First, Chronologically, Was Sabo.

Do y'all ever remember that we only have Luffy's backstory starting at 7 years old? What was he doing before Shanks? Where was he living? Who is his mom? Where is she? Did he have any friends? Why is he so scared of being alone?

Theory and analysis under the cut

Like, I think about that scene after Ace and Sabo had saved him from Blue Jam's lackeys a lot. Ace asks why Luffy wants to be his friend so bad and Luffy says that being alone is worse than being hurt. That's a child speaking from experience.

I also think about that scene in Chapter 137 where Luffy saves the parent of the baby Lapin even though it had almost killed him and two of his crew.

Maybe this was just showcasing how merciful and kind Luffy can be, but I don't think so. I think, in that moment, Luffy was relating to the baby Lapin. I think Oda was drawing a direct parallel to something Luffy may have experienced as a child, basically giving us a hint to more of Luffy's past. I'm not sure if it was his birth mom or a caregiver, but I think Luffy has been in a situation where a parental figure died because no one was around to help them and Luffy was too young and weak to save them.

I feel like this explains the shadowed eyes in the image. We've seen Luffy save many previous enemies without the indication that Luffy is so personally affected. I could believe that it's because he's worried about his crew, but in the next scene he has a serious expression that would've been plenty fitting on pulling up the Lapin. Maybe I'm overthinking, but I truly think there's more than concern for his crew or anger at the Lapins affecting him here.

On top of that, Luffy having a traumatic experience as a young child where he felt helpless would follow a recurring theme in his character arc. We've seen Luffy at three of his lowest points in the manga where he has been too weak to protect his loved ones.

First, chronologically, was Sabo.

Luffy has always been a passionate kid, so maybe this is his first experience with loss, but I don't think so. This seems like a reaction to feeling like being too weak to save his loved ones is a pattern. Most kids Luffy's age have a hard time grasping death. They might know that it's not a good thing, but most don't understand exactly what it means. It might be different for him because he has been around Grey Terminal, but I doubt it. Yet, he knew instantly what Dogura was saying and what it meant. There was barely a period of shock or denial.

Luffy is experiencing grief at a level of intensity that fits more with someone who knows exactly what death is. I really don't believe that this is his first time losing someone.

Second was being unable to protect his crew from Kuma.

The phrase "What's wrong with me...?!" really stands out to me here. Luffy definitely takes his role as captain seriously and knows that it's his duty to protect his crew, but we know this self-blame is also influenced by the reopening an old wound. He has worked hard for a decade to make sure he was strong enough to protect his people, and here he has failed once again.

Finally, third is the loss of his other older brother, Ace.

This, of course, led to the two year break where Luffy and his crew focused on training and becoming stronger to take on the New World. I would also like to point out that Luffy didn't emotionally stabilize until Jimbe reminded him that he still has his crew. He was grieving his brother, dealing with a sense of helplessness, and feeling alone in the world. Garp may be Luffy's grandfather, but he obviously neglected Luffy. The bandits might have grown on Luffy by the time he set sail, but I don't think Luffy considered them family in the same way as Ace and Sabo. Ace and Sabo were the only family he had until he met his crew. This isn't the grief of someone with a support network and people to motivate him. In this moment, and in all of the time since deciding to go after Ace, Luffy has pushed his nakama out of his mind. This is the grief of someone who has been too weak and feels like there's no one left to even try to protect. Someone all alone.

Luffy's character is one who's weaknesses are loneliness and helplessness, and that implies a lot about his developmental years. I truly believe that Luffy's backstory will involve the death of a parental figure. I also think that Garp either was even more neglectful than we realize or didn't know Luffy existed until he found out through Dragon.

I also think that Luffy's longing for freedom will also tie in somehow. We know he and no one who knew him as a child was a slave for the Celestial Dragons because he didn't recognize the symbol on Hancock, but maybe there was a nami and arlong-esque situation.

I'm so desperate for his backstory 24/7 lmao.