When he was seven years old, Luffy met the Red-Haired Pirates and idolized their captain, Red-Haired Shanks. Shanks saved Luffy’s life from a Sea King at the cost of his arm and gifted him his iconic straw hat, setting Luffy on his pirate path Luffy accidentally ate the Hito Hito no Model: Nika (originally thought to be the Paramecia Gum-Gum Fruit / Gomu Gomu no Mi), which turned his body into rubber the Red Hair Pirates prepared to depart Foosha Village for good, and Luffy had decided that he would instead set sail on his own. Shanks teased him about being too weak, and Luffy declared that he would become the Pirate King and form a stronger crew than Shanks'. In response, Shanks gave Luffy his straw hat, telling him to return it once he had become a great pirate
