Hello, One Piece fans,
As you know, Monkey D. Luffy, the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, is one of the strongest characters in the One Piece manga. Despite his incredible strength and impressive track record, Luffy was never offered the title of Warlord, unlike other prominent pirates such as Boa Hancock, Doflamingo, and Kuma.
In this blog post, we will answer the question : Why isn’t Luffy a warlord ? In delving into the reasons behind this decision and explore why Luffy never became a Warlord.
I have been following One Piece since 2008 and I will be your guide for this adventure.
So take a seat and let’s seal!
Overview on Warlord
In One Piece there are many systems and hierarchies among sailors and pirates, the most curious of them being the Warlord or Shichibukai, as they are seven pirates who were granted a pardon by the World Government for their crimes and now serve them with certain freedoms.
The first Warlord’s members we know were Mihawk, Kuma, Hancock, Jinbe, Doflamingo, Gecko Moria, and Crocodile, being Kuma the only pirate obedient to the Government -even if it was because of the modifications made by Vegapunk-, all the members are despised by other pirates both for their power and for being affiliated to the Government, and the marines tend to despise having to resort to them.
Importance of the warlord system
The position of warlords reflects the power that the World Government has over piraty, as they must deliver 10% of their booty to the government, in addition to freeing islands for them, although they often do not fulfill these terms and only use their position for their purposes.
Even so, having the strength of seven of the most powerful pirates of the sea has been of great help to the government, especially in case of war, i.e. the war of marineford, where they had to fight with the government to prevent them from saving Ace, although Hancock fought against pirates and marines alike.
Limit of the system
For starters, if the position of a shichibukai becomes available on an emergency basis, the World Government evaluates who might be a good candidate and puts them to the test, however, Law only had to send HQ 100 pirate hearts to belong and Blackbeard got his title by turning Ace into the government.
You have to be honest and no pirate is to be trusted, so every time the World Government entrusts a task -other than Kuma- to a pirate it involves playing Russian roulette that could go right or wrong, they end up giving more power to pirates that can be highly dangerous when the reality is that they want to finish them off completely and it is just a way to keep them under control.
So this system offers benefits to both sides but clearly, neither trusts the other, so the World Government will get rid of this position as soon as they can.
Luffy’s achievements
Throughout One Piece Luffy has had few defeats, counting perhaps two, when he lost his crew in Sabaody Archipelago and the Marineford War, during the other battles against marines or pirates he has managed to prosper.
Luffy’s victories over powerful opponents
Luffy is a character who has never cared about the reward or power of his enemies, he will always want to fight until he defeats them, so he has managed to defeat quite powerful pirates or marines like Crocodile or Rob Lucci earning his reputation as a pirate.
Reasons why Luffy was never offered the warlord title
There has never been a canon reason why Luffy has never been offered the warlord title, however, one reality is that you never know how Luffy will act which makes him a very unpredictable pirate, even the World Government does not know his position because the first time they were worried about his presence was when they knew he had defeated Crocodile, covering up the encounter as if it had been one of their achievements.
Luffy’s disregard for authority
As far as I remember Luffy has never respected the authority of any kind, since he was little he has always been against Garp, Dadan, and even Shanks, because he used to argue a lot with him for not wanting to accept him in his crew.
So Luffy makes it very clear that he will only follow orders, his own, so the World Government makes no difference to him, in fact, he makes his position clear by declaring it his enemy during Enies Lobby by rescuing Robin and burning the flag.
Luffy’s incompatibility with the warlord role
If Luffy has not respected any authority in his life and is very unpredictable, there is no way the World Government would think of making him part of the warlords, it would involve more risk than any other shichibukai as one would never know when he would be against any of their decisions.
Luffy’s belief
One of Luffy’s major beliefs is that being a pirate means being free and being able to do whatever he wants, eat whatever he wants, and go from island to island traveling the world.
Luffy’s goals
Luffy’s greatest goal has always been to become the King of Pirates, the freest man in the whole world, although we don’t fully know his dream, being able to make his own decisions without a third party speaks volumes about Luffy’s character.
Luffy’s allies and relationships
The only relationship that could benefit the World Government to make Luffy a warlord, would be Garp’s, as all of Luffy’s acquaintances end up being dangerous and renowned pirates, like Shanks, and his only political ally would be Nefertari Vivi, but this connection would only bring problems to the princess.
Besides, his father is the revolutionary leader, so it would only complicate things.
Luffy’s impact on the One Piece world
Luffy is a determinant factor to overthrow the power that the World Government has, he is usually determined to end dictatorships under their mantle, and he has never managed to be congenial with the laws they impose.
In addition, one of the most influential acts Luffy did was to strike the tenryuubito, making it unviable to protect his interests.
Conclusion
Luffy is a great captain and will undoubtedly make a great Pirate King, as he turns out to be a great leader to trust and forms quick and reliable bonds with people, but he would never be able to take someone else’s orders seriously, he will always follow his instincts to take a position that may never go to the benefit of the World Government.
Luffy didn’t become a Warlord because he just didn’t tick the boxes for World Government and he would have turned down the offer.
I like to think of Luffy as the sea itself, being able to fend for himself and you never know what surprises he will bring, would you have liked to see Luffy being a warlord member?
