Is Luffy a Celestial Dragon in One Piece? Explained

Monkey D Luffy is the founder and captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, seemingly winning every fight and battle he partakes in on his way to find the One Piece. But is Luffy a Celestial Dragon and thus descendant of his enemies?

It is unlikely Monkey D Luffy has family lines back to the World Government but not enough is known so it’s hard to say for certain. Even if he was, Luffy is unlikely to want to be a part of them and almost certainly has been exiled from the group.

Let’s look at what a Celestial Dragon is, how one becomes one, and what evidence there is that Monkey D Luffy is part of it and where he would stand on being accepted into the membership or not.

Who Qualifies as a Celestial Dragon in One Piece?

The Celestial Dragons are not dragons at all, but instead the term denotes a certain line of people that are the nobles of the One Piece universe.

Also known as the World Nobles, this status is based upon them being the descendants of what is referred to as the Founders of the Government, sometimes referred to as the Twenty Kings. 

Over a millennium ago, just after the Void Century, powerful families grabbed power by means of alliances, with the World Government eventually gaining the support of 170 countries.

De facto divine privileges are given to all of those descended from these people. It is possible that this self-appointed status has gotten to their head slightly, as they all refuse to breathe the air that commoners do, and use a mask and bubble system to stay separate.

The Celestial Dragons have a form of turbo charged sovereign immunity, making them immune to prosecution and from punishment for any crimes or illegal acts they commit.

This has resulted in a class of rich aristocrats all living in the so-called Holy Land of Marie Geois, the location also of the World Government and the Marine HQ. Anyone in this location is denoted with a prefix of saint, except of course the slaves and other servants.

Of course, this leads to rampant corruption and dirty dealing, which does turn some off the supposed noble aims and status of the group. Unfortunately for anyone having second thoughts, that means permanent exile and banishment if you even mention wanting to leave.

This protection goes further, as anyone who denigrates or insults them faces a very long jail term, let alone likely coming into the reticles of the Three Marine Admirals.

With all these powers, the gatekeeping must be fierce and the Celestial Dragons are a closed group. There is no way of entering the group except by birth into a family that is a descendant of the Twenty Kings.

Is Monkey D Luffy a Celestial Dragon?

Given Monkey’s history of antagonism against the World Government and Marines, if he was a member through his family, it is very likely he has since been exiled from the group.

However, the heritage and bloodlines of the Luffy family are not totally known all the way back to the founding of the World Government, but it is highly unlikely that they’re from the line of Twenty Kings.

Further, given the history of the ‘Ds’ and their opposition to the Celestial Dragons, Monkey is more likely a nemesis of the Celestial Dragons rather than a member.

Not enough has been revealed about why they have become pitted against each other, but part of it is likely linked to Gol D Roger and his alleged discovery of the One Piece, only for him to turn himself in and get executed.

This fear of the ‘Ds’ also comes out in the various tales told to children of the Celestial Dragon, going so far as to depict Doflamingo showing absolute fear and surprise that Trafalgar Law was also a ‘D’. 

There is also the thorny issue of Monkey D Luffy’s mother: fan pages and theories get a bit wild on this one but there are some important points to note.

First is that we don’t know who she is. This is further comlicated by the Horm-Horm fruit which apparently can change a character’s sex, meaning that all the men and women encountered so far could be Monkey’s mother.

For example, Sir Crocodile’s history with Ivankov and his time as a Shichibukai shows a close link to the World Government. For purposes of infiltration or spying, could Crocodile have been a woman?

In terms of Monkey’s father, it is often said to be Monkey D Dragon, who is one of the biggest enemies of the World Government. He gave custody of his son to Dragon’s father, Monkey D Garp, and didn’t play a big role in his upbringing at all.

Monkey D Garp is himself a very high ranking Marine, having been offered the position of Admiral many times. It is this link that makes many people believe that it is possible that Luffy’s mother could be high ranking herself, even a member of the Celestial Dragons.

This is further complicated by the fact that Monkey D Garp’s relationship to Monkey D Luffy is now well known, and while some seem to be angry about this, Monkey D Garp has kept his position and indeed is still offered promotions, so it doesn’t seem to matter much.

Monkey D Luffy is also interestingly raised mainly in East Blue, which is a faraway place and could be so that he doesn’t join the pirate life nor draw the attention of the tentacles of the World Government including Cipher Pol and its network of spies.

Monkey D Luffy has also punched a World Noble, and laying a hand on the World Nobles when you are not one of them is definitely a no no. This was also done in front of a room of witnesses, which basically puts a death penalty on Monkey D Luffy.

This is reflected in his current bounty of 3,000,000,000 bellies, which has only been going up.