The shining star of One Piece, Monkey D Luffy has the most bounties out of the entire Straw Hat crew. Luffy Bounty seem to increase with almost every meetup the Straw Hats have with some Navy or government entity, while the others only get it sometimes. What got Luffy each of his ridiculous bounty numbers though? These events are what made the World Government and Navy decide on each increase.
Arlong Park: Luffy’s First Bounty
- Bounty: 30 Million Berries
Luffy’s victory and destruction of Arlong Park earned him his first bounty. It’s not just his actions in Arlong Park that did it though, as his rampage through the East Blue while gathering new crew mates definitely contributed. It’s hard for the Navy not to take notice when someone demolishes four major pirates in the area plus an asshole corrupt Navy Captain in the span of a week. To make it even better, his first bounty photo is Luffy smiling at the camera, fully enjoying the situation he’s in.
The defeat at Arlong Park cemented him though, as he took out not only the most powerful pirate in the East Blue at the time, but a former equal to a Warlord of the Sea, Jimbei. Arlong was not to be messed with already, and the East Blue was supposed to be his new playground where nobody could stand up to him. Luffy brought all of that crashing down literally and figuratively with a Gum-Gum Axe.
Alabasta
- Bounty: 100 Million Berries
It doesn’t seem like it in hindsight, but the entire run from Arlong Park to Alabasta only took the span of a couple of weeks. The fact that a new pirate in the Grand Line that just started in the East Blue already took out a Warlord had to have the World Government crapping their pants. There’s no way this wasn’t going to earn Luffy a bounty, it’s only surprising it didn’t earn more for the other members.
This bounty was a combo of things in the leadup to Alabasta’s decisive battle. Luffy had a lot going for him before even stepping foot in the country, too. His antics at Drum Island no doubt caused a stir since Wapol was in the Reverie already. Taking out Crocodile on his home turf in a desert? Absolute madness that nobody could have ever expected.
What’s even worse is that the World Government took this a step further because a pirate can’t be a hero. They completely erase Luffy and the entire Straw Hat Pirates’ part in the Alabastan Revolution. Instead, Smoker is hailed as a hero, even though he doesn’t feel right about it.
Enies Lobby
- Bounty: 300 Million Berries
Declaring war on a governmental body will typically land someone in hot water, depending on the kind of power and effort they put behind it. This is the case in Enies Lobby, when every Straw Hat finally earns a bounty. Luffy goes a step further than declaring war though, and beats the hell out of CP9’s top agent in the process. It’s a wonder Luffy bounty didn’t accelerate even further up after this, as it seems like a measly number for the amount of damage he did to the Navy.
Then again, the Navy also probably didn’t want to hype him up even more. They already ensured that almost nobody at Enies Lobby will tell the tale of what happened, so why not keep it all quiet? He gets a modest increase still, along with the others, but his moment telling Sniper King to shoot down the World Government seems like it would have deserved more than this. Still, Luffy got his big new bounty along with every other Straw Hat this time.
Sabaody Archipelago
- Bounty: 400 Million Berries
The events of Sabaody Archipelago were just the beginning of his bounty boost that occurred here. Luffy was already in the World Government’s sights after the incident at Enies Lobby. Then his actions in Marineford gave him a major bounty increase. Even worse, in the process of getting from Sabaody Archipelago to the battle of Marineford, he led a massive jailbreak from Impel Down!
The one thing that really brought his bounty up though? Punching the crap out of Saint Charlos the Celestial Dragon. After Charlos shot Hatchan, it was all over as Luffy doesn’t take hurting his friends kindly. Straw Hat lined up a Gum-Gum Pistol that Charlos still feels to this day.
Dressrosa
- Bounty: 500 Million Berries
After two years away to train, Luffy made the greatest comeback of all in Dressrosa. The Straw Hats’ real exploits began anew on Sabaody Archipelago and Fishman Island. That said, the World Government will ignore those areas for the most part. Unless a Celestial Dragon is there, of course. Dressrosa brought Luffy back into the limelight with a bang though, and gave the World Government new power to fear as the Straw Hat Fleet was founded. Oh, and he had just demolished what was left of Punk Hazard.
Not only does Luffy take out a Warlord of the Sea, but the World Government learns his relation to Sabo. Then there’s the whole other issue of Sabo eating the Flame-Flame Fruit and Luffy’s escape from a Navy Admiral. Honestly, Luffy is doing more good for people than the World Government ever has.
Whole Cake Island
- Bounty: 1.5 Billion Berries
The Whole Cake Island Incident proved to everyone that Luffy was a threat to more than just the Seven Warlords. The infiltration and havoc that Luffy wreaks on Whole Cake Island are like nothing Big Mom has ever seen. Hell, Luffy even manages to defeat Katakuri, the strongest of Big Mom’s children. Luffy was no doubt the greatest threat Big Mom ever faced in her entire time as Emperor. That’s saying a lot since she’s fought the others numerous times.
The World Government doesn’t take defeating an Emperor lightly, knowing that each one of them is a massive threat. His time at Totto Land earned Luffy the unofficial title of Fifth Emperor, with a bounty to match. Probably doesn’t hurt that Big News Morgans embellished the story a little bit to sell papers. As Morgans said, it’s not about fact or fiction, but entertainment.
Wano: Luffy Gets His Highest Bounty Yet!
- Bounty: Three Billion Berries
The moment every single one of the Gorosei and Imu feared. Luffy infiltrates the closed nation of Wano in alliance with Trafalgar Law, Eustass Kid, and the Samurai of Wano to take down Kaido. Pulling off this kind of raid on an Emperor will already gain a pirate either infamy or death, but then Big Mom joins the party and everything changes. Luffy’s absolute chaos in Kuri and the Flower Capitol before his fight with Kaido was just the start.
When Luffy reached his peak with Gear Five, Stussy made sure to get pictures back to Big News Morgans. Not only did he print the issue, but he also sabotaged the bounty posters to show Luffy in Gear Five. Now, everyone’s seen his power, and though most don’t know about Joyboy, it’s only a matter of time. The Awakening for Luffy’s Nika-Nika Fruit is something the Gorosei have tried to prevent for centuries. Now that it’s happening they have to get serious.
So, Luffy’s next bounty should catch up with the lofty highs of Whitebeard and the other Emperors. Currently, he’s determined to make an increase happen on his bounty, because even after Wano it’s still lower than Buggy’s. Until then, Luffy leads the Straw Hats on to their next adventure, and hopefully a bigger bounty!
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