Luffy’s 10 Hardest Fights in One Piece

Luffy has had a lot of incredibly intense fights throughout One Piece’s 25 years of serialization, but which were the hardest for him to deal with?

SUMMARY

Luffy’s fights in One Piece are intense, brutal, and crucial events in the series’ sagas.
Luffy’s battles with Arlong, Enel, and Cracker showcase his struggles against formidable enemies.
Luffy’s epic battles against Doflamingo, Katakuri, and Kaido push him to his limits, showcasing his endurance and sheer determination.

Luffy has had a lot of epic fights over One Piece’s 25 years of serialization including some incredibly tough ones. These fights are some of One Piece’s most important and intense events that the climaxes of entire sagas are based around. They are also some of the most brutal fights in anime history. One Piece’s fights even give Dragon Ball a run for its money.

Luffy’s direct nature and simplistic view of the world often lead him to directly confront enemies much stronger than himself. This can create fights that are incredibly difficult and brutal, especially later in the series when the enemies are even stronger.

Luffy has always possessed some of the most creative techniques in anime. From such a long series, he has many too. But which ones are his best?

10Luffy Vs. Arlong is Luffy’s First Big Fight

Fight begins in episode #38 and chapter #82

 

One of Luffy’s most iconic enemies, Arlong is a Fishman who blackmails Nami into working for him after murdering her mother. Given that Nami has one of One Piece’s most tragic origins, fans were waiting for Luffy to take Arlong down. He is the first major threat Luffy has to face, and their fight is pretty intense, with Arlong biting and cutting Luffy with his sharp teeth and nose. This fight also introduces one of Luffy’s biggest weaknesses to sharp attacks like slashing, which stays with him well through the series.

Luffy ends the fight by destroying both Arlong and his base, freeing Nami from her tragic past. While this is definitely one of the best fights in the series, it pales in comparison to some of the fights that come after Luffy enters the Grand Line and faces much stronger enemies.

9Luffy Vs. Enel was Won Due to a Fortunate Twist of Luck

Fight begins in episode #182 and chapter #276

 

Enel was the godlike ruler of Skypiea, whose electricity-based Devil Fruit made him incredibly difficult to fight. He could shock his enemies with bolts of lightning and transform himself into electricity to avoid most attacks. Luckily, Luffy’s rubbery body was the perfect counter to this ability and gave him the edge he needed to ultimately thwart Enel’s plans.

Enel was one of the strongest Logia users from before the time skip and Luffy would have likely not been able to defeat him at the time if he weren’t Enel’s natural enemy, as Luffy hadn’t yet discovered Haki. However, the fight was still brutal, with Enel stabbing Luffy and forcing him to fight while weighed down with a giant ball. Luffy was able to turn this hindrance into a useful tool, but it still made the fight a brutal struggle for him.

8Luffy Vs. Cracker Put Luffy’s Best Talent to Use

Fight begins in episode #797 and chapter #836

 

Cracker was one of the first enemies Luffy fought upon arriving at Whole Cake Island and his massive power level hinted at the difficult fights to come. Cracker’s powers to manipulate biscuits allow him to both create defensive shields and offensive soldiers, making him a formidable fighter. Cracker and his Biscuit soldiers were powerful enough to force Luffy to use Gear Fourth, the very strongest of his abilities at the time. The fight even tested the limits of how much Luffy could eat when he resorted to eating the Biscuit soldiers instead, which resulted in a new form of Gear Fourth called Tankman.

Their fight lasted for over eleven hours, making it one of the longest fights in One Piece, but ultimately Luffy didn’t suffer too much physical damage, despite having to eat Cracker’s soldiers to the point of almost bursting. This keeps it from being placed higher among all of Luffy’s fights, despite how grueling it was for Luffy.

In a shocking anime-only scene, one of One Piece’s deadliest characters made short work of a powerful foe that previously gave Gear 4 Luffy trouble.

7Luffy Vs. Crocodile Was Luffy’s First Run-in with a Logia

Fight begins in episode #110 and chapter #177

 

Crocodile was the first major enemy that Luffy fought after entering the Grand Line and served as a good representative for the power level of the seven warlords of the sea. Their fight was extremely brutal for Luffy, who was impaled on Crocodile’s hook and dehydrated by his sand abilities.

However, once Luffy figured out that he could combat Crocodile using water, he was able to defeat him with a barrage of powerful punches. Crocodile’s powerful Sand-Sand powers forced Luffy to innovate in the most hilarious way possible and the fight would have likely been much easier had Luffy known about Haki. Like with the Arlong fight, this is one of Luffy’s most iconic early One Piece fights, but it pales in comparison to some of the other enemies he would face.

6Luffy Vs. Magellan Drove Luffy to Near Death

Fight begins in episode #435 and chapter #533

 

This is one of the shortest fights in the series, but it is also one of the few fights in One Piece that Luffy lost completely. Magellan was the warden of the prison Impel Down, and his Venom-Venom Devil fruit abilities greatly harm his opponents if they touch the globs of poison he generates and manipulates.

Luffy attempted to punch him into submission as he does with many of his foes, but in the process got lethally poisoned, which quickly knocked him out. He did fight through the pain for a little bit though, making for a grueling and difficult fight while he was conscious. Magellan was one of the many foes Luffy could not overcome through brute force alone, and it is safe to say that Luffy may not have survived Magellan’s venom if not for Bon Clay’s efforts.

5Luffy Vs. Marineford is the Most Epic Battle of the Series

Fight begins in episode #467 and chapter #558

 

Luffy was present during the Summit War at Marineford, and he fought a variety of different foes including One Piece’s three Naval Admirals. The fight includes many impressive moments, including Luffy’s first public use of Conqueror’s Haki which infamously knocked out 50,000 marines. That said, many of the fighters at Marineford were much stronger than Luffy was and easily defeated him.

At one point in the fighting, he physically could not continue until Ivankov used their devil fruit to give him the strength to go on. Given the large number of enemies he fought and the continuous nature of his fighting, all of Luffy’s battles in the Summit War can be considered as one long, grueling fight. When viewed this way, Marineford definitely deserves to be among Luffy’s hardest fights in One Piece.

4Luffy Vs. Lucci Showcases the Power of Gear Second

Fight begins in episode #294 and chapter #409

 

Luffy’s fight with Lucci is probably his most iconic fight from before the time skip for good reason. It is a long and intense battle that features Luffy using a brand-new fighting style and also has him knocked down and seemingly defeated multiple times. But every time he falls he gets right back up again against all odds.

Luffy’s desire to save Robin motivates him to keep fighting and this determination is what enables Luffy to ultimately defeat Lucci in One Piece, with his awesome Jet Gatling attack. Together with the added pressure of the Buster Call on Enies Lobby, Luffy’s fight against Lucci is charged with tension and pushes Luffy to the very limit. More than being one of One Piece’s best moments, this transcends the series to become one of the best fight scenes in all anime.

3Luffy Vs. Doflamingo Highlights Gear Fourth’s Biggest Pitfall

Fight begins in episode #721 and chapter #780

 

Doflamingo ranks among One Piece’s most despicable villains, so Luffy’s final battle against him was incredibly satisfying. It was also incredibly long, as Doflamingo’s powerful String-String Devil Fruit forced Luffy to go all out to fight him. Luffy’s Gear Fourth Boundman form even took too much out of him at one point, forcing him to rely on the help of the people of Dressrosa to buy him the time he needed to recover.

Though Doflamingo initially underestimated Luffy and Gear Fourth, Luffy’s Gum-Gum King Kong Gun attack was able to overpower Doflamingo’s God Thread technique, punching the tyrannical warlord into oblivion. Ultimately, despite the great physical toll it took on him and Doflamingo using his awakened Devil Fruit powers, Luffy was able to defeat the warlord and free the people of Dressrosa from his tyranny.

2Luffy Vs. Katakuri Forces Luffy to Learn Observation Haki on the Spot

Fight begins in episode #851 and chapter #879

 

Katakuri is the strongest member of Big Mom’s crew outside Big Mom herself, so his fight with Luffy was one of the most difficult Luffy has ever been a part of. Katakuri’s Mochi-Mochi Devil Fruit abilities enable him to transform his body to dodge any attacks and his Observation Haki lets him see into the future to know his opponent’s next moves before they do them.

Luffy had to bring his own Observation Haki up to Katakuri’s level in the middle of the fight and suffer his powerful attacks while he was doing this. The fight ended in a powerful clash that knocked down both fighters, with Luffy winning the battle by getting back up first. Even the World Government recognized how much of an achievement this was with them raising Luffy’s bounty up to above one billion berries afterward.

1Luffy Vs. Kaido is the Longest Fight in One Piece

Fight at Kuri begins in episode #912 and chapter #922 and the fight at Onigashima begins in episode #1015 and chapter #1000

 

Luffy’s fight against Kaido encapsulates everything that made Luffy’s previous fights so difficult and takes things to another level. Kaido initially easily defeats Luffy at Kuri after which Luffy is sent to Udon where he learns Ryou and gets stronger. However, Luffy is defeated again at Onigashima with Kaido casting his unconscious form from the top of Onigashima to the waters below.

After Luffy recovers and makes his way back to the top of Onigashima, Kaido defeats Luffy yet again, this time putting him at death’s doorstep even after Luffy goes all out with Gear Four. It takes Luffy awakening his Devil Fruit and discovering Gear Fifth to defeat Kaido, and even after he discovers his Devil Fruit’s new broken abilities, their fight is still incredibly grueling. Kaido is known as One Piece’s strongest creature, and this fight certainly proves why.

Luffy will likely have many more incredibly hard fights ahead of him as the series continues into its Final Saga. Enemies like Blackbeard and Im have been established to be incredibly powerful and difficult to defeat, and even with Luffy’s incredibly powerful Gear Fifth abilities, they will still likely be very tough to fight. But if anyone has the resolve and ability to defeat these foes it is Luffy, as One Piece’s past fights have shown.