Monkey D. Luffy/Personality (2024)

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Overview

Luffy's most dominant traits are his apparent lack of common sense, his utter fearlessness and unwavering belief in himself.^[26] He generally marches at the beat of his own drum, unwilling to approach anything in a delicate or nuanced matter. That said, Luffy has a penchant of being able to see through the heart of the matter, often able to accurately call out someone's personal flaws such as Koby's cowardly nature^[27] or Kuro's weakness as a pirate.^[28] He is profoundly ambitious, frequently declaring he will become the Pirate King and devoting his entire being into being one.^[29]

Luffy's personality can be described as childlike, in the sense that he tends to go to the extremes. He can either be extremely greedy, especially in cases of food, who his crew is, and adventure; or extraordinarily selfless, going so far as to virtually sacrifice himself to avenge or protect his friends, crew, and family. This childish mentality does not prevent him from often getting to the root of the problem and allowing him to figure out the simplest way of solving it.

Shanks has had a profound effect on Luffy's personality, as prior to meeting him, Luffy was arrogant, impatient and extremely prideful. The thought of Shanks being humiliated by Higuma infuriated the young boy, and he recklessly tried to get his revenge. After meeting Shanks and being inspired to become the Pirate King,^[29] Luffy eventually grows up to become more like him - opting to become calmer, patient, and avoid letting things get to him.^[30] Early on, he would occasionally repeat some of Shanks' lines to other people, like during his first meeting with Usopp. With that said, Luffy is very much his own person and fairly different from Shanks overall. On occasion, he will still lose his cool and get angry, though this aspect of him has lessened considerably since the timeskip.

Above all else, Luffy dislikes weak people, though not strictly in a physical sense. He has openly told Koby that he "hates people like him" due to Koby's frequent use of phrases of "it's impossible" and his cowardly nature. Conversely, he likes people who put in the effort to make something of themselves, despite their limitations, and has come to appreciate Koby after seeing him put his life on the line.^[27] He calls out Kuro for complaining about being a pirate, taking less issue with his crimes and more with his desire to escape the life of being a pirate.^[28]

Luffy frequently expresses wonder of the simplest things, such as hermit crabs, and can be confused by concepts such as that by digging a hole right next to another he may be unintentionally filling the other hole. In addition, during long and complex explanations of something, he immediately calls it magic.^[31] He likes monsters and will ask weird creatures to join his crew (as seen in the Thriller Bark Arc, asking a talking tree to join his crew).^[32] He has an appalling lack of knowledge for medicine: when Nami had a high fever, he told her to eat cold food^[33] and later tried to make Roronoa Zoro better (after battling Bartholomew Kuma) by pouring sake onto him, because Zoro likes sake.^[34] When attempting to think up a plan to get off of Amazon Lily, whilst he managed to make some logical sense of where to look, he is seen to strain himself and noted that he is going to feel sick from too much thinking.^[35] He is rarely disturbed by violence and bloodshed, as he has fought his whole life. Even the worst battlefields rarely disturb him, except when it involves a friend or relative, as in the case of Ace. Despite his reckless and energetic disposition, Luffy also has a penchant for silent reactions in general. He is seemingly unfazed by the most horrifying sights, such as pirates dying before him, headless men left after Law's attacks or the extreme violence from various devil fruit users in general.

He almost never gets irritated with normal people, though there are a few exceptions. Luffy gets irritated at people who have different tastes in food as him, and dislikes it when people try to look at his "privates."^[36] He also doesn't seem to like it when people play and stretch with his rubber body while he eats but doesn't have much of an issue with it otherwise.^[37] On a more serious note, he is actively annoyed at people who tell him things are "impossible" and will even hit people (men or women) who push the issue too far.^[38] People who betray their comrades outright disgust him, regardless of how awful said comrades might be.^[28] His irritation can extend to his crewmates too, particularly when they whine about the dangers, he tends to put them in, or when they go too far, such as his clash with Usopp.

Luffy calls every mixed-appearance creature he finds by whichever creature is its secondary (non-dominant) part. On Gaimon's island, the dog/chicken was referred to as a "chicken" when it was mostly a dog, the snake/rabbit a "rabbit" even though it was mostly snake, and the pig/lion a "lion" even though it was mostly pig.^[39] This becomes a running gag: later when he meets Bananawani, he calls them "bananas with crocodiles attached to them."^[40] Also, after seeing Pierre transform, he continued to refer to him as a "horse" instead of a bird.^[41] And related to this running gag, when on Long Ring Long Land island, he called every animal by what he thought they resembled, rather than the actual species they were.

Luffy is enthralled by all aspects of pirate life. He was extremely happy when the Straw Hats got their first ship and was ecstatic at the idea of firing cannon balls at rock formations.^[42] Luffy likes to sit on the bow of the ship, such as the heads of the Going Merry and the Thousand Sunny, the nose of Rocketman, the head of the right Yuda of the Kuja Pirates' ship or even on top of the front cannon of a captured Marines' ship.^[43]

Luffy's interest in women is nuanced: Luffy was aroused when Nami stripped yet remained neutral when Hanco*ck did so. In the former case, it was because he was with Usopp at the time, and Usopp (who is someone he shares a close connection to due to their similar age and interests) was clearly a bad influence on his behavior.^[44] In general, he has not yet displayed any romantic inclinations or perversions, having nonchalantly refused to marry Lola^[45] and Hanco*ck without a second thought.^[46] Luffy also has an indifferent behavior towards marriage. While he knows what marriage is, he does not seem to care about the significance of it, as when Sanji was in an arranged marriage with Pudding, he didn't care if he got married and cared more about him returning to the crew.^[47] He also did not object to Absalom trying to marry Nami and only commented on how "brave" he was to want to marry her.^[48] Despite his general disinterest, Luffy has earned the affections of many women along his travels (such as Alvida's admiration,^[49] the love of Boa Hanco*ck, etc.),^[46] quite a few of whom are royalty.^[50]

Luffy has shown to admire heroic figures, though he has stated vehemently that he doesn't want to be one, with his primary hang up being that heroes are fundamentally entirely selfless, and Luffy not really identifying that trait. Ironically, many of Luffy's actions are immensely selfless, with his selfishness mainly revolving around his gluttony and his thirst for adventure. This trait leaves everyone he meets with to think he is some kind of hero, but not by his own design. Eventually, he warms up to the idea of being a hero for Fish-Man Island by Jinbe in exchange for receiving lots of meat.^[51]

Luffy is an extremely heavy sleeper. During the operation to ruin Sanji and Pudding's wedding ceremony, Jinbe could not wake him up even after smacking him several times and yelling directly into his ears. Only after he was presented meat - his favorite food - did he finally wake up.^[52] Back at Water 7, Luffy woke up when his grandfather Garp hit him with his "Fist of Love."^[53]

Luffy has gained a reputation of being a very dangerous person because of his recklessness and even insanity. However, unlike other pirates who have a reputation for being psychotic (like the Killer of the Marines Caribou^[54] or Bellamy)^[55] due to their unjust violence against civilians or authorities, Luffy gained his reputation for helping his friends and innocents in the face of unjust or evil figures, usually going above and beyond to save them. This often puts him at odds with powerful organizations and pirates of incredible influence and power.

When his adoptive older brother, Ace, was killed at Marineford, the mental strain of watching Ace die in his arms caused him to fall into a catatonic state.^[56] After waking from this state, Luffy flew into a rage and went on a destructive rampage to vent his grief and anger, in a way that was deeply uncharacteristic of his usual self.^[57] Luffy came to the conclusion that he had been too naïve, and was weak and unworthy of becoming Pirate King, falling into a state of depression and self-pity.^[58] Some encouragement from Jinbe and Rayleigh gave Luffy some renewed courage to continue pursuing his dream, as well as realize that while he may have lost Ace, he still had his precious crew.^[59] After the timeskip, he tells Rayleigh that he will be Pirate King, having regained his confidence to fight for his dream.^[60]

Throughout the series, several characters have stated similarities between Luffy and other D. carriers, whether in personality, words, actions, or presence. So far he is thought to be similar to Jaguar D. Saul by Robin;^[61] to Monkey D. Garp by Aokiji,^[62] by at least one of the Five Elders,^[63] and by his own crew;^[64] to Monkey D. Dragon by Emporio Ivankov;^[65] to Gol D. Roger by Smoker,^[66] Crocus,^[67] Kureha,^[68] Gan Fall,^[69] Shanks, Rayleigh,^[70] Kokoro,^[71] Shakuyaku^[72] and the non-canonical Raoul;^[73] and to Portgas D. Ace by Tama and Yamato.^[74][75]

Adventurous Spirit

—Luffy speaks out against learning what the One Piece is from Rayleigh.^[76]

Luffy has a profound thirst for adventure, having described it as his main reason for him wanting to become Pirate King. Luffy believes the Pirate King is the person with the most freedom in the world, with the ability to travel anywhere on the ocean.^[76] Luffy rejects becoming anyone's ruler or boss, as he wishes to be free to do whatever he wants, though this never comes at the cost of anyone else's freedom. While perfectly content with being the captain, he initially refuses to become the leader of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, instead wanting the factions to be equals that come to each other's aid whenever they need each other.^[77]

Because of this adventurous nature, he tends to avoid taking 'the easy way out' at times, such as when he destroyed the Eternal Pose to Nanimonai Island given to him by Robin (Miss All-Sunday at the time), stating that he did not want an enemy to decide his destination.^[78] When Usopp implied that it may be possible to steal the Road Poneglyphs and get to Laugh Tale without fighting the Four Emperors at all, Luffy showed a look of extreme disappointment.^[79] Luffy almost always takes in the various islands and locations the crew travels to and is always in awe at some of the more incredible sights and locations.

He has absolutely no intention of trying to learn what or where the One Piece actually is until he finds it himself and has outright stated he would quit being a pirate if his crew tried to find out directly from Rayleigh, stating that he didn't want to "go on a boring adventure."^[76]

Luffy has no actual sense of caution and in fact, has been known to literally laugh in the face of danger and walk into potentially harmful situations with a massive grin as, for example, when the Straw Hats approached the Knock-Up Stream^[80] and when they decided to board the Rumbar Pirates ghost ship^[81] and also when entering Thriller Bark^[82] and while descending to Fish-Man Island,^[83] Luffy never says goodbye to those he considers friends, in hopes of seeing them again.

Carefree and Optimism

Luffy approaches situations with a calm and carefree attitude, almost never taking things seriously. In spite of being captain, Luffy does not take his duties very seriously, and is rarely seen being harsh or enforcing standards on his crew.

While Luffy can be serious when it comes to fighting or personal matters when it comes to loyalty and pride, Luffy would generally rather have fun or relax such as enjoying banquets (in fact, he'd rather enjoy banquets during serious situations, such as at Punk Hazard, much to Trafalgar Law's annoyance).^[84]

Luffy tends not to take conflicts with others seriously, and this has become even more pronounced in the timeskip, such as when Judge regarded Sanji's emotions as a failure, Luffy simply thanked him for helping them escape much to Judge's frustration.^[85] This attitude generally tends to get on his crew's nerves, contrasting their focus on personal and serious matters, mainly with Nami, Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji. However, he has admonished several characters for their bad behavior, and has stated that Usopp is a "real" pirate, unlike Kuro, due to the latter's obsession with denouncing pirates in general.^[28]

Luffy is highly optimistic. He always sees the bright side of situations, or anything that goes wrong, and takes matters with a smile and an upbeat nature. He even enjoyed having people join his crew as Luffy was eager to accept Sanji's bride-to-be as part of his crew but only if Sanji returned himself.^[47] This attitude also tends to annoy his crew, mainly with Usopp and Zoro, in contrast with their pessimistic and serious attitudes respectively. It's important to note that he is not delusional, however. Despite his unwavering belief that he'll become Pirate King; he tells Koby early on that if he were to fail in achieving his dream that would be fine too. Luffy has stated that as long as he's alive, he has "infinite" chances in achieving whatever goal lies ahead him.^[27]

Simple-Mindedness

Luffy is generally simple-minded to a fault. Though he has moments of taking things very seriously, such as during fights or intense interpersonal conflicts, he generally approaches most things in a simple, straightforward manner. His simple-minded approach to life has actually saved him against Hanco*ck's powers because he mistook it for a Noro Noro Beam, which was used by Foxy, which brought out a fear of being slowed down (though it is shown later he is simply immune to her powers, because of his pure heart).^[86]

Because of his nature, Luffy does not beat around the bush like most people and will often directly call someone out for their personal failings. This usually proves to be beneficial, as he's inspired many people (friends and foes alike) into becoming better, more honest people by simply coming into contact with them. In fact, throughout the manga, Luffy is noted to have little to no thought-bubbles, which the author confirms, stating that Luffy is someone who always says what's on his mind, with virtually no filter.^[87] This aspect actually got him into danger one time, when he carelessly admitted to consuming all the oshiruko right in front of Big Mom, just as "O-lin" was depressed after finding an empty pot of it, causing her to attack him. He realized it too late that he declared it out loud, when he actually meant to think it to himself.^[88] Luffy often gets quite serious when anyone is in serious danger, notably his crew, whom he considers his family.

If Luffy finds something he does not understand, even if someone explains in detail, he calls it a "mystery thing"; like calling Dance Powder a "mystery powder."^[89] One of Luffy's running gags is asking "non-humans" such as the mermaid, Camie,^[90] and the skeleton, Brook if they can poop, in which case the answer is usually a yes.^[81]

Another running gag is Luffy's slow reaction time to extreme environments, especially to freezing temperatures.^[91] It should go without saying that in an actual fight, his reaction time is quite good.

Luffy's simple attitude and naïve comments during fights are often mistaken by his opponents as poking fun at them. Due to this, many of his opponents lose their cool and charge at him in anger. Luffy also has the tendency to unwittingly poke fun at an opponent's most sensitive trait, like calling Buggy "big nose,"^[92] Alvida "the fat lady",^[27] Kureha "old hag,"^[93] and laughing hysterically at Pica's high-pitched voice.^[94] In many cases, his opponents fail to understand whether Luffy is serious or just playing around with them during fights due to his sometimes-unorthodox ways of fighting like drinking too much water in his fight with Crocodile,^[95] punching out Arlong's teeth and using it as a weapon to bite him^[96] or turning his brain off against Enel.^[97] Luffy, however, has maintained that he is always serious during fights. In most cases, once he starts to fight, he maintains a serious attitude and is only seen laughing once he defeats the enemy or is certain the enemy will be defeated, like in Buggy's case when he laughed before sending Buggy flying in the air.^[98]

Instincts and Ingenuity

It has been stated more than once that Luffy's instinct and behavior are similar to that of a wild animal's, such as when he knows who he has to fight before he even gets to the battle.^[99] Even his fights show this as he relies on his instincts and counterattacks, which complements the way he views the world.

He is most often seen smiling, except in a fight where he is forced to use all his power (and sometimes even then). Under such circ*mstances, Luffy can sport an extreme expression, to the point where it looks like he's glaring at his opponents, not too dissimilar from Shanks. He is occasionally the only person who can see past events that have taken place and realize the true goal, yet at other times he can fall into the simplest of traps.

Luffy is a genius when it comes to fighting, such as when he figured out how to defeat Crocodile's Devil Fruit power on the verge of death,^[95] how to use Soru from sight, developed a number of effective counters to Enel's "Mantra" ability^[97] and, most recently, learning everything Silvers Rayleigh had to teach him about Haki in a year and a half (even though Rayleigh mentioned that two years were too short a time to learn about Haki).^[100]

In battle, Luffy has shown signs of intelligence, high tactical, and innovative skills. He can easily adapt to hindering situations such as Mr. 3's Candle Lock^[101] or Enel's Gloam Paddling into an attack.^[102] He also used a mirror to reflect Foxy's Noro Noro Beam attack.^[103] During the Marineford Arc, Dracule Mihawk mentions that Luffy seems unusually clear-headed by avoiding Mihawk's attacks. Additionally, during his battle against Mihawk, he uses Buggy as a scapegoat shield to help protect him and move forward towards Ace.^[104]

Luffy also has a habit of saying things with a lot more weight and (occasionally) wisdom than he realizes without even thinking or meaning to.

Fearlessness

As a person with the middle initial D., Luffy shares the common trait of not fearing death. He will often state that it is fine if he reaches his goal or dies on the way.^[27] He even smiled when he was nearly executed by Buggy in Loguetown, although he did have a look of shock and surprise in his eyes before this happened when Sanji and Zoro tried to rescue him.^[66]

Even if he is in a bizarre or frightening place, he will instead smile, be delighted, or even laugh. Luffy is brave enough to face even the most dangerous or frightening people, such as the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the Four Emperors, and even the Marines. He even punched a World Noble, who is known to be in a position that instills fear into others by their mere presence.^[105] At Thriller Bark, the encounter with zombies or ghosts did not faze Luffy.^[106]

While Luffy is generally bold and fearless, certain events and people can still frighten him, and he can express utter shock as well. When he was a child, he was afraid when Garp would find out about his dreams of sailing as a pirate. He is wary of Nami's temper, believing that whoever wanted to marry her is brave.^[48] He was terrified by Kureha chasing him and Sanji with knives and axes, and was shocked when witnessing Chopper's Hito Hito no Mi in action for the first time.^[107] He was startled when Monet appeared behind him. On Whole Cake Island, Luffy seemed visibly worried when he, his crew, and allies were trapped on the Whole Cake Chateau with the Big Mom Pirates.^[108] Though these moments of fear are usually out of comedic relief.

Leadership

Luffy also shows significant leadership skills, which at other times he usually lacks and therefore has his captain duties done by another crew member. An example of his leadership is usually present at the most serious and direst times, such as in the Water 7 Arc in which a portion of the Straw Hats, some Galley-La foremen, and the Franky Family are present. Luffy brings the three together by pointing out that they now have a common enemy and should form an alliance to take back what the enemy has taken.^[109] Another time could be when he takes on the burden of being a captain and does not hold back when dueling Usopp, and restrains himself from calling Usopp back afterward.^[110] He also displays this in Dressrosa when Franky voices opposition to Trafalgar Law's plan, getting everyone on the same page by having them assist the Tontatta dwarves in their efforts to overthrow Doflamingo.^[111] Crew members also listen to his orders without question when he is serious, all respecting his position.

In the Sabaody Archipelago Arc, Urouge comments on how not just anyone could order Zoro around since Zoro seemed to be so independent and ruthless.^[112] Yet he respects Luffy's commands when the time calls for it.

Charisma

—Dracule Mihawk, commenting on Luffy at the Summit War of Marineford.^[113]

Despite all his peculiar traits and habits (with his trademark dimwitted behavior), Luffy's most defining part of his personality is the ability to make allies out of absolutely anyone (including former enemies, villains and even Whitebeard himself), which is said by Mihawk to be the most dangerous ability in the world.^[113]

When other individuals heard Luffy mention that he, his crew, and the people they meet are friends or comrades, it touched the hearts of others who were later grateful to Luffy and his crew and support them, like Karoo, Vivi,^[114] Nefertari Cobra,^[115] and f*ckaboshi.^[116] That also applies to Nami^[117] and Chopper^[118] who later joined the Straw Hat Pirates.

Loyalty and Selflessness

—Luffy's response to a zombie telling him that his crew wouldn't survive.^[119]

Luffy is very loyal to his crewmates and other friends and can lose his temper quickly if they are harmed in any way (a trait that he apparently shares with the late Pirate King, Roger).

Luffy is willing to do drastic things to avenge and defend those dear to him, even if it means breaking a promise to his friends, such as striking Bellamy down for attacking Mont Blanc Cricket's crew^[120] and punching World Noble Saint Charlos in the face for shooting Hatchan, despite promising not to defy the World Nobles.^[105]

Luffy believes that all people should be loyal to their friends, and if Luffy sees anyone betraying their own comrades, he would stand up for the victims (even if they are enemies). Notable examples of this are Captain Kuro killing his own crew,^[28] Don Krieg attacking Gin,^[121] Boa Hanco*ck petrifying her fellow Kuja tribe members,^[122] Caesar Clown using his subordinates as mere guinea pigs,^[123] Donquixote Doflamingo treating Bellamy cruelly despite the latter's admiration for the former,^[124] Charlotte Pudding planning to kill Sanji at the wedding and making him believe she loved him,^[125] and Kanjuro betraying him, his crew, and the entire Kozuki Family before the Raid on Onigashima by revealing himself an enemy spy and abducting Momonosuke.^[126] He also wanted to punch Capone Bege for trying to kill Pekoms but put aside this grudge after Jinbe pointed out that they share a common enemy with Big Mom.^[127] In fact, on Whole Cake Island, Luffy engaged in a fight against Charlotte Cracker to protect Pound.^[128]

Luffy also does not tolerate if anyone accuses his friends of being disloyal to him, as Cracker claimed Sanji would be happy with marrying Pudding and told the "low-class pirate" to "get packing" which Luffy found it highly offensive.^[129] Sanji even pointed out during his fight with Vergo that he was the type of person Luffy would hate the most due to the vice admiral's betrayal of G-5 and attacking his subordinates despite their admiration for him.^[130]

Luffy's apparent selflessness often inspires others to side with him as a result. Notable examples are Boa Hanco*ck,^[131] Jinbe,^[56] and Emporio Ivankov,^[132] who would not have helped him out otherwise, given their individual beliefs.

He also shows respect for things that a person is willing to die for, be it a treasure or a secret, to the point of even fighting to protect that which the person would throw their lives away over. The most noticeable action of this would be when he protected the Gorgon Sisters' secret by using his own body to cover the mark on Boa Sandersonia's back, even though they were trying to kill him.^[133] Despite not knowing the story of Dr. Hiriluk, he did not think twice about throwing himself in front of Wapol's blast in order to defend the integrity of his flag, simply because he knew it meant a lot to Chopper.^[134]

Luffy is thus willing to recklessly put his own health and safety at risk to protect those he cares about, even if it means risking death or causing a permanent injury to himself, such as overexerting himself during the Summit War of Marineford to save Ace and begging Emporio Ivankov to use tension hormones on him again as he would rather risk his health and try to save Ace, or Luffy will kill himself if he allows Ace to die.^[135] Other examples are Luffy repeatedly attacking Noah with Gear 3 to save Fish-Man Island, despite rapid blood loss from the injury Hody Jones inflicted on him,^[136] and Luffy willing to risk losing his arms to break free from his restraints in Big Mom's cell to save Sanji, after learning Sanji's wedding is a set-up and the Charlotte Family intends to kill him (along with his family),^[125] though this was prior to Jinbe showing up to free him and Nami.^[137]

Whenever Luffy is seriously injured, he always requests that his friends or allies get treated first, even when he is the one who needs it the most. Nami fell ill while the crew was on its way to Arabasta, causing Luffy and Sanji to embark on a journey to get her medical attention once they reached Drum Island. However, Sanji ended up injured as well when they fought the Lapahns, and Luffy was forced to carry them both on his back while he climbed an entire mountain chain in freezing conditions. Upon finally reaching the summit, he immediately requested that they are saved with no regard for his own condition.^[138] The greatest example of this is when in Impel Down, after being severely poisoned by Magellan and getting to Level 5 with an injured Bentham and meeting Ivankov and Inazuma, he begged them to save his friend first even though he was truly suffering the most and in the worst condition (he was actually on the verge of death and would have certainly died had Inazuma not found them).^[132]

Luffy will also go to great lengths to protect his crew and friends whenever they are in any sort of danger or on the verge of leaving his crew, even if it means putting his life on the line when facing obstacles that ensure ideal threats towards him and his friends. When Robin turned herself over to CP9 to protect her crew, Luffy and his crew traveled to Enies Lobby to get her back and declared war on the World Government. After hearing about Ace's upcoming execution, Luffy ventured into Impel Down to break him out while battling through prison guards, jailer beasts, and Magellan. When Ace was being taken to Marineford, Luffy decided to go there to stop the execution while battling an army of Marine soldiers, three admirals, a few Warlords of the Sea, and even Sengoku, the fleet admiral. When hearing about Sanji's wedding to one of Big Mom's daughters, Luffy, along with Nami, Brook, Chopper, Carrot, and Pedro, traveled to Whole Cake Island to get him back despite the dangers of entering an Emperor's territory. When Reiju revealed to Luffy why Sanji refused to return in spite of knowing Pudding and Big Mom's intentions to assassinate him and his family as he was worried about Zeff and the Baratie chefs, Luffy claimed he would go there to ensure their safety, showing that he is willing to travel back and forth to protect those dear to him or his crew, regardless of how far apart they are.^[139]

While Luffy is usually too honest for his own good and has more than once gotten himself into trouble for it, he would never sell out his friends. At age 7, he endured a brutal beating by Porchemy without ever telling him where Ace and Sado hid their treasure, despite the two boys unfriendly attitude towards Luffy. When confronted by Magellan about how he broke into Impel Down, Luffy refused to sell out Hanco*ck, even if he dies for it.

Respect

While he desires to become the Pirate King for freedom instead of power, Luffy does have an interest in pirates and is respectful. This was first shown when Kuro loathed the ways of becoming a pirate, which infuriated him and responded that he does not have what it takes to be a pirate.^[28]

Luffy shows pride in his ship and his flag. During the Long Ring Long Land Arc, his crew spotted a ship without a flag, and Luffy was shocked that the ship was "naked."^[140] In the Water 7 and Enies Lobby Arcs, when the Going Merry was beyond repair, Luffy wanted to get a new one and had to break the news to Usopp. When he refused, the two got into a fight, which led to Usopp leaving the crew^[110] and only being accepted back if Usopp apologized to him, as Zoro stated that he stepped on Luffy's pride.^[141] Luffy is strongly attached to the Going Merry, as while he was giving it a Viking funeral, Luffy tearfully apologized on how it fell apart from their lack of care.^[142]

Luffy values a flag for what it means, not only for his own but for other flags, such as nations. In the Drum Island Arc, when Wapol shot a cannon at the flag that represents Hiriluk, Luffy defended the flag and told Wapol that he and his men were nothing but frauds since they did not know the true meaning of the flag.^[134] Luffy is also aware of what action will be taken upon if a flag is destroyed. When he and his crew were at Enies Lobby to get Robin back, Luffy asked Usopp (while he was Sogeking) to burn the World Government's flag, declaring war on the government.^[143]

The one thing that Luffy does not allow is someone or something getting involved in another person's fight. At these times Luffy shows both remarkable restraints during the battles, and rage when something or someone outside the battle is involved, especially if it is a person, he considers a friend. Luffy showed this early in the series when Zoro fought Mihawk, and managed to hold himself (and Johnny and Yosaku) back until Zoro was defeated.^[144] Since then he has shown it several times, like when Baroque Works sabotaged the giants' duel on Little Garden;^[145] when Crocodile attacked Yuba with a sandstorm in the middle of their fight;^[146] when he challenged Aokiji to a 1-on-1 fight;^[147] when he fought Rob Lucci and insisted that Franky does not get involved in their battle;^[148] when the Boa sisters threatened to break the petrified form of his saviors;^[149] and when he was visibly enraged with Hody Jones who attacked some civilians who tried to halt Noah.^[150] He even went so far as to cover Sandersonia's back from the citizens of Kuja while it was still burning, even though they were trying to kill him, claiming it has nothing to do with their fight.^[133]

Luffy also respects his friends' decision if they choose not to join his crew, even if he asked them more than once, and would prefer not to forcibly take them with him. One example is his declining Zeff's offer to forcibly take Sanji with him, aware of how much the Baratie meant to Sanji, and would only take him if Sanji agreed to do so.^[151] One minor exception is the Straw Hats' involvement in using more forcible methods in getting Franky to agree to join only because Iceburg insisted there was no other way due to Franky being too stubborn to listen to reason.^[152] This leads to Luffy and most of his crew to help the other members of the Franky Family with their plan, allowing them to succeed in convincing Franky to join the Straw Hats (with some additional help from Iceburg who provided the necessary advice) and seeing the importance to fulfilling his dream.^[153] He would also stand up for his friends' decisions, as he defended Lola's choice to run away from an arranged marriage made by Big Mom.^[154]

While Luffy prefers to fight his opponents one on one without any interference, he is not above receiving help from others if necessary. On Thriller Bark, he got help from his crew to take down Oars. At the Sabaody Archipelago, he worked together with his crew to take down a Pacifista. At Whole Cake Island, Luffy allowed Nami to assist him in his fight against Cracker. He is also eager to form alliances, as he readily agreed to ally with Law to face Kaidou, though as stated by Usopp, Luffy took "alliances" as a sign of friendship.^[155] After hearing about Kaidou's cruelty towards Kozuki Momonosuke, he formed the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance to take down Kaidou and the Beasts Pirates.^[156] He also agreed to ally himself with Bege, his crew, and Caesar to take down Big Mom since it would also help with Sanji's goal to save his family from Big Mom's plot.^[127]

Luffy also has a sense of appreciation and gratitude, as he saved Nico Robin from the collapsing ruins at Arabasta after she gave him a vial of antidote to Crocodile's poison.^[157] When he met with Cavendish, Luffy stated he would defeat Doflamingo as a way to repay Rebecca for buying him food though this changed when remembering Doflamingo's actions on the island and wanting to end it.^[111] One of the reasons, Luffy agreed to save Sanji's family was because Vinsmoke Reiju saved him twice, first by sucking the poisons from his body^[158] and later helped him evade capture from the Big Mom Pirates at the Whole Cake Chateau.^[139] Luffy paid her back by saving her from being killed by Big Mom.^[159]

After defeating Charlotte Katakuri, Luffy paid his fallen enemy respect by covering his mouth with an extra hat as he heard of the latter's dislike of insults to his face, despite the latter repeatedly trying to kill him and his friends.^[160]

Compassion

Unlike most other pirates, Luffy is immensely kind. Although he desires to become the Pirate King, he is willing to put aside his goal to help others in need.

When Helmeppo threw Rika over the wall of the Marine base at Shells Town due to her trying to feed onigiri to Zoro, Luffy caught her and then later punched Helmeppo after hearing him brag about going back on his promise to release Zoro.^[161]

During his fight with Morgan, Luffy viciously punched him for abusing his status as a Marine Captain, saying it was destroying Koby's dream of becoming a Marine.^[162]

At Orange Town, Luffy defeated Richie and Mohji for destroying Chouchou's master's pet shop that he failed to protect before giving the dog a bag of dog food, the last one from his master's shop.^[163] He later battled Buggy to protect the town he was about to destroy.^[164]

On the Island of Rare Animals, Luffy helped Gaimon to get the treasure chests on the hill, only to learn the chests are all empty.^[165]

On Gecko Islands, Luffy agreed to help Usopp stop the Black Cat Pirates from destroying the village.^[166]

On the Baratie, he decided to fight Krieg in spite of Sanji giving him food.^[167]

Luffy defeated Arlong for his cruelty towards Nami and his treatment towards Cocoyasi Village.

After hearing Nefertari Vivi's country being tarnished by Crocodile, Luffy agreed to defeat him.

On Drum Island, Luffy pulled out a buried Lapahn from the snow in spite of them trying to kill him earlier, along with Sanji and Nami.^[168]

When the Rain Dinners' basem*nt was flooding, Luffy told Zoro to save Smoker instead of himself despite Smoker being a Marine officer and his previous attempts capture Luffy.^[169]

At Jaya, Luffy punched Bellamy for stealing Mont Blanc Cricket's gold.^[120]

At Skypiea, Luffy clashed with Enel because of his plan to eradicate the island.^[102]

On Thriller Bark, Luffy defeats Gecko Moria to return all the shadows he had stolen, including his own and few from his crew.^[170]

At Marineford, Luffy protected Edward Newgate from Crocodile.^[171]

At Fish-Man Island, Luffy protected Shirahoshi from Vander Decken IX and stopped Hody Jones from destroying the island.^[136]

At Punk Hazard, Luffy agreed with Nami and Chopper to save the kidnapped children^[172] and gave Franky permission to help the dwarves with their plans to reveal the dark secret behind Dressrosa.^[111]

Luffy revealed to Fujitora that he was being cheated by some of the Donquixote Pirates when they took advantage of his blindness^[173]

After learning from Hitetsu and Tsuru how many Wano citizens such as Tama had constantly suffered from hunger due to Orochi and Kaidou's tyranny, Luffy went out of his way to steal provisions from the Beasts Pirates to feed the citizens of Okobore Town while also resolving to restore freedom and prosperity to Wano by personally ending Kaidou's tyranny and dominion over the country.^[74] This newfound goal led Luffy to put greater effort into becoming strong enough to defeat Kaidou such as using his prison labor in Udon as well as Queen's execution games as new opportunities for training as well as training nonstop under Hyogoro's supervision after being liberated.^[174]

Due to his kindness, Luffy can be extremely forgiving as he still considers Nami^[117] and Robin to his friends,^[157] even towards people who had hurt him and his crew such as Bon Clay,^[132] Hatchan,^[175] and Bellamy.^[176] He was also willing to forgive Usopp and let him rejoin the crew, though he was reminded by Zoro that he had to earn his way back and when he did, Luffy instantly took him back.^[141] He even already forgave Sanji after he brutalized and insulted him, realizing it was all lies and was forced to do it.^[177]

Emotional

Like Sanji and Franky, Luffy is not afraid to show his emotions.

When he was a child, he cried when Shanks sacrificed his arm to save him and mourn^[29] Sabo's presumed death along with Ace.^[178] After his fight with Usopp at Water 7, Luffy shed tears after their duel^[110] and cried in joy when Usopp apologetically cried of wanting to join them again.^[141] As Luffy and his crew gave the Going Merry a Viking funeral after the invasion of Enies Lobby, Luffy tearfully apologizes for how terrible they had taken care of it.^[142] When Bartholomew Kuma separated his crew one by one, Luffy went to tears of losing them all.^[179] After Ace's death, Luffy had a mental breakdown and grieved greatly after returning to Amazon Lily, where Luffy went on a rampage^[57] before deeming himself too weak and unfit to be the Pirate King.^[58] At the Corrida Colosseum, he cried and hugged Sabo after finding out he was still alive.^[180] When Pudding told him and his party that Sanji refused to marry her, Luffy was shocked before crying in joy to know that he did want to be with them again.^[139]

Luffy is also known to be hot-headed, but he is able to retain self-control and reserve himself. The main examples are with his fights with Bellamy, Crocodile, Enel, Rob Lucci, Charlos, Hody Jones, Caesar Clown, Donquixote Doflamingo, and Charlotte Cracker.

Righteousness

Luffy, despite his carefree nature, has a righteous heart and respects the difference between right and wrong. He completely despises cruelty and wickedness and will assault anyone who indulges in such actions, no matter what the consequences may be. However, he tries not to hurt civilians, especially the people he likes, even if they intend to do harm to him, preferring to run from them instead.

When he learned of Arlong's abusive emotional torment towards Nami, he was utterly enraged and wasted no time in destroying the room of maps that Arlong forced Nami to work in for years.^[181]

When he witnessed Devil Dias being shot by Saint Shalria, Luffy became mad and attempted to interfere, only for Hachi to hold him back.^[182] However, when Hachi himself was sad*stically shot twice by Charlos, the World Noble, Luffy's anger reached its peak and was perfectly ready to get the consequences of an Admiral's attack by punching Charlos in the face without any mercy.^[105]

On Fish-Man Island, Luffy fought Hody to protect his friends and the people of Fish-Man Island as well as to stop his plan to destroy the island.

At Punk Hazard, when Luffy learned from Momonosuke about Caesar's evil intentions to sacrifice innocent children just to realize his own scientific ambitions for everlasting glory and success in gigantification, Luffy openly expressed immense fury towards Caesar. When he heard from Caesar about how he exploited Punk Hazard and his connections to Doflamingo to perform all sorts of inhumane experiments, Luffy ruthlessly brutalized Caesar with Haki-enhanced punches.^[123]

When Doflamingo attempts to massacre the people of Dressrosa with his Birdcage, Luffy refused to leave them to die and was fully prepared to personally take down Doflamingo despite Law's warning of invoking Kaidou's rage.^[183] He was not only angry at Doflamingo for trying to destroy Dressrosa but also angry at how he controlled and manipulated the country saying such things "suffocate" him.^[184]

Luffy believes that nobody should laugh at a person's death, no matter who the dead person was.^[185]

Luffy claimed that Kurozumi Orochi deserved to be chopped up after learning about the shogun feeding the Ebisu Town citizens defective SMILE fruits that robbed them of their ability to express sorrow or grief.^{[citation needed]}

Respect for Food

Partly due to his gluttony, Luffy deeply understands the pain of hunger like Sanji, and thus absolutely dislikes wasting food, as he even ate food that was spilled onto the floor such as when the food Rebecca bought for him was accidentally dropped onto the floor.^[186] Luffy is generous in offering as he stole clean food supplies for the Okobore Town citizens and also for Tama, who had to endure years of starvation from Orochi and Kaidou’s tyrannical monopoly of food.^[74] He even freely gave his own meal tickets to Hyogoro.^[187] When staging an uprising in Udon, Luffy berated the prisoners for willingly slogging so hard for the Beast Pirates in exchange for meager amount of dango which could never satisfied their hunger.^[188] When infiltrating Onigashima during the Fire Festival, Luffy was silently outraged upon seeing the Beast Pirates grunts' excessive and ungrateful wastage of good and clean food which they tyrannically monopolized from the poor citizens of Wano who had constantly suffered from hunger and instantly caused a commotion by attacking them, having forgotten Kin'emon's plan to avoid unnecessary battles before facing Kaidou.^[189][190]

Confidence

Luffy is extremely confident in his abilities, willing to challenge anyone in combat as he took on the strongest people he ever faced. When he was fighting Arlong, he was self-assured that he could beat him.^[191] During his third battle with Crocodile, Luffy vocally dismissed the latter's position and claims he would defeat him.^[192] When faced with a Logia before the timeskip, Luffy would rather run instead of fight, as with Smoker ever since their encounter in Loguetown,^[193] but he is willing to fight to protect those dear to him as with his crew or saving Ace. Notably, Luffy faced Enel, who is a Logia user, knowing his rubber body cannot be affected by electricity.^[194] Luffy usually charges in at his opponent, something that comes from his simple-mindedness, showing that he can be somewhat overconfident, which eventually leads to underestimating his opponents, as with Crocodile, Rob Lucci, and Gecko Moria. After his defeat against Crocodile in their first fight, Luffy admitted he was not strong enough, yet had water with him for their second fight, showing Luffy can admit his shortcomings and is not overly arrogant.^[195] At Sabaody Archipelago, Luffy told his crew to retreat to the ship when they were facing Kizaru, Sentomaru, and another Pacifista.^[196] After his two-year training of learning Haki, Luffy becomes more confident in himself, as he is able to face anyone, even a Logia. With his newfound abilities, Luffy would go far to challenge the Four Emperors^[155] and even Marine admirals, as he went to fight Fujitora in spite of his position.^[197] At Whole Cake Island, Luffy vowed to improve his own Haki by surpassing and defeating Katakuri in spite of having Brûlée as a means to escape.^[198] However, he is still prone to being overconfident, as with his first fight with Caesar Clown.^[199] This happened again after Queen and a handful of his subordinates took Big Mom away from the Prisoner Mine at Udon, Luffy took the remaining Beasts Pirates there lightly and he was caught off-guard when Babanuki used the prisoners against him.^[200]

Luffy also shows confidence in his friends and allies, knowing they can handle themselves even without his help. Luffy can count on his crew to handle the subordinates they are opposing while Luffy handles the strongest fighter. Aside from combat, Luffy also shows faith in his friend's talents, as with Sanji's culinary skills, Nami's navigating, Chopper's medical expertise, Robin's intelligence regarding being an archaeologist and being able to read Poneglyphs, and Franky's carpentry.

While Luffy is fearless, carefree, and self-assured, there at times his confidence and pride were diminished. In fact, Luffy's one and only greatest insecurity lies with his inability of being able to protect the ones closest to him. This happened when he thought Sabo was dead when his boat was blown up by a World Noble.^[178] This happened again at Sabaody Archipelago, when Luffy's crew was picked off one-by-one by Kuma and came to tears when he thought he had lost them.^[179] Luffy feared that after Sabo's supposed death, Ace would meet the same fate,^[178] which happened when Ace sacrificed himself to save him from Akainu.^[56] This lead Luffy having a mental breakdown, and after regaining conscious on Amazon Lily when he recalled Ace dying, he went on a rampage throughout the island,^[57] it was there when Luffy, unable to save his brother as well as being disregarded as weak from the foes he fought in Marineford, Luffy broke down in tears as he claimed he is too weak and unfit to be Pirate King.^[58] It was only there with the encouragement from Jinbe that he reminded him that he still has his crew,^[59] that made a resolve to train with Silvers Rayleigh to improve his Haki so he could protect his friends once they are reunited at Sabaody Archipelago.^[100]

Running Gags

To complement Luffy's naive and straightforward attitude, there is a running gag through the series where Luffy can identify similarities on things that have little resemblance (like being able to see the resemblance between Sanji and his bounty poster, or being able to see Spoil as an old man with major wounds rather than a zombie),^[106] but is unable to see similarities with things with obvious connections (like being unable to tell that Sogeking is Usopp^[201] or not seeing through Foxy's pathetic disguises until he was told by the latter).^[202] This gag seemed to have remained after the timeskip as he could not identify the Zoro and Sanji impostors^[203] until Demaro Black's ruse was revealed.^[204] However, he was able to identify Caesar Clown in a poor disguise but had second thoughts when Caesar told him otherwise until Nami informed Luffy that he was correct.^[205] He was even able to identify Pekoms when he tried to disguise himself as "Nazoms," which surprised his allies.^[206]

Luffy also has a tendency of forgetting people or old enemies he has encountered, which was seen on various occasions. In these instances, he is usually met with annoyance by them especially when he belatedly recalls them in a humiliating moment or with a poor description of them.^[207]

Another running gag is his habit of being amazed at various abilities of villains or allies, often yelling out "amazing" with stars in his eyes and around his head. Luffy believes that he is at his "coolest" when he is wearing armor. Luffy also seems to have a slight obsession when it comes to outfitting himself with full-body armors and has a habit of wearing one whenever he gets the chance.^[208] But every armor that he manages to find usually ends up destroyed either in a battle or by some other comedic scenario. He also constantly insults his opponents by giving them degrading nicknames (such as calling Gecko Moria a "leek"^[209] or Enel "earlobes").^[102] Luffy apparently has no skill with insulting people, usually taking either a physical aspect or unique ability and trying to make it degrading (like calling Zoro "three-swords style" when everyone was lamenting Vivi's absence, only to be corrected by Usopp and later calling Zoro "four-swords style).^[210]

Another one of his running gags is that during the battles, Luffy often gets into situations (accidentally or intentionally) in which he cannot fight. In such cases, his crewmates fight with other weaker enemies associated with the main antagonist and defeat them. This happened when he gets stuck in a cage in the Orange Town Arc,^[211] fell asleep in the Syrup Village Arc,^[212] was stuck in the stone and thrown into the water during the Arlong Park Arc,^[213] and when he entered a snake's stomach in the Skypiea Arc.^[214] When all other enemies are defeated, Luffy fights with the strongest, the one whom only he can defeat.^[99]

Luffy also has absolutely no talent for lying whatsoever and cannot hold a straight face or poker face at all when intimidated to confess the truth.^[215] This lack of subtlety sometimes manifests as extreme honesty, and Luffy can be very blunt with people. After meeting Koby and Shirahoshi, he called them cowards and flat out told them that he did not like them because of it (though he later befriended them both).^[27][216] In fact, more often than not, Luffy would blurt out, without thinking, what he knows regarding a certain event whenever someone asks something concerning the events that transpired. On Zou, his crewmates beat him up when he casually mentioned the samurai, which the other Straw Hats thought was a taboo topic in light of what the minks had been through after Jack's invasion^[217] until they realize their mistake after the samurai appear.^[218] In contrast, Luffy has a tendency to suck his lips in and turn his head to the side when an attack or technique fails to affect him, such as Enel's various electrical attacks^[194] or Boa Hanco*ck's Mero Mero no Mi.^[86]

When talking about money, he tells his crewmates to budget their money, only for them to react in return that it all goes towards feeding him.^[219] Another running gag involves Luffy randomly telling someone a secret, such as the identity of his and Ace's fathers, only to casually ask them to keep it a secret afterward.^[220] He shares this trait with his grandfather.^[207]

Usually when facing a Den Den Mushi calling or when a person tries to ask Luffy who he is, Luffy takes the opportunity to introduce himself saying that he's going to be the King of the Pirates. This has happened numerous times like in the start of the Punk Hazard Arc where Luffy introduced himself to a crying Den Den Mushi^[221] and in the Dressrosa Arc where Luffy introduced himself to Cavendish as Luffy and not Lucy.^[222] Before this, Luffy also almost said his real identity when signing up to the colosseum only to be corrected by Franky and got his nickname, Lucy.^[5]

Gluttony

Like other D.'s so far, he is also an immense glutton despite his skinny appearance: he especially loves meat and can eat a fish whole—bones included^[223]—and because of this, a running gag of Luffy is him constantly stealing other peoples' food with his rubber powers, causing them to yell at him and sometimes hit him.^[224] It should also be noted that he becomes more gluttonous over the series as there are moments, he becomes morbidly obese, though he loses the weight in some way, usually exercise.^[225] After the events of Enies Lobby, Luffy seems to have developed narcolepsy, much like his brother Ace, though for only a short time.^[226] Due to his gluttony, Luffy can end up losing control in times of dire hunger. When he expended all the crew's food supply while on the way to Whole Cake Island, he was thinking about using Chopper as an emergency food ration, and in the anime, he tried to devour Chopper alive twice and had to be beaten by Nami.^[227]

Mercy

Luffy never kills any of his enemies (no matter how cold-hearted they are); instead, he frequently sends the enemy flying,^[98] knocking them out or beating them until they have reached the point that they are almost near death.^[102] However, it is evidently clear that Luffy is not against others completing the final act themselves, as seen when Luffy allowed Law to make his attempt to kill Doflamingo, while making sure Trebol did not interfere. This may have been more to do with stopping Doflamingo's Birdcage (which would only deactivate if Doflamingo willed it or was dead or unconscious) from killing him and his crew or allies than actually harboring any desire to see Doflamingo killed.^[228] When attacked by Seraphims, Luffy doesn't let Lucci die despite what he did two years ago at Enies Lobby.^[229]

Despite his passion for fighting, Luffy also generally refuses to fight someone that he does not personally consider an enemy, preferring to either talk it over or run away from the confrontation.^[230]

Over the series, Luffy has become more mature and levelheaded, though he only shows this part of his personality when he and his friends are in dire situations or someone insults him, calling people like him and their beliefs foolish. Other than that, he still acts the same as he was at the start of the series.

Aggression

There were some instances where Luffy seems to enjoy defeating his opponents. During his fight with Mohji (who immediately began to apologize after Luffy took out his pet lion, Richie), Luffy refused to forgive him and mercilessly punched him as hard as he could without any restraint, despite Mohji being much weaker than him.^[163] He also refused to allow his enemies to get away with whatever they have done and will want revenge against them no matter what others say. When Wapol appeared at Drum Castle, Luffy immediately showed anger and dropped what he was doing just for the sole purpose of punching Wapol^[231] and showed delight when he told Wapol that he was going to defeat him.^[232] When Wapol was stuck in the tower of Drum Castle, Luffy ignored all of Wapol's pleas and gladly sent him flying far away from Drum Island.^[233]

This attitude extends to anyone affiliated to the enemy. After he, Chopper, and Robin came across Hogback, Luffy learned that he was with Moria and decided to beat him up just for being one of Moria's allies.^[234]

He has a habit of holding a grudge, even in dire situations. After the Franky Family robbed and beaten Usopp, Luffy quickly sought payback against them and stormed their hideout.^[235] He even calls Franky a "bastard" in the middle of his fight with Rob Lucci, causing Franky to retort that it was not the right time^[148] and refusing to let Crocodile help him escape Impel Down (even when there was no alternative).^[236]

Luffy will also express hatred and the need to beat up a person if they have done anything to one of his friends in the past and will not rest until he has beaten them.

Luffy enjoys a decent fight and is eager to fight against strong opponents, though he clearly does not hunger for battle like Zoro and Rob Lucci do. Notably, Luffy was interested in Jesus Burgess' challenge in Mock Town.^[237]

In combat, Luffy is highly brutal and ruthless, fighting his opponents without mercy. Though, when faced with weaker fighters, Luffy would hold back to avoid seriously injuring them. However, he will show no remorse if they harm his friends and crew in any way. When facing powerful foes, Luffy goes all out that would pulverize them. Luffy would face his opponents rather than avoiding them as he did not agree with Usopp's plan of copying the Poneglyphs without facing Kaidou or Big Mom, stating he would take them down to get to them.^[79]

Luffy can be reckless and rebellious towards powerful figures, such as the Marines, the World Government, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the World Nobles, and even the Four Emperors.

Luffy has a habit of cracking his knuckles when he is ready to fight. Like Zoro and Sanji, Luffy will sometimes grin dangerously during a fight. Luffy grinned when he was attacked by two Beasts Pirates' members on the shores of Wano Country.^[238]

While Luffy would prefer fighting his opponents, he has no qualms giving anyone else a chance to finish them off as Luffy allowed Law to try to kill Doflamingo.^[228] This happened again in Whole Cake Island, as Luffy agreed to partake in Bege's assassination plot against Big Mom as he only did it to save Sanji's family.^[127] However, Luffy will resort to fighting them eventually given the respective opponent survived, as Luffy fought and defeated Doflamingo by himself,^[239] and declared to Big Mom that he would defeat her after he defeats Kaidou.^[240]

Every time Luffy defeats an enemy, he smiles shortly afterward. There has been only one exception: after his fight with Usopp in Water 7, Luffy did not smile for a whole day.^[110]

Prior to the timeskip, Luffy had displayed a side to himself where he occasionally gets into fights with others over needless issues (i.e., he nearly got into one with Blackbeard in Mock Town over a matter of quality of the pies that the tavern served to their patrons).^[237] He still has this trait after the timeskip when he is shown to fight with Momonosuke when he arrives on Dressrosa.^[173] However, when Luffy is told to keep a low profile or to restrain himself he will resist his urges to pick fights over small matters. There has been only one exception: when Luffy accidentally ran into Demaro Black, he did not want to get involved in the conflict with him and finished it with the least amount of effort, which was evident when he knocked him out and the other Fake Straw Hat Crew with the use of Haoshoku Haki.^[241] Although, most likely, he did this to prevent deviations in plans.

Humility

Another dominant trait of Luffy is his humble nature: he does not brag about the powerful foes he's defeated in the past, though he's not above about claiming that no one has ever beaten him in the past (which is not true, having been defeated many times by various opponents during his lifetime). When he was fighting Arlong, Luffy admitted he does not have the skills like his crew does, like being a swordsman, cooking, navigating his own ship, or even telling lies.^[242]

He remains humble despite having done outrageous acts like defeating Seven Warlords of the Sea-level pirates and issuing the order to burn down the World Government flag back at Enies Lobby. When Franky pointed out the latter, Luffy only replied that it was nothing to get worked up over (hinting that he only gave the order on a mere whim), for he and his crew were only there to take back a crew member that was taken from them.^[143] When Sengoku reprimanded Bartholomew Kuma for not killing the Straw Hats after Gecko Moria's defeat, Garp assured Sengoku that Luffy is not the type of person who would brag about his accomplishments.^[243]

During combat, Luffy would not fight someone who could not fight properly. After finding out that Smoker and Tashigi switched bodies due to Law's Ope Ope no Mi abilities during the confrontation at Punk Hazard, Luffy told Smoker that they should fight another day since Luffy will not fight him if Smoker cannot use his full strength.^[244] Also, Luffy would even attempt to make a fair fight when engaging against someone who is disabled as Luffy announced all of his attacks during his fight with the blind admiral, Fujitora.^[245]

Luffy will also take the blame for something he is not fully or partially responsible. When Charlotte Linlin threatened to destroy Fish-Man Island for not supplying her with the monthly candy tribute, Luffy took the blame of eating all of the candy to spare the island from Big Mom's wrath.^[246]

When Katakuri apologized to Luffy for Flampe interfering with their fight, Luffy claimed that fighting dirty is not something to be against in a duel between pirates, and further adds that it was his mistake for not dodging Flampe's darts.^[247]

When Kaidou was eventually defeated Luffy asked the new Shogun Kozuki Momonosuke to keep his name from Wano's public, due not wanted to be treated as a hero. (So, the people came to know him as the warrior called Joy Boy.)^[248][249]

At Egghead, Luffy witnessed Atlas being destroyed, and tells Chopper to get her fixed, as Luffy faced Rob Lucci, he mentions that she is a good person as she gave them food, showing his humility filled with kindness.^[250]

Stubbornness

Luffy can be very stubborn at times, whether in his desire for adventurous routes, recruiting the desired member into his crew, or upholding a promise. Disregarding how his crew would advise him against taking a more dangerous route for their travels, Luffy would argue nonstop until either they comply, or something makes him see the reason for the alternative.^[251]

When he finds an individual, he wishes to recruit, he goes to great lengths to maintain his stance and repeatedly ask them despite being refused (mainly Nami,^[252] Sanji,^[253] and Franky).^[153] Likewise, when certain members leave the crew, he would chase after them and stubbornly refuse to leave despite their demands, cruel words, and even abusive retaliations, having managed to retrieve Nami,^[117] Robin,^[143] and Sanji^[254] when they attempted to depart. He originally wanted to retrieve Usopp right away despite their disagreement, but Zoro's reason made him understand that Usopp must apologize before being re-accepted into the crew. Luffy was nevertheless happy when Usopp finally returned with an apology.^[141] However, Luffy does try to understand the said crewmate's reason to leave and help them out before returning.

Luffy upholds his promises quite strongly, even when it results in himself being injured. When he promised Nami that he would not cause trouble in Mock Town, he simply allowed the Bellamy Pirates to beat him and Zoro up.^[255] That does not mean that he will not break his promises, as he did only at critical points that would otherwise invade his moral compass, such as avenging an offended friend.

References

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