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One Piece: Why Did Luffy Refrain From Fighting Bellamy During Their First Encounter? Explored
Exploring the reason behind Luffy not engaging with or fighting Bellamy during their first encounter and how it shaped his character.
There are some pivotal moments in the One Piece anime which might not seem of much importance at first glance. One such part of the story is the first time protagonist Monkey D. Luffy encounters the infamous Bellamy, and despite much provocation from the latter. This uncharacteristic show of restraint was a moment that showed us Luffy’s growth in maturity as a character.
Why didn’t Luffy fight with Bellamy?
During his first appearance, Bellamy was brash, disrespectful, and provocative towards Luffy. And even though usually Luffy jumps into battle at the slightest provocation from the opponent, this time, he took the high road instead of engaging because of two reasons. First being a lesson in restraint and self-control that he learned from his mentor Shanks, and the second being a promise he made to his crew.
Before meeting Bellamy, during the East Blue Saga, Luffy saw Shanks diffuse a situation with just words. Watching his mentor confront a group of bandits and walk away without engaging because he did not deem the problem to be worthy of his time and effort was a lesson Luffy took to heart. So when he realized that as brash and fearsome as Bellamy is, a battle with him will be futile and distract him from his ultimate goal of becoming the Pirate King, he wisely chose to walk away from the situation. 
Another reason behind this incredible show of restraint was a promise Luffy had made to Nami about not getting into any unnecessary fights while they were at Jaya Island. When he realized that despite the high bounty on his head, he has defeated far stronger opponents than Bellamy, Luffy chose not to fight him. Respecting his crewmate’s wishes, he did not engage with Bellamy which also proved how much progress he has made as a character.
The aftermath of this incident
When Luffy saw the difference between the bounty on his head vs on Bellamy’s head, he already knew that he was better and did not want to waste his time trying to prove his superiority. Later, they met Blackbeard, who commended Luffy for holding back during a situation like that and said that he was the true victor for showing such restraint. This encounter proved to Luffy that he should always refrain from engaging in unnecessary fights and only fight battles which will serve a purpose to his dreams. Later when Luffy does fight Bellamy, he humbles his brashy attitude with just one punch.
After the incident with Bellamy, the audience saw time and again how this reinforcement worked in Luffy’s favor as he started to make friends everywhere he went. Due to his happy-go-lucky nature and his self-restraint, he also became a much smarter fighter ready to take on the seas.
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