One Piece: Luffy’s Rivalry with Kid and Law Is Too Unbalanced

Monkey D. Luffy is said to be in a three-way rivalry with Eustass Kid, Trafalgar Law. However, it seems more unfair than it should be.

This article contains spoilers for One Piece Chapter 1076, “Old Friends,” by Eiichiro Oda, Stephen Paul, and Vanessa Satone. Viz Media is available in English.

One Piece juxtaposes Monkey D. Luffy and Eustass Kid against each other, they are framed as equals. They’re all shown doing the same, whether they’re trying to see who can carry more stones, take down the largest ship, or get the longest distance without being hit by a fireball. Even worse, they all received the same bounty from Wano. Although none of these feats directly correlate with strength, they are what the narrative shows that they are meant to be viewed as equals.

It’s hard to imagine them being as similar as Eiichiro Oda would like readers to believe. Although they have been presented as equals at times, their roles thus far tell a different story. The purported balance between them in One Piece’soverarching narrative has been more uneven than it may have been.

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What is the Strength of Luffy, Kid, and Law about One Another?

There was at first some doubt as to which of the three had an advantage. Luffy was able, using his superior mastery in Haki, to destroy Kaido. But Kid and Law were also able to harm Big Mom with their Devil Fruit Awakenings. They had a power that Luffy wasn’t yet able to use and vice versa. They all used these techniques to achieve similar results but there was some confusion as to how they would compare.

Luffy was able to put himself at least one league ahead of his competitors with the help of Gear Five, his latest power-up. He was able to control his Haki better than Law and also gained a Devil Fruit Awakening. Kid and Law will have to continue to train with their Haki if they want to be able to compete with Luffy.

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It’s worth mentioning how Luffy was capable of completing Kaido on his own. Even though the King of Beasts was defeated by the other comrades, Luffy was the only one who could deliver the knockout blow. To beat Big Mom via ring-out, Kid, and Law had a team effort. Regardless of any other circumstances, the win is significantly more impressive than that of Big Mom.

The difference in their approach to the Emperors is one reason Kid and Law are not believed to be able to defeat Shanks or Blackbeard. They’re likely to lose, but at best they will fight hard. This is how Luffy would fare against these Emperors if he were to face them now. This is still comparable to Kid or Law, but not really.

What else do Kid and Law need to improve upon?

The law may be closest to being a perfect rival to Luffy. His involvement in Dressrosa Arcs and Punk Hazard has earned him a large fan base that values him as a key member of the Worst Generation. He also became a central character for two One Piece films. The roles Kid plays in One Piece’snarrative are minor compared to that. The kid is the weak link in their rival trio due to Law’s strength and Luffy’s popularity.

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It is also difficult to claim that Kid or Law has the crews to match Luffy’s. Each Straw Hat Pirate can be seen fighting top pirate crew members in one-on-1 matches. It’s difficult to say the same for the majority of the Kid Pirates and Heart Pirates. Even if Kid or Law are as strong and as powerful as Luffy, it won’t matter if they don’t have good shipmates to support them.

All of this could change if Luffy, Kid, and Law meet again. It could even change if Kid and Law’s fights against Shanks or Blackbeard are shown. Kid and Law should work on improving their Haki skills and being more involved in the narrative (Kid particularly), and they will be well on their way. These rivals will be more convincing as potential competitors in the race to One Piece.