The life of a typical pirate crew was never supposed to be a jolly one. In fact, most pirate crews tend to be taken down before even consolidating their positions as pirates. Very few manage to survive and even less manage to find a resemblance of success.
As every One Piece fan already knows, the Strawhat crew is nothing less of an oddball. They don’t often follow a strict hierarchy while operating; heck, they never follow any type of hierarchy unless it's absolutely necessary. Beheading such an oddball crew is Luffy, a guy who might seem like a useless captain, but when push comes to shove he will bamboozle not only us, but even his crewmates. Oftentimes despite him doing his best as a captain, there were times where he came really close to losing some of -- or the entirety of his crew.
10 Almost Lost His Crew: Enies Lobby
Enies Lobby arc is, hands down, one of the best One Piece arcs. The entire Water 7 saga comprised an amazing steady build-up and a wonderful endgame execution. The most exciting bulk of this saga was definitely the Strawhats venturing to save Robin. Even though we all knew in the back of our heads that Robin was destined to be saved, it still was nonetheless a tense ride.
The Strawhats underwent major developments during this arc both character-wise and strength-wise, and that applies strongly to Luffy as well.
9 Acted Like A Captain: Shooting The Government Flag
When Luffy ordered Sogeking to shoot down the World Government’s flag, and Sogeking complied with zero to no hesitation-- we all got goosebumps. That particular event went down as one of the most badass moments in the series. Replicating it with all the emotions involved would prove to be hard.
The act of shooting down the flag holds major significance. One of the captain’s main priorities is to shield his crew, and Luffy achieved that in spades when he basically declared way against the world.
8 Almost Lost His Crew: Strawhats vs Kuma
The Thriller Bark arc is one of the mild One Piece arcs that the fans tend to occasionally overlook. Despite not being able to hold a candle against fan-favorite arcs like Marineford or Dressrosa, Thriller Bark still featured a major ‘that was close’ moment that the other arcs never managed to pull.
It was one of these moments where we, the fans, were genuinely concerned about the fate of the Strawhats. If it wasn’t for Kuma’s mercy the Strawhats would’ve been no more.
7 Acted Like A Captain: Dragging Katakuri to the Mirror World
The entire Whole Cake Island arc was a compilation of the Strawhats walking on eggshells. The tension on this arc was unprecedented to say the least.
During a certain pinch where the Strawhats were surrounded by Big Mom, her fleet, and Katakuri; Luffy made a swift decision that impacted all the events that followed. He dragged Katakuri, who was on Sunny Go at the time, to the Mirror World and cut off his own escape route.
6 Almost Lost His Crew: Strawhats vs Aokiji
The Long Ring Long Land Arc served as the prelude to the amazing Water 7 saga. The arc has its own pros and cons. The cons were that we had to bear with an annoying crew like Foxy’s, while the pros were that we experienced the (partial) strength of a Marine Admiral for the first time.
It could even be said that the Strawhat’s bout against Aokiji was their first authentic reality check.
5 Acted Like A Captain: Split-Second Decision At Totto Land
The Strawhat’s escape from Totto Land was nothing less of a tedious journey. We held our breaths alongside them for the entirety of the ride watching out for these sneaky plot twists.
But as it turns out, when plot twists do strike, they do when your guard is at the lowest. When Pedro sacrificed his life to buy whatever little time he could for the crew’s escape, not only was Luffy overwhelmed by anger, instead he remained level-headed and ordered a full-sail.
4 Almost Lost His Crew: Strawhats vs Kizaru
The Strawhat’s second encounter with an Admiral was even more extreme than the first one. Kizaru not only didn't show the Strawhats mercy as Aokiji did — he was fully bent on annihilating them.
If it wasn’t for Rayleigh’s timely assistance, Luffy and the gang were destined to be toast.
3 Acted Like A Captain: Dressrosa
The Strawhat and Heart alliance sailed to Dressrosa with a certain plan on mind-- only for the plan to be ruined by Luffy’s single order.
Instead of destroying the smile factory and wait for Kaido and Doflamingo to cancel each other out; Luffy listened to Franky and overthrew Doflamingo’s tyrant regime. Despite not being obliged to, Luffy still listened to his crew. A great captain is a great listener after all.
2 Almost Lost His Crew: Sabaody Archipelago
Just when we all thought that Rayleigh saved the day; good old plot twist struck once again.
An old acquaintance of the Strawhat, Bartholomew Kuma, popped out of nowhere and nearly ended the Strawhat’s piracy carrier, for the second time. Although Kuma was secretly aiding the Strawhats to escape, neither did we nor the Strawhats knew that. This whole heart-clenching experience could be considered as the Strawhats second major reality check.
1 Acted Like A Captain: Sabaody Archipelago
Despite not being as long as the major arcs, the Saobaody Archipelago arc featured a lot of major events that would put the big arcs to shame.
When Zoro was blasted to nothingness by Kuma (or so we thought), Luffy made once again showcased his brilliance as a captain and ordered his crew to spread out and escape. He made a sound judgment that could’ve saved the bulk of the Strawhats if the scenario was different.