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WithOne Piece’sFinal War right around the corner, it’s clear that the heroes, particularly the Straw Hats, need to be far stronger than they currently are. In fact, in order to battle Imu and the forces of the World Government, they need to surpass even the level of the legendary Roger Pirates, as fate has chosen Luffy and his crew to be the ones to bring about a new dawn for the world.
The Straw Hats, as a whole, need to become the most powerful pirate crew inOne Piece’shistory, since even the greatest pirates of the past, such asthe Roger Pirates, Rocks Pirates, and even Joyboy’s crew, were historically unable to defeat the World Government. However, the Straw Hats are destined to do this, and the left wing of Luffy, Vinsmoke Sanji, may just be the key to this, so let’s see why this is.
Story Arc
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Ever since Sanji joined the Straw Hats, the power structure of the crew has been changed for the better. Due to his inherent strength andthe rivalry he has with Zoro, both push each other to even greater heights to become the strongest versions of themselves that they can possibly be. Sanji has always been one of the most essential members of the crew, both due to his actual role and his incredible strength.
This theory of Sanji being the reason why they will win against the forces of the World Government isn’t unfounded. It’s clear that Luffy is the reincarnation of Joyboy, as is represented by his dream, ideals, powers, and personality. Many common theories regarding the Will of D. even suggest a familial connection between the two. On the other hand, the same is true for Zoro, as he is considered to be the modern-day version ofthe Sword God, Shimotsuki Ryuma, for the same familial reasons.
Though highly debated, there are a few fans who believe that Joyboy and Ryuma may have been crewmates, sharing a similar relationship and filling the same roles as Luffy and Zoro currently do. However, this is contentious due to the outside piece of information that claimedRyuma was active 400 years before the current era, but there are a number of ways to explain this, such as Toki’s Devil Fruit being used to send him forward in time. In any case, due toOne Piece’spenchant for having such connections and Inherited Will, this is a possible outcome.
This is where Sanji comes in. If this theory about Joyboy and Ryuma, Luffy and Zoro’s respective ancient ancestors, ends up being true, it can be seen that there is no such ancient counterpart for Sanji. Although the strength of these legends is undoubtedly the greatest inOne Piece, it may have proven to be insufficient against Imu and all of their allies, which is possible considering the strength of the Gorosei and Gods' Knights.
Mu will show thee the dominion of God!
This time, however, it will be different. With Joyboy, he only had one insanely powerful ally who ended up being his wing, which is very symbolic to the story since one can’t soar with only a single wing. Because of this, fans believe that, with Sanji there alongside Zoro to help Luffy reach the top, Imu simply won’t be able to stand up tothe three of them together. Of course, this isn’t to say that Sanji is singlehandedly the key to defeating this great evil, but it shows the importance that his specific character role plays.
At the end of the series, it’s highly likely that Zoro and Sanji will be on the same level of strength, as can be seen with Rayleigh and Scopper as well. With two such powerhouses being equally strong, none would be able to stand against the strength of the Straw Hats. While Sanji alone wouldn’t be enough to challenge Imu’s throne, his strength alongside Luffy and Zoro’s is what will make all the difference in the Final War.
How Sanji And Zoro Can Get Strong Enough For The Final War
A Massive Power-Up Is Incoming
With all this talk about Zoro and Sanji’s importance in the Final War, it remains wishful thinking at the current moment. This is because, although they areamong the strongest Yonko Commandersof them all, their strength is significantly below some of the strongest characters in the world, especially the Yonko, which is quite concerning since Imu is far below everyone else ever shown in the series. So, there remains only one avenue for these two to get strong enough for the Final War.
And this is through another time skip, hopefully at the end of Elbaf. It was shown that, in the Final War, Conqueror’s Haki is an essential power-up for the strongest characters in the world taking part in this conflict, and while Zoro has displayed the ability, he is a long way from mastering it, and Sanji can’t even use it yet. So, this creates the perfect precedent for Oda to keep a time skip after Elbaf, where both of these heroes can learn and train their Conqueror’s Haki to be at the greatest possible level.
