This article contains spoilers from the Final Saga of One Piece.
The Straw Hat crew are the protagonists of One Piece and quite easily the most interesting characters in the entire series. Hailing from the East Blue, the Straw Hat Pirates are made up of many unique personalities, all of which have very intriguing dynamics with each other. The crew is more like a family than anything. They would go to any lengths to protect each other, but, at the same time, there are certain members of the crew who, despite being willing to die for one another, have a rivalry with each other as well.
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Of course, the epitome of this whole dynamic is the duo of Zoro and Sanji. Zoro and Sanji are known to be incredibly powerful, and they support Luffy as his two wings. They would even die for each other, as has been proven consistently in the story on multiple occasions. However, they still carry a friendly rivalry with each other, often competing over various things. Fans have always debated heavily as to who the stronger one of the two is, and Oda’s latest databook which came out with One Piece Chapter 1169 has delivered the final verdict once and for all.
Zoro Vs Sanji Is A Heated Debate In The One Piece Fandom
- Zoro And Sanji’s Rivalry Started in Arlong Park
- Little Garden Cemented This Rivalry
Zoro vs Sanji has been a heated debate in the One Piece fandom for decades. Their rivalry is quite clearly something that Oda likes to push himself. It all started back in the Arlong Park arc where Zoro and Sanji had their first argument over Nami’s true nature. While Zoro wanted to cut her down and did not trust her even a single bit, Sanji knew that Nami had deep trauma and that there was more to her story than they knew.
This started a chain of events and eventually, Zoro and Sanji became a bickering duo that Oda loved to utilize in various situations, sometimes to diffuse tension, nd at others to show their competitive nature and their tremendous strength.
Everyone has things they can and can’t do. You do what I can’t do, and I’ll do what you can’t do. Think outside the box. There must be something we can do to help Robin. — Sanji, Enies Lobby
In Little Garden, their rivalry was solidified as both of them started to compete with each other seriously. Since then, Zoro and Sanji have always tried to one-up each other at various points in the story. Usually, Zoro goes on to fight the stronger enemy of the two while Sanji beats his enemies more easily. There is hardly any difference in strength between them on paper, but fans still love to argue for the sake of it.
The bounties of Zoro and Sanji often depict their strength very well. Up until Wano, Sanji had a higher bounty than Zoro, at 330 million, compared to Zoro’s 320 million. Right now, Sanji has a bounty of 1.032 billion berries while Zoro has a bounty of 1.111 billion berries. Clearly, this suggests to some fans that Zoro is stronger than Sanji at this point in the story. However, according to Oda’s own databook, this is not the case.
Oda’s Databook Confirms Zoro And Sanji Are Equal In Strength
- Zoro And Sanji Are Luffy’s Wings
- Zoro And Sanji Are Equal In Strength
Along with One Piece Chapter 1169, Oda released a unique guidebook with his own personal comments, as well as initial sketches of many characters. There was also a section that compared the old generation of One Piece to the new generation, which was actually the main point of the whole databook. In this guidebook, the entirety of the Roger Pirates were compared to the Straw Hat Pirates. Naturally, Roger had his two own wings, and they were Rayleigh and Gaban.
If I can’t even protect my captain’s dream, then whatever ambition I have is nothing but talk! Luffy is the man who will become the Pirate King!” — Roronoa Zoro in One Piece
Luffy has his own wings, and they are Zoro and Sanji. The wings are the second most important part of the crew after the captain itself, and naturally, Oda spoke about them in great detail. In Sanji’s section, Oda clearly stated that even though his bounty is slightly lower than Zoro’s, his strength is exactly equal to that of the swordsman, and that he stands side by side with Zoro as one of the two wings.
If there was ever any debate about who the stronger of the two is, it is now officially settled for good. Zoro and Sanji are and will always be equal, regardless of who fights which enemy in the final saga of the story, or who has the higher bounty. Bounties have never been a true reflection of strength, in any case.
Zoro And Sanji Need To Be Equal As Wings Of The Pirate King
Zoro and Sanji being equal isn’t something that Oda is pushing for no reason. The fact is that they are the Wings of the Pirate King and the wings need to be equal. Zoro and Sanji being the wings means that Oda is juxtaposing Luffy to a free bird. A bird with unequal wings will never fly and only when the wings are well balanced will a bird soar through the skies.
One Piece: Oda Confirms Sanji Will Reach Yonko Level
Sanji is Luffy’s left hand, and is set to reach Yonko level before the end of One Piece.
Luffy, in order to truly become Pirate King, needs to have his two wings next to him. This means that Zoro and Sanji are equal in terms of importance, and at the same time, they are equal in terms of strength as well, which is something that Oda has been reiterating time and again.
Zoro and Sanji acknowledge each other’s strength, and in Elbaf, they will get even stronger. Oda is clearly setting up a power-up for both, with Zoro learning how to master his Conqueror’s Haki, and Sanji gaining access to Conqueror’s Haki in this arc. If that happens, these two will be seasoned fighters ready for the final step of One Piece, and that is something that excites the fans a lot.
Zoro And Sanji Will Surpass Rayleigh And Gaban
Given that the latest One Piece databook that Oda had a big influence on went on to compare the old generation to the new one, fans know very well where the story is now headed. Luffy will most likely go on to surpass Roger, and that’s a given. Roger himself believed that someone would surpass him later down the line.
Similarly, Zoro and Sanji will go on to surpass Rayleigh and Gaban. Fans know Rayleigh and Gaban to be Yonko level individuals, if not even stronger. The fact is that Zoro and Sanji will be on a similar level of strength in the final saga, which is very exciting for fans of both characters. These two are monsters who will most certainly get some tremendous action in this last stretch of the story. They will once again push each other to higher heights, and at the end of the story, both will stand side by side with Luffy as the three strongest legends of the current era.
Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece focuses on the journey of Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates as they sail the seas to lay claim to the grand treasure known as the One Piece. The manga is currently in its Final Saga. One Piece will be featured in this week’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1170 is January 4, 2026. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday, which is 11:00 AM EST, or 8:00 AM PT. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump apps. Doing so will ensure that fans always support the author.
