Monkey D. Luffy is the protagonistof Eiichiro Oda’sOne Piece. Luffy sets out on the journey to become the Pirate King in the Great Pirate era, a time where the seas are crowded by Pirates in search of the Grand treasurethat Gol D. Rogerleft behind, theOne Piece. Luffy begins his journey at 17 years of age and, shortly after, acquires a powerful crew one by one.
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He then makes his way to the Grand Line and establishes himself as one of the strongest rookies on the sea. With time, he has only gotten stronger and is currently considered to be one ofthe Four Emperors of the Sea. Over the years, the story has revealed fantastic bits about Luffy’s past. Just like any other character, his experiences in the past have shaped the man that he is today.
Luffy And Shanks
The youngest that the fans have seenLuffy so far was during his flashback with Shanks, the pirate who put him on the path to becoming the Pirate King. When Shanks set his base in a Foosha Village, Luffy greeted him in a rather hostile manner. However, it didn’t take him long to warm up to these pirates. Before long, Luffy wanted to become a pirate himself and begged Shanks to take him along on his journey. Shanks always refused to take him along, however, something in Luffy piqued his interest. One time, Luffy said the same words as Captain Roger once did and this was the same dream that he holds to this day. Fans do not know what his true dream is, however, Shanks' reaction to it was rather comical.
According to Luffy, Shanks burst into tears and laughter at the same time. It was these words of Luffy that made Shanks give up his arm for the sake of the next era. When Luffy found himself in a near-death situation, drowning in the middle of the sea, he was saved by Shanks at the cost of his left arm. Soon after, he was entrusted with his Straw Hat which he considered to be very precious to him. With that, Luffy promised to become a Great Pirate one day and meet Shanks in the New World to return his hat to him.
Luffy And His Brothers
Shanks had a tremendous influence on Luffy during his time as a pirate, however, they were other people in his life who shaped him to be the man that he is today. Perhaps, the most important of these were his two brothers, Ace and Sabo. Sometime after Luffy was entrusted with the Straw Hat by Shanks, Garp took him to Mount Corvo, where he lived under the care of Curly Dadan. It is here that Luffy met Ace, the son of the Pirate King and although the two didn’t start on great terms, they became friends in a matter of time. Sabo, Ace’s best friend, also joined the fray and together, the three formed a strong bond of brotherhood. Training and fighting every day, they only got stronger and dreamed to have a life full of freedom together.Sabo, being the son of a Noble, lived quite a restricting life and, thus, pursued freedom vehemently.
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He wanted to become a pirate as that would allow him to pursue freedom the most. Ace, meanwhile, wanted his existence to be acknowledged and for that reason, he wanted to surpass the legacy left behind by his father, Roger. To do this, he planned to surpass every single pirate there is and make a great name for himself. Luffy, on the other hand, wanted to fulfill the promise that he made to Shanks, however, at the same time, Luffy had a grand dream that he holds to this day. This was the same dream that he once mentioned to Shanks as well. Currently, fans don’t know what lies at the end of Luffy’s journey. Nonetheless, all three wanted to pursue freedom and that is an ideal that Luffy follows very strongly to this day.
How Luffy’s Past Shaped Him
Luffy’s past shaped him in more ways than one. It is through his connection to Shanks that he wanted to become a pirate in the first place and, later on, surpass Shanks' legacy and end up becoming the Pirate King as well. At the same time, his grandest dream, which lies at the end of his journey and is something that the fans are unaware of yet, was also established when he was a mere child. Furthermore, his ideals of freedom and wanting to sail the seas of the world in a free-spirited manner were also established while he was a child. Perhaps, one of the biggest parts of Luffy’s character that has past helped shape was him wanting to protect all those close to him.
Luffy grew up alone for the most part. However, in Ace and Sabo, he found a family. Yet, it wasn’t long until Sabo was forcibly taken away from them. To Luffy and Ace, Sabo was dead and what took him away was the exact opposite of the freedom that he was once pursuing – the Celestial Dragons. For that reason, Luffy promised to grow stronger and then continue until he reaches a point where he would not have to lose anyone ever again. This is reiterated on several occasions in the story, with Enies Lobby being a prime example.
Shortly before fighting Blueno, Luffy mentions that to keep everyone in his crew close to him, he would have to become even stronger and defeat everyone who stands in his path. He also realized that it is only by becoming the strongest on the seas that he would get to be the freest. In essence, Luffy does not want to conquer anything and that has been his mindset since when he was a child. He simply wants freedom. It just so happens that to achieve that freedom, Luffy has to be the strongest on the sea and that is exactly what he is been trying to accomplish over the years.
