One Piece’s Water 7 saga is a plot-heavy journey where everything changed for Luffy and his ever-expanding Straw Hat crew.

One Piece‘s epic story is divided into several sagas, with each saga having one or more story arcs. One of One Piece‘s very best and most consequential sagas is the Water 7 saga. It takes place after the Sky Island saga and before the spooky Thriller Bark saga, and a lot changes during Water 7’s lengthy storyline.

When Luffy and his crew sailed to the famed island Water 7, they had no idea what kind of drama and action they were in for. New and familiar characters had their lives changed with stunning plot twists and revelations, and even ships were affected as well. By the time the Water 7 saga was over, everything was different for Luffy and the crew.

10Luffy Claimed Foxy’s Pirate Flag

The Water 7 saga started on a light note when Luffy’s crew arrived at Long Ring Long Land, a series of interconnected islands where animals and plants grew with very stretched-out bodies. Then the Foxy pirates arrived, challenging Luffy’s gang to a Davy Back Fight.

Foxy and his crewmates won the first game and claimed Tony Tony Chopper as their new crewmate, only for the Straw Hats to win him back in round 2. Then, after round 3, Luffy could have claimed a Foxy pirate crew member but claimed Foxy’s jolly roger instead. Luffy’s not cold enough to just steal someone else’s crewmate like that, a move that reflected well on him.

9Galley-La’s Staff Stated The Going Merry Wasn’t Seaworthy

The Going Merry was in bad shape when Luffy’s crew arrived at Water 7, and he knew that the crew needed a carpenter. So, he visited the famed Galley-la company to hire some repair workers, only for Kaku to deliver the bad news: the Going Merry was beyond help.

Luffy denied it at first, then grudgingly accepted the bitter truth. The Going Merry’s damage was too serious, so Luffy would have to spend his crew’s newfound fortune to buy an entirely new ship, but this plan would lead to yet more conflict.

8Usopp Quit The Straw Hat Crew

Usopp the sniper had volunteered as the crew’s amateur carpenter, along with Chopper, so Usopp felt very close to the Going Merry. When Luffy explained the Going Merry’s fate, Usopp reacted poorly, then grew furious. He thought Luffy was coldly abandoning the snip.

Usopp and Luffy came to blows over it, and in the end, Usopp could keep the doomed ship while also quitting the crew. This added serious drama to the saga, but it also set up Usopp’s heroic return as the masked Sniper King during the Enies Lobby arc in this saga.

7Nico Robin Left The Crew To Spare Them The World Government’s Wrath

Luffy’s kuudere crewmate Nico Robin drove much of the drama and plot in the Water 7 story arc. Like Usopp, she temporarily left the Straw Hat crew, but not because of the ship. She couldn’t keep running from the World Government, which had put a price on her head when she was just a kid.

Nico Robin made a deal to turn herself in quietly, in exchange for her Straw Hat crewmates not getting mixed up in it all. So, she was taken to Enies Lobby aboard the sea train, prompting Luffy and his allies to go after her and fight for her freedom.

6The Aqua Laguna Storm Made Crossing The Sea Nearly Impossible

Sometimes, the weather itself can be a formidable foe in manga and anime, with the Aqua Laguna being a major example in One Piece‘s story. Luffy’s adventure was made even more complicated when the sea levels rose like never before in the merciless Aqua Laguna.

These conditions made it nigh-impossible for any ship to sail, even with an expert crew, though the sea train had escaped its effects. Luffy’s adventure seemed to hit a wall, but then Kokoro and Chimney unveiled a second, less controllable sea train to make their way through Aqua Laguna’s watery wrath.

5Luffy Used Gear Two & Gear Three Against CP9’s Members

Luffy and his friends stood little chance against CP9’s strongest members in Galley-la’s headquarters in Water 7, but when Luffy arrived at Enies Lobby for round 2, he wowed One Piece fans with some new techniques. He showcased Gear Two and Gear Three, evening the odds against CP9 in a big way.

Luffy used Gear Two against the bull-themed Blueno and defeated him, then moved on to Rob Lucci further in Enies Lobby. Luffy pushed himself to the breaking point with Gears Two and Three, eking out a narrow victory against Rob Lucci and his leopard-themed Zoan Fruit.

4The Straw Hats Officially Became Enemies Of The World Government

Even before the Water 7 saga began, several Straw Hat crew members had bounties on their heads, starting with Luffy himself. This meant the World Government and bounty hunters would be unfriendly to them, but in Water 7, the Straw Hats outright declared war on the World Government.

Spandam warned the Straw Hats not to strike, but they shot down the World Government flag at Enies Lobby, a symbolic move that the Straw Hats couldn’t take back. From that moment on, it was war between the Straw Hats and the World Government, and Luffy didn’t regret it for a moment if it meant getting Robin back.

3Spandam Ordered A Buster Call By Mistake

The villainous Spandam was highly ambitious and aimed to become a great Navy leader, and he wanted to use a show of force to prove it. He threatened a buster call to keep the Straw Hats at bay, but then he pressed a button on the wrong transponder snail.

With that simple blunder, Spandam unwittingly ordered a buster call on Enies Lobby, and a Navy fleet set out to execute it. This led to Enies Lobby’s total destruction, a bizarre example of the World Government partially destroying itself to try, in vain, to take the Straw Hats down.

2Franky Presented The Thousand Sunny To Luffy’s Crew

The Going Merry saved the Straw Hats from Enies Lobby’s destruction, and by then, every Straw Hat accepted the ship’s fate and allowed it to burn down. Then, Franky the shipbuilder designed and constructed an all-new ship from special lumber.

The new ship could survive any hardship on the high seas, and the grateful Straw Hats accepted it at once. To this very day, the lion-headed Thousand Sunny is the Straw Hat gang’s main ship, loaded with remarkable features such as smaller, deployable vehicles and ample storage space.

1Franky Joined The Straw Hats

Franky had once been hostile to the Straw Hats, but then he helped them in the Enies Lobby arc, and even built the Thousand Sunny for them. At first, Franky intended to remain on Water 7, but then he learned of his 44 million berry bounty and was pressured to join the Straw Hats instead.

Franky hesitated, then joined the Straw Hats and boarded the ship of his own design. Now the Straw Hats had their own carpenter who doubled as a tough, reliable cyborg warrior as well. That raised the Straw Hat crew to eight members, with only Brook the musician left to recruit in the upcoming Thriller Bark saga.