Spoiler warning! Some of these entries have not been covered by the anime yet, so please keep that in mind.

One Piece has periodically expanded the Straw Hat Pirates' lineup, introducing new characters who typically fulfill a role on the ship. When compared to other crews, the Straw Hats are among the smallest, as they only have 10 members in their ranks (if we do not count the fleet). Although the story is finally reaching its end, Eiichiro Oda might still add new faces to the most iconic pirate crew in fiction.

Brook (alive) and a younger Laboon; Shiki holding Nami while pointing

One Piece: Every Straw Hat Pirate's Former Crews

Many of Luffy's crewmates have been affiliated with different crews before joining the Straw Hats. Here's a look at each one.

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By Kenneth Rasmussen

Since the start, Luffy has generally wanted about 10 crewmates, and he only invites people he thinks will be fun. When he finds something he likes, he tends to be quite aggressive in his recruitment, and most characters end up becoming Straw Hats. However, exceptions exist, and they all have their reasons for rejecting the offer.

7 Gaimon

The Island Guardian

The elusive Gaimon is a retired pirate who got stuck inside a treasure chest and was marooned on an island full of rare animals. He grew affectionate toward the animals and decided to act as their guardian. Gaimon had long sought to capture several treasure chests atop a cliff, but upon Luffy's retrieval of them, he discovered their emptiness. This upset him greatly.

Luffy asked the former pirate to become a member of his crew, but Gaimon refused, instead deciding to continue acting as the island's guardian. Although Gaimon had some skill with a pistol, Luffy seemingly asked him to join the crew because of his strange body, which was mostly stuck inside the treasure chest.

While the Straw Hats all have designated jobs upon joining the crew, it is sometimes unclear what those who rejected them would have done. Gaimon could've potentially been a marksman of some sort. His body may be an asset in some regards, as his small size and natural hiding space allow him to better conceal himself, yet he would likely be hampered by the extent to which his body has apparently atrophied within the chest.

6 Kureha

Doctor On Drum Island

Kureha is a long-lived doctor (in her 140s) who acted as a mentor to Luffy's eventual crewmate, Tony Tony Chopper, teaching the reindeer everything she knew about medicine. This was the request of her late friend Hiriluk, a quack doctor who acted as a surrogate father to Chopper. Despite her advanced age, she shows great physical acumen and resents any insinuation that she is "old."

One Piece: Chopper's Best Moments In The Show

Chopper has had some memorable moments throughout One Piece. These are the best of the bunch.

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By Garrett Huon

Kuneha's skills as a doctor would likely be identical, or perhaps even superior to those of her protégé. She would've also been the eldest pirate in the crew, being over 50 years Brook's senior. She is also shown to possess a great amount of strength, attacking both Luffy and Sanji when she feels insulted by them. That said, it is unclear how well these abilities would've stacked up to those of their later opponents. This is not the only time Luffy has attempted to ask a mentor of a future crewmate to join him, as "Red Leg" Zeff was also asked by Luffy to join the crew before Sanji was all but forced to.

5 Portgas D. Ace

Luffy's Sworn Brother

The late son of Gol D. Roger was raised alongside Monkey D. Luffy, with the pair, as well as their other sworn brother, Sabo, all dreaming of becoming pirates. Although Sabo was thought dead, his brothers continued their respective quests to become pirates. Ace himself built up a crew, known as the Spade Pirates, but they proved to be no match for the Whitebeard Pirates. Ace was opposed to the idea of being a subordinate for some time but eventually grew to respect Whitebeard as a father figure, much like most of his other crewmates.

He eventually became a Division Commander, controlling a portion of the crew himself. Yet after the betrayal of his subordinate, Marshall D. Teach, Ace broke off to search for the traitorous pirate. Along the way, he met and aided Luffy, whom Ace asked to join the Whitebeard Pirates, but his brother refused. Later on, the Straw Hats celebrated his supposed joining of them, but Ace stated this was not the case, reiterating his mission.

Luffy asking his older brother to serve under him as a pirate is just one showcase of his absolute audacity. While Ace's fire powers would've been a welcome addition to the crew, it's not quite clear what particular role he would've served. Luffy and his crew are notably not the only people Ace has turned down after joining Whitebeard.

He caught the eye of the World Government, which asked him to become a Warlord. This same position was later given to Teach after he successfully captured Ace, which led to his imprisonment. Whitebeard's hold on Ace is a testament to his ability to gain the respect of many powerful pirates, due to his mixture of strength and kindness. Upon discovering Sabo was not dead, Luffy also asked him to join the crew, although once again, his older brother's obligations, in this case to the Revolutionary Army, made it an impossibility.

4 Kin'emon

Specifically, His Legs

Kin'emon acted on behalf of his master, Kozuki Oden, several years after his death. As an extension of this effort, he traveled for twenty years forward in time, alongside his master's son, Momonosuke. He is both an accomplished swordsman and a strategist, although neither of these facts was what drew Luffy to the samurai. He was instead attracted by his legs, in a non-perverse way. Specifically, he was fascinated by the absence of anything else, once again, showcasing his desire to recruit the oddest crewmates possible.

This phenomenon was caused by the actions of Trafalgar D. Water Law, who used his devil fruit powers to split the samurai's body in half while keeping both parts intact. Kin'emon was later able to reattach himself. The most interesting part about this attempted recruitment was that Kin'emon did travel with the crew for a while, despite never being considered an official member.

One Piece: Are Any of the Straw Hats Replaceable?

The Straw Hat Pirates are at the core of what makes One Piece great, but can any of them be replaced?

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By Angela Drake

Kin'emon was involved with the crew as an extension of their campaign against the Beasts Pirates, helping them take on both Caesar Clown and Doflamingo (their noted business partners) and subsequently being stationed in Wano, alongside the Straw Hats who were with him in Dressrosa, sans Luffy. After Kaido's defeat, he remained in Wano to aid in rebuilding the country, although Luffy made it clear that Kin'emon was welcome if he ever did decide to join.

Kin'emon would be the crew's third swordsman if he joined, and the second one to be notably perverted. Aside from these redundancies, he could also be their strategist, even though most of the Straw Hats show an aptitude for planning things out themselves.

3 Yamato

Son Of Kaido

Yamato is another devotee of Kozuki Oden, albeit in a different way from Kin'emon. Yamato grew up idolizing Oden, despite him being a notable enemy of his father, Kaido. This admiration led Yamato to want to be Oden, leading him to act as such, which resulted in punishment from Kaido. Much like Oden, Yamato expressed a desire to travel the world, which the former daimyo did alongside both the legendary Whitebeard Pirates and Roger Pirates.

Luffy was willing to let him join the Straw Hats, but eventually, Yamato changed his mind, at least for the time being. The main motivator behind this was Aramaki, a marine admiral who attacked Wano after Kaido's defeat, proving too strong for most of the country's powerful combatants. Sometime later, Yamato was given a surrogate journey in place of Oden, which he has since been documented attempting to accomplish via cover stories.

If he succeeds, his next steps are unclear, although joining the Straw Hats is not out of the realm of possibility, seeing as he mentioned wanting to travel like Oden, even during one of said cover stories. If Yamato does join, he would be both the third Zoan user and the second confirmed to have eaten a Mythical Zoan, alongside his prospective future captain, Luffy.

2 Loki

Prince of Elbaph

The most recent person to reject Luffy's offer to become a Straw Hat pirate, Loki finally rejected this opportunity in June 2025, after months of speculation that he could become the next and final member of the crew. As brought up by Sanji and Zoro, Loki's massive size due to being a giant means he will not fit in the Thousand Sunny, and his eating habits would put a real strain on the group. Naturally, Luffy didn't really care about that stuff, and he just wanted to see Loki fight.

One Piece: 8 Pirates Who Have Been In More Than One Crew

These One Piece pirates have been able to sail the seas under more than one flag, giving them plenty of fascinating stories to tell.

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By Ewan Lewis

Ostracized for most of his life and nursing a negative reputation based on a lie, Loki does not always play nice with others, as he can be rather manipulative and violent. That said, he has shown flashes of kindness, and he isn't necessarily a bad person. When Luffy proposed that Loki join the crew, the giant's reasoning for the rejection was that he refused to be a henchman. Obviously, none of the Straw Hats are really henchmen, but Loki might have just used that as an easy excuse.

1 Nefertari Vivi

Princess of Arabasta

By far the most famous example of a character rejecting the Straw Hats, Vivi is the only one who was part of the crew for a while. During the Arabasta Arc, the Princess sailed under the Straw Hats' flag, and she 100% seemed destined to become a permanent fixture. However, Vivi's priority was always to take down Crocodile and free her kingdom from his tyranny, and that was ultimately the main reason she even joined Luffy and company. Still, she had great chemistry with the crew, and she formed quick friendships with all of them, especially Nami.

Once the Straw Hats succeeded in dethroning Crocodile, Vivi stepped up to guide Arabasta moving forward, and she just couldn't leave her kingdom to travel the seas. Luffy directly asked her to continue traveling with them, and while she clearly wanted to accept, she knew that she shouldn't. Although there is a tiny chance that Vivi could eventually join the crew, things do not really seem to be heading that way, as her responsibilities are not inherently connected to the Straw Hats anymore.

Vivi was kind of a bait and switch, as her declining Luffy's invite was quickly followed by Robin joining the crew. Therefore, the Straw Hats and the audience got a new crew member.

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