Highlights

Monkey D. Dragon's absence from Luffy's life from the beginning indicates that he was not involved in his upbringing and cannot be considered a good father.
Dragon's reasoning for abandoning Luffy was to protect him and prevent him from being used as a weakness in his revolution, which makes sense but doesn't excuse his absence.
Luffy and Dragon's reunion is imminent, and it is expected to happen after the events of the Egghead Island arc, where Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates may visit the Revolutionary Army.

Monkey D. Dragon is one of the most influential men in the world of One Piece, given that he is the leader of the Revolutionary Army and, he's also extremely important to the plot for that reason, and because he's Luffy's very own father. Dragon was first introduced in the series during the Loguetown arc, however, his proper introduction came after the events of Enies Lobby, where Garp mentioned to Luffy that Dragon was in fact his father and the leader of the Revolutionary Army.

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Ever since then, Dragon has slowly been getting more attention and, now that One Piece is in the Final Saga, Dragon is at the forefront of things because the time is ripe for him to lead his revolution to the door of the Celestial Dragons and crush them. Fans have always wondered about Dragon and his relationship with Luffy and why he wasn't more present in his life, and now, the answer has finally been given to them in One Piece chapter 1101.

Luffy's Memories Of Dragon

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It is quite clear for the fans to see that Dragon has played absolutely no part in Luffy's upbringing, right from the moment when he was born all the way up to now. In fact, Luffy absolutely does not recognize this person at all. Luffy has no memory of Dragon and this means Dragon was completely absent from his childhood right from the very beginning. This was confirmed to the fans when Garp mentioned to Luffy that his dad is the leader of the Revolutionary Army, named Dragon. Upon hearing this, Luffy was surprised to know that he even has a father and they certainly did not surprise Garp at all. This also indicates that Garp himself knew that Dragon was not present and Luffy's life at all. This is something that Dragon acknowledges himself as well.

When looking at Dragon's closest compatriots, neither Kuma nor Ivankov were aware of the fact that Dragon had a son, at least not at first. It is highly unlikely that they are aware of the fact that Dragon has a wife either and, all that simply adds up to the fact that Dragon's role in Luffy's life has been negligent and he simply cannot be considered Luffy's father based on anything other than blood.

Why Dragon Abandoned Luffy

In One Piece chapter 1100, Oda went into some detail as to why Dragon abandoned Luffy. Fans saw Kuma in the East Blue in One Piece chapter 1101 and he was sailing around the Foosha Village in the East Blue. It appears that Kuma stopped near the village and witnessed Luffy train. At this time, Luffy was training his powerful techniques, such as Gum Gum Battle Axe, and talking to himself and the animals around him. Kuma was carefully observing Luffy and it is implied that Kuma was fully aware of who Luffy is.

This also isn't the first time that Kuma saw Luffy. This is evident from the fact that Kuma has a flashback to a time when he was speaking with Dragon. Kuma mentioned seeing a peculiar kid in the East Blue, and before he could finish his sentence, Dragon mentioned that if he wanted to kill him, he should keep talking. This confused Kuma quite a bit and, when asked what he meant by that, Dragon continued saying that children are a parent's weakness. This meant that Dragon actually decided to remove Luffy from his life on purpose so that Luffy could not be used as a weakness in his revolution and, at the same time, Luffy himself was kept safe as well. This is something that quite a lot of the fans had already predicted, but wasn't confirmed in the story. Now, Oda has given the fans a proper confirmation on this and it is certainly interesting to note.

Is Dragon A Good Father?

One Piece's Revolutionary Army Supreme Commander

The question of whether Dragon is a good father or not is quite simple to answer. One can clearly see Dragon's intentions with Luffy, especially after receiving more context on his actions. Dragon abandoned Luffy for a reason. He did not want Luffy harmed at any cost and he also didn't want Luffy to come in between him and the revolution that he is leading. Dragon is a determined man and his reasoning certainly does make sense.

However, when one talks about being a good father, Dragon certainly is not that and what explanation he gave to fans in One Piece chapter 1101 doesn't absolve them from what he has done. Dragon was completely absent from Luffy's life and regardless of what it is that he was doing in his life, be it for the greater good of the world or not, as a parent, Dragon absolutely failed.

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He was not there for Luffy when he needed him and he certainly didn't play any part in his upbringing either. Even if Dragon wanted Luffy safe, the fact is that a parent should always stick by their child, no matter what. To Luffy, not having Dragon around simply did not matter. However, for another child, it might actually have been an issue. In that case, the child certainly would not care about the explanation of the parent, regardless of whether they wanted to save the world or if they wanted to do this for the child's own good. No explanation would simply not be good enough to fill the void in the heart of the child. Dragon certainly has his reasons and one cannot blame him for that, however, as a parent, he certainly isn't good in any way. Furthermore, if Dragon was so concerned about the revolution that he was leading and knew that he would put his child's life in danger, then he should not have had kids in the first place.

Luffy And Dragon's Reunion

Regardless of everything that has happened between Luffy and Dragon in the past, the time is coming closer for these two characters to finally reunite. Luffy and Dragon will meet once again and that is something the Dragon has already mentioned on countless occasions. One Pieceis in the Final Saga now and their reunion is edging closer with each passing chapter. In fact, it might actually end up happening immediately after the events of the Egghead Island arc.

Vegapunk is currently with Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates and when the group escapes from there, the next place that Vegapunk would want to go to would be to Dragon, as he is his former compatriot. This would mean that the Straw Hat Pirates could end up visiting the Revolutionary Army and, there, fans will see quite a lot of reunions. Luffy will finally meet Sabo once again and that is the only reunion that he would care about, however, fans would also enjoy seeing him meet his father, Dragon, once again.

At the same time, fans will also get to see the likes of Robin meet Koala and Sabo once again and a lot of other interesting information being divulged when this major meeting happens in One Piece.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. Since One Piece is going to be on break, the release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1102, is set to be December 25, 2023.