This list contains heavy spoilers up to the end of Egghead Island.
One thing that all fans of One Piece will know very well is that it is a series that doesn’t exactly enjoy killing off characters all that often. Still, if it seems important to the story, Oda is more than happy to remove someone from the plot if that’s what needs to be done. Unfortunately for the Straw Hat captain, some of these individuals have been Luffy’s good friends.
Most of the time, these characters are killed for their own set of reasons, such as being infamous pirates or for getting a little too close to the World Government, but others have been taken out as a way to get back at Luffy himself. Either way, Luffy has already lost a handful of pals and buddies over the course of the One Piece story, and these are the malicious individuals who dealt the final blow.
Perospero
Perospero Forces Pedro Into Making The Ultimate Sacrifice
As the oldest member of Big Mom’s pirate crew, Perospero has plenty of experience fighting off anyone that tries to get on the bad side of him and his mother. His ability to create candy out of thin air, which he gladly uses as a way to craft weapons, made him a significant threat to the Straw Hats during their invasion of Whole Cake Island.
While the crew are on their way to rescue Sanji, Perospero threatens to take them all down for good before they can even reach him. That is until Pedro steps in and bravely sacrifices his own life on behalf of his newfound friends. Luffy had established a warm relationship with Pedro ever since he first met him back on Zou, so to see him being forced into this dire situation by the evil Perospero was a real gut punch for not just him, but the entire Straw Hat crew. Luffy would be too preoccupied with Kaido and Big Mom in the Wano arc to set his sights on getting revenge on Perospero, but it was still clear he harbored a bubbling hatred for him considering what went down on Whole Cake Island.
Kizaru
The Admiral Unwillingly Killed The Greatest Scientist In The World
Though Vegapunk might be much smarter than Luffy could ever hope to be, this doesn’t exactly stop the Straw Hat captain from coming to love and admire the world’s greatest scientist. After stepping onto Egghead Island, Luffy is able to spend some time with Vegapunk, where he not only learns about his way of life on Egghead, but also his personal passion for making the world a better place through the gift of science.
Unfortunately, they would only get a few scenes here and there to interact until the Marines ordered a full-scale Buster Call, launching an invasion on Egghead Island with the aim of assassinating Vegapunk. In the end, it would be none other than Vegapunk’s old friend Kizaru who ended the scientist’s life, but thankfully, Luffy was able to land a few hits on Kizaru before he got away.
Blackbeard
Blackbeard Took Whitebeard’s Life Only Hours After Luffy First Met Him
While Whitebeard had already picked up a staggering number of injuries and wounds over the course of the Marineford War, it was ultimately Blackbeard and his crew who were the ones to put an end to him. In classic Blackbeard fashion, the dangerous pirate swooped into the war at the last minute to take out his former captain so that he could then steal his Devil Fruit.
By this point in the conflict, Luffy was already distraught with emotion due to witnessing the death of his brother Ace, so he would only learn about Whitebeard’s death a little when speaking to Rayleigh. Luffy and Whitebeard might have gotten off on the wrong foot, but as the war went on, it became clear they came to harbor a great respect for one another, with Luffy admiring the man who put his own life on the line to save Ace. Therefore, while Luffy already has a great disdain for Blackbeard and everything he stands for, this was only amplified once he heard the news of Whitebeard’s death.
Imu
Imu Removed Cobra From Existence After Realizing He Knew Too Much
The mysterious being known as Imu first appeared during the Reverie arc, and while it’s clear that this individual is the leader of the World Government, and ultimately the world in general, the exact details of their identity still remain a mystery. As a result, they’ve only taken a few significant actions so far throughout the story, but one of the most notable was when it mercilessly killed Cobra, the king of Alabasta.
Cobra and Luffy had become unlikely friends after the Straw Hats helped to quell the civil war back in Alabasta, with Cobra being appreciative that Luffy not only rescued the country, but also his daughter Vivi. The truth, however, is that Cobra simply knew too much about Imu and the will of D, and upon realizing this, Imu decided it was only right to eliminate him so that he couldn’t spread his knowledge. Luffy already has more than a few reasons to hate Imu, but the murder of Cobra is definitely a big one, especially considering it also involved Sabo.
Akainu
Akainu Ruined Luffy And Ace’s Dream Of A Happy Ever After
Despite being apart for the majority of the story, Luffy and Ace still maintained a rock-solid friendship that has remained intact ever since they were young. After sharing a drink together, the boys proclaimed themselves brothers who would always have each other’s backs, no matter how hard things got, so when Ace was captured by the Marines and set up to be executed, Luffy would give his all to prevent this tragedy from taking place.
Just as it seemed like Luffy and Ace would finally be able to get away in one piece, Akainu began mocking Ace’s captain, Whitebeard, to his face in order to lure him back in one final time. With Akainu shoving a magma-covered fist through Ace’s chest, he manages to kill the young pirate with one single attack, leaving Luffy an emotional wreck who is barely even able to stand. Ace’s death had a massive impact on Luffy as a person, and it’s gone a very long way in helping him mature and realize the danger that the world poses to him and his crew, but the mark on his chest acts as a constant reminder of the Marine who took his brother from him in the first place
One Piece
- Release Date
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October 20, 1999
- Network
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Fuji TV
- Directors
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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 Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
- Writers
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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)
