the Maxim; Luffy tried holding onto the ledge, but Enel sent him falling to the ground far below with his staff. Aisa and Pierre tried to fly in to rescue Luffy, but Enel attacked them with a lightning bolt. The three of them fell down into a chasm, where Luffy had rubble fall on him though he remained unharmed. After pulling himself out, he prepared to follow the Ark Maxim to the place where the Golden Bell was. Aisa took Luffy to the giant beanstalk Giant Jack, which the Ark Maxim was circling near high above, and Robin was there, revealing that the Golden Bell was up at the top of it. Luffy then ran up Giant Jack with his golden ball in tow, intent on freeing Nami, Usopp, and Sanji and fighting Enel. Once he made it close to the top of Giant Jack, Luffy was noticed by Enel, who fired a lightning bolt to break off the top of the beanstalk and send Luffy falling. Luffy was able to grab back onto Giant Jack and pull himself onto the highest cloud platform on it, and right then he was suddenly struck by Nami, who had rode her waver up Giant Jack to fetch him. After watching Enel destroy all of Angel Island with a giant thundercloud called Raigo, Nami told Luffy that Usopp and Sanji had escaped the Ark Maxim and that he needed to go back to the Merry with her so they could escape. However, Luffy told her that he needed to defeat Enel and ring the Golden Bell for the sake of Cricket, in order to show him that the city of gold that Noland wrote about was indeed real.

Luffy tried grabbing onto the Ark Maxim, but Enel easily kicked his hand off, and Enel responded to Luffy's ensuing attempts by striking him with lightning bolts. Luffy then got the idea to write a message on a giant leaf to tell the people at Giant Jack's base to cut down the beanstalk so it would fall westward toward the Maxim. Luffy was surprised to see that Nami was sticking with him, and Nami told him that he needed her to pilot the waver the rest of the way up and so she was willing to take that risk. Zoro, Nola, and Wyper were able to successfully tip Giant Jack toward the west, and Nami drove the waver up the beanstalk as fast as it would go while Luffy held onto her from behind. As the duo shot off the beanstalk and flew toward the Maxim, Enel brought down an even larger Raigo to destroy all of Skypiea. To Nami's shock, Luffy jumped off the waver directly into the Raigo, and while inside it, Luffy threw his golden ball around in every possible direction. The ball conducted the electricity inside the giant thunder sphere, and so Luffy was able to completely disperse the Raigo and save Skypiea.



With the Maxim and the Golden Bell now in his sights, Luffy stretched back his right arm and twisted it around. Enel responded by fully transforming into lightning in a shape resembling a larger version of his body, though Luffy was still able to bypass his transformation and land blows on him. However, Enel was able to reach around Luffy with an arm of lightning and stab him in the back with his trident. Luffy's only options were to either let the trident pierce him further or fall back all the way down to Skypiea, and he decided to let go and fall; however, he then grabbed onto a small piece of island cloud near the Maxim and pulled himself back up. Luffy reared back and twisted his right arm again and sent the golden ball crashing into Enel's giant body, smashing him against the Golden Bell. Luffy cried out for the Golden Bell to ring, and as it did so, Enel's transformation deactivated and the God was defeated. Luffy fell down along with Enel, the Maxim, and the bell, but landed on a small piece of island cloud where Nami was.

Luffy and Nami jumped back down to Upper Yard, with Luffy using Gomu Gomu no Fusen to cushion their fall. They then came across the priests' storehouse and took the large amounts of food from inside it before arriving at Shandora and reuniting with the rest of their crew. Night fell as the crew ate the priests' food, and then they took part in a large party with the Skypieans and Shandia. The party lasted for several days, and one night when everyone was sleeping, Luffy woke the crew up and told them they should steal the city's treasure and run away. The next morning, Luffy took some of the crew inside the sleeping Nola's stomach, where they took the treasures from the ruins that the snake had eaten. The crew then anxiously waited for Robin to arrive so they could depart without being caught, and when Robin came with several Skypieans behind her, the crew quickly ran away with their stolen treasure, not realizing the citizens had come to give them an even greater amount. The Straw Hats sailed to Cloud End, where they bid farewell to Conis and Pagaya. They were then sent off a ledge and fell straight down, but Conis called a Balloon Octopus which grabbed the Merry and inflated itself, giving the crew a controlled descent to the Blue Sea.

The Three Events
Upon returning from Skypiea to the Blue Sea, Luffy and his crew had no time to rest as they encountered a giant wave created by some Sea Monkeys. After the brief incident, Luffy and his crew rested and assessed the good wealth they obtained from their Sky Island adventure. As Luffy discussed with his crew, they all agreed that they would use the treasure to help fix the travel-worn Going Merry and get a shipwright to help maintain it. After encountering the Sea Monkeys once again and a curious pirate ship with no sails or crew, Luffy and his crew reached the next island in their journey. As Luffy, along with Usopp and Chopper, decided to explore the island, they noticed that the animals and plant life were all very long in appearance.

As Luffy and his two companions explored the island more, they encountered a nomad named Tonjit who had been stuck on his stilts for 10 long years. After getting acquainted with the old man and reuniting him with his horse, Shelly, Luffy and his companions felt that they had done small accomplishment. However, in the midst of their enjoyment, Shelly was suddenly shot. Learning immediately that the shot was fired by the pirate, Foxy, who was nearby, Luffy momentarily get angry at this foe. Before Luffy could fight Foxy however, he was suddenly challenged to an official Davy Back Fight.

From Usopp, Luffy learned that this sudden challenge was a set of three games between pirate crews in which the crew members were at stake. Despite Usopp's warnings however and much to the dismay of the rest of his crew, Luffy accepted the challenge from Foxy and his crew to hold a Davy Back Fight on Long Ring Long Land. What happened next was a festival-like event set up by the Foxy Pirates in lieu of the Davy Back games. After the formalities of the beginning of the games, Luffy and his crew decided who would participate in which game. Taking the final and most climatic game, Combat, Luffy awaited for his turn as he watched the rest of his crew participate in the other games.

The first two games of the Davy Back Fight proved to be both surprising and emotional for Luffy and his crew. In the first game, Donut Race, they witnessed Foxy and his crew's cheating tricks, and Foxy's exploit of his Devil Fruit powers of the Noro Noro no Mi. Due to these, Luffy lost Chopper to Foxy. Fortunately, Luffy was able to win Chopper back as his crew won the second game, Groggy Ring, despite the gigantic odds stacked against them. After watching these two grueling games, Luffy was pumped up for his turn in the final game.



With the third game approaching, Luffy with the help from Usopp, decided to dress appropriately for the match. Donning an afro and boxing outfit, Luffy was ready to face against the sly Foxy aboard his ship, the Sexy Foxy. Throughout the whole match, Luffy was constantly tricked by his smarter opponent as they battled all around the ship. With Foxy's tricks and Devil Fruit powers, it seemed like Luffy would lose. Despite this, Luffy persevered to not lose one of his crew forever. In the climax of the battle, Luffy was able to thwart Foxy by using a mirror shard obtained from the battle to reflect Foxy's powers back to himself. Having slowed Foxy down, Luffy delivered the final blow and won the game.

After a lot of rest, Luffy wakes up being told he indeed did win the fight. Foxy comes to congratulate Luffy on how he fought in the match, giving a handshake gesture, then attempting to throw him overhead, forgetting his arm is rubber. As Luffy won, he gets to choose a crew member from the Foxy Pirates, but instead choose their flag, but as the sail is their flag, Luffy opts to "redesign" the flag, then give it back. Luffy's poorly drawn Jolly Roger is given to them, officially ending the Davy Back Fight. Although obviously grateful, Foxy vows revenge on Luffy for losing the match. The Straw Hats return to Tonjit giving him the Foxy Pirates' old flag as a sign of their defeat. Chopper uses it as a bandage for Shelly, the horse.

Encounter with Admiral Aokiji


Just as Luffy and his crew were done with the dealing with the matter with Foxy and his pirates, they soon came across another one. Sleeping beside Tonjit's house was the Admiral Aokiji. Initially, Aokiji was non-hostile to Luffy and his crew, despite him being a Marine and causing Luffy some fear when he told him that he knew his grandfather. Aokiji even helped Tonjit in finding a way to get back to the rest of the old man's nomad clan with his Hie Hie no Mi. However, when hostilities began between Aokiji and Nico Robin, Luffy and his crew faced off against this new foe. Despite their best efforts, Luffy and those who fought alongside him against Aokiji were utterly defeated. Fortunately however, the admiral simply left a frozen Luffy in defeat, but with a warning to be wary with Nico Robin.

The Captain's Burden
Seven days after the encounter with Aokiji, Luffy had recovered and demonstrated his new frozen pose as his crew sailed to their next destination. They then encountered the giant frog Yokozuna and chased after him, with Luffy wanting to eat him. However, they were forced to turn back after getting caught in the path of the Sea Train, and Luffy watched as Yokozuna unsuccessfully tried to attack it. The crew went to the shift station nearby and met Kokoro and her granddaughter Chimney, and Kokoro told them that their next destination, Water 7, was home to the world's best carpenters. Luffy grew excited, hoping to find a carpenter crewmate there. Kokoro gave them a map and a letter of recommendation, telling them to find a man named Iceburg. As they continued sailing toward Water 7, Luffy talked with his crewmates about what they wanted their carpenter to be like.

Upon reaching the island, the crew was forced to dock at a small peninsula in the back, and they marveled at its architecture. Nami forced Luffy and Usopp to go with her to meet Iceburg. They headed to the city center to exchange their gold for money, and Luffy bought Yagara Bulls to take them there. The trio got 300,000,000 from their gold, and headed for the shipyard. There, they met the carpenter Kaku of the Galley-La Company, who revealed that Iceburg was the mayor of Water 7. To make their meeting with him go faster, Kaku went to check out the Merry himself. The trio then met Iceburg, who to their surprise acted very irresponsibly, although his secretary Kalifa attacked them when they pointed it out. Iceburg then offered to give them a tour of the shipyard.

The Franky Family suddenly swooped in and stole the Straw Hats' money, but Paulie took them out, and Rob Lucci forced Paulie to give the crew their money back. Luffy was awestruck when Iceburg took them inside the shipyard's Dock 1, and unsuccessfully tried to get him to join his crew. Kaku then returned to the shipyard, and he broke the news that the Going Merry was damaged beyond repair and could not sail any farther. Luffy refused to believe that they would need to find a replacement ship, but the workers gave him no option but to reconsider. Luffy and Nami then realized that the contents of their suitcases were empty, and overheard Peepley Lulu reveal that he had seen Usopp (whom he mistook for Kaku) with the Franky Family, causing Luffy to immediately run off to find his crewmate.



While looking for Usopp, Luffy accidentally fell in a canal, where he was found and rescued by Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper. They soon found a heavily beaten Usopp in the clearing between the city and the Franky House, and they headed toward the Franky House to teach the Franky Family a lesson. Upon entering the house, the four of them immediately started attacking and overwhelming the Franky Family, not stopping even when they revealed their boss Franky had gone to spend the stolen money. By the end of the battle, the entire Franky House was destroyed, and as the Straw Hats were thinking about what to do next, Luffy announced that he had decided for the crew to bid farewell to the Going Merry.



The group took Usopp back to the Merry, and after he regained consciousness, Luffy told him about his decision to look for a new ship. Usopp refused to believe what the carpenters had said, but Luffy stood firm in his decision as their argument grew more heated. Usopp then decided to leave the crew, and challenged Luffy to a duel for the Merry. The time of the duel was set for 10 PM, and Luffy laid around until then. Luffy and Usopp then confronted each other on the peninsula at the appointed time, and as Luffy went on the offensive, Usopp managed to stop him by pretending to be injured. This allowed Usopp to barrage Luffy with a variety of long-range attacks, culminating in a massive gas explosion that dealt some injuries to Luffy. Luffy was able to punch Usopp in the face, but Usopp countered his next attack with an Impact Dial, which he redirected at Luffy. However, the recoil of the Dial left Usopp unable to defend against Luffy's next attack, which defeated him. Luffy then bid farewell to Usopp, saying the former Straw Hat could do whatever he wished with the Merry as he tearfully headed back toward his crew.

Encountering CP9
The Straw Hats, minus a missing Robin, left the Going Merry for good and stayed the night at an inn. The next morning, Luffy heard from Nami that Iceburg had been shot, and the two of them took a Yagara Bull to go see him. They were met by a crowd as they reached Dock 1, and Franky then arrived to confront Luffy for attacking his family. Franky breathed fire at Luffy and Nami before jumping into the water and attacking their boat. He then punched Luffy by detaching his arm, revealing that he was a cyborg. Luffy and Franky continued fighting furiously in the dock when they were interrupted by Paulie, Kaku, Lucci, Peepley Lulu, and Tilestone.

Paulie, Lulu, and Lucci attacked and overpowered Luffy, with Paulie revealing that the Straw Hats were the main suspects in the attack on Iceburg, as Robin was one of the two attackers he had seen. Luffy refused to believe that Robin had done this and demanded to speak with Iceburg, but the Galley-La workers stood against him as the townspeople subdued Nami. Luffy attempted to escape from the workers as they pulled out sharp and explosive weapons to attack him, but he was quickly cornered and shot by Tilestone's bazooka. However, Franky then unleashed a massive attack on Dock 1, allowing Luffy to escape with Nami.

Luffy and Nami managed to reach Galley-La Headquarters where Iceburg resided, and Luffy pulled himself in through the window. As he ran through the building, Kalifa called out to him and let him enter Iceburg's room. There, Iceburg demanded that Luffy bring Robin in to speak with him. Luffy replied that he was unable to, and he was forced to escape outside as Iceburg shot at him. Luffy and Nami escaped to the outskirts of town and reunited with Zoro, but they were soon forced to hide from the citizens hunting for them. Chopper then found them and revealed that Robin had told him and Sanji that she had framed them for the attack on Iceburg and would be leaving them forever, shocking them. Zoro deduced that Robin and her new mysterious cohorts would likely try to kill Iceburg that night, and Luffy decided to go back to Galley-La Headquarters to confront her and find out the truth.

As night fell, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Chopper hid in a tree near Headquarters, looking for Robin to make her move. They eventually saw a massive explosion be unleashed in front of the building, and Luffy immediately headed toward the building. He was blown into a crevice in another building, but escaped it and pulled himself toward Headquarters. Luffy partially broke into a room where Paulie was with two masked men, and he recognized the masked men as enemies, telling them to give Robin back. The masked men then attacked and subdued him, binding him and Paulie to the ground before leaving. Luffy eventually managed to squeeze out of his bindings and freed Paulie of his before the two of them raced toward Iceburg's room. After initially breaking into the wrong room, Luffy and Paulie reached Iceburg's room at the same time as Zoro, Nami, and Chopper. There, they found Robin with Lucci, Kaku, Kalifa, and the bartender Blueno, who were undercover assassins from the World Government agency CP9.

Luffy intervened when Lucci started attacking Paulie, but Lucci used his Rokushiki techniques to overwhelm him. Robin then told her former crewmates that she was pursuing a goal that she could not reach with them. Lucci told the Straw Hats, Iceburg, and Paulie that the mansion would soon go up in flames, but he and his comrades remained in the room to prevent them from escaping. Luffy tried to get to Robin, only for the agents to overwhelm him with their Rokushiki techniques. As Robin headed to the window, Luffy tried running toward her again, only to be stopped and tossed aside by Lucci as she departed. With the fire starting, Lucci decided to show Luffy's group the power of his Devil Fruit, the Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Leopard. Lucci unleashed a powered-up Rankyaku attack that caused the building to start collapsing, and Luffy attacked the agent when he confronted Paulie and Iceburg. However, Lucci pierced through Luffy's body with a claw-enhanced Shigan before throwing him out of the building, sending him flying far away.

Luffy flew into a narrow gap between two buildings, where he became stuck. A while later, he heard Nami calling out to him from a nearby building, and Nami revealed to him that Robin had fallen in the World Government's grip in order to save their lives. Intent on saving Robin, Luffy pushed the two buildings apart and pulled himself and Nami away from the outskirts of town right before an enormous wave created by Aqua Laguna swallowed the area. However, the waves eventually reached and swallowed Luffy, Nami, Zoro, and Chopper as well, forcing Paulie to rescue them. After finding out that Sanji had stowed away on the Sea Train taking Robin to Enies Lobby, Luffy asked Paulie for a ship to use to go after them. Due to the Aqua Laguna, Paulie refused to do that until the next morning, causing Luffy to decide to take a ship by force. However, Kokoro then interjected and told Luffy that she could take him to another, secret, Sea Train.



Kokoro took the Straw Hats into an abandoned warehouse, where she showed them the runaway prototype train Rocketman. Iceburg was already there and revealed that he had already got the train's systems running, and as the crew prepared to depart, the Franky Family came in and pleaded to come aboard so they could save Franky. Luffy agreed to this, and the train set off. The Straw Hats soon discovered that Paulie and the Galley-La workers had stowed away on Rocketman, and Luffy formed an official pact with Galley-La and the Franky Family to defeat their enemies and rescue Robin and Franky together. Rocketman headed toward a massive, deadly tidal wave, and after the Galley-La workers and Franky Family could not put a dent in it, Luffy and Zoro unleashed a combined attack to create a whole the Rocketman could roll through.

Having gotten past Aqua Laguna, Luffy, Zoro, and Nami equipped themselves for the battle ahead. They came to some of the Puffing Tom's detached cars, and Luffy jumped into them to see if Sanji was there. He was immediately confronted and shot by several World Government agents, and as Rocketman approached, Luffy told Zoro to bisect the cars. Soon afterwards, the Rocketman crew approached the Marine Captain T Bone, who was running toward the rest of the Puffing Tom. Luffy told his allies to leave this to Zoro as well, and Zoro quickly dispatched T Bone. Later, Luffy's group found Yokozuna standing in front of the oncoming train, and Luffy told the giant frog to get out of the way. Yokozuna hit Rocketman off the rails, but after Luffy pulled him onboard, Kokoro managed to get the giant frog to join the fight as she got the train back on the tracks. Soon afterwards, the Rocketman crew had Enies Lobby in their sights.

On the Warpath to Robin
The Franky Family approached the Rocketman again after being derailed by Yokozuna, this time with Sanji and Usopp in tow. However, Usopp was wearing a mask and Luffy did not recognize him, causing him to believe Usopp's claim that he was a different person known as "Sogeking". Iceburg outlined a plan for the Straw Hats to remain on Rocketman while the Galley-La workers and Franky Family went on ahead to clear the way to the main island for the pirates to quickly charge in and take on CP9. Luffy acknowledged this plan, but then proceeded to head out and jump toward Enies Lobby by himself, using Gomu Gomu no Rocket to launch himself over the Main Gate from the protective fence. Upon landing, he immediately charged toward the Tower of Justice and beat up any Marines in his way. Luffy quickly fought his way through to the Main Island Gate and pulled himself up past it, and upon landing on the main island he was surrounded by tens of thousands of Marine soldiers. Despite being vastly outnumbered, Luffy was able to terrorize the Marine forces, taking out hundreds of them in the span of seconds. Luffy eventually managed to elude the Marines and pulled himself up to the roof of the Courthouse, where Blueno arrived through an "Air Door" to confront him.



Blueno told Luffy that he and his allies were committing a grave offense with their invasion, but Luffy did not care and charged toward him. Despite Blueno using Tekkai, Luffy's strike was still powerful enough to injure him, and Luffy was then able to keep up with the agent despite him using Soru and smash him to the floor. Luffy managed to dodge Blueno's rapid attacks, but the agent then used his Doa Doa no Mi powers to create doors in the floor under Luffy's feet, trapping him. Blueno then turned Luffy's face into a revolving door which heavily distracted him, but Luffy was still able to dodge his Rankyaku strike by going down through the floor. Luffy and Blueno then sparred some more, and despite the pirate being able to keep up with the agent's superhuman movements, he was unable to gain the upper hand. To enable himself to become stronger, Luffy activated a new ability called Gear 2 where he inflated his blood vessels, causing his blood to flow at a faster rate. Luffy then punched Blueno with such speed that even the agent with his Soru ability could not keep up, and proceeded to heavily injure him with powerful blows. Blueno was forced to retreat into an Air Door and tried opening one behind Luffy to ambush him, but Luffy easily dodged him before striking him with Gomu Gomu no Jet Bazooka. The attack broke through Blueno's Tekkai and greatly injured him, and when the agent stayed on his feet afterward, Luffy prepared to activate a new Gear to become even more powerful. However, Blueno then lost consciousness and fell to the ground, and Luffy noted that his body was extremely tired due to not being used to the strain of Gear 2 yet. He then shouted out to the Tower of Justice where Robin was, saying he had come for her.

Luffy was able to regain his energy by pulling two slabs of meat out of his pockets that he had packed as a box lunch, and called for anyone to come out of the Tower of Justice. Franky then blasted himself and Robin out of the tower, but they were stopped by a fence and had to pull themselves onto the tower's ledge. Luffy prepared to pull himself to the tower, but Robin stopped him, saying that she wanted to die and never wanted to see him again. As she said this, Spandam and the CP9 agents came out to the ledge and confronted Luffy. At this point, the rest of the Straw Hats made it up to the Courthouse roof, and as they joined Luffy in facing Robin and CP9, Luffy told Robin that she could choose to die if she wanted, but he wanted her to do so while she was with them. Robin responded that the entire world was against her and that she did not want the Straw Hats to consider her a burden given what they would face if she was with them; Spandam backed up that assertion, using it as an opportunity to boast of the World Government's great might while pointing to the official flag sailing above him. However, Luffy responded by telling Sogeking to shoot down the flag, and the sniper did so, burning it up. Spandam was left aghast that Luffy directly declared war against the World Government, and Luffy replied that he was fine with that. He then told Robin to say she wanted to live, and Robin tearfully did so. As the drawbridge between the Courthouse and Tower of Justice was lowered thanks to the Franky Family, the Straw Hats prepared to invade the tower.

However, the drawbridge was stopped by a mortar strike, and Spandam quickly tried to lead Robin away. Soon afterwards, though, Nami received a call from Kokoro that she was piloting the Rocketman to the Tower of Justice. Upon hearing this, Luffy grabbed all of his crewmates and jumped into the chasm between the Courthouse and Tower, and they landed on Rocketman as it leaped from the drawbridge and flew toward the tower. The train crashed into the tower before coming to a halt, and as the Straw Hats recovered from the wreck, they were confronted by the CP9 agent Fukurou. Fukurou revealed that Spandam and Lucci were taking Robin to the Gates of Justice, and Robin was chained by handcuffs made of Seastone that were unbreakable and prevented her from using her powers. Fukurou and the four other CP9 agents in the tower each possessed a key, only one of which would unlock the handcuffs. Luffy tried attacking Fukurou to get his key and the agent departed, and Luffy tried going after him, but was held back by Zoro. The Straw Hats and Franky told Luffy to go directly after Lucci and Robin while they took on the other CP9 agents.

Luffy ran up the stairs and managed to reach the room that the agents and Robin had just been in, though it was now deserted; he then started running towards the Gates of Justice. He made it to the other end of the tower, but found nothing but water in between it and the Gates, and so tried to think of a way to get across. He tried rowing a small boat there, but the rough ocean currents destroyed the boat and left him floundering in the water. Fortunately, Chimney and Gonbe arrived and retrieved Luffy from the water, having come to tell him that there was an underground passage from the tower to the Gates. The trio raced down a flight of stairs and came to a giant steel door; despite the door being locked, Luffy was able to break through it by activating a new Gear called Gear 3, and Chimney and Gonbe were shocked upon seeing Luffy shrink to the size of a child after using it. However, Luffy quickly returned to normal size as he ran down the hall toward Robin. Luffy eventually ran to a door which he was able to kick through, and found himself in a large storeroom in a tower propping up the Bridge of Hesitation. There, he was confronted by Lucci.

Luffy vs. Rob Lucci


Luffy tried to get through to keep chasing after Robin, but Lucci stayed in his way and the two clashed, with their powerful strikes resulting in heavy collateral damage. Luffy managed to catch Lucci off-guard with his speed and throw the agent aside, but Lucci quickly recovered and kicked the pirate before he could run out of the room. Their sparring was interrupted when Franky suddenly arrived, possessing two of the CP9 agents' keys; he offered to help Luffy fight Lucci, but Luffy told him to keep going and save Robin. Lucci managed to overpower Luffy so he could attack Franky; however, Luffy then activated Gear 2 and hit the agent with powerful, lightning-fast punches. Lucci transformed into his human-leopard hybrid form and tried to attack Franky again, but Luffy successfully overwhelmed him with Gear 2 enough to allow Franky to exit the room. Luffy and Lucci continued sparring, but the agent then used a Rankyaku strike to rip a hole in the wall that would flood the underground passage with seawater, saying that Luffy's crewmates would either drown or be bombarded by the incoming Buster Call and he would be incapable of saving them.



The room where they were in started filling up with seawater, and Luffy followed Lucci up to the room above which was above sea level and would not be flooded. Lucci said that Luffy could go and help his friends if he wanted, but Luffy responded that if he left Lucci alone, the agent would kill all of them. Lucci was able to overpower and injure Luffy with some advanced Shigan, Rankyaku, and Tekkai techniques, so Luffy decided to show him Gear 3. Luffy blew into his thumb and inflated the bones in his right arm, making it equivalent in size to a giant's. He then threw a punch at Lucci with this giant right arm, demolishing the wall and tower in front of him and launching the agent out of the structure. Afterwards, Luffy transferred the air to his torso and pulled himself onto the Marine battleship that Lucci had fallen onto, where he proceeded to transfer the air to his leg and unleash a powerful stomp that wreaked tremendous destruction. Lucci leaped onto the mast and transformed into his full-leopard form, allowing him to maul Luffy's left shoulder. Luffy brought the air to his torso to repel Lucci, but proceeded to be overwhelmed by the agent due to Gear 3 reducing his speed. However, Marine Vice Admiral Onigumo then had his ship fire at the ship Luffy and Lucci were on in order to kill the former, but Luffy was saved from its destruction when he was forced to release the air inflating his body, blowing him back to the prop towers where he was before. But since he was the size of a child again due to Gear 3's side effects, Luffy tried to run and hide from Lucci until he returned to normal.



This tactic did not work, as Lucci found Luffy and assaulted him with Shigan before smashing his small body up against a wall, trapping him. Fortunately, however, Lucci became affected by damage that Luffy had given him earlier and was stopped from unleashing a deadly attack, and enough time passed to allow Luffy to return to normal size. Luffy then activated Gear 2 once again despite the potentially debilitating effect it could have on his body. Luffy was able to overwhelm Lucci with his attacks, but Lucci then attacked him with a new technique called Rokuogan, a Rokushiki ability accessible to those who had mastered the normal six techniques. The technique created a shockwave that damaged Luffy internally much like an Impact Dial, though with significantly greater power. As the walls around them started to crumble from the bombardment, Luffy looked outside and saw his crewmates on a nearby part of the bridge encouraging him. Luffy resumed fighting Lucci, but the agent noted that his Gear 2 power appeared to have lost its edge before attacking the pirate with another Rokuogan strike, causing him to collapse to the floor.



However, Usopp then called out to Luffy, having removed his Sogeking mask, and also called out Lucci, saying he would be the agent's next opponent. Luffy protested, and Usopp said he would need to get back up and win if he wanted to keep Lucci away from him, saying they would all go back together once the agent was defeated. Spurred on by Usopp's words, Luffy got back up and exchanged a flurry of blows with Lucci. Lucci then wrapped his tail around Luffy's body and struck him with another Rokuogan, but despite taking that attack, Luffy quickly got up. He then assaulted Lucci with a flurry of Gear 2 punches in a technique called Gomu Gomu no Jet Gatling, which sent the agent crashing into the wall and knocked him unconscious. Victorious at last, Luffy shouted out to Robin that they would be going back together. However, Luffy then collapsed from his wounds, and though he heard Usopp's call to join them on an escape ship and became surrounded by all five of the Buster Call battleships, he stated that his body could not move at all. However, Usopp had Robin push Luffy off the edge of the prop tower with her ability, and as Luffy fell toward the ocean the Going Merry suddenly surfaced, giving the Straw Hats a chance to escape.



Luffy fell into the ocean but was quickly rescued by Kokoro, who tossed him onto the Merry. As the Straw Hats collected themselves, Robin thanked everyone for saving her, and Luffy grinned in response. The Marine battleships prepared to fire at the Merry, but their aim was thrown off due to Sanji having closed the Gates of Justice which created violent whirlpools. One of the ships managed to lock onto the Merry and fire, but Zoro and Sanji used Luffy's body to intercept the cannonballs and launch them back at the Marines. Franky used Coup de Vent to blast the Merry away from the battleships, allowing the Straw Hats to sail away from Enies Lobby victorious. Once they reached safety, Usopp put his Sogeking mask back on and lied that Usopp had gone off on another boat, which Luffy believed. The Straw Hats then encountered a Galley-La ship captained by Iceburg, and as this happened, the entire bow of the Merry nearly broke off entirely. Luffy begged Iceburg to help Merry, saying the ship was essentially their crewmate. However, Iceburg replied that the best thing to do for the Merry would be to let it rest. After a few seconds, Luffy solemnly accepted this, and after his crew had evacuated the ship, Luffy used a torch to set it on fire before disembarking onto a small rowboat. Luffy thanked the Merry for all it had done for them, and as the ship burned, it stunningly spoke to the crew like it had during its arrival on Enies Lobby, apologizing for being unable to carry them further. Merry's words caused Luffy to start bawling as he apologized to the ship for treating it as poorly as he had; however, Merry then responded that it was happy to have gone this far, and thanked the Straw Hats for taking care of it as it broke down and sank into the sea.

Post-Enies Lobby Arc
As everyone relaxed at Water 7 two days later, Franky decided to build a ship for the crew out of the special wood called Adam Wood. However, at that point, Marines led by Vice Admiral Garp broke into Iceburg's mansion where everyone was staying, and punched the still-asleep Luffy to wake him up. To everyone's shock, Luffy revealed that Garp is really his grandfather, and revealed the training Garp put him through as a child. Garp soon told Luffy about the Four Emperors and how Shanks was one of them. Soon after, Garp asked Luffy about his meeting with his father as Luffy was surprised to learn he had a father and he encountered him in Loguetown. Garp casually revealed the name of Luffy's father, known as Dragon the Revolutionary, who is considered by the World Government to be the worst criminal in the world. Luffy did not know of Dragon as he is met with surprise from his crew and friends before he turned to Robin, who informed him why his father was infamous. Afterwards, Garp said that it was supposed to be a secret.



Sometime after, Sanji revealed to the Straw Hats that Usopp was planning to rejoin the crew. While Luffy, Nami, and Chopper wanted him to rejoin and planned to invite him back, Zoro insisted that Luffy should be a firm captain on his position, and Usopp shouldn't return so easily as he should return on their terms, not his. Zoro even threatened to leave the crew if Usopp was allowed to rejoin without asking for forgiveness for his behavior. Luffy understood the message and agreed with Zoro's view of the situation.

A few days later, Chimney, Gonbe, Mozu and Kiwi burst in on the Straw Hats to tell them their new ship was complete. Shortly after, Zambai and the rest of the Franky Family also appeared, revealing to the Straw Hats their new Bounties. They then revealed that their boss also received a bounty, which led them to the Straw Hats who they begged to let him join their crew. After the Straw Hats, they excitedly left to Scrap Island, where their new ship was moored. There, Iceburg unveiled their new caravel, much to the pirates' delight. After briefly exploring the ship, Luffy asked Iceburg where Franky was. Having discerned that the young captain wished to recruit Franky as their Shipwright, Iceburg advised Luffy that if he really wanted Franky, he would need to use force.

With the help from the rest of the Franky Family, Luffy got a hold of Franky's underwear as a bargaining chip to get him to join his crew. Franky simply posed naked, unabashed, and said, "I'm still a man, naked." Meanwhile, Sanji came running with Zoro to tell everyone that Vice Admiral Garp had sailed on the opposite shore into attack position. Luffy then threw Franky's swim briefs back and told him to sail with them. Franky then stated that he did want to see his dream ship reach the end of the world and become the greatest ship ever built. Franky agreed to join after this.

Shortly after, Garp appeared and started attacking the Straw Hats and their new ship. At that moment, Usopp tried to rejoin the crew, but because of Zoro's speech, he was ignored until he apologized. During the struggle between Garp and the Straw Hats, Usopp finally apologized and admitted that he wanted to rejoin. With that note, Luffy tearfully accepted him back into the crew. With Usopp and Robin's return, Franky wished to grant the ship it's new name, and while most of the Straw Hats gave some suggestions, with Luffy giving some of the most ridiculous ones, they in the end went with Iceburg's suggestion, the Thousand Sunny. After escaping Garp's onslaught of iron balls using their new ships emergency escape feature, the Çoup de Burst', the newly formed Straw Hat crew sailed off to find their next adventure.