For more than two decades, One Piece has been one of the world's most popular and successful anime and manga series, and it managed to achieve this because the series is filled with characters who have interesting backstories that are filled with emotional moments. It also helps that the series is filled with action, and many of these battles feature individuals who possess a Devil Fruit power, some type of Haki, or both.
Monkey D. Luffy is the series' main protagonist, and he ate a Fruit that basically turned his entire body into rubber. It makes sense that Luffy has appeared in many of the series' most important battles, and it's also true that he has won most of them. But even he has lost a few fights along the way.
10 Smoker Nearly Ended Luffy's Journey Before It Even Happened
There may be Marines who are stronger than Smoker, but he is still a very capable fighter, and that is because he ate a Logia Devil Fruit which gives him the ability to create, control, and transform into smoke at will. Luffy first met Smoker at Loguetown, and the former Marine Captain went after him when he tried to escape the island.
Their fight was incredibly short, and Luffy attacked him with multiple punches, but each attack simply passed through Smoker's body. Smoker ended up grabbing Luffy with his smoke and slammed him onto the ground where he had him pinned down. Fortunately, Luffy's father appeared out of nowhere and saved his son.
9 Crocodile Left Him For Dead In The Desert
Crocodile was the main antagonist of the Alabasta Arc, and his goal was to take control of the desert kingdom, Alabasta. This made a lot of sense from his perspective because he had the power of the Sand-Sand Fruit, which allowed him to create, control, and transform into sand.
When they first fought, Crocodile agreed to give Luffy three minutes of his time, and during that time, every single one of Luffy's attacks failed in the same way they did during his fight with Smoker. When time finally expired, Crocodile impaled him with his hook and threw him into some quicksand.
8 His Second Fight With Crocodile Ended In A Loss As Well
Luffy was able to survive his first encounter with Crocodile thanks to Nico Robin, and it didn't take long for the two to fight again, except this time it took place at the royal palace. Luffy was actually able to land a few hits this time, but Crocodile was still able to beat him thanks to his Devil Fruit power.
Aside from the normal powers associated with a Logia, Crocodile was able to absorb all the moisture in Luffy's body while grabbing his neck. Crocodile left Luffy for dead, and the only reason he survived was that some water bubbles which were thrown into the air earlier in the fight landed on him.
7 Luffy Countered Enel, But He Still Lost Their First Fight Thanks To A Massive Golden Ball
Enel is one of the strongest Logia users to ever appear in One Piece, and that is because he has the ability to create, control, and transform into lightning. Interestingly enough, Luffy perfectly countered Enel because of his rubber body, but he still managed to lose in their first real battle.
Luffy was able to land quite a few hits to the point that Enel became desperate, so he used his lightning to melt part of a golden statue and then molded that gold into a giant ball around Luffy's arm. He kicked the ball off of his ship, and Luffy ended up falling with it. He would have died if he wasn't saved by Aisa and Pierre.
6 Luffy Couldn't Overcome Kuzan's Ice Powers
There are only a handful of Marines who are strong enough to rise to the rank of Fleet Admiral, and Kuzan is one of them. The former Admiral ate the Ice-Ice Fruit which allows him to create, control, and transform into ice, and Luffy ran into him during the Long Ring Long Land Arc.
The Straw Hats came across Kuzan by accident, and when he revealed his true identity, members of the crew attacked him until they were stopped by his ice powers. Luffy challenged him to a one-on-one fight so that he would leave his crew alone, but Kuzan froze him in ice when he tried to hit him.
5 Rob Lucci Took Out Luffy With One Attack
There were a lot of fights in the Water Seven Saga, and it ended with Luffy defeating Rob Lucci in a brutal fight. However, things did not go well for Luffy when he faced him the first time. Lucci was part of CP9, and spent years undercover in Water 7 until the time finally came for him to reveal himself.
Lucci attacked his Water 7 "friends," and this did not sit well with Luffy, who attacked him head-on. Lucci was able to stop him with his martial arts, while his Zoan Devil Fruit allowed him to become a leopard hybrid. When Luffy attacked him in this form, Lucci rammed his claws into Luffy's body and tossed him out of the building.
4 The Entire Straw Hat Crew Was Defeated By Kuma
The Sabaody Archipelago Arc introduced fans to an array of new characters, and when all-out chaos broke out on the island, Bartholomew Kuma appeared to take on Luffy and his crew. Kuma is a former Warlord who possesses the power of the Paw-Paw Fruit, which allows him to repel anything he touches.
He was able to defeat every single member of the Straw Hat crew by repelling them to completely different islands. Luffy was unable to help any of his friends, and this caused him to fall to the ground in despair. That's when Kuma sent him flying away.
3 Magellan Nearly Took Out Luffy With His Poison
When Luffy infiltrated Impel Down to rescue Ace, he had to take on the entire prison, including Magellan, who served as the warden at the time. Magellan possessed the Venom-Venom Fruit, which allows him to produce and control different types of poison.
When they first fought, Luffy was actually able to hit Magellan, but the warden was extremely tough, and the attacks left Luffy's hands corroded from poison. Unfortunately, Magellan's poison was too much for Luffy to handle, and the Straw Hat Captain collapsed as liquid poison ate away at his body.
2 Katakuri Was Too Much For Luffy To Handle In Their First Fight
Katakuri's Devil Fruit allows him to create, control, and transform into mochi. And although that doesn't sound like an impressive power, Katakuri used it to become one of the strongest Paramecia users in the series. Katakuri ended up fighting Luffy inside Brûlée's mirror-world, and he held the upper hand the entire time thanks to his powerful Observation Haki, which allowed him to see slightly into the future.
Katakuri was able to avoid and counter all of Luffy's attacks with his Haki and pummeled Luffy several times. Luffy was defeated, but upon learning that his sister had severely injured him, Katakuri decided to stab himself in the same spot, making him responsible for his own defeat in the second phase of their fight.
1 Luffy Was Knocked Out By Kaido In One Hit
Kaido has fought some pretty powerful opponents, and for the most part, he has defeated all of them, including Luffy. They met during the Wano Arc and even Luffy was surprised to see that Kaido's Devil Fruit allowed him to transform into a massive azure dragon.
While in this form, Kaido blew up a mountain that Luffy's friends were using as a hideout, prompting Luffy to attack him out of rage. The attacks did nothing to the emperor, and when Kaido reverted to his human form, Luffy hit him with his strongest Haki-infused attacks to no avail. Kaido, on the other hand, was able to knock Luffy out with one powerful swing of his club.
0 Comments