Monkey D. Luffy is one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, which means that he is among the most dangerous pirates in the One Piece world. Luffy has achieved many great feats ever since he set sail on a small boat.
Even though he is the main protagonist of the series, Luffy has suffered a fair share of defeats. These losses acted as reminders of his shortcomings and made him realize that he needed to become stronger. However, they did not always leave him with a silver lining. Some of his defeats left him utterly devastated. With that in mind, here are the most crushing defeats that Luffy has suffered in One Piece.
7 Vs. Smoker
Smoker was introduced in Loguetown, which was the final destination of the Straw Hats before they eventually went to the Grand Line. Smoker's job was to capture all pirates, and he had the necessary means to do that. When he came face-to-face with Luffy, fans expected to see the latter put up a good fight.
Smoker started on the front foot, and he gave Luffy no chance of escaping. The Marine Captain captured Luffy and was ready to put him in chains, but Dragon intervened at the last moment. Smoker had no other choice, so he let Luffy go, but he continued to follow him.
6 Vs. Crocodile
Luffy had a great start to his life as a pirate. He defeated one opponent after another, which resulted in the bounty being increased. Throughout East Blue, Luffy suffered only one loss, and it came at the hands of Smoker. When the Straw Hats entered the Grand Line, they knew their opponents were going to be more dangerous.
In the Alabasta saga, Luffy and his crew agreed to help Vivi reclaim her kingdom. The biggest obstacle in their path was Crocodile, so Luffy took it upon himself to defeat the Shichibukai. Luffy fought Crocodile three times; the first two fights ended in humiliation for the young pirate. He would have died if other people weren't around to save him.
5 Vs. Lucci
From a young age, Rob Lucci was trained by the World Government to become an assassin. He has killed hundreds of people, both innocent and guilty. When Rob Lucci and the other CP9 agents revealed their true nature in the Water 7 arc, it left everyone surprised. No one could have foreseen their betrayal.
During his first confrontation with Luffy, Lucci was able to overwhelm the pirate effortlessly, and it left the audience wondering whether he could conjure up something special to take down one of the most dangerous assassins in the world.
4 Vs. Aokiji
Aokiji was the first Admiral to be introduced in the series. He came off as a calm and easygoing individual, but he did give the Straw Hats a taste of his strength. Aokiji warned the crew about how everyone associated with Nico Robin ends up suffering. However, they weren't willing to listen to what he had to say.
Luffy attacked the Admiral, but it had absolutely no effect on the latter. Aokiji simply froze him and ended the fight. This was truly a crushing defeat for Luffy, and it taught him a valuable lesson that there are many characters in the world who are stronger than him.
3 Vs. Magellan
Magellan was the main antagonist of the Impel Down arc. At the time, he was the chief warden of Impel Down, and every single prisoner was terrified of his power. Magellan ate the Doku Doku no Mi, giving him the power to create and control different kinds of poisons.
When Luffy faced Magellan, it was an extremely one-sided fight. Magellan completely obliterated Luffy and left him on the brink of death. Luffy would have definitely died if Bon Clay had not taken him to Ivankov.
2 Luffy Vs. Pacifista and Kizaru
The Sabaody Archipelago arc was filled with mixed emotions for the readers. On the one hand, it introduced the members of the Worst Generation, along with Admiral Kizaru and Silvers Rayleigh. But, on the other hand, it was the first major display of the Straw Hats' powerlessness.
Following Luffy's attack on the Celestial Dragon, Kizaru and several other Marines were sent to the Sabaody Archipelago. Their goal was to eliminate the people responsible for the assault on the Celestial Dragon. Both Luffy and his crew bore the brunt of his actions. All of them were utterly defeated by Kizaru and the Pacifista. Even Luffy was useless before the Pacifista, and all he could do was cry helplessly.
1 Vs. Kaido
Luffy came to Wano in high spirits after defeating Charlotte Katakuri on Whole Cake Island. With the victory over the strongest Sweet Commander, Luffy had earned a bounty of over 1 billion berries and the title of "Fifth Emperor." So, fans were expecting Luffy to put up a good fight against Kaido.
When the time came for their first confrontation, Luffy got off to a good start, and he even landed a few blows on Kaido. But the attacks did nothing but make Kaido sober. As Kaido regained his senses, he undid his dragon transformation and picked up his kanabo. In one swift motion, Kaido took down Luffy, who was using his Gear Fourth. This highlighted the difference in power between the two individuals, and it reminded Luffy that he still had a long way to go before he could go toe-to-toe with an Emperor.