The Fastest Member Of The Straw Hat Pirates, Explained

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

Key Takeaways

• Sanji is the fastest member of the Straw Hat Pirates
• Sanji’s speed is on a level that even Observation Haki can’t track
• Sanji has the potential to surpass even light speed in the future.

The Straw Hat fights are an incredibly powerful bunch and fans have seen them grow stronger with each successive arc of One Piece. Right now, the Straw Hats are already world-renowned, given that they are now a Yonko crew. Naturally, the Straw Hat Pirates have powerful Commanders, all of whom have, over the years, made a great reputation for themselves. While some are known for their incredible mastery or niche skills like cartography, others are known for their engineering skills.

At the same time, there are some who are proficient in combat and possess majestic physical strength, while others excel in terms of speed. Specifically, when it comes to speed, fans know that only a handful of Straw Hats stand out the most. Among the fans, the discussion of the fastest Straw Hat has been prevalent for ages now, and an answer can finally be provided to them now.

The Contenders For The Fastest Straw Hats

• The Straw Hat Pirates Have Some Of The Most Skilled Fighters
• Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji Are Very Fast

Naturally, not all the Straw Hats excel in terms of speed. There are some who simply don’t rely on speed in combat and these include the likes of Jinbe, Usopp, Chopper, and Nami. The others are all somewhat fast and incorporate speed into their fighting style in one way or another. Brook is one prime example of a very fast Straw Hat. Fans know him to be a fencing-type swordsman, and his speed in combat over short distances is absolutely incredible. Brook can often not be seen with the naked eye, which suggests that he’s quite fast. However, he’s far from the fastest Straw Hat in One Piece.

Leaving Brook aside, fans know that among the fastest, there are Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji. These are three of the strongest characters in the Straw Hat Pirates in general, and they are also among the fastest. Clearly, the least fast of these three is none other than the Swordsman of the Strawhat Pirates, Zoro. Fans know Zoro to be a very powerful individual who has tremendous physical strength. However, when it comes to speed, Zoro doesn’t excel as much as the other two. That is not to say that Zorro isn’t fast. Fans have seen him react to things that can move at blazing-fast speeds, and he can move faster than the eye can see. But, when compared to the other two, Zoro is not half as fast.

Speed is weight! – Kizaru

This takes one to Luffy. Luffy is known to be incredibly fast, arguably among the fastest characters in the entire series. With the power of Snakeman, Luffy became fast enough to overwhelm even Kaido in combat. At the same time, Luffy’s speed increased even further in Gear 5, and fans saw that once again in the Egghead Island arc. Luffy is capable of fighting against the likes of Kizaru, and although he’s not as fast, fans know for a fact that his speed is absolutely monstrous. But, even Luffy is not the fastest member of the Straw Hat Pirates. That title goes clearly to the cook, Sanji.

Why Sanji Is The Fastest Straw Hat In One Piece

Sanji’s Speed Is Immense

Sanji is, quite easily, the fastest member of the Straw Hat Pirates. Right from the beginning of the story, Oda always made Sanji more reliant on speed than anyone else. That is not to say that Sanji lacks power. In fact, Sanji is tremendously powerful and can hold his own against anyone. But, in terms of speed, he’s on another level entirely. Sanji’s speed is such that he can often move faster than the eye can see. In fact, even skilled users of Observation Haki cannot often track him, which is absolutely incredible. The fact is Sanji was able to reach the next level of speed in the Wano Country arc. After receiving his latest power-up that caused a genetic mutation and gave him a massive power boost, Sanji was able to move so fast that he essentially turned invisible.

Love is stronger than light! – Sanji

Oda himself addressed Sanji turning invisible in an SBS. According to him, while Sanji truly was invisible and could not be seen, this was purely down to his natural speed and not because of the invisibility being related to genetic mutation. Essentially, Sanji can move so fast that even skilled users of Observation Haki cannot track him down, which just goes to show what level of speed he operates at.

R: Odacchi tell me. The mouse “Chuji” that Osome-chan have looks identical to the mouse that Sanji made food for when he was a child! Are they relatives or something?

O: You remember it well-. Sanji’s kindness can be seen by the fact that he is liked by mice. They are not relatives but I felt relieved seeing that Germa hasn’t taken Sanji when I saw a mouse identical to the one of that time liking him. However, Sanji has become stronger by “the power of science” that was manifested in his body. He also obtained “the power to disappear” but be relieved, this is something based on speed, he can’t use this technique in the bathrooms.

This continued in the Egghead Island arc as well. Sanji showcased his tremendous speed in the battle against Kizaru, where he intercepted his powerful attacks on many occasions. Sanji was certainly fast enough to keep up with Kizaru, and although he’s not as fast, fans know that he has a high ceiling to reach. Furthermore, Sanji could even move fast enough to stop an attack from one of the Gorosei and kick him, all in the blink of an eye. The fact that he was able to get past the senses of a powerful Elder, specifically the only one who wields the katana, goes to show that his speed is no joke.

Sanji’s only contender within the Straw Hat pirates in terms of speed is Luffy. But, even Luffy has not turned invisible fully in a high-level battle against a skilled Observation Haki user so far. Sanji’s speed is clearly on an entirely different level, and Oda has continuously highlighted that on many occasions.

How Much Faster Can Sanji Get?

Sanji Could Surpass Kizaru In Speed At The End Of One Piece

Right now, Sanji is already among the fastest characters in One Piece, with the likes of Kizaru being the only few ones who can outspeed him. However, Sanji is not at his peak just yet. As was pointed out by the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates on Egghead, love is far stronger than light, which means that Sanji is going to continue to grow to a point where he can even surpass light itself.

Perhaps, this is going to be Sanji’s peak. Fans know that he has to surpass the likes of the Admirals, specifically Kizaru, at some point later down the line, which means that his final level of power is going to be absolutely immense and not only will he be strong enough to fight against them, but he will also likely be fast enough to match and potentially even outspeed the Admiral of the Marines.

Fans absolutely cannot wait to see Sanji hit those levels and it is only a matter of time before he gets to do that.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus apps. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1131, is set to be November 11, 2024.