All 7 characters who beat Luffy in one piece, ranked

Monkey D. Luffy is the protagonist of One Pieceso it is not surprising that he has fought many battles over the years. As is the case with most shonen series, Luffy has won the majority of his matches while gaining several power-ups along the way, but as strong as he has become, he still has a few notches in the loss column. Most of these losses have come at the hands of strong characters.

Luffy suffered several losses before the time jump, which is understandable considering he hadn't awakened his Devil Fruit yet or mastered Haki. Luffy has lost against formidable pirates, powerful marines and deadly agents of the world government. Most of these losses occurred because Luffy was completely overwhelmed by his opponent's Devil Fruit power.

7

Higuma

Image via Toei Animation

Chronologically, Higuma was it One Piecefirst villain. He collected a bounty of 8 million berries while leading a group of bandits active in the mountains of Dawn Island, Luffy's home island. When he was 7 years old, Luffy watched as Higuma taunted and threatened Shanks, who unbeknownst to everyone already had one of One Piecehighest non-Yonko premiums at the time.

A few days later, Luffy insulted Higuma and the bandit had him beaten. He was ready to kill Luffy on the spot while pinning him down with his foot, but Shanks and his crew intervened in time. With his minions taken out, Higuma managed to kidnap Luffy, who had already eaten his Devil Fruit. Luckily, Shanks saved him. It's true that Higuma is technically the weakest person Luffy has faced, and it's also true that Luffy was just a kid when they met, but Higuma still technically beat him.

6

Smoker

Smoker is now a Navy Vice Admiral commanding the G-5 base in the New World, but when Luffy first fought him he was the Navy Captain in charge of Loguetown. Smoker is one of the marines' strongest Haki users, but he only learned how to use Haki during the time jump. However, he didn't need Haki to beat Luffy in Loguetown, as his Plume-Plume Fruit was more than enough. He has the power to create, control and turn into smoke at any time. Luffy was also unable to use Haki in Loguetown, meaning all of his attacks simply went through Smoker's body.

Smoker easily overpowered Luffy and pinned him to the ground. If Monkey D. Dragon hadn't physically stopped Smoker, Luffy would have been knocked out and taken care of. When Smoker and Luffy met at Marineford, Smoker took him down again. He used his Seastone club to pin Luffy to the ground while nullifying his rubber powers. The only reason Luffy escaped is because Boa Hancock kicked Smoker off of him.

5

Magellan

Magellan was the head of Impel Down, the world government's enormous underwater prison. Many of the world's most dangerous criminals and pirates were kept in Impel Down, and for the most part Magellan kept them all at bay, making him quite strong. Luffy had to face Magellan when he infiltrated Impel Down to rescue Ace. Magellan is one of shonen anime's strongest poison users because he ate the Venom-Venom Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allows him to create and control various types of poisons.

Luffy tried to fight Magellan with Gear 2, but Magellan countered by releasing a poisonous mist into the air before covering his body with highly corrosive poison. In the end, Luffy injured his hands, lost his hearing and dealt with blurry vision. When Magellan decided to end the fight, he hit Luffy with a hydra made of liquid poison. This attack knocked Luffy out instantly and it left his entire body covered in poison. If Bon Clay hadn't brought Luffy to Emporio Ivankov, who injected him with special healing hormones, Luffy's body would have melted away within 24 hours.

4

Rob Lucci

Image via Toei Animation

Rob Lucci is the world government's most skilled assassin. He has mastered all of Cipher Pol's superhuman martial arts techniques, and he has the power of the Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Leopard, which is one of the new Awakened Devil Fruits featured in the Final Saga. With it, Lucci can transform into a leopard or leopard-human hybrid. He has also mastered Armament Haki, making all of his piercing and slashing attacks more dangerous.

The final battle between Luffy and Lucci was one of the highlights of Enie's Lobby Arc, but it wasn't the first time they fought. When Lucci revealed his identity in Water 7, Luffy tried to stop him, but Lucci stabbed him through the chest with a hybrid form enhanced Finger Pistol attack. The blow caused Luffy to stagger, and Lucci grabbed him by the face and threw him through a wall into the city below. Seconds later, Lucci sent Zoro flying through the city with a single kick.

3

Cousin

Image via Toei Animation

Kuzan, otherwise known as Aokiji, is now one of the ten Titanic captains of the Blackbeard Pirates, but when the Straw Hats first met him, he was a Navy Admiral. Given his previous rank, Kuzan is one of One Pieces strong characters. He has powerful Haki, as well as the Ice-Ice Fruit, one of Final Saga's strongest Logia-type Devil Fruits. It gives him complete control over the ice. He does not benefit from intangibles since ice is a solid, but his body can quickly reform even if it is smashed to pieces.

Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji attacked Kuzan on the Long Ring Long Land to protect Robin, but they were all easily repelled, and Luffy had to deal with a frozen arm. He tried to attack Kuzan again after rescuing Robin, who had been frozen solid, but Kuzan encased him in ice within seconds, ending the fight immediately. It's a good thing Kuzan didn't want to kill Luffy, because he could have easily crushed his body. Instead, he left the island in peace.

2

Crocodile

Crocodile was the main villain in the Arabasta Saga and the first Warlord of the Sea that Luffy fought. He was the first person to beat Luffy twice, and he did it without Haki. Crocodile ate the Sand-Sand Fruit, which gives him the power to create, manipulate and transform into sand. When they first fought, all of Luffy's attacks were ineffective as they stepped through Crocodile's intangible body. When he was done toying with Luffy, he stabbed him through the chest with his hook. This was one of the most humiliating losses One Piece.

Instead of killing Luffy outright, Crocodile threw him into quicksand and left. Fortunately, Robin appeared and pulled Luffy out. Their second fight was not as one-sided as Luffy realized that he could counter Crocodile's Devil Fruit with liquid. Crocodile may have been hit, but he overpowered Luffy in the end. He grabbed Luffy by the neck and sucked all the moisture from his body, leaving him in a near-death mummified state. The only reason Luffy survived is because Crocodile left him to die, and some water miraculously landed on him.

1

Kaido

Image via Toei Animation

Kaido is one of the strongest pirates in history. His body had natural superhuman durability, and he is one of the few people in the world who can use all three types of Haki, as well as their advanced applications. He ate a Mythical Zoan-type devil fruit that allows him to transform into a massive azure dragon that can destroy a mountain with a single blast of fire. Realistically, Kaido was one of the few Devil Fruit users who could compete with Gol D. Roger.

Kaido defeated Luffy three times, but the first fight was rather one-sided as Kaido shot him with a single Thunder Bagua attack. Kaido's Haki-infused war club slammed into Gear 4 Luffy, knocking him out instantly. Instead of finishing Luffy off, Kaido had him taken to Udon Prison. Their second one-on-one battle was on Onigashima, and it was more even because Luffy unlocked advanced Conqueror's Haki. That said, Kaido defeated Luffy and sent him crashing into the ocean, where he only survived because Law's submarine found him. Kaido then punched him a third time when a CP0 officer interrupted their clash. Kaido slammed his war club into Luffy, seemingly killing him. Ironically, this defeat was the catalyst for Luffy's Gear 5 Awakening.

Release date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

Author

Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)