The Straw Hat Pirates, also known as the Mugiwara Pirates, Straw Hat Crew or simply the Straw Hats, are an extremely infamous and powerful pirate crew under the captaincy of Monkey D. Luffy that originated from the East Blue.
First referred to with this moniker by Smoker in Arabasta,[13] the crew made its way through the first half of the Grand Line within a year of Luffy beginning his pirating career, rapidly becoming more infamous and attracting powerful enemies and allies alike. Luffy, as well as his right hand Roronoa Zoro, were both recognized as Super Rookies with bounties of over 100,000,000. However, following a total defeat in the aftermath of the Celestial Dragon Hit-and-Run Incident, the crew was separated by Bartholomew Kuma and Luffy made the decision to have them train separately for two years to increase their strength for the New World.[14] The crew successfully reunited after this time and reached the New World, where they have continued in exploits sending shockwaves throughout the world. As founding members of the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance, they played a central role in the overthrow of Kaidou and Big Mom of the Four Emperors, and following this Luffy was recognized as one of the Emperors.[15]
Of their many allies, the Straw Hats are most prominently tied to the Straw Hat Grand Fleet whose members officially professed their service to Luffy during the Dressrosa Arc, giving the crew over 5600 subordinates at their command if necessary.[16] Each Straw Hat member under Luffy is officially recognized as a Senior Officer of the Grand Fleet.[17]
The crew sailed on the Going Merry,[18] their first official ship, up until the Water 7 Arc. During the Post-Enies Lobby Arc, Franky and Iceburg built them a new ship, which was named the Thousand Sunny by Iceburg.[19]
Being led by main protagonist Luffy, they are the central protagonist group of the manga and anime One Piece.

Jolly Roger
The Jolly Roger emblem is a cartoon-like depiction of traditional skull and crossbones, with the skull wearing Luffy's trademark straw hat. Due to Luffy's morbid drawing skills, Usopp was the one who drew the flag. In addition to being on their flag, the Jolly Roger has also been shown on the sails of the Going Merry and the Thousand Sunny.

Crew Members
Main Crew
The crew currently consists of ten members, being smaller than a typical pirate crew; when he first set sail, Luffy set a goal of gaining ten crewmates. They have one former member, Nefertari Vivi, who sailed with the crew from Reverse Mountain to the Arabasta Kingdom.

Despite their small size, the Straw Hats are an extremely diverse group possessing a large variety of backgrounds. Their members' origins range from ordinary islanders and workers to bounty hunters, royalty, criminal gang members, and veteran pirates. Jinbe was once part of the renowned Seven Warlords of the Sea while Nami, Robin, and Franky were active enemies of the crew at certain points with the Arlong Pirates, Baroque Works and the Franky Family respectively. The crew consists of eight humans, one fish-man, and one animal with Devil Fruit-powered human intellect; of the humans, Sanji possesses superhuman modifications given to him at birth, Franky is a cyborg, and Brook possesses a skeleton body after being resurrected by a Devil Fruit power. They range in age from 17 (Chopper) to 90 (Brook); the median age of the crew is 21.
Sub-Groups
During their adventures, the crew members have often split into smaller groups to achieve multiple targets or tasks. Mostly, the group are divided by the common tasks of island exploring (often led by Luffy), ship guarding (often led by Zoro who wishes to nap or by Usopp who is afraid to disembark), and supply gathering (led by Sanji or Nami for food and finance respectively). When encountering enemies, the crew would often fight individually against their rivals, but they sometimes fight in small groups like Usopp and Chopper in Arabasta or during the Davy Back fight.

They first started splitting into teams during the Skypiea Arc. After realizing that the lost city of Gold was on Upper Yard, they split the crew into the Escape Team (脱出組, Dasshutsu Gumi?) consisting of Sanji, Nami and Usopp, as well as their patient Gan Fall, and the Search Team (探索組, Tansaku Chīmu?, Funimation: "Exploration Team") which was made up of Luffy, Zoro, Chopper and Robin.[20] The Exploration Team was assigned to find the city and steal the treasure before making it back to the ship, however they ended up getting split up after running into the giant python Nola. The Escape Team were meant to sail the ship to their rendezvous point at the coast, though Sanji and Usopp ended up getting ambushed by Enel, who stopped by to talk to Gan Fall. The ship eventually made it to the coast thanks to Conis and Pagaya, but Nami (along with Aisa who was picked up by the two) was chased away from the ship by Nola.


The following events are non-canon, and therefore not considered part of the canon story.

In the filler G-8 Arc, after the Straw Hats realized that their gold was taken after accidentally landing in Navarone Island, the crew split up into teams. Nami, who had used the waver to escape the ship earlier, was sent with Sanji to get it back as part of the Waver Retrieval Team (ウエイバー回収班, Ueibā Kaishū Han?). The rest of the crew (except for Chopper who was assigned to watch the ship) was sent to find the gold, as the Gold Retrieval Team (黄金奪還班, Ōgon Dakkan Han?) though this ended in failure, as it wasn't located where they thought it would be.[21]

Concludes non-canon section.

During the Dressrosa Arc, the crew temporarily split in half due to the Big Mom Pirates' unexpected attack on the Thousand Sunny. Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Robin, and Franky stayed on Dressrosa with Trafalgar Law and Kin'emon, while Sanji, Nami, Chopper, and Brook headed on to Zou in order to protect Caesar Clown and Kouzuki Momonosuke.[22] The group heading to Zou was referred to as the Curly Hat Crew (ぐるわらの一味, Guruwara no Ichimi?, VIZ/Simulcast: "Twirly Hat Pirates"), named after Sanji, the de facto leader of the group.[23] This same group forms the core of the Sanji Retrieval Team (サンジ奪還チーム, Sanji Dakkan Chīmu?) during the Whole Cake Island Arc, but with some personnel changes: Luffy has resumed leadership, Sanji was at Whole Cake Island, and the minks Pedro and Carrot accompanied them in their quest to retrieve Sanji.[24] During their mission, they were joined by Jinbe who would later officially join the Straw Hats.[25]

Grand Fleet
Further information: Straw Hat Grand Fleet
At the end of the Dressrosa Arc, the crew becomes the leader of an alliance called the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, which involves seven groups who sided with Luffy in the conflict between himself and Doflamingo, becoming subordinate to the Straw Hats, while maintaining their status as individual crews with their own free will.

Cavendish, Bartolomeo, Sai, Ideo, Leo, Hajrudin, and Orlumbus asked to become Luffy's subordinates by offering him a cup of sake. Luffy refused but said they would still be bonded by their fight against Doflamingo, and they would help each other out at any time. However, the captains decided to drink the sake anyway, pledging to come to Luffy's aid whenever he needed them, while Luffy was not obligated to do the same. The Straw Hat Grand Fleet, consisting of 5640 people, was then formed, and a party ensued as their fleet departed from Dressrosa.

The newspaper referred to Luffy as the "Senior Captain" (大船長, Dai Senchō?) and his crewmen as the "Senior Officers" (大幹部, Dai Kanbu?) of the Grand Fleet.[26]

Non-Canon Members
In the anime adaptation of the Long Ring Long Land Arc, the Straw Hats acquired 497 members of the Foxy Pirates, with the exception of 3 members who are Hamburg, Porche and Foxy. Due to the large number of crewmembers, and the Going Merry not being able to carry 497 more people, they confiscated the Sexy Foxy. However, they were all immediately kicked out by Luffy and left on the Sexy Foxy to pursue Foxy.[27]

In the game Legend of the Rainbow Island, Dias, a young boy, temporarily joins the crew. However, he leaves at the end of the game, refusing an invitation to become a permanent member.[28]

Territories
While other Emperors were shown to gain territory for the purpose of gaining something for the price of their protection, like Big Mom with sweets or Kaidou and Blackbeard for military might and intel, the Straw Hats have only claimed their islands in order to protect their friends and allies.

Fish-Man Island - the ruling royal family had shown interest in wanting to declare their island a territory of the Straw Hat Pirates[29] and after news of their fight against Big Mom was made public, they decided to declare the island as being under their protection.[30]
Wano Country - Luffy announced to Momonosuke that if anyone ever gave them any trouble, just show them his flag and let them know they’re picking a fight with the Straw Hats as well, implying that Luffy is declaring that Wano Country is under his protection.[31][32]
Non-canonically, Tongari Island[33]
Furthermore, the Straw Hat Grand Fleet second division representative, Bartolomeo attempted to take over Gartel Island, which is under the Red Hair Pirates protection,[34][35] however, that resulted in a failure and the crew's defeat.[36]

Crew Strength
“	The Straw Hat crew has left nothing but sheer miracles in its wake.	”
— Trafalgar Law remarking on the crew's aptitude to overcome any challenge.[37]


Straw Hats Stand United Against Beasts Pirates
The Straw Hat Pirates united and ready for battle.

Despite having a small number of members, the Straw Hats are an extremely powerful crew with great potential, as stated by Kuzan when he first met them, they would eventually become a considerable threat to the World Government itself; a prediction that ultimately came true. Ever since they were first formed in the East Blue, they kept growing to the point of being capable of challenging and surpassing Warlord run organizations like Baroque Works,[13] the Thriller Bark Pirates, and the Donquixote Pirates,[38] and later crews captained by the Four Emperors like the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates. As their captain Monkey D. Luffy is now an Emperor, they are recognized as one of the four strongest pirate crews in the world.[15] It should be noted that this accomplishment, level of strength and infamy has been achieved in just over 2 years from the start of their voyage.

The crew itself has done things which most would think impossible and were dubbed completely insane for even trying to but have succeeded nearly every time. They have entered and attacked the most hostile territories without fear in order to accomplish their objectives; this includes invading World Government stronghold Enies Lobby and defeating their superhuman assassin force CP9,[39] infiltrating Big Mom's territory of Totto Land and participating in an assassination attempt against her, and assaulting the Beasts Pirates' stronghold of Onigashima in the closed-off nation of Wano to defeat both Kaidou and his forces as well as Big Mom. In all of these expeditions, they did battle with military forces numbering in the tens of thousands as well as vast fleets including the Marines' Buster Call, an attack force designed to annihilate entire islands. Their campaigns against the Seven Warlords and Four Emperors have attracted the attention of the Five Elders who publicly rule the World Government and have caused them to be labeled as threats to the balance of the world; [40][41][42] following their victory over Kaidou and Big Mom, they plunged the world into a level of chaos of very little to no precedent.[43] During the following Egghead Incident, despite facing the might of all of the Five Elders, a Navy Admiral, CP0, the Seraphim, and another Buster Call, the crew of ten managed to hold their own remarkably well and escape while ultimately succeeding (in a way) their goal of safeguarding Vegapunk and escaping Egghead with him, with the assist of Bartholomew Kuma, Jewelry Bonney, Emet, and the Giant Warrior Pirates.[44]

“	It was the Five Elders, a navy admiral, CP0, the Seraphim, and a blockade of battleships!! It's such a miracle that we escaped that hell, I still can't entirely wrap my mind around it!!	”
— Franky recounting what they faced during the Egghead Incident.[45]

Good fortune has also played a role in the Straw Hats' successes up to this point, though said fortune is not always due to pure coincidence; on some occasions, the Straw Hats have been aided by the arrival of an unexpected connection, or they have unwittingly done things in the past that help them in the future. An example of the former was when the Warlord Bartholomew Kuma saved them from certain defeat on Sabaody by transporting them to different islands,[46] while an example of the latter was when the Straw Hats unwittingly caused an explosive-laden Tamatebako to be sent to Big Mom;[47] the chest would go on to explode while the Sanji retrieval team was surrounded by the Big Mom Pirates, thus enabling them to escape.[48] Another example of inexplicable fortune occurring was when the Going Merry arrived at Enies Lobby, seemingly on its own, to help the Straw Hats escape the Marine Buster Call in its final voyage.[49]

A testament to the crew's reputation across the world is that Demaro Black and the Fake Straw Hat Crew were able to successfully use the crew's name and image to accumulate a large number of powerful followers which included Super Rookies, and their actions instantly attracted the attention of the Marines.[50] Upon realizing that the crew was composed of impostors, Sentomaru derided the strength of Black and his men in comparison to the Straw Hats, showing a level of respect for the crew despite his enmity with them.[51]

Two of its members, Luffy and Zoro, are part of the Worst Generation, a group made up of twelve infamous pirates known for their daring actions against the World Government and all have bounties in excess of 100,000,000.

One of the most prominent testaments to their strength is that they are the only known crew where every single member has a bounty on their head. The Straw Hats' combined bounties across their ten members equal 8,816,001,000, proving how dangerous the World Government sees them.

The Straw Hats currently have at least five Poneglyph rubbings, three of which are Road Poneglyphs. This makes them the closest to reaching Laugh Tale since the Roger Pirates. Furthermore, Robin has discovered the location of two of the Ancient Weapons thanks to the poneglyphs she read in Arabasta and Shandora.

Fighting Capabilities
Despite their small crew size, the Straw Hat members are all accomplished fighters to various degrees, each member possessing notable accomplishments and victories over infamously powerful opponents. They have fought against multiple armies numbering in the thousands and have typically dominated the grunt troopers of these armies, as shown in their battles on Enies Lobby (vs. 10,000 Marines),[52] Fish-Man Island (vs. 100,000 New Fish-Man Pirates),[53] and Onigashima (vs. 30,000 Beasts Pirates).[54]

Monster Trio
The Monster Trio fighting a Pacifista.

Three of the top fighters of the crew Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, are called the Monster Trio (怪物3人組, Kaibutsu San-ningumi?) due to their immense strength,[55][56] with Zoro and Sanji in particular being referred as the Pirates King's Wings (海賊王の両翼, Kaizoku-ō no ryōyoku?) to Luffy, showing their dynamic.[57][58][59] The Monster Trio typically act as the vanguard against powerful enemies and protect the other crew members in dangerous situations.[60][61][62] During major battles, they tend to fight the strongest enemies on the opponent's side.

Among the Monster Trio, Luffy has received individual distinction for his fighting capabilities and is generally recognized to be the crew's top fighting asset by himself, the Straw Hats, and those familiar with him. He has stated that his primary role in the crew, aside from being their leader, is to beat their opponents.[63] On Enies Lobby while fighting Rob Lucci, the most powerful member of CP9, Luffy directly acknowledged that if he could not defeat Lucci, the assassin would kill the other members of his crew without issue.[64] In instances where Luffy has been rendered unable to fight against the primary opponent, his comrades have stood up to face the threat with the mindset of buying time for Luffy to return, believing only he would be able to attain victory in the end.[65] Luffy has been primarily responsible for defeating the captains of the crews, leaders of organizations or any other powerful opponent the Straw Hats fight, including the three Warlords (Crocodile, Gecko Moria, and Donquixote Doflamingo) he has also beaten Hody Jones, the captain of the New Fish-Man Pirates, the tyrant Enel of Skypiea, the infamous assassin Rob Lucci of CP9, two of the Big Mom Pirates top officers, Sweet Commanders Charlotte Cracker and Charlotte Katakuri and the fierce Emperor of the Sea Kaidou. Zoro and Sanji, meanwhile, have generally fought the top subordinates of enemy captains and other opposing foes; Zoro has also defeated formidable opponents on the opposing side such as Daz Bonez, Kaku, and Pica; Sanji has too defeated very powerful, high-ranking officers of enemies such as Bon Kurei and Jabra. These two have most recently defeated King and Queen, who are two of the Beasts Pirates' top executives known as the All-Stars.[66][67]

While not part of the Monster Trio, Jinbe has been recognized as another top combatant of the crew, established by his experience as a veteran pirate and former Warlord of the Sea. He was able to overpower Gecko Moria, another Warlord, during the Summit War of Marineford,[68] briefly overthrow Big Mom in two instances with his own strength, and defeat Who's-Who, a former CP9 agent and a member of the Tobiroppo.[69] Robin, Franky, and Brook have not been recognized as members of the strongest or weakest subgroups of the crew, with the three of them each demonstrating themselves to be powerful combatants capable of easily defeating groups of grunt fighters and challenging lower-ranking officers of enemy groups. Robin and Franky have singlehandedly defeated members of the Tobiroppo (Black Maria and Sasaki respectively).[70][71] Other notable feats performed by this group include Brook challenging Big Mom in single combat and, though failing, being recognized for putting up a determined fight,[72] and some of these members have even defeated multiple officers and underlings of powerful enemies like Senor Pink against Franky, Yama against Robin, and Brook defeating all of Black Maria's subordinates in one blow (Including multiple Gifters and one of the Numbers).

Weakling Trio
The Weakling Trio avoiding combat.

The lower three fighters, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper are called the Weakling Trio (弱少トリオ, Jakushō Torio?).[73] By contrast to the Monster Trio, the Weakling Trio are often the most hesitant to partake in combat and collectively voice their fear in the face of frightening places or foes, unless their hand is forced, or they consider their enemies' actions or words unforgivable enough to want to take action.[74][75] Despite this, they have often factored into the Straw Hats' greatest battles with enemy groups, with Nami having defeated Baroque Works officer agent Miss Doublefinger,[76] CP9 agent Kalifa,[77] and Tobiroppo Ulti (besting the former two singlehandedly),[78] Usopp defeating the Thriller Bark Pirates Mysterious Four member Perona[79] and Donquixote Pirates Special Officer Sugar,[80] Chopper beating CP9 agent Kumadori,[81] and Usopp and Chopper together beating officer agents Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas;[82] Chopper has even taken on the All-Star Queen and managed to physically challenge him for a brief period, but was not able to land any meaningful damage against him.[83]

All members of the Monster Trio possess Haki, with Luffy and Zoro possessing all three types and achieving advanced applications, Sanji and Jinbe both have Armament and Observation Haki, which the latter is quite proficient in, and despite his placement in the Weakling Trio, Usopp has awakened Observation Haki which he has used to aid in his sniping.

“	Each time we've passed an island, we've gotten stronger. And each time he's been on an island, he's cheated death. No one who dies easily would still be with us!!	”
— Zoro's speech to Nami and Chopper about Usopp.[84]

The Straw Hats' growth in strength throughout their journey has often been marked by their constant innovation of their abilities and tools as they develop new techniques to better challenge the steadily stronger opponents they meet. Four members of the crew possess Devil Fruit abilities: Luffy, Chopper, Robin, and Brook. Luffy has awakened his fruit and has used its alteration of his body in a massive variety of creative ways to adopt new forms which increase his power and fighting capabilities. Chopper has used his scientific intellect to go beyond the standard three forms of a Zoan user, shifting his body into numerous different fighting forms. Robin and Brook have both demonstrated significant advanced development of their Paramecia abilities, with Brook even discovering methods of using his fruit in battle when it was previously thought to have no fighting capabilities. Nami, Usopp, and Franky, who use special weapons and machinery in combat, have constantly upgraded their tools in order to unleash more powerful, effective, and creative techniques.

Specializations and Teamwork
“	I'll do whatever you cannot do. And you do whatever I cannot do!!!	”
— Part of Sanji's speech to Usopp.[85]

Another notable feature of the Straw Hats is that each of their members possesses a specific and unique position in the crew which maximizes their talents, and each member has been recognized for having a significant level of competency in their role.

Luffy, the captain, has been highly regarded for his leadership by numerous people not in the crew, as evidenced by the massive number of allies and pledges of servitude he has unwillingly attracted;[86] he has recently been recognized as one of the Four Emperors.
Zoro, the combatant, has almost never lost a fight with the crew and has commanded great respect and fear for his fighting skills even before joining; his combat skills have evoked the image of a pirate captain to some onlookers.[87]
Nami, the navigator, possesses advanced knowledge in geographic science, which has aided in her navigation and cartography work; her cartography skills were coveted by the infamous pirate Arlong even going back to her childhood,[88] and had greatly aided the Straw Hat crew during their journey throughout the Grand Line.
Usopp, the sniper, has consistently demonstrated remarkable sharpshooting skill since the beginning, to the point of pulling off nearly physically impossible feats.[89]
Sanji, the cook, has a vast culinary knowledge and repertoire; he currently knows how to prepare the okama Attack Cuisine and was able to lead a team in making a wedding cake in just hours (when it took days previously) that its consumer, Big Mom, enjoyed in a way she has never done for a wedding cake before.[90][91]
Chopper, the doctor, is well-versed in treating a litany of injuries and illnesses; one of his most notable accomplishments was developing a cure for the devastating man-made virus Ice Oni in less than an hour's time.[92]
Robin, the archaeologist, possesses the extremely rare knowledge of how to read the Poneglyphs, a skill vital to reaching Laugh Tale.[93]
Franky, the shipwright, constructed the Straw Hats' current ship the Thousand Sunny which has traversed extremely treacherous waters while sustaining little damage overall. He also possesses highly advanced technology developed by the world's greatest scientist Vegapunk, which he has been able to develop and use to suit his interests.[94]
Brook, the musician, has demonstrated the ability to weaponize his music during combat situations,[95] in addition to its entertainment value which led to him becoming a worldwide celebrity during the timeskip.[96]
Jinbe, the helmsman, was noted during the Straw Hats' escape from Totto Land to "know all there is to know" about the ocean's waves and currents, which he utilized to outpace the Big Mom Pirates' fleet and frustrate them.[97]
The Straw Hats are very familiar with what strengths each of their crewmates possess and have been consistently willing to defer situations to the person most well-suited for them without issue or intervene with issues involving a crewmate they know is not suited for them.[85] This intimate familiarity with each other's abilities has made the Straw Hats able to achieve great results when teaming up in combat, including performing effective tag-team attacks as well as instances of one member using their abilities to weaken an opponent and thus aid another member in attacking them. A notable example of successful teamwork occurred when Nami, Chopper, Brook, and Jinbe were able to put together an effective counterattack against Big Mom herself when she attacked the Sunny, keeping the Emperor at bay for a considerable period of time despite the vast difference in power between the two sides.[98]

Allies and Subordinates
Further information: Straw Hat Pirates/Allies
The Straw Hats have formed numerous alliances, both official and unofficial, across the world in nearly every location they have visited, giving them a vast network spanning just about all of the world's organizations and social classes.[99] These allies range from other infamous pirates, to citizens, and even to royalty and other influential government members; they have even managed to win the favor of Marine soldiers, although such collaborations have typically been limited and temporary. Luffy is considered to be the primary factor in their accumulation of allies, being noted by onlookers to have a unique gift for turning just about anyone he meets into an ally.[86] These allies have assisted the Straw Hats in the majority of their large-scale battles, namely in Enies Lobby, Punk Hazard, Dressrosa, Whole Cake Island, and Wano Country.

Out of admiration for Luffy's actions and leadership during the Dressrosa conflict, seven groups which fought alongside the Straw Hats decided to serve under them, forming the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. This fleet consists of 5640 total members across the seven crews, with most of the crews being led by infamous rising New World pirates who defeated officers of the Donquixote Pirates in single combat. The crews are also diverse, containing giants, dwarves, longarms, and longlegs in their ranks.[100]

What has made the Straw Hats' current command over subordinates and territory special is that they have never actively sought to obtain them, as noted by the circumstances of Fish-Man Island becoming their territory. In fact, Luffy actively rejected the Straw Hat Grand Fleet's request to serve under him, as he believes that having subordinates would restrict his freedom. In spite of this rejection, the Grand Fleet's admiration of him was so great that they declared their allegiance to Luffy anyways, being willing to serve him whenever he should call on them.[100]

Weaknesses
Though they have performed numerous unlikely feats, the Straw Hats are not invincible and have not always come out victorious in the battles they instigate. The crew splits up very frequently during their expeditions, which causes their already small numbers to be stretched even thinner and leaves them more vulnerable to concentrated enemy attacks.[101][102][103][104][105] Given the disparity in strength amongst their members, this may result in weaker members ending up in one-on-one mismatches with members of more balanced enemy groups.[106][107][108] Additionally, their small size has resulted in them being vulnerable against enemy reinforcements following victories against their initial foes, which tend to leave them weakened.[109][110] The Straw Hats' worst defeat came on the Sabaody Archipelago, where they were left almost completely spent after defeating a single Pacifista, only to be confronted by more Pacifistas, Sentomaru, and Marine Admiral Kizaru.[111] It was this total defeat that ultimately led them decide to train for two years to become stronger, and they have generally done well at recognizing the need to progress their abilities for coming conflicts which has allowed them to remain active and grow in power despite the extremely dangerous situations they get into.

The majority of the Straw Hats, particularly Luffy, tend to be very trusting and sometimes gullible which has led to them being trapped on occasion.[112] One such instance came on Whisky Peak, where they were very nearly captured by Baroque Works after unquestioningly accepting their hospitality; only Zoro taking measures to catch this trap saved the rest of the crew.[113]