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Straw Hat Pirates

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Template:Infobox OPcrew The Straw Hat Pirates (麦わら海賊団, Mugiwara Kaizoku-dan), sometimes referred to as the Luffy Pirates (ルフィ海賊団, Rufi Kaizoku-dan) or the Straw Hat Crew (麦わら一味, Mugiwara Ichimi), are the main focus and protagonists of the anime and manga series One Piece, by Eiichiro Oda.

About

The name of the crew is in reference to Luffy's signature straw hat that was given to him by Shanks. Up until the Water 7 arc, they lived on a ship called Going Merry, which they had used since receiving it as a gift from Kaya's butler Merry, as thanks for saving her from Captain Kuro.

The crew now sails on a ship called Thousand Sunny, created by their fellow crew mate Franky and the shipwrights of Water 7. The Straw Hat crew stands out amongst pirate crews for various reasons: they never attack innocent people and always step in to stop an injustice. Among pirates, they could be considered free-spirited "good guys," led by their own sense of justice and adventure, though they couldn't care less about the law (as the crew has shown time and time again when meddling in the affairs of the World Government and its Navy). The crew itself is made up of some of the youngest pirates to be found in the One Piece world, but they are by no means inexperienced or weak, as their foes often learn the hard way.

Three of the Straw Hat's have eaten Devil Fruits, and one of them is not completely human. All of them have at least one talent in which they are virtually perfect in, and several (especially the captain and first mate) have astonishingly inhuman strength. As outlaws, they all have bounties on their heads, and are wanted by the World Government. Some of their bounties (including the captain's) are remarkably high. An important trait shared by the Straw Hats is that they each have a dream to fulfill, and each refuses to die before achieving their dreams.

The Straw Hat Pirates

Current Crew Members

File:Strawhat pirates.png
From left to right: Nico Robin ; Sogeking (Usopp) ; Roronoa Zoro ; Monkey D. Luffy ; Sanji ; Tony Tony Chopper ; Nami ; Franky

Former Crew Members

Crew Strength

Despite only having a small number of members, the Straw Hats are extremely strong. So far, they have defeated these pirates and other groups that are considered powerful:

Anime Only

Dreams

Each member of the Straw Hats has a dream they want to achieve. These dreams are their reasons for joining Luffy's crew, and essentially the driving force behind their lives. Each Straw Hat's dream was inspired by tragedies (often deaths) in their childhoods that involved at least one person they idolized and cared for deeply. Some, like Chopper, Nami, Franky, and Usopp are fulfilling their dreams by accumulating knowledge and/or achieving a certain task while sailing the Grand Line. Others, like Robin, Zoro, Luffy, and Sanji are searching for a person/place/thing that can only be found on the Grand Line. Whatever the reason, each of the Straw Hat's dreams involve traveling the Grand Line, and each Straw Hat member refuses to die before achieving their dreams.

So far, Luffy's dream is the hardest to achieve. Not only would his goal require him to make it all the way to the end of the world, but he must also defeat foes whom the world considers invincible. Even some of those he knows personally are after One Piece, making them his rivals. These include his elder brother, Portgas D. Ace and his mentor, Red Haired Shanks.

  • Luffy's dream is to become the Pirate King and raise a 'super' crew to back him up. To become the Pirate King, he must find Gold Roger's famed treasure, One Piece, which is implied to be in Raftel. As for a crew, he has brought together so far seven people who have caught his attention, and is trying to recruit an eighth person. Luffy also is looking for Shanks to meet up with him again and return his straw hat to him.
  • Zoro's dream, shared with Kuina, is to become the world's greatest swordsman. To fulfill this dream, he must surpass every swordsman in the world, including the world's current greatest swordsman Mihawk.
  • Nami's dream is to draw a map of the entire world. She has already mapped all the areas that she has traveled, and it can be assumed that she will create a world map once the story is over. Also at the beginning of the story she was also trying to get 100,000,000 Belli in order to buy and save her hometown, Cocoyashi Village, from the clutches of the fishman pirate Arlong.
  • Usopp's dream is to become a brave warrior of the sea like his father, Yasopp. After the Little Garden arc, he also developed a secondary dream to visit Elbaf and see the warrior giants he idolizes.
  • Sanji's dream, shared with Zeff, is to find the All Blue, a legendary ocean. It is assumed to be in the Grand Line, and waters from all over the four seas gather there, bringing fish from all over the globe.
  • Chopper's dream is to travel across the world, exploring with his friends and expanding his horizons. He also has an ambition to create/find a Panacea and become a doctor who can cure any disease - even the one held by an entire country.
  • The Going Merry's dream as the crews ship was to sail with the Straw Hats forever which it revealed to the crew upon its demise. In the end it was a dream it could not achieve, it was last seen as it was sent to the bottom of the ocean while its crew tearfully watched on.
  • Franky's dream is to create and travel with a dream ship which would experience countless battles, can overcome extreme hardships, and can reach the end of the Grand Line. He has created the ship which the Straw Hats are riding and it's his task to keep it in good condition.

The "X" Mark

During their Alabasta adventure, they had to face a very tricky opponent, Mr. 2 Bon Clay. He, with his Devil Fruit Power, can turn into anyone of them, so Zoro came up with a very good idea, which excited Luffy. They made a black X mark on their left arms, as a symbol of their belonging to the Straw Hats.

  • When Vivi is heading toward Alubarna, the capital city of Alabasta Kingdom, she met Usopp, but she wasn't sure if he was him or not. As she asked him to show their recognizing symbol, he showed a bandage, but without uncovering the X mark. Vivi understood that he was Bon Clay disguised as Usopp and ran away.
  • When the Straw Hats were leaving Alabasta, they could not say good bye to Vivi in a proper way, to avoid the princess being recognized by the marines as their crewmate. So, they stood with their backs facing Vivi, raising their left hands and showing their X. Vivi replied in the same way too, as a symbol of their unbreakable tie of friendship.

Recruitment

In the beginning of the manga, Luffy claimed that he wanted at least 10 people to join his crew before entering the Grand Line. This was changed after Usopp told Luffy that after "the chef" joined them, they would rescue Nami and go to the Grand Line. Although this is long past the expiring date, it can still serve as evidence that there will be 10 or more Straw Hats at some point of the manga. Luffy also claimed in the beginning of the manga, that he will gather a crew strong enough to surpass his childhood hero Red-Haired Shanks.

Usually when he asks someone to join, Luffy is turned down completely. Later on the person in question will join anyway. The major exceptions to this rule are Usopp, who was thrilled to be asked to join and accepted immediately, and Nico Robin, who invited herself into the crew and had to convince the others to let her stay. Luffy doesn't seem to mind if someone he wants to recruit has a profession or not, asking anyone who is interesting or allowing anyone who wants to join to become a crew member. He allows Usopp to join, and later on names him the team's sniper, and considered Vivi a member even though she has no profession. He also offered Gaimon the chance to join his crew (which Gaimon tearfully turned down) when Gaimon had no apparent usefulness to the crew. Luffy has recently offered a skeleton named Brook to join the crew when they go into the Florian Triangle. While Brook eventually declined joining (after initially accepting), it has been revealed that he was a former musician for a pirate crew which would fill one of the positions that Luffy wants for his crew. Despite this, the people who eventually become Straw Hat members all have above-average fighting abilities and at least one talent in which they are virtually perfect in.

Though most adventures in One Piece are random, there seems to be a 'process' for recruitment. First, a situation arises where someone new is needed. The crew comes across someone who fulfills the criteria (i.e. Chopper the doctor, Nami the navigator). Luffy offers the person a position, and is usually turned down initially. Meanwhile, a situation arises in which, some way or another, Luffy ends up battling a 'boss' character, and the would-be crewmate battles an underling (i.e. Luffy vs Don Krieg after Sanji battles Gin and Pearl), during which their backstory and dreams are revealed, thus convincing them to join the Straw Hat Crew. This process also fooled many fans into thinking Vivi would become a permanent crew member. The crew members who did not follow this process are Nami, Robin, and Franky. Nami's official recruitment was when Luffy, Zoro, Usopp and Sanji defeated Arlong and his pirates. Before that, she'd only been traveling with the Straw Hats and pretending to be a loyal crewmember so she could find a chance to steal their treasure in order to save her village. Robin was the first to invite herself onto the crew, but only did so because she had nowhere else to go. It wasn't until later that she began to enjoy being with the Straw Hats, and only after the battles with CP9 that it was confirmed that she'd stay as a permanent member. Franky was a major ally of the Straw Hats in the battles of Enies Lobby, but it wasn't suggested by other characters that he actually join the crew until after the fights were over.

If a Straw Hat crew member leaves the crew without Luffy's permission, Luffy becomes adamant in getting them back, usually when that happens the crew member claims that they don't want to go back but Luffy does not care and usually they are controlled or feared by a villain, the crew member doesn't actually rejoin until after the villain is defeated. So far Robin, and Usopp were the only ones who tried to leave the crew, but eventually came back and rejoined. Usopp was the only crew member to have Luffy's permission to leave, though that permission came quite bitterly after a harsh fight between the two, but came back nonetheless.

Luffy has several times stated the need for a musician, because "pirates love music", and thinks of this more important than other positions. Recently, a new character has appeared who may fill this position: a skeleton named Brook has admitted to being a musician and so far has followed the pattern of new crew members mentioned above.

Bounties

All the current Straw Hats have bounties over their heads, with a total bounty of "667,000,050" Belli:

  • "Straw Hat" Monkey D. Luffy currently holds a 300,000,000 Belli bounty on his head. He started out with a 30,000,000 Belli bounty after beating Buggy, Don Krieg, and Arlong back in the East Blue Saga. His bounty rose to 100,000,000 Belli after defeating Sir Crocodile of the Shichibukai, in the Alabasta Arc. After defeating Rob Lucci of CP9 and declaring war on the World Government, his bounty tripled to become 300,000,000 Belli. He currently holds the second highest revealed bounty in the series, second to only Donquixote Doflamingo, also of the Shichibukai. Though not relevant, it should be noted that his bounty is raised whenever he helps a woman aboard the Straw Hats' ship (first bounty after helping Nami, second after Vivi, third after Robin).
  • "Pirate Hunter" Roronoa Zoro currently holds a 120,000,000 Belli bounty, for his aid in the destruction of Enies Lobby. Before that, he had a 60,000,000 Belli bounty on his head for defeating about 100 bounty hunters at Whisky Peak, and for defeating the Baroque Works agent Mr. 1 (a.k.a. Das Bones).
  • "Demon Child" Nico Robin currently has an 80,000,000 Belli bounty. She previously held a 79,000,000 Belli bounty from over 20 years ago, when she was eight. The World Government claimed the bounty was because she had sunk 6 Marine ships, yet in the Enies Lobby arc it is revealed as nothing more than a lie from the government, and the real reason behind her bounty is her ability to read Poneglyphs. The 6 ships she was accused of destroying were actually destroyed by Jaguar D. Saulo during the Buster Call on Ohara while he was trying to protect her, and the marines themselves, in case there were people on the ships that knew too much.
  • "Black Leg" Sanji currently holds a 77,000,000 Belli bounty. On a side note, they failed to get a proper photo of him and had to use an ugly composite of him.
  • "Cyborg" Franky currently holds a 44,000,000 Belli bounty. Franky received the bounty for helping the Straw Hats at Enies Lobby, as well as destroying the blueprints to the superweapon, Pluton.
  • "King of Snipers" Usopp currently holds a 30,000,000 Belli bounty for shooting the flag of the World Government. Note that, however, the Navy saw only Sogeking as a crew member and assigned his bounty, while as Usopp he has no bounty (even though he is a Straw Hat).
  • "Cat Thief" Nami currently holds a 16,000,000 Belli bounty. She was the only Straw Hat to complain about getting a bounty, though she said "At least my picture is cute". It is also revealed that the photographer for her picture said he was a W7 reporter, causing her to willingly pose for the photo.
  • "Cotton Candy Lover" Tony Tony Chopper currently holds a 50 Belli bounty because he was mistaken to be the Straw Hats' "pet" rather than an actual crewmember and fighter. Chopper was upset when he saw his wanted poster, shouting that he fought like a man during Enies Lobby and deserved to be treated as such.

"Temporary Pirates"

Through the series there have been people who have traveled with the Straw Hat Pirates for a short period of time.

Travelling Companions

  • Koby (travelled with Luffy through the Alvida and Axe-Hand Morgan arcs): Koby left to join a naval base as a choreboy, and never was interested in becoming a pirate.
  • Johnny and Yosaku (Baratie and Arlong Park arcs): They traveled to Baratie and helped Usopp transport Zoro to Cocoyashi Village where Nami had taken the Going Merry. They stayed there once the crew headed to the Grand Line because they could no longer be partners to Zoro as he was now a criminal and as bounty hunters they could not be seen with criminals.
  • Apis (Anime only; Warship Island arc): Traveled with and also helped by the Straw Hats to return a Thousand Year Dragon to its nest. Luffy even offered her to join the Straw Hats afterward though she respectfully declined.
  • Mr. 9 (Reverse Mountain to Whiskey Peak): Although minor, he had accompanied the crew by side with Vivi (better known as Ms. Wednesday back then) if only because he had to stick with his partner. He left the crew shortly afterwards as he attempted to capture the Straw Hats for the bounty hunters at Whiskey Peak.
  • Portgas D. Ace (Anime Only; part of the Alabasta arc): Neither on the Straw Hats' side or against, he runs into them in Alabasta and meets the crew, destroying the Billions' ships in the process. In the original manga, he left after this encounter, but in the anime he tagged along with the crew for a short while after.
  • Anaguma/Adelle Bascùd (Anime Only; Movie 4: Dead End Adventure): Sailed with the crew during the Dead End Race.
  • Conis & Pagaya (Skypiea arc): Although not being all too helpful at first, Conis helped Luffy, Usopp and Sanji escape the White Berets. Conis and Pagaya return later to watch over the Going Merry while the crew take part in the survival game and to take care of Usopp and Sanji who had been wounded by Eneru. Later, after Pagaya is near-fatally wounded by Eneru's judgement, Conis returns to Angel island to warn the people of Eneru's true intentions, fighting the White Berets in the process.

Major Allies

  • Nefertari Vivi & Karoo (The entire Baroque Works Saga): They were helped by the Straw Hats and together they took out Baroque Works. Though Vivi very nearly joined, she reluctantly refused and remains the princess of Alabasta. Vivi and Karoo are the only characters outside of the strawhat pirates that were featured on the coverpages of One Piece.
  • Mr. 2 Bon Clay (End of Alabasta arc): He helped Straw Hats to safely leave Alabasta, disguising himself and his crew as the Straw Hats, fighting against the ships led by Captain Hina.
  • Franky Family (Enies Lobby arc): The family had helped the Straw Hats during the assault of Enies Lobby to ensure they can face the CP9 in Tower of Justice.
  • Oimo and Kaashi (Enies Lobby arc): Originally working for the World Government as the gatekeepers of Enies Lobby, they changed sides when it was revealed by Usopp that the government had been lying to them for the past fifty years. They provided support to the Franky Family and Galley-La shipwrights in defending against the various Marines during the courthouse battle, and also helped carry them to safety when the Buster Call started attacking.
  • Yokozuna (Enies Lobby arc): Though originally antagonistic to the Straw Hats, Yokozuna the frog assisted them once he learned that his friend Franky had been arrested. Upon arriving at Enies Lobby, Yokozuna bent the waterfall fence, turning it into a ramp that vaulted the Rocket Man onto the island. He then helped guard the Courthouse.
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