Luffy has spent far less time as a pirate than One Piece fans think

The pirate world of One Piece is fascinating for every fan. The world of this series is filled with adventures, mysteries, and so much more. Moreover, fans are excited about Luffy fulfilling his dream of becoming the Pirate King now that the final saga is here.

Monkey D Luffy set sail to fulfill this dream when he was 17, but how long has it been since Luffy started his journey as a pirate? Unfortunately, the series doesn't provide the date or time when an event started and when it concluded.

However, fans have devised their time zones for the series, and most people would be surprised to know how long the Straw Hat has been a pirate. This could also indicate that Luffy was destined to become a pirate king, and everything is taking shape for him, just as it did for the previous ones.

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Exploring how long Monkey D Luffy has been a pirate in One Piece

Luffy (left) and Shanks (right) as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Monkey D Luffy was a young boy who lived in Foosha Village, a part of the Goa Kingdom in East Blue. He was inspired to become a pirate after he met Shanks, who visited his village frequently. One day, Shanks brought a devil fruit with him, which he kept to the side as he enjoyed drinks with his crewmates.

Luffy arrived, and Shanks' crew started making fun of him. The former started eating the devil fruit in confusion. When Shanks realized he was eating their devil fruit, he tried stopping him. Unfortunately, it was too late, and Luffy had now become the rubber man due to the devil fruit powers.

One thing led to another, and Shanks gave Luffy his Straw Hat in hopes of him returning it to him as a pirate in the future. According to fans, this happened in 1512, 12 years before the current timeline of One Piece.

Ten years later, around February of 1522, during the Flashback of Dawn Island part of the Post-War arc, Luffy set sail as a 17-year-old boy from his home village. This started a new journey for him as he set out to fulfill his dream of becoming the next pirate king.

The starting members of the Straw Hats (Image via Toei Animation)

During the first half of February, Luffy recruited the first members of his crew by recruiting Zoro in the Romance Dawn arc, Usopp during the Syrup Village arc, Sanji during the Batatie arc, and Nami after the Arlong Park arc.

During the second half of the month, the Straw Hat Pirates crossed Reverse Mountain and arrived on the Grand Line. During this time, the Arabasta Saga of One Piece started. Chopper was recruited as the doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates during Drm Island, which happened at the end of February.

March was inaugurated with the arrival of the Straw Hats in the Arabasta Kingdom, thus beginning the Arabasta Arc of One Piece. The arc ended on March 8 with the defeat of the boss of the Baroque Works and former warlord, Crocodile. Nico Robin joined the Straw Hats as an unofficial member on the same date.

Two days later, on March 10, the Straw Hats rode a knock-up stream and reached Skypiea Island to find the city of gold. Surprisingly, the arc lasted only one day, and the Straw Hats came down to the sea on March 11. The Water 7 Saga started with the Long Ring Long Island arc, followed by the pirates crossing paths with Admiral Aokiji.

Usopp (left) and Luffy (right) as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

On March 18, the Straw Hats reached Water 7. This was also the day when Luffy fought Usopp and won easily, making Usopp no longer a Straw Hat Pirate. Robin also left the Straw Hat Pirates the next day, and on March 20, the Enies Lobby arc started. The arc ended the same day, as did the Going Merry ship, to which the pirates gave a grand funeral.

On March 25, Franky, now a straw hat pirate, built the Thousand Sunny, and the Straw Hats were off to their new destination. The Thriller Bark arc went on for two days until March 27, and the Straw Hats entered the Saboady Archipelago on April 1. Kuma split all of the Straw Hats on the same day in different locations, and Luffy woke up on Amazon Lily on April 2.

Portgas D. Ace after his death (Image via Toei Animation)

On April 5, Luffy departed with Hancock for Marineford to save his brother. The Impel Down arc followed, and Luffy arrived at Marineford on April 11. The Marineford war continued the rest of the day and concluded with the death of Portgus D. Ace. Luffy was saved and brought back to Amazon.

Around April 26, he got back to his senses and started throwing a tantrum. With the help of Jinbe and Rayleigh, he calmed down and sent a message to his crewmates to return after two years. Thus, the time skip started after almost two months of Luffy being a pirate.

Luffy as seen after the time skip (Image via Toei Animation)

The Straw Hats returned to Sabaody after almost two years of rigorous training around February of the current timeline. This was followed by the Fisherman Island arc, the Dressrosa Saga, the Whole Cake Island Saga, the Wano Kingdom Saga, and, ultimately, the Final Saga of One Piece.

The ongoing arc of One Piece is the Egghead arc. The Straw Hat Pirates landed on Egghead Island around April. Compiling the time before and after the time skip, Monkey D Luffy has spent four months as a pirate. This could be surprising for most fans as the latter engulfed this series in over two decades.

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Final thoughts

Monkey D Luffy as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

This could also indicate how special Monkey D Luffy is because, while most pirates of the worst generation have been pirates for more than two years, as they didn't get to enjoy time skip training, Luffy was prepared from the very start to face the ultimate evil of the Grand Line, the World Government.

This analysis is not canon, which means that this is just a fan analysis done by a bunch of enthusiastic One Piece fans. So, take this with a grain of salt and only for enjoyment.

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