One Piece: Luffy vs. Lucci – Who Won the Fight & in Which Episode?

One Piece is an anime with its fair share of strong characters. While its protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, is certainly among them, some characters are even more powerful than the cheerful and quirky protagonist of the manga. In this article, we will analyze one such character, as we will pit Luffy against Rob Lucci, one of the creepier characters in the franchise, to see who the stronger of the two is.

Lucci and Luffy are equally strong

Luffy possesses extraordinary physical strength honed through challenging childhood workouts and surviving life-threatening situations. His immense power allows him to lift massive boulders, shatter steel with his bare hands, and defeat formidable adversaries like Arlong and Hody Jones. Even after two years of intensive training, Luffy’s strength surpasses that of the fish-men, showcasing his remarkable abilities and resilience in battles.

Rob Lucci, renowned as one of the physically strongest characters in One Piece, has an impressive reputation, even acknowledged by the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Having committed notable feats at the age of thirteen, such as single-handedly defeating five hundred soldiers and a pirate crew, Lucci stands out as the strongest member in CP9’s history. His strength, agility, and intelligence make him a formidable opponent, and he demonstrates his prowess by pushing Luffy to the brink of death, showcasing his martial arts skills and cunning nature.

If we only counter brute force, Lucci is very near Luffy’s level, which is an amazing feat. Both have proven themselves to be exceptional fighters, so we have to divide the points in the first category.

Points: Luffy 1, Lucci 1

Both Luffy and Lucci have Devil Fruits

Luffy’s incredible abilities stem from consuming the Gom Gom Devil Fruit, transforming his body into rubber, and granting him the power to stretch his limbs and strike opponents from a distance. Through more than ten years of intense training, Luffy has mastered this fruit’s potential, enhancing his physical strength and agility significantly.

Despite his seemingly improvised fighting style, Luffy’s creativity and adaptability make him an unpredictable and dangerous adversary. His rubber body provides remarkable durability, rendering him immune to conventional bullets, punches, and even electricity, although he remains vulnerable to swords, knives, dehydration, and poison, with some immunity gained after a battle with Magellan.

Rob Lucci consumed the Neko Neko no Mi: Model Leopard, a Zoan-type Devil Fruit enabling him to morph into a leopard and a massive human-leopard hybrid. Zoan fruits enhance physical prowess, particularly benefiting martial artists like Lucci who employ the rokushiki techniques. Due to his fruit’s nature, Lucci exhibits heightened predatory instincts, displaying increased aggression and voracity, as evident in his act of biting Luffy while in leopard form.

Lucci’s Devil Fruit powers are certainly amazing, without a doubt, but Luffy’s recently been identified as Joy Boy and has accessed a plethora of new powers. If Luffy managed to beat Lucci a while ago with not as much power, he would certainly destroy him now. This point goes to Luffy.

Points: Luffy 2, Lucci 1

Luff is expert Haki user

Luffy, under the tutelage of Rayleigh, became proficient in Haki, mastering Observation Haki to evade attacks instinctively, displayed when facing Mihawk. His Armament Haki reached high levels, integral to Gear Fourth, enabling fiery attacks through friction. Luffy wields the rare Royal Haki, demonstrated by incapacitating fifty thousand fish-men simultaneously. In clashes with Kaido, he showcased the ability to use Haki to enhance attacks, even tearing through the sky during their third confrontation

Rob Lucci is proficient in the Armament Haki. He was first seen using Armament Haki when his fist and Sabo’s fist clashed in Film Gold. He can also use this type of Haki in the video game One Piece: Burning Blood.

Luffy wins this point as well. Why? Simply because he has mastered more Haki techniques than Lucci. Lucci is proficient in the Armament Haki, but Luffy can use all three Haki techniques, which is why we give him a point in this category.

Points: Luffy 3, Lucci 1

Both Luffy and Lucci are inexperienced with weapons

Luffy rarely uses weapons in combat, mostly due to his inexperience and inability to use them. In his childhood, he wielded a metal pipe and that is probably the most sophisticated weapon he successfully handled. In Arlong Park, Luffy briefly tried to fight with swords but failed miserably.

Like Luffy, Lucci rarely uses weapons in combat; we don’t think we’ve ever seen him use a weapon in a fight. Still, knowing how bad Luffy is with general weapons, we assume that Lucci would be better than him.

As we have pointed out several times, Luffy never wins in this category simply because he doesn’t use weapons. On the other hand, we’ve never seen Lucci actually use weapons, so we don’t know whether he is better than Luffy (although he probably is). This is why we divide the points in this final category.

Points: Luffy 4, Lucci 2

Luffy vs. Lucci: Who wins?

We could, actually, give you a proper analysis of the things we have written above, but that wouldn’t really do the trick when compared with what we have decided to go with. Namely, as Luffy and Lucci have fought in the manga and the anime, we thought that it would be better for us to just recap these events and show you how Luffy managed to win.

The first fight between Luffy and Lucci happened during the Water 7 Arc. At one point, Rob Lucci explains to Iceburg about the existence of the Cipher Pol and CP9. There, he reveals the reason CP9 is a secret organization: because they have permission to kill anyone who doesn’t cooperate. He goes on to reveal that the World Government wants to resurrect the oldest weapon in the name of “justice.”

Lucci, interrupted by Luffy and the Straw Hat crew, demonstrates the superior combat skills of CP9, easily fending off attacks. Employing Shigan, he pierces Paulie and showcases Tekkai, rendering Luffy’s assaults ineffective. Lucci, revealing CP9’s body weapon training, announces the imminent destruction of the mansion. Despite Straw Hats’ attempts, Luffy is incapacitated. Lucci, using the Neko Neko no Mi: Leopard Pattern, unleashes a devastating kick, causing chaos in Water 7. As CP9 observes, Lucci claims no evidence of their crimes exists. In their first encounter, Lucci prevails, setting the stage for Luffy’s revenge.

In their second intense match, Luffy faces Lucci with an initial disadvantage. Despite Luffy’s attempts to pursue Robin, he’s forced into a fierce struggle. Franky intervenes, but Lucci overwhelms him. Luffy activates Gear Second, but Lucci skillfully counters. Undeterred, Luffy transitions to Gear Third, delivering a powerful blow with Gomu Gomu no Gigant Pistol. However, Lucci, exploiting Luffy’s size and speed reduction, counterattacks in leopard form. As Luffy shrinks, Lucci employs Rankyaku Gaichou, causing significant damage. Despite the setback, Luffy reverts to normal size, prompting a final confrontation.

In their fierce battle, Lucci reveals the devastating Rokuogan technique, utilizing Soru for rapid attacks. He severely injures Luffy with this powerful Rokushiki move. Despite Lucci’s intention to kill Luffy’s crew, Luffy, fueled by Usopp’s encouragement, rises for a final counterattack. With a brutal Gomu Gomu no Jet Gatling, Luffy overwhelms Lucci, hitting him with incredible speed and force. The barrage leaves Lucci unconscious, defeated, and embedded in a brick wall, marking Luffy’s triumphant victory in their intense encounter

In which episode does Luffy beat Lucci?

Luffy’s rematch against Lucci occurs in episodes 294 to 309, which aired between January 21, 2007 and May 13, 2007. It was a pretty long fight, but Luffy finally managed to defeat Lucci in Episode 309 of the anime series.

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