Sanji's next big power-up in Elbaf, explained

This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf Arc.

Important takeaways

• The Elbaf Arc in One Piece, heavily based on Norse mythology, will involve the Yggdrasil tree and Ragnarok.
• Sanji, the third strongest Straw Hat, will face greater challenges in Elbaf to further improve his strength.
• Fans can expect Sanji to reach admiral-level strength after Elbaf, and face powerful foes in upcoming arcs.

The arc of Elbaf is of enormous importance in the last tale of One Piece. This arc is the first major arc of the Final Saga, and is one that has been established in the story over two decades ago. In fact, the first mention of Elbaf came before even Wano Country, which just goes to show how long ago Oda started planning for this arc. Elbaf will be great for many characters in One Piece. Sure, certain characters tend to get more attention than others, and there's absolutely no denying that Oda has his own favorites, even within the Straw Hat Pirates as well.

It's clear that among the Straw Hats, Oda often tends to favor the East Blue Five, and even among them, Sanji is one of his absolute favorites. This is evident from the fact that Sanji has been given absolutely amazing treatment by Oda, especially in the aftermath One Piece. All things considered, it gives fans the idea that Sanji will further develop as a character in Elbaf, but at the same time, his strength will further improve in many ways.

Sanji's current strengths and weaknesses

• Sanji is an elite pirate in the New World
• Sanji is not admiral level yet

Sanji is an incredibly powerful fighter in the Straw Hat Pirates. Currently, he is the third strongest individual in the crew, behind Luffy, and almost neck and neck with Zoro. These three are collectively known as the Monster Trio, while Zoro and Sanji together are known as the Wings of the Pirate King. Of course, Sanji has a standard to live up to, which means he can't afford to lag behind the others or stop improving his strength. Luffy is far from the Pirate King right now, which essentially means that all members of the crew have to strengthen themselves even more to face the threats that come in the coming chapters of the story.

Run now, you sick man! – Sanji

Of course that also applies to Sanji. Fans saw Sanji reach unprecedented levels of power in the Wano Country arc. There, his scientific mutations finally kicked in, and Sanji developed an exoskeleton, gained more muscle mass, and basically became as strong as a top Yonko commander, if not stronger. Meanwhile, fans saw Sanji dismantle the Queen without even tapping into his true strength. With just a couple of kicks, Sanji got rid of Queen, and it was a true testament to the strength he had reached. Sanji also showed off his incredible power in Egghead, where he clashed with many powerful fighters, such as Serafim of Jinbe, S-Shark and at the same time Kizaru as well.

Sanji displayed immense strength in all of his encounters over Egghead, even going as far as lightning and injuring V. Nusjuro, one of the Elders. Fans know that Sanji has a great strength up his sleeve, but he still has his limitations. Right now, Sanji has all the tools he needs to be an incredibly powerful fighter. But at the same time you have to remember that he is not at his peak yet. His Haki can be improved further, and at the same time his scientific mutations can be even more effective, making Sanji, strong as he is, an unfinished product right now.

How Elbaf will allow Sanji to power up even more

Elbaf will give Sanji greater challenges to conquer

The Elbaf arc is going to be absolutely huge for the Strawhat Pirates. If the beginning in the fake Elbaf is to be taken into account, it's clear that Oda has special plans for the East Blue 5 in this arc. Of course, Sanji is an important part of that group, and fans know that regardless, Oda will give him special attention, because he absolutely loves this character. Sanji will continue to develop as a character in the Elbaf arc, which shouldn't surprise any fan. But when it comes to strength, fans should expect a similar display.

For the crime of harming my beloved, you are sentenced to death! – Sanji

Elbaf is going to be a big arc, which means that there will be confrontations in this story arc for the Strawhat pirates, and they will have to show off a new level of strength never seen before. This applies not only to Sanji, but to all other members of the crew. There may be various threats that the Straw Hat Pirates will face in Elbaf. For example, fans know that some in Elbaf are inspired by gods from Norse mythology. Some of them, like Loki, have already been named in the series. Others could appear soon. There is absolutely no telling if these characters will be allies of Luffy and crew or enemies.

Even if they are not enemies, a confrontation could still potentially occur, and if it did, Sanji would most likely take up arms against one of them and use this opportunity to further strengthen himself, both in terms of Haki and scientific prowess .

That's really not all. Elbaf could also see the Strawhat Pirates clashing with the Red Hair Pirates. This could be the arc where Luffy and Shanks meet and eventually go on to fight. Fans may also see Zoro fight some powerful foe, like Ben Beckman, or maybe even Mihawk later on, assuming Elbaf is a long enough arc and sees the involvement of several powerful characters, like those from the Cross Guild. Regardless, Sanji could be pitted against the likes of Lucky Roux, who fans know is an incredibly powerful member of the Red Hair Pirates and one of their core officers. If Zoro doesn't fight Ben Beckman, it's possible that Sanji will be the one to take him on in battle and that would certainly make for an exciting fight as well.

Also, if the Cross Guild gets involved, then an exciting fight against the likes of Sir Crocodile could also be on the cards for Sanji, and that would definitely set the world alight. Fans must realize that Sanji has many exciting potential fights to fight in the future of One Piece, and fans absolutely cannot wait to see him take on these powerful foes.

Sanji's strength after Elbaf will be astounding

Sanji will finally be admiral level after Elbaf

As for Sanji's strength after the Elbaf arc, fans know that he will reach a very high level. Right now, Sanji has shown that he can defeat any Yonko commander, but at the same time, he's not quite at the level of an admiral yet. Even if he could surprise Kizaru, he is not as strong as him. As such, if he actually succeeds in defeating the powerful enemies he will face in Elbaf, Sanji will surely be close to the level of an admiral and potentially be strong enough to face and defeat them in battle.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1129, is set for October 13, 2024.