Eiichiro Oda's One Piece is one of the most carefully crafted stories in the manga world and much of that is down to the sudden plot twists none of the fans expect. Mostly, Oda uses his formula to create a plan and then have it fail to raise the stakes.
This leads to the protagonists finding unique and unexpected ways to tackle the situation and find a solution to their problems. While there are countless occasions where things didn't go according to plan for the main characters, some incidents certainly do stand out more than the others.
10 Law's Plan In Dressrosa Failed Due To Doflamingo's Lineage
Trafalgar Law and Luffy planned to take Doflamingo down by getting his Shichibukai status revoked, destroying the SMILE factory, and turning Kaido on him afterward.
While everything was going according to plan initially, things turned bad when Viola revealed the secret plan of the Donquixote Family to Sanji. Soon, Law realized that Doflamingo wasn't fazed by his plan simply because he had the Celestial Dragons' blood.
9 Kin'emon's Initial Plan In Wano Failed Because Luffy Attacked Kaido
Kin'emon planned the raid on Onigashima long before Luffy arrived in the land of Wano. Moments after Luffy heard the alliance's plan, Kaido attacked his crew and in a fit of rage, Luffy unleashed his fury on Kaido.
After throwing all he had towards Kaido, Luffy was unable to make even a single dent on the Yonko. What's more, just one strike from the Yonko was enough to defeat him, and he was consequently locked up in Udon Prison.
8 The Straw Hat Pirates Almost Fell Apart In Water 7
Shortly after their adventure on Skypiea, the Straw Hat Pirates found themselves on the way to Water 7 to get their ship repaired and to look for a potential shipwright. Sadly, the island created all sorts of trouble for the Straw Hats as Robin disappeared, leading some to believe that she had abandoned them, and the crew had their money stolen.
Usopp also got into a massive fight with Luffy, which led to Usopp leaving the crew. What's more, Iceberg almost died and the Straw Hat Pirates were blamed for the assassination attempt, turning the entire city on them.
7 Ace Was Captured By Blackbeard On Banaro Island
After Thatch's death, the Whitebeard Pirates' Fourth Division Commander, Ace set out to sea to capture the murderer, Blackbeard, who once worked under him.
Thinking that he would punish him for his crimes, Ace fought Blackbeard on Banaro Island, however, his hidden strength was enough to overpower someone as strong as Ace. In the end, Ace lost a hard-fought battle and was eventually captured by Blackbeard and this event became a trigger for a major war later on.
6 Luffy's Group In Whole Cake Island Was Turned Away By Sanji
Luffy entered Whole Cake Island along with half of his crew in an attempt to retrieve Sanji from Big Mom Pirates' clutches. What he didn't know was that Big Mom was already several steps ahead of him and Sanji was blackmailed and put into a position where he simply couldn't return to the crew.
When Luffy met Sanji, his own crewmate fought him and ordered him to leave the island, which is something that nobody expected.
5 Bege's Assassination During The Tea Party Failed Miserably
The then Rook of the Big Mom Pirates, Bege joined the Yonko group in order to take the head of the Yonko and came up with what seemed to be a flawless plan over two years. Cleverly figuring out Big Mom's only weakness, Bege developed an assassination plan which saw Caesar being key.
Sadly for him, Big Mom's strength proved to be too great and the plan failed miserably. Both Bege's crew and the Straw Hat Pirates had to run for their lives from there onwards.
4 Ace's Death In Marineford Was Something Very Expected
Luffy spent two arcs chasing his brother, from Amazon Lily to Impel Down and then to the Marine HQ in Marineford. After going to extremes for him and even giving up some of his lifespan, Luffy finally saved Ace and the two almost escaped from Marineford when Akainu became a massive obstacle.
With his cunning plan, he trapped Ace and eventually set his eyes on Luffy. Ace, seeing his brother in danger, sacrificed his life to protect him, shocking every single fan in the process.
3 Straw Hat Annihilation In Sabaody Archipelago Was Unexpected
One Piece's Sabaody Archipelago arc was full of events that no fan will ever forget. After punching a Celestial Dragon, Admiral Kizaru came to the island, which led to the defeat of four of the supernova captains.
What's more, Sentomaru, along with his Pacifistas, created all sorts of trouble for the crew, and finally, Bartholomew Kuma, the Shichibukai, completely destroyed the crew by separating them.
2 Sabo's Encounter With The Celestial Dragon Ended His Pirate Career
Sabo spent his childhood with his brothers Luffy and Ace. He was also the first out of the three brothers to set sail and become a pirate. Sadly, things didn't go according to plan for Sabo as he was shot down immediately after setting sail by a Celestial Dragon who had come to visit the Goa Kingdom.
Thankfully, Dragon was nearby and managed to save him, but Sabo's career as a pirate ended there.
1 Baltigo's Destruction At The Hands Of Blackbeard Was Sudden
Baltigo is the Revolutionary Army's former base in One Piece. For years, nobody had found this place and it was believed that nobody would ever accomplish that. After the Dressrosa arc, Jesus Burgess managed to sneak in with the Revolutionary Army's returning party and gave the location away to Blackbeard.
The Yonko immediately made his move and attacked Baltigo and they were followed by CP0, who attacked the Blackbeard Pirates.