Within the immense and well-tied moments of One Piece, we were given to witness many sorts of battles. Some are more awe-inspiring, while others are confusing, just as when Straw Luffy first encountered Bellamy at Mock Town.
Everything was set for a spiced-up brawling moment when we ended up with a scene of Luffy and Zoro staying motionless under the rain of glasses’ shreds and provocations. Had Luffy suddenly become a pacifist?
In this blog post, we will answer the question : Why didn’t Luffy fight Bellamy ? In reveaingl reasons why Luffy and Zoro didn’t retaliate against Bellamy and his band and the deep meaning of such an act in One Piece’s philosophy.
As a passionate fan of the series since 2008, it’s a real pleasure to have you onboard as we delve into this enigmatic subject.
Have a seat, and let’s sail!
When did Luffy avoid this fight against Bellamy?
These events took place in the prelude arc to Skypiea’s adventures: the arc of Jaya.
You can find this part in the manga adaptation, in Chapter 222 (p. 8-19), Chapter 223 (p. 2-19), and Chapter 224 (p. 2-19).
It was all condensed in Episode 146 and Episode 147 of the anime adaptation.
Let’s delve without further ado into the actual subject!
Why didn’t Luffy fight Bellamy ? The reasons :
Back in the early stages of Mock Town, we all know that Luffy was more than capable of beating Bellamy’s ass off. He won over Crocodile.
The basic proof was the difference between their bounty.
Among most of the pirates of the surroundings, Bellamy was feared due to his Devil Fruit abilities and his bounty of 55,000,000 Berries. First hearing about Luffy’s non-updated bounty – which was actually 100,000,000 Berries back then –, he estimated himself superior to our captain Straw Hat Luffy.
Thus, the fight didn’t occur due to:
- Luffy’s Conception of Piracy, as a “Dreamer Pirate”;
- Luffy’s Experience with his mentor Shanks ;
- the Lack of Stakes in the fight with his willing punching bag, Bellamy ;
1 – Luffy’s Conception of Piracy wasn’t worth confronting Bellamy
Bellamy’s character portrays the bad archetype of piracy; the likes of influential and fearsome outlaws, terrorizing villages and citizens, plundering and conquering ships of foes.
This said, it actually makes sense that Bellamy ultimately decided to find out if Luffy is a contender/potential threat to his influence, and gauge him out.
From the moment Bellamy entered the Pubs and Pies’ bar, his intention was just to take on a fight with Luffy, as mere gangsters would have done.
Luffy almost played his game, but quickly restrained himself as Bellamy said: “This isn’t a fight, it’s a test.”
Furthermore, the latter’s response when Nami mentioned the Sky Island was the trigger to Luffy’s determination.
As he stated himself, Bellamy shares the vision of the New Era, which considers the Era of Pirates led by their dreams – the Dreamer ¨Pirates – as over.
“The time of Pirates’ dreams is over! The City of Gold, the Emerald Realm, and the Great One Piece. The fools who dream of these fictional treasures don’t notice the real treasures that surround them” — Bellamy.
This conception of Piracy is far lousy compared to Luffy’s one, which is fueled by the desire of accomplishing his dreams, and the ones of his nakamas. This is the mindset of Dreamer Pirates.
Thus, confronting ideologies with such a close-minded weakling through battle was pointless, and Luffy understood it.
Blackbeard even congratulated him afterward: “The Dreams of Pirates will never end”.
For sure, Truth isn’t meant to be attested, it’s a fact whether people believe in it or not.
And it also stands for one’s belief in his dreams — that’s one of the reasons why Luffy is the best anime character ever.
2 – Luffy’s Experience with his mentor Shanks was an example to him
On the other hand, some of us might have a déja-vu feeling, thinking about the scene with Bellamy and Luffy.
Actually, Luffy was likely inspired by Shanks’ decision to not fight back in the past.
Back to Foosha Village, we recall that when the mountain bandit Higuma and his gang spilled drinks on Shanks that he didn’t move an inch. He later explained that it wasn’t worth fighting back for a mere issue.
But trying to kill one’s godson is enough to be taught a lesson, isn’t it, Higuma?
Nonetheless, Luffy still had reasons to fight back, since his persecutors attacked his nakama Zoro too.
Maybe Luffy tried to put his mentor’s lesson to a further extent. Oda knows, I guess.
3 – Luffy found no stakes in fighting Bellamy
In addition to the aforementioned, we seem to know that Luffy’s main purpose is to become the King Pirate and to lead his crewmates to their dreams.
Thus, losing or winning a fight against Bellamy doesn’t affect his purpose. He was durable enough to intake these damages, and he stood back easily.
And, this would be a mere fight, totally meaningless.
He also realized that Bellamy wasn’t worth his time and that his actions didn’t change Luffy’s determination.
Even from an ideological angle, they were just having different points of view about considering their own dreams or not.
Fans Speculations
Apart from the deep meaning of this episode, there are a lot of intriguing references in this sequence; some of which are the core of a theory about Blackbeard.
In the first part of Episode 147, Blackbeard confirmed to Luffy and Zoro that they actually won the fight, in one of the most beautiful ways.
Even if fans had later a thousand reasons to hate him, this moment alone attests to his uniqueness.
Later on, as Nami was referring to Blackbeard using “he”, Luffy corrected her saying “It’s not him”, to which Zoro completed “It’s probably they”.
And, for sure, none of them said such a confusing thing as a courtesy.
Thus, this sequence was a deep pedestal to one of the most significant myths of the One Piece universe, the three souls of Blackbeard.
In addition, Blackbeard and Luffy’s antagonization was already foreshadowed, as they found disgusting the meal that the other appreciated.
Conclusion
While it might be tempting for some readers to perceive Luffy’s decision as an act of weakness or cowardice, it’s crucial to recognize that strength extends far beyond physical might alone. To answer our question : Why didn’t Luffy fight Bellamy ? I will say Luffy’s choice not to fight back against Bellamy was the perfect proof of this superiority not only in the mindset, but also in their dreams – Bellamy’s ones were dead, but Luffy’s burning bright.
I hope this article was enjoyable, and stay tuned for the next time.
Keep sailing, Otaku!!!
