Dotted throughout the series are characters who have the middle name D. Nobody yet knows the meaning of that name, but it is clear that it is one which is inherited through blood. Not everyone can senselessly carry the name. It has been coined to be the Will of D, for everyone who has ever had this name always does something great that changed the world in some way.

The most notable example is the first and only Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, the one who set off the second age of pirates that Luffy is currently in. Those from his family who bear the same name have also gone on to do great things, terrible but great. His grandfather Monkey D. Garp is one of the most powerful and renown marine to ever live, while his father Monkey D. Dragon is the leader of the revolutionaries that oppose the world government.

It is said that talent isn’t everything, but it certainly is a factor in life. While Luffy isn’t the only one who was born under a lucky star, he is certainly one of the few and because of this he already has a head start when it comes to finding One Piece and becoming the Pirate King. Of course, blood and talent isn’t everything, and the rest of his achievements can be attributed to him instead of his genetics.

Haki is a power that became more prominent in the second half of the series. It allows the user to imbue their strikes with their willpower and soul, hardening them tremendously and even allowing them to strike the normally intangible logia users. It also allows them to sense the intent of those who would attack them, giving them the ability to dodge the attacks due to their foresight.

But the rarest ability that Haki can grant is that of the Conqueror. It is said that only one in a million is able to utilise this form of Haki, as it requires a will so powerful that the user is able to overpower the minds of weaklings with a mere thought. To some, it is known as the army killer, because it can bring thousands to their knees simply by overpowering their wills from afar, and Luffy has such an ability.

It hasn’t been shown that all people who carry the Will of D have the Conqueror’s Haki, so we know that it isn’t genetic. Therefore, we can attribute the fact that Luffy has such an overpowered ability due to his own inner spirit being so strong and determined that he is able to blast overwhelm the senses of everyone around him from his will alone.

The best part: Luffy already had this before he became as strong as he was in the second half, showing that his inner self was already strong enough to conquer the world. It was merely his outer shell that needed to match the inside, and once it does, it’s not a stretch to say that he could conquer the world in no time.

The running joke throughout the series is that Luffy is a big damn moron that will die before he even reaches the grand line. And it is true that Luffy is extremely simple minded, but it definitely does not mean that he is stupid. Most of the time, he simply takes the most straightforward option because he is able to do so unlike the normal people that naysay him.

One of the points that definitely raises the fact that he may not be as dumb as everyone thinks he is would be his crew. It wasn’t obvious from the start, but his crew is very well picked and there is not a single wasted crew member at all. Even outside of the three monsters of the crew, the rest are able to fight quite well and each of them have their uses like navigation or doctor.

His small crew goes against the philosophy of most pirates, in which they surround themselves with an armada to overpower their opponents like Don Krieg. Luffy just picks those with the most potential to become strong. After all, like Luffy once said, “Without strength behind it, determination is useless.”

Alliterations aside, Luffy is genuinely a caring captain. Each one of his crew members is extremely precious to him and he will do anything for them. The lengths that he will go to for them is quite obvious, as each crew has their own super long arc that shows what problems they have and how he beats the shit out of their problems until they go away, cementing their loyalty to him.

It’s possible to look at this in a totally cynical manner and say that he is only doing this in such a way that it forces his crew members to be totally loyal to him, in the same way a princess is obligated to be in love with the prince when he slays the dragon guarding her. But it is important to look at his intentions when he does these things and he always says the same thing, “Because you’re my friend.”

And because he has cared for them so much, they care for him in return. After getting completely destroyed at Sabaody Archipelago, they trained their hardest in the harshest environments with only one thing in mind; becoming stronger so that they don’t ever lose face in front of their captain by getting defeated ever again.

While the Will of D is important and all, the most prominent will throughout the series is the Will of Luffy. Having power, genetics and a strong crew means nothing if you’re empty on the inside. At the first sign of adversity, would someone fold like a wet tissue or power through the problem and crush it completely?

Here’s what Luffy does to his problems. He ignores them completely at first through sheer ignorance then proceeds to obliterate them like he was using the Gomu Gomu no Gattling Gun on it over and over again. There’s really nothing that can stand in his way for long. Each fight only serves to make him stronger as he fights tougher and tougher opponents. Most people would have folded by now but he keeps plowing through over and over again.

Nothing can stop him, not even defeat. For most, defeat is the end. It’s time to retire at that point, because if you’ve lived through defeat you were lucky and you should know your limits from that defeat. But Luffy doesn’t understand what limits are and just trains himself to be so strong that the next time he encounters the one who defeated him, he can crush them completely into pulp like a mashed up wet tissue.

Or were those just the remains of those who failed to become Pirate King?