The protagonist of the popular One Piece anime series, Monkey D. Luffy, is a remarkable individual. Luffy accomplished many things on his way to becoming the pirate king, including the conquest of naval strongholds and the liberation of oppressed nations. The significance of some accomplishments, however, is greater than that of others.
Luffy, armed with an iron will and unrelenting determination, gradually overcomes every obstacle on his path to becoming the Pirate King. The youthful pirate never backs down from a challenge, be it gigantic sea creatures or government officials. In the One Piece series, several wonderful things have been accomplished by the young pirate thanks to his strong will and perseverance, but which are the greatest?
Some entries contain spoilers from the manga
8 Earning A Bounty Of 1.5 Billion Berries
There are innumerable pirates in the One Piece world. However, the pirates are differentiated into the weak and the strong. The truly strong pirates, whose names and actions can truly cause an upheaval in the pirating world of One Piece, have bounties of over a billion.
This is why Luffy getting a bounty of 1.5 billion berries was such a big deal to the characters in the series and fans alike. After getting a 1.5 billion berry bounty, Luffy was unofficially dubbed the 5th Emperor of the Sea, becoming a big shot alongside other Emperors such as Kaido, Big Mum, Shanks, and Blackbeard.
7 Defeating Katakuri
Katakuri, Big Mom's second-in-command and self-described "sweet commander of flour," is a highly dangerous individual. Defeating Katakuri, the man with a billion berries bounty on his head, was a monumental challenge, but one that Luffy had to take on if he wanted to continue on his path to becoming the pirate king.
Because Katakuri was the most powerful of Big Mom's children, Luffy had to improve his strength significantly. Because of his enhanced haki of observation, he was able to predict the future. Amazingly, Luffy was able to overcome the affable commander in a single night, despite Katakuri having spent years learning his craft.
6 Getting A Rookie's Recognition From Whitebeard
The infamous pirate Whitebeard, whose real name was Edward Newgate, was one of the few who could challenge the reign of Gol D. Roger. The mere mention of Whitebeard's name or the doing of any deed by him would cause a ruckus.
When attempting to rescue Portgas D. Ace, Luffy's sworn, brother and Whitebeard's adopted son, Luffy, and Whitebeard crossed paths during the One Piece series' Marineford arc. Whitebeard recognized Luffy's talent and acknowledged the rookie pirate's challenge to show him what the future will look like because of his perseverance, willpower, and potential.
5 Being The Only Man To Successfully Attack Enies Lobby
Enies Lobby was one of the three major islands of the world government. It was a judicial island where criminals were judged for their crimes before being sent to the prison Impel Down or the Marine headquarters. In the Enies Lobby arc of One Piece, Luffy and his crew were responsible for infiltrating the judicial island to retrieve Nico Robin, their nakama.
As a great battle ensued between the Straw Hat Pirates and CP9 (a secret government agency whose headquarters was set on Enies Lobby), Enies Lobby suffered disastrous attacks and was eventually destroyed by the Buster Call, a terrifying attack meant to eliminate the Straw Hat Pirates and their allies. However, Luffy and his crew survived unscathed and became the first ones to successfully attack the government island.
4 Mastering Advanced Conqueror's Haki In A Night
Conqueror's Haki is an extremely rare version of Haki in the One Piece anime series. It is not something that can be acquired; people are either born with it or without it. With Conqueror's Haki, the user can briefly knock out opponents who have weaker willpower. Conqueror's Haki is employed for more than just intimidating opponents, despite its excellent benefits.
In its refined form, known as advanced conquering haki, the haki can be directly incorporated into attacks, greatly enhancing their destructive potential. The most devastating of Roger and Kaido's attacks are based on the advanced conqueror's haki. Luffy's combat prowess is on full display as he learns and masters advanced conqueror's haki in one night's time while facing off against Kaido. This was unbelievable to even Kaido, who had spent years training his advanced conqueror's haki.
3 Defeating Kaido
A powerful ogre named Kaido, known as the King of Beasts, had amassed a fortune of 4,611,100,000 berries at his zenith in the One Piece world. The strongest creature on Earth was how he was often described due to his incredible strength. Luffy had to learn to counter his haki and devil fruit attacks, among other techniques, because even his strongest gear was no match for him.
Even after defeating Kaido twice with his newfound skills, Luffy still had to work for his eventual victory. Since Luffy had just defeated an Emperor of the Sea in the form of Kaido, he was now among the most powerful figures in the One Piece universe.
2 Becoming A Yonko At The Age Of 19
Luffy was informally crowned the 5th Emperor of the Sea after receiving a reward of 1.5 billion berries. Many of the series' regulars, including Blackbeard, initially resented this development, believing that Luffy did not yet merit the title. But after he defeated Kaido, everything changed.
After Luffy's huge victory over Kaido, the World Government had no choice but to recognize him. They made him Emperor of the Sea and gave him a bounty of 3 billion berries. Fans were deeply moved by Luffy's elevation to the position of Emperor, especially given that he did it at the tender age of 19—just two years after he had first taken up piracy—when even the previous youngest Emperor, Shanks, had reached that position in his 30s.
1 Unlocking Gear Fifth
The user's mind and body must finally catch up to the strength of the devil fruit before the user can experience an awakening. Even the King of Beasts, Kaido, has not yet awakened his devil fruit, so fans can imagine the difficulty involved in doing so.
Conversely, Luffy awoke his devil fruit during his fight with Kaido. Even with his superior conqueror's haki ability, Luffy was outmatched by Kaido until he awoke his devil fruit and was able to transform his environment into rubber, greatly enhancing his strength in fights.