Summary
One Piecehas seen Luffy progress from a small-time pirate to one of the Emperors of the Sea, and still on the quest to achieve more greatness by becoming the Pirate King. Luffy had a humble beginning, but he showed the world quickly that he had tremendous talent and strength up his sleeve and that he had a penchant for piracy itself.
Luffy quickly became one of the strongest individuals, acquiring bounty after bounty over the years. In fact, Luffy has acquired multiple bounties throughout the run ofOne Piece, with his latest one coming after the events of Wano and potentially a new one heading after Egghead.
Defeated
Alvida, Buggy, Don Krieg, Arlong
Luffy’s very first bounty in One Piece was 30 million berries. This was given to him after he successfully defeated thestrongest of Piratesin the East Blue. Luffy became the meanest man in the east, and, on his run, he defeated Alvida, and even Buggy the Clown, who wasfeared all across the East Blue. Furthermore, he also beat Krieg, who had gone to the Grand Line with a giant Armada, and above all, Arlong, a pirate from the Grand Line who had taken residence across the Conomi Islands.
The fact that he was able to terrorize all of these powerful Pirates in a matter of weeks was enough for the Government to know that he was a massive threat, and a30 million berry rewardwas slapped on his head.
Sir Crocodile
Luffy’s first significant bounty inOne Piececame after the events of the Arabasta Arc. Here, Luffy fought against several powerful individuals, but, above all,he fought and defeated Sir Crocodile.Given that Crocodile was one of theSeven Warlords of the Sea, it was not easy for Luffy to defeat him. In fact, Crocodile was the first major test that Luffy faced in the Grand Line.
He lost to Crocodile twice, but, at the end of the day, what matters is that Luffy got back up every single time and eventually defeated him. Crocodile was arrested by the Government and then locked in Impel Down. While Smoker was credited for his defeat, the Government knew thatLuffy was now a growing threatand a new bounty of 100 million berries was slapped on his head. Clearly, this was the first sign of Luffy growing as a threat to the Government.
Rob Lucci
After the events of the Enies Lobby Arc,the Strawhat Pirates had shaken the entire world. Not only did they fight off and defeat CP9, but they invaded the Government judiciary stronghold of Enies Lobby and led to its utter destruction. Thedestruction of Enies Lobbyitself was blamed on the Strawhat Pirates, and Luffy was seen to be the mastermind behind it all.
At the same time, fans know that Luffy’s defeat of Rob Lucci saw to it that he got a massive bounty increase of 200 million, putting his total bounty at 300 million berries. This was certainly a deserving figure, and it made him one of thebest rookie pirates in the Paradise half of the Grand Line.
None
While a 300 million bounty was certainly great for Luffy, he did not stop growing as, shortly after the events of Enies Lobby, Luffy went to Impel down in an attempt to rescue his brother, causing thebiggest prison breakout in the history of Impel Down, which had only ever seen one individual escape before.
Furthermore, then, Luffy invaded the Marine HQand fought against the Marines alongside the Whitebeard Pirates. Eventually, Luffy successfully crept past all the defenses of the Navy and saved Ace. Of course, Ace ended up dying anyway, but the threat that Luffy posed, especially after showcasing hisConqueror’s Hakiin front of everyone, was enough for the Government toraise his reward from 300 to 400 million. This also saw Luffy move from a rookie pirate to a veteran pirate, and he kept this bounty until much later in the story.
Donquixote Doflamingo
After the fall of Donquixote Doflamingo, who fans know to be one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Luffy had an incredibly high bounty of 500 million berries. Gaining half a billion bounty is certainly impressive for anyone, and it put Luffy on a pedestal among the new Worst Generation Pirates.
It also showcased Luffy beinghead and shoulders above everyone elseother than the Yonko from the side of the Pirates. Furthermore, Luffy’s defeat of Doflamingo gave fans a glimpse of his strength after the timeskip and clearly indicated that even 500 million was not enough, which was proven immediately after In the Whole Cake Island Arc.
Charlotte Cracker, Charlotte Katakuri
Luffy’s 500 million berry bounty took a massive jump after the Whole Cake Island Arc. In this Arc, Luffy went to retrieve Sanji, promising that he would not engage Big Mom in a head-on battle. However, he eventually did come face to face with her. Luffy did not fight her extensively, but they had a clash, and eventually, he led to the change of her Tea Party and, overall, a symbolic defeat for her.
In doing so, he also crushed two of her three Sweet Generals,those being Cracker, and Katakuri. Given the damage that he caused her, Luffy was given a bounty of 1.5 billion berries, making him one of the elites of the One Piece world.
Kaido
Finally, Luffy’s last bounty was given to him after the eventsof the Wano Country Arc.In this Arc, Luffy spearheaded an alliance of pirates, ninjas, samurai, and minds against the alliance of the Beast Pirates and Big Mom Pirates. This war was absolutely deadly, and Luffy was at the center of it all.Luffy’s biggest contributionto the war wasdefeating the strongest creature, Kaido, and that certainly was the hardest task of all to do.
In this battle, Luffy truly reached the same level as the Emperors of the Sea, and at the same time, he also went on to awaken his Devil Fruit, gaining powers of Gear 5. Nika descended upon the world in the battle, and the fact that he went on tobecome an Emperor by replacing Kaido. Luffy had to get a huge bounty increase. Luffy received a bounty of 3 billion berries after the events of Wano.
