Monkey D. Luffy

Monkey D. Luffy, also known as " Straw Hat Luffy" and commonly as "Straw Hat", is the main protagonist of the manga and anime, One Piece. He is the founder and captain of the increasingly infamous and powerful Straw Hat Pirates, as well as one of its top fighters. His lifelong dream is to become the Pirate King by finding the legendary treasure left behind by the late Gol D. Roger. He believes that being the Pirate King means having the most freedom in the world.

Born in Foosha Village, Luffy accidentally ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi at age 7, which turned his body into rubber. He met "Red-Haired" Shanks, who gave Luffy the very Straw Hat that has become Luffy's signature accessory, having gifted it to the boy as part of a promise for them to meet again someday. Luffy is the son of the Revolutionary leader Monkey D. Dragon, the grandson of the Marine hero Monkey D. Garp, the sworn brother of the late "Fire Fist" Portgas D. Ace and Revolutionary Chief-of-Staff Sabo, and the foster son of Curly Dadan. He is one of the few people in the world who carries the Will of D. During the climax of the Raid on Onigashima, his Devil Fruit abilities truly awakened for the first time since the Void Century; bestowing him with Mythical power that the World Government greatly feared would return.

Luffy has gone up against numerous global powers around him, starting with fighting the most powerful pirates in the East Blue and moving to clashes against the Marines, Seven Warlords of the Sea, Cipher Pol, World Nobles, and even the Four Emperors of the Grand Line, emerging victorious in a majority of these battles. He invaded and indirectly caused the annihilation of Enies Lobby, escaped the impregnable Impel Down, and was a focal figure in the Summit War of Marineford. He has also either defeated or befriended seven of the eleven known past or present Warlords prior to the organization's dissolution. Furthermore, Luffy has invaded the territory of the Four Emperors on multiple occasions, and eventually managed to defeat one. Luffy's accomplishments and heritage have caused him to be labeled as a "Dangerous Future Element" while in the process gaining a reputation for being "reckless" and, in some cases, "insane", earning the wrath of Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, the Marine Headquarters, and even the World Government.

Luffy also has a penchant for attracting followers and has unwillingly been named the leader of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, consisting of seven pirate crews who swore to come to his aid whenever he wishes. After learning of this and his exploits against the Big Mom Pirates, the press labeled him the "Fifth Emperor of the Sea", though many prominent figures initially considered this to be exaggerated. However, after defeating Kaidou at the end of the Wano Country Arc, Luffy was officially declared as one of the Four Emperors by the World Government along with Buggy, replacing Kaidou and Big Mom.

Luffy has made tremendous strides in his life of piracy, with his bounty heavily reflecting this fact. From gaining his first bounty of 30,000,000 for defeating the strongest pirate captains of the East Blue, to a bounty of 100,000,000 from the incident in Alabasta. After the incident at Enies Lobby, for having had a bounty of 300,000,000 before arriving at the Sabaody Archipelago, Luffy was one of eleven "Super Rookies", pirates who simultaneously reached the Red Line with bounties of over 100,000,000 shortly before the Summit War.  He, the other ten Super Rookies, and Marshall D. Teach would go on to be referred to as the "Worst Generation".

Two years after the war, with his bounty increased to 400,000,000, he entered the New World and began challenging the Emperors and their allies directly, with his bounty going up to 500,000,000 after the Dressrosa Arc, and later all the way to 1,500,000,000 after the events of the Whole Cake Island Arc. Eventually, his conquests and his reputation end up contributing to his current bounty of 3,000,000,000.

Appearance

Luffy has black shaggy hair, round black eyes, and a slim muscular build. He is renowned for his trademark straw hat (from which he gets his nickname "Straw Hat Luffy"), which was lent to him when he was young by the legendary pirate captain, "Red-Haired" Shanks, who in turn received it from Gol D. Roger. wears blue shorts with cuffs, sandals, and a sleeveless red vest. Luffy also has a scar with two stitches underneath his left eye, which he earned by stabbing a knife under his eye to show Shanks that he was tough and not afraid of pain. He was severely wounded by Akainu in the Summit War of Marineford, leaving a large X-shaped scar on his chest.

Before the Timeskip

Similar to most of his male crewmates, Luffy has the same outfit throughout most of the series (with the exception of Nami and Nico Robin, who frequently change their outfits). Luffy will often wear a different outfit to suit the climate of an island (such as a hooded parka on Drum Island or desert robes in Arabasta) but will switch back to his trademark red vest and blue shorts after the adventures on that island are over. Despite this, he will wear his usual outfit in different colors and has been known to sport other miscellaneous items on his person from time to time like in Thriller Bark and Sabaody Archipelago. According to Eiichiro Oda in 37 Volume SBS, Luffy does not know how to dress stylishly so sometimes he is advised on how to dress by more fashionable team members, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Robin.

After the Timeskip

After two years, a few things have changed. Luffy wears an open, long-sleeved red cardigan with four buttons (which shows the X-shaped scar covering most of his chest he received by then-Admiral Akainu), with a yellow sash tied around his waist, somewhat reminiscent of Gol D. Roger's outfit. He has grown slightly taller and is shown to be significantly more muscular due to his training. This can be seen in his slightly thicker neck, more pronounced deltoids, and better-defined chest. During his fight with Sanji, Luffy loses one of his top teeth after being struck by a Diable Jambe Joue Shot directly into his face. However, it grew back after he drank a bottle of milk.