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Luffato is the slash ship between Monkey D. Luffy and Yamato from the One Piece fandom.

Canon
Luffy and Yamato are allies united by their desire to remove Kaido from Wano and open up the country’s borders to the world, a dream desired by the late Kozuki Oden. Yamato had known of Luffy for some years prior to meeting him, as he had met his brother, Portgas D. Ace. Although Luffy was initially hostile, he quickly came to trust Yamato and accepted him as an ally. The two are now currently engaging in a battle against Kaido to reclaim Wano.

Whilst Luffy had no idea who Yamato was, Yamato had come to be fully aware of Luffy and has developed a huge interest in him because of how much Ace talked about him. He sees Luffy as his chance to sail the world like his hero, Kozuki Oden, had also done and believes that Luffy is destined to, not only liberate Wano, but to change the world as foretold by Oden in his journal. As a result, especially upon hearing of the death of Ace, Yamato desperately waited for Luffy’s arrival on Wano and immediately joined his side against his own father, Kaido, once he finally appeared.

Luffy was initially restless with Yamato. Whilst he saved him from his initial battle with Ulti, and could not detect any hostility from Yamato, he nonetheless became agitated due to the urgency of why he was on Onigashima. This resulted in the two clashing with Yamato trying to tame Luffy. Eventually, Luffy gave in and chose to listen to what Yamato had to say. Upon discovering his intense admiration for Kozuki Oden, someone Luffy had come to respect, and the fact he was willing to form an alliance, Luffy happily accepted him as an ally to defeat Kaido, and the two stormed the castle together. Luffy was also initially confused by the fact that Yamato was physiologically a woman, but identified himself as a man due to his intense adoration for Oden, but quickly accepted it and referred to Yamato by his preferred gender.

The two also share a sense of respect for each other. Yamato quickly accepted Luffy to lead the charge and would listen to his order to save Momonosuke. Luffy even vouched for Yamato to his allies as well. When Yamato explained to Luffy how his explosive handcuffs stops him from leaving Wano, Luffy chose to remove them for him so he could be free at last. Although Yamato has professed his desire to join Luffy’s crew, it has yet to be seen what Luffy’s decision regarding this matter is. When Yamato faced her own father, Kaido, on the roof of Onigashima, he proudly declared to him that Luffy will defeat him. Yamato is currently engaged in battle with his father until Luffy makes it back to the roof once again.

Fanon
The ship quickly gained significant popularity, however this was mostly due to the attractiveness of Yamato’s character design and her great intrigue in Luffy. Whilst the ship is still popular, some shippers struggle to see Yamato as a man and may often argue that he is still a woman, making the ship a het pairing. Nonetheless, it has been firmly established that Yamato identifies as a man and the ship is deemed a slash pairing.

Luffato is strongly rivalled by Amato, the pairing between Portagas D. Ace and Yamato, as the two spent a lot of time together before the former left and joined the Whitebeard Pirates. Conversely, Luffy’s ship with numerous women, particularly Nami and Hancock, still supersede Luffato by quite some margin. Nonetheless, Luffato has developed a sizeable popularity despite it being a relatively new and developing pairing.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

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