The highly anticipated Elbaph Arc in One Piece takes a turn for the worse with the unexpected arrival of the Holy Knights. Luffy and his crew were welcomed warmly in the fabled Land of the Giants, but the celebration didn’t last long after the villains showed up and targeted the children. Unfortunately, some of the strongest fights in Elbaph, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Loki are still in the Underworld as the Cursed Prince is regaining his strength after years of imprisonment. His situation gets worse after Gunko tortures him to force him to join the Holy Knights. However, now that Luffy and the others know about the situation in the Sun World, it won’t be long before the real battle begins in Elbaph.
Loki is by far the most mysterious character in the series, who is believed to possess unparalleled strength. Even the left-hand of the Pirate King, Scopper Gaban, couldn’t defeat the Giant Prince and relied on Shanks. Gaban already fought the Holy Knights and had the upper hand against Sommers. He could’ve easily defeated Gunko as well, but he saw his son’s murder through Future Sight and immediately surrendered. However, Gaban knows the only way to injure the Holy Knights and render their regenerative powers useless, and he’s aware of Zoro’s capabilities, alongside how they can help.
Unlike the common misconception that you need some grand kingly ambition to awaken this ability, the most crucial requirement is having a strong willpower. Sanji already qualifies in that aspect, but as always, he is one step behind Zoro in the power system ranking. Ideally, the Wings of the Pirate King should be on almost equal footing, and that has been the case so far. The difference between their strength has never been significantly great, but Zoro having Conqueror’s Haki changes a lot of things.
Before the Wano Country Saga, we only knew how Conqueror’s Haki is used to intimidate weak-willed opponents and force them to either faint or surrender. The power may seem cool, but it’s basically useless against stronger foes – or so we thought. Now that we know about the Advanced Conqueror’s Haki and that Zoro can master it with a bit of training, he will be even more unstoppable than before. If the Holy Knights are truly beings that can’t be harmed without Conqueror’s Haki, then Sanji, who is always on the front lines of the battle, will in a clear disadvantage.
He has gained considerable strength after the Wano Country Saga after awakening his latent Germa 66 genes. Even so, the story is almost in his end game, and he will need the most powerful ability to keep up with Luffy and Zoro. Luckily, it’s not a lost cause since Oda may be planning to give our beloved chef another power upgrade. After Gaban’s introduction, the parallels between him and Sanji are as clear as the parallels between Luffy and Roger, as well as Zoro and Rayleigh. If that is the case, we are likely in for another surprise.
It’s a rare type of haki that only a select few with kingly ambitions are granted. The ability allows the user to overwhelm or knock out their targets with a mere look.
If trained properly, Advanced Conqueror’s Haki is a technique that involves using Conqueror’s Haki with Armament Haki to strengthen attacks. The users can damage their opponents without physically touching them. No doubt, an ability like that will significantly help Sanji in future battles. Conqueror’s Haki symbolizes an unbreakable will, and Sanji has shown relentless determination multiple times by protecting his crew and upholding his values.
While it’s true that this power will be an asset to him, Sanji has enough strength to make up for it. A lot of characters like Akainu and Kizaru are some of the strongest fighters in the verse without ever awakening this haki. Ever since the beginning of the show, Sanji and Zoro have considered each other their rivals. Their strengths are relative as Zoro has more destructive attack power while Sanji has more speed and durability. Although it’s debatable, Zoro can be considered only slightly stronger than Sanji even with Conqueror’s Haki.
After awakening his latent mutations, Sanji is now faster than a light beam and his exoskeleton is incredibly durable. He has also shown considerable talent in Armament and Observation Haki. Sanji’s Diable and Ifrit Jambe allow him to use fire despite not having a devil fruit ability. Ifrit Jambe, in particular, creates hot blue flames that can produce blazes resembling lightning. Even Sanji’s Observation Haki is considered one of the best in the entire series. Hence, even if Oda decides to grant him Conqueror’s Haki in the end game, Sanji may not need it after all.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
