Straw Hat Pirates

The Straw Hat Pirates (麦わらの一味) are a pirate crew from East Blue and the main focus and heroes of the anime and manga One Piece, and are led by the main protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy. The "Straw Hats", as named after Luffy's signature straw hat that was given to him by Red-Haired Shanks, are sometimes referred to as the "Luffy Pirates" both on merchandise and earlier in the series. The crew sailed on the Going Merry, their first official Straw Hat ship, up until the Water 7 Arc. After the Enies Lobby Arc, they obtained a new ship called the Thousand Sunny. The Straw Hats currently consist of nine members whose combined bounties equal 800,000,050.

Following events on the Sabaody Archipelago, all nine members were separated from one another. For two years, they trained in relatively isolated locations, becoming stronger for the sake of helping each other.

Jolly Roger
The crew's Jolly Roger is a depiction of a traditional skull and cross-bone with the skull wearing Luffy's trademark strawhat. In addition to being on their flag, the jolly roger is also been shown on the sails of the Going Merry and the Thousand Sunny.

Crew Members
As a result of Luffy's choice in who joins the crew, the Straw Hats are notable for being one of the most varied, if not bizarre, pirate crews in the One Piece world. Their ranks have members so vastly different from one another that it almost seems random in retrospect. These include a doctor who is a shape shifting reindeer that can be mistaken for something else depending on his form, such as a gorilla when full human, or a tanuki when in his usual mid-form; a cyborg for a shipwright who has very eccentric behavior and wears almost nothing except for shirts and speedoes; and a lively, undead, and perverted skeletal musician. Amongst them they have four Devil Fruit users which includes Luffy himself. The majority of them are also fairly young, with only three members being older than 30, although the two oldest members are just as childish as the others. Unlike most crews, they consider their ships to be crew members.

Crew Strength
Despite only having a small number of members, the Straw Hats are a very powerful crew. Their captain has continuously defeated people who are renowned for their incredible strength such as Crocodile and Gekko Moriah of the Shichibukai, the highly feared god Enel from Skypiea, and the infamous Rob Lucci of the CP9. The crew itself has done things which most would think impossible like defeating an entire organization (such as Baroque Works and CP9) and breaking in and out of The Judicial Island, Enies Lobby. In fact, after the incident that occurred at Enies Lobby, the World Government has labeled them as a very dangerous crew. All of them have at least one talent at which they are virtually perfect at and each crew member is a more or less a formidable if not downright fearsome fighter in their own right. While most of them have amazing strength in one way or another, three of them, the captain, the first swordsman, and the chef, have such astonishingly inhuman strength that the rest of the crew have dubbed them the "Monster Trio". Each crew member in the beginning has some fairly high fighting abilities, but as they progressed each crew member has had to become stronger due to each opponent they encounter either being significantly stronger than the last or has required them to develop new skills or techniques to combat new opponents. After the two year time skip, even though they were absent for sometime, the Straw Hats were talked amongst pirates on a legendary level. Even Sentomaru casually commented that pirates were not like what they used to be. He calls the impostors of Straw Hats wasteful trash when the fake Luffy boasted of his lineage infront of him taking him down with one blow of his axe.

On our journey across the islands, all of us became stronger without even noticing.

While each crew member can hold their own by themselves, what makes the Straw Hats truly strong is their teamwork, which has become more important as the series has progressed. When one of them is incapable of doing a task, another can help out in their place instead. This helps the crew very much in facing odds that may be too much for them if they work separately.

The crew have gained legendary status since they first set sail, on par with all the other major crews of the world. They are currently the only known pirate crew to openly wage war against the world government and have practically gotten away with it. It still stands that they are the only pirate crew to have escape from every branch of law enforcement that the government can throw at them. Marineford, Shichibukai, Cipher Pol and Impel Down have all failed in their attempts to hold down the crew. One of their more legendary feats was to openly punch a world noble to the full glare of the world. After the time skip, even veterans of the "old age" pirates and marines alike have noted (and reluctantly on the marines' part) that the world doesn't make pirates like them anymore. They were considered to be last of the true pirate age. When news of them resurfaced, the entire marine organisation threw into a frenzy to stamp on their revival whilst the rest of the pirates cheered on. It can be assumed that their fame had led many to join the ranks of piracy, as when the fake Strawhats recruited pirates. Many flocked to join up, and were also well shocked when the monster trio gave a show of a small fraction of their power. Sentomaru goes as far as to award the fake Luffy a tough blow when he tried to boast of his lineage, saying that the real one would never have done so.

I'll do whatever you cannot do. And you do whatever I cannot do!!!

By the end of their two-year-long training, it could be presumed that the Straw Hats have grown exponentially in individual power, as some of them took their self-imposed training under the tutelage of prominent figures of the sea like Silvers Rayleigh, Dracule Mihawk, Emporio Ivankov, and Monkey D. Dragon. Each member of the Monster Trio (Luffy, Zoro and Sanji) have shown to be able to defeat a Pacifista in a single attack, whereas it took the combined efforts of the entire crew to barely beat one before. Luffy easily destroyed a Pacifista with a single Haki-embued Jet Pistol, and Zoro and Sanji, the latter possibly using his Diable Jambe, both dealt crippling blows to a Pacifista with raw strength. Zoro and Sanji each used attacks that likely would have been sufficient to destroy the Pacifista on their own, had they not been trying to outdo each other. Another example of the Monster Trio's strength is that they were able to defeat a sea monster such as the Kraken without much of an effort. Keep in mind that the Kraken is several hundred times larger than the Thousand Sunny itself. The crew, in Luffy, Sanji, Chopper, Robin and Franky's absence, later defeated all the troops stationed in the Ryuugu Palace with ease.

It seems that during their two-year absence, the Marines have remained ever-vigilant in case they return, despite the major belief they all mysteriously died off, as when a group of impostors appeared in Sabaody Archipelago, the Marines immediately mobilized to stop them.

Overall, their most unique strength is the fact the Straw Hat crew, on many occassions, are extremely lucky, being able to achieve many things that would be considered impossible feats.

Bounties
Though they are pirates in name, the Straw Hat Pirates do not engage in the stereotypical activities of pirates. In fact, before the Enies Lobby arc, when CP9 initiated the conflict by blackmailing Nico Robin and detaining her, the Straw Hat Pirates mostly fought only other pirates (with the exception of Luffy and Zoro, who took down the dreaded Axe Hand Morgan and several of his unwilling subordinates, and Sanji, who beat up Fullbody and possibly some other unfortunate Marines prior to becoming an official Straw Hat) - it seems they were considered dangerous to the World Government and given bounties simply because they called themselves pirates. They are considered villains by the World Government and the general public who aren't familiar with them. While this is a hassle for them, like most other pirates, the majority of the Straw Hats see their bounties as a form of achievement, a sign of how much fame and recognition their actions have produced. Nami notes that, as pirates, they are used to taking blame and being portrayed as the villains. Their current bounties total up to 800,000,050.

Relationships amongst the Crew
Each member of the crew values their friendships very highly. Despite their usual comic annoyance with each other from time to time, they very much love being together as well as being a member of the crew, so much so, that they tend to forget their worries and burdens, as shown with Nami, Robin, Franky and Brook. One of the major themes of the series is how committed they are to each other, to the point where they are willing to give up what is important to them, such as their lives, and even their dreams, for one of their crew members. If one single member is hurt by an outside force (physically or emotionally), the other members will become enraged and take drastic action to avenge their friends. Previously, they have gone as far as to take on an entire organization, make enemies with the World Government, and even attack the World Nobles.

Examples of their friendship include: during their fight with Bartholomew Kuma, Sanji, Zoro and Brook threw themselves in front of their friends to keep Kuma from getting to them and after Luffy was immersed in sadness due to Ace´s death, not only was he able to overcome his pain by remembering that he still had his crew but when the rest of the crew realized how hurt Luffy would be, they struggled to return to him for support. Upon receiving his message to wait two years, they each resolved to use that time to hone their skills in order to be more useful to Luffy and protect each other better from any danger.

Dreams
Each member of the Straw Hats has a dream they want to achieve. These dreams are their reasons for joining Luffy's crew, and essentially the driving force behind their lives. Each Straw Hat's dream was inspired by tragedies (often deaths) in their childhoods that involved at least one person they idolized and cared for deeply. Some, like Zoro, Chopper, Nami, Franky, and Usopp are fulfilling their dreams by accumulating knowledge and/or achieving a certain task while sailing the Grand Line. Others, like Robin, Luffy, Brook,and Sanji are searching for a person, place or thing that can only be found on the Grand Line. Whatever the reason, each of the Straw Hat's dreams involve traveling the Grand Line, and each Straw Hat member refuses to die before achieving their dreams. However, their determination doesn't extend to sacrificing or abandoning their comrades for the fulfillment of their dreams.

Members' Dreams

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


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


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


 * Usopp's dream is to become a brave warrior of the sea like his father, Yasopp. Although he has implied that he has accomplished this dream (before he leaves the crew), Usopp has a second dream. After the Little Garden Arc, he also developed a secondary dream to visit Elbaf and see the warrior giants he idolizes. During the Post-War Arc Usopp develops another dream, to be the true Sniper King after he got Luffy's message to get stronger in 2 years.


 * Sanji's dream, shared with Zeff, is to find All Blue, a legendary ocean. It is assumed to be in the Grand Line, a place where all waters from all over the four seas gather, bringing fish from all over the globe. During the early-Arlong Arc, Sanji had stated that he wanted to visit Fishman Island someday to see a Mermaid, which has recently been fufilled; sure enough, the chef broke down crying upon seeing all the mermaids and implied that meeting the mermaids was on an equivilant level to finding the All-Blue. He also wished to consume the Suke Suke no Mi but unfortunately for him, Absalom destroyed that dream as he had already eaten it. However, Sanji, upon seeing Absalom's detestable actions, changed his mind about his desire to consume it.


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


 * Robin's dream is to find the Rio Poneglyph which tells the True History, continuing the research of her mother Nico Olivia and her old mentor Clover.


 * The Going Merry's dream as the crew's ship was to sail with the Straw Hats forever which it revealed to the crew upon its demise. In the end it was a dream it could not achieve, it was last seen as it was given a Viking funeral (because the "bottom of the sea is dark and lonely"). However, Merry's spirit supposedly inhabits the Straw Hats' new ship, the Thousand Sunny, and therefore its dream may live on.


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


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

The X Mark
The X Mark is something the first six Straw Hats (Luffy through Chopper), as well as Nefertari Vivi and Carue, have on their left forearms.

During their Alabasta adventure, they had to face a very tricky opponent, Mr. 2 Bon Kurei, with his Devil Fruit Power, which can make him look like anyone of them. Zoro came up with an idea to counteract this power. They made a black X mark on their left arms, as a symbol of their belonging to the Straw Hats. To prevent this being copied by Mr. 2, it was covered by a bandage, and only revealed as proof of identity. The intention being that the band appeared to be proof, but in fact concealed the true sign. Luffy then stated that the X mark was a symbol of their friendship.

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

Changes After 2 Years
As promised, every Straw Hat has returned to Sabaody Archipelago. Roronoa Zoro was the first to arrive, and after him was Franky; then Nami, Usopp, Tony Tony Chopper, Sanji, Brook, Nico Robin, and finally Monkey D. Luffy.



These changes include:
 * Luffy has also gained an X-shaped scar on the chest where was hit by Akainu and seems to have mastered the three forms of Haki. He also now wears a sash similar to Zoro's.
 * Zoro has gained a scar over his left eye (it was confirmed to be on his left rather than what is on the color splash) similar to Rayleigh, as well as gained more muscle. He now also wears a robe, instead of a shirt and pants.
 * Nami was noted by Usopp to have gained a more "developed" body, she has also let her hair grow and obtained technology from Weatheria, including many 'Weather balls'.
 * Usopp has developed a muscular body and has grown a faint goatee, wearing a white hat with longer hair tied back, using plants called "pop greens" as weapons and claims that he has become a braver warrior. He now uses a smaller version of his Kabuto slingshot.
 * Sanji's goatee grew significantly thicker, as well as a soul patch with it, and a few mustache hairs. He revealed his left eye, while covering his right eye with his hair.
 * Chopper's hybrid (half-man, half-reindeer) form has a lighter fur tone, compared to two years ago, and in his animal form he appears as a fully grown reindeer. Another alteration is wearing some kind of helmet he (presumably) wears over his hat. He recently showed to develop a new form named Kung Fu Point while defeating some of King Neptune's soldiers, and his 'guard' form has grown dramatically in size, enough to take blow from the Kraken without any apparent damage.
 * Robin no longer has bangs and her hair is much longer. It is pulled back with a pair of sunglasses resting at the top of her forehead.
 * Franky has used the technology from Dr. Vegapunk's research lab to develop a bigger and more advanced body (adding a "BF-37" tattoo to symbolize the latest and greatest model, Battle Franky 37), his bulky arms with oval shape were replaced for square ones, and he got a device in his nose to control his hair. He now usually goes with a shorter, buzz-cut hairstyle, but can revert to his old style or change to a new one. His arsenal has increased in firepower as well- he now has rocket launchers at his disposal.
 * Brook, who has replaced his gentleman-style outfit with rockstar clothing, has gained notoriety as a famous musician with the title of "Soul King".

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