11 times when Luffy almost died in One Piece

Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece is one of the strongest protagonists in Shonen, known for his versatility and ability to adapt to any situation. With the power of his Nika fruit and every Haki at his disposal, he is capable of giving any Shonen protagonist, or one from any anime, a run for their money in a one-on-one battle.

However, one of the reasons behind his strength is his past close-to-death encounters, which left him on the brink of life and death but made him stronger than before.

Be it the start of his journey, where he escaped death from a sea beast, or the experience against Kaido, where he escaped death with his devil fruit awakening, this article will compile One Piece protagonist 11 moments where he made a hair-close escape from death.

Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed in this article solely belong to the author.

In the Arabasta arc, in the Enies Lobby arc, and 9 other times in One Piece when Monkey D Luffy almost died

1) Against Sea Monster (Childhood)

Luffy and Shanks as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

The moment where it all started: at the beginning of Luffy's journey in One Piece, he was kidnapped by a group of pirates while attempting to get revenge for Shanks. This led to many events, and Luffy was eventually thrown into the sea.

With him freshly a devil fruit, its curse started playing, and Luffy started drowning. Soon enough, a sea monster arrived and was about to devour the series' protagonist. Luckily, Shanks arrived in time and saved Luffy but sacrificed his arm. So, Monkey D Luffy started his journey with a near-death experience.

2) Against Buggy (Loguetown arc)

Monkey D Luffy as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

After visiting Roger's birthplace during the Loguetown arc in One Piece, Luffy got unexpectedly captured by Buggy the Clown, who was adamant about giving the series' protagonist the same treatment as his former leader.

Buggy set up an execution site and was about to execute Luffy in front of a large crowd. Surprisingly, the Straw Hat captain was okay with it. However, an unexpected burst of lightning saved Luffy, and he made a hair-close escape from execution.

3) Against Crocodile (Arabasta arc)

Luffy and Crocodile as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

After learning of Crocodile's weakness in One Piece, Luffy attacked him with his water-filled body. Unfortunately, the former warlord had seen through his schemes and dodged Luffy's every try to make him wet.

After Luffy's water reservoir was exhausted, Crocodile grabbed him and sucked every spec of moisture from his body, leaving him on the brink of death. Fortunately, the water that Crocodile's previous attacks had drained from Luffy's body returned, rejuvenating him before he succumbed to dehydration.

4) Against Kuzan (Long Ring Long Land arc)

Luffy and Kuzan as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

During the last part of the Long Ring Long Land arc, the Straw Hat Pirates encountered Admiral Kuzan just before they were about to leave for their next destination. Upon seeing Nico Robin with them, Kuzan had no choice but to capture her.

However, since Luffy considered Robin a part of his crew, he immediately attacked the Admiral. As an Admiral, Kuzan easily overpowered everyone, using his Chilly-Chilly Devil Fruit powers to freeze Luffy as a warning to the crew about the dangers surrounding Nico Robin. Fortunately, Luffy recovered after seven days and again escaped death.

5) Against Lucci (Enies Lobby arc)

Luffy and Lucci as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Where the Straw Hat Pirates fought against Cipher Pol on one side, Luffy fought the organization's leader, Lucci. Moreover, the battle between these powerhouses was one of the most heated at that time because neither Luffy nor Lucci held back.

After Lucci started hitting Luffy with continuous bursts of the Six King Pistol technique, the series' protagonist reached his limit. However, he still stood strong and defeated Lucci. Meanwhile, the effects of the technique hit later, and Luffy was about to fall into the sea (and potentially die from drowning). Fortunately, Robin saved him at the eleventh hour.

6) Against Moria (Thriller Bark arc)

Nightmare Luffy as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

After capturing Monkey D Luffy in One Piece, Gecko Moria inserted one hundred shadows inside the series' protagonist, creating Nightmare Luffy. Even with Luffy's strong will, he couldn't do much but be controlled by Gecko Moria.

Fortunately, after mustering up enough strength, Luffy knocked out Moria. This released all of the shadows. However, he was left exhausted after this event and was potentially about to die due to immense pain. This was the same time when Kuma arrived on the island, and Luffy escaped death because 'nothing happened' for Zoro.

7) Against Magellan (Impel Down arc)

Luffy as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

In an attempt to rescue his brother from Impel Down, the strongest prison in One Piece, Luffy searched for his cell until he crossed paths with Magellan. As the warden of the facility, Magellan didn’t hold back and administered a lethal dose of his Venom-Venom Devil Fruit to Luffy.

Magellan then threw him on the Freezing Level 5 of Impel Down in hopes that he would die quickly. Luffy kept moving but eventually reached a limit. In his final moments, Bon-chan arrived and took him into the woods of this level.

Here, Ivankov and her friends retrieved Luffy, and Luffy made the narrowest escape from death since he had started his journey as a pirate. Unfortunately, he also lost a few years of his life during this escape from death.

8) Against Akainu (Paramount War arc)

After Admiral Akainu kills Ace before Luffy's eyes in One Piece, the protagonist loses all sense of logic and stands in one place. Fortunately, Jinbe jumped in to protect him, but he, alongside Luffy, was hit with a lethal attack of the admiral's Magma-Magma devil fruit.

Luffy was then escorted away from the Warland and was handed over to the Heart Pirates, who treated his injuries. After a long two-week recovery, Luffy again escaped death and woke up to the realization that he had lost his brother. Fortunately, with Jinbe's support, he was able to march forward.

9) Against Porchemy (Post-war arc)

Luffy and Porchemy as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

During Luffy's childhood in the East Blue in One Piece, he encountered Porchemy of the Bluejam Pirates while Sabo and Ace watched from the sidelines. Even though they wanted Luffy to be captured purposely, the situation turned serious quickly because Porchemy was brutally assaulting little Luffy.

Eventually, Sabo and Ace rushed to Porchemy and saved their brother before he was killed by the Bluejam Pirate. While this time might not seem much, Luffy was a little boy, and the torture he received could be considered close to near-death.

10) Against Hordy Jones (Fisherman Island arc)

Luffy and Jinbe as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

After a heated fight against Hody Jones in One Piece, the protagonist wins at the cost of a lethal blood loss. Moreover, as there was no human with the same blood group as Luffy, his situation got deadly in the passing second.

Fortunately, Jinbe volunteered to offer his blood for a transfusion with Luffy, even though the Fisherman Island rules forbade him to do so. Jinbe still helped his friend escape death, and their deed was the first blood transfusion between a human and a fisherman in One Piece.

11) Against Kaido (Wano arc)

The most infamous near-death experience of Monkey D Luffy where he lost to Kaido three times, with the last one being close to a near-death experience. Luffy's fight against Kaido was one of the key fights to his development as a character in One Piece.

After his brutal loss against Kaido in the battle on Onigashima, Luffy's body was sitting lifeless while Kaido went to announce his victory. However, to Kaido's misery, Luffy's body started emitting a heartbeat as he re-emerged with the awakening of his devil fruit titled the Gear 5.

Final thoughts

Despite being such an overpowered protagonist, it is interesting to see how Luffy escaped death so many times. While this does show that his strength wasn't something he was just born with, a much bigger part was played by the series' lore, which wanted to see Luffy go through suffering to achieve what he wanted.

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Edited by Toshali Kritika