Luffy, the protagonist of One Piece, is the sworn brother of Ace and Sabo. When they were kids, Luffy was notably the weakest among the three. Despite the fact that he was the only one with a devil fruit, he still lost to Ace & Sabo every time. This did not hamper their bond, and their dream to become pirates.
However, fate had different plans. Ace become a member of the Whitebeard Pirates and later died, while Sabo joined the Revolutionary Army.
Luffy created the Straw Hat Pirates and started his journey to become the Pirate King. Has Luffy caught up to his brothers’ strength? How strong is he compared to them?
1. Is Luffy Stronger than his Brothers?
During his childhood, Luffy was always the weaker one among his brothers, Ace and Sabo, and it seems that there is still some time before that changes.
As of now, Luffy is not stronger than Sabo. While he has gotten a lot stronger in the Whole Cake arc and is still progressing in Wano, he has some catching up to do in terms of the Revolutionary Army’s chief of staff.
We have to keep in mind that he could defeat Luffy even before consuming the Mera Mera no Mi. Like Luffy, Sabo will continue to grow stronger as he gets used to the Devil Fruit.
Luffy has improved tremendously after the time skip and has already grown strong enough to defeat the Yonko’s commanders.
After being imprisoned in Wano, he trained his mental and physical abilities under the influence of the seastone handcuffs. With him planning to take down Kaido, Luffy has already surpassed Ace.
2. How Strong Is Luffy?
Luffy is already one of the greatest pirates in the world and has been labeled the Fifth Emperor.
He has already defeated three Warlords of the sea, and even made allies with six of them, including Trafalgar Law, Crocodile, Boa Hancock, Buggy, Jinbei, and Kuma.
He is the only one who has invaded all three of the World Government’s main facilities. Luffy also participated in the Paramount War to save his brother, Ace.
In that war, he faced three admirals and warlords of the sea, including the world’s greatest swordsman, Mihawk, and managed to make it out alive.
Luffy further infiltrated Big Mom’s territory, Totto Land, where he defeated Sweet Commanders Charlotte Cracker and Charlotte Katakuri, and attempted assassination on Charlotte Linlin herself.
After failing to do so, he created a prompt alliance with Germa 66, the Sun Pirates, the Fire Tank Pirates and ended up successfully escaping.
These feats of strength and influence have already made Luffy one of the most infamous and feared pirate captains in the world after the timeskip. Currently, he has teamed up with Trafalgar Law and others to take down Kaido – A Yonko!
I. Pre Time Skip
Even before the time skip, Luffy was incredibly strong. Despite his physique, he contained great strength and was a genius when it came to combat.
After eating the Gomu Gomu no Mi, which gave him stretching powers, he became proficient in its use.
Pre time skip Luffy was capable of throwing punches, kicks, and headbutts at great distances and speeds, as well as twisting body parts to improve attack power.
Due to his body being rubber, Luffy could not be harmed by blunt attacks, including punches that were not imbued with Haki.
He even developed two unique techniques with them: Gear Second, which made him much faster, and Gear Third, which allowed him to inflate any body part for a stronger attack.
During the Marineford War, he played a significant role in saving his brother, Ace, along with the Whitebeard Pirates. Despite failing to protect him, Luffy was acknowledged by Whitebeard, Mihawk, Akainu, and countless other people.
He grew much stronger during the two year time skip following the Paramount war.
II. Post Time Skip
During the two year timeskip after the Paramount War, Luffy was taught Haki by Silvers Rayleigh, the former First Mate of the Roger Pirates, and became proficient in all three types of Haki.
During this time, he also developed a Fourth Gear. He first used this in Dressrosa, where he inflated his entire body and covered it with Busoshoku Haki. This Gear has three forms.
The first form, Boundman, makes his composition similar to a ball, forcing him to bounce all the time. He is capable of retracting his arms and legs into his body, unleashing blows of devastating power.
The second form, Tankman, makes Luffy much bigger and increases his defensive abilities. This allows him to use them as a weapon and blast opponents away.
The third form, Snakeman, is slimmer and focuses on offense. He is granted a tremendous increase in attack speed.
In the New World, Luffy is strong enough to contend with the Four Emperors’ top commanders and has already defeated Big Mom Pirates Sweet Commanders Charlotte Cracker and Charlotte Katakuri.
3. How Strong Was Ace?
Ace was the Pirate King’s son and the commander of the 2nd division of Whitebeard Pirates. He was one of the strongest pirates on board under Whitebeard himself. At one point, he was even asked to join the Shichibukai but refused.
Aside from the powers granted by the Devil Fruit, Ace also possessed incredible physical strength and endurance. In his childhood, before he acquired the Mera Mera no Mi, Ace was able to beat Luffy in every single fight, despite Luffy already having his Devil Fruit abilities.
Ace fought equally with Jinbe, a former Shichibukai, for five days straight, and then survived a battle with Whitebeard that took place immediately.
His strength was recognized by Shanks as well as Blackbeard, who wished to make Ace a part of his crew.
I. Abilities
Ace ate the Devil Fruit Mera Mera no Mi, a Logia-type fruit that allowed him to become the fire element and control the flames from his body, giving him his reputation as “Fire Fist Ace”.
He displayed immense power by destroying a handful of Baroque Works ships with ease. Due to the Devil Fruit type, he was also immune to regular physical strikes, all of which would simply phase through his fire-composed body.
Ace was also proficient in Haki, which was described to be fiery. His very presence was able to stop blizzards on an island for as long as he was there.
He possessed Haoshoku Haki, which he initially had no conscious control over. He first demonstrated the ability at ten years of age when he rendered the Bluejam Pirates unconscious after an outburst of rage.
Ace’s strength was at least on the level of a Vice-Admiral and was able to fight and hold his own against Admirals.
II. Would Ace be stronger if he were alive?
Ace would be much more powerful if he were alive. Before his death, he was already a commander of Whitebeard Pirates and one of the crew’s strongest members. He could fight against a Vice-Admiral and was acknowledged by many great pirates.
His power and abilities would only keep on growing stronger as time passed. Since childhood, Ace was stronger than Luffy. If he had the opportunity to grow, he would have been one of the world’s strongest pirates.
4. How Strong Is Sabo?
Sabo is Luffy and Ace’s sworn brother and the Revolutionary Army’s chief of staff. He is recognized as the “No. 2” of the entire organization and ranks directly under Monkey D. Dragon himself.
After joining the Revolutionary Army, Sabo was personally trained by Hack and Monkey D. Dragon. He is shown to have tremendous physical strength, as he clashed with Jesus Burgess, a pirate known for his strength, with little effort.
A simple grip allowed him to crush Vice Admiral Bastille’s skull and helmet.
Sabo is one of the strongest characters and is able to fight and hold his own against Fujitora, a Marine Admiral.
I. Abilities
Sabo has excellent hand-to-hand combat skills, which he honed since childhood by sparring with Ace and Luffy. As a child, he was already skilled enough to overwhelm Luffy, a Devil Fruit user.
In addition to necessary combat skills, Sabo also gained mastery over Ryusoken martial arts and could fight on an equal level with Fujitora, a Marine Admiral. His grips are strong enough to break armor, greatswords, artillery, and even skulls with ease.
Sabo is the current user of the Mera Mera no Mi, a Logia-type Devil Fruit, which initially belonged to his brother Ace. With it, Sabo can become fire itself and control the flames at will.
Sabo has also shown incredible mastery of Busoshoku Haki and Kenbunshoku Haki.
II. Can Luffy surpass Sabo?
While Luffy has shown incredible progress during his fight with Katakuri and in Wano, it’s important to keep in mind that Sabo also has a lot of potential left. He’s still learning how to use his devil fruit and will continue to grow stronger.
However, ultimately, Luffy will surpass Sabo. The Straw Hat captain aims of becoming the Pirate King, and strength is one of the primary requisites to do so. Along with being the protagonist of the series, Luffy is bound to grow stronger than most characters.
5. About One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since July 22, 1997, and has been collected into 95 tankōbon volumes.
The man who had acquired everything in this world, the Pirate King, is Gol D. Roger.
The final words he said at the execution tower were “My treasures? If you want it, I’ll let you have it. Look for it; I left all of it at that place.”
These words sent many to the seas, chasing their dreams, headed toward the Grand Line, in search of One Piece. Thus began a new age!
Seeking to be the greatest pirate in the world, young Monkey D. Luffy also heads toward the Grand Line in search of One Piece.
With his diverse crew joining him along the way, consisting of a swordsman, marksman, navigator, cook, doctor, archaeologist, and cyborg-shipwright, this will be one memorable adventure.
No Comments on How Strong is Luffy? Did he Surpass Ace and Sabo?