Oda Confirms Sanji Will Reach Yonko Level

Sanji is one of the most important characters on Luffy’s crew, being the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates, and at the same time, a very skilled strategist as well. When it comes to fighting prowess, Sanji is incredibly strong, being a part of the Monster Trio of the Straw Hats. Along with Luffy and Zoro, Sanji is incredibly skilled as a fighter, but, for years, fans have been debating as to what his ceiling will be exactly.

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A lot of the fans hold the idea that Sanji is not cut out to be in the same league as Luffy and Zoro, but clearly, that idea isn’t accurate. Now, Oda has officially confirmed that Sanji is set to be among the strongest pirates in all of One Piece come the end of the series when he hits his full potential, and he’s done it through the character of Scopper Gaban, in One Piece chapter 1139.

Oda Introduces The Legendary Pirate Scopper Gaban

• The Mysterious Man of Elbaf Was Scopper Gaban
• Gaban Is Said To Be A Living Legend

One Piece chapter 1139 introduced fans to a living legend in the form of Scopper Gaban. To be fair, fans already expected the mysterious man in Wano to be Scopper Gaban. When Oda first brought up that mystery figure, it was clear that he would be a very important character in the arc. There weren’t too many characters who would’ve been waiting for Luffy on Elbaf. For one, not many know him personally or know someone who knows him, and secondly, this person was clearly human.

Knowing that this person also met Crocus in One Piece chapter 631 cover story, fans also know that whoever it was must’ve had a connection to the Roger Pirates as well. As such, the pool to choose from for this character was always very small. While some fans held on to the idea of it being Shiki, which didn’t make much sense, most knew that it was going to be Scopper Gaban. In One Piece chapter 1139, Oda all but confirmed the identity of this individual, and it was confirmed that this person was none other than Scopper Gaban, the legendary left-hand man of the Pirate King.

Scopper Gaban was first introduced in the story in chapter 19, where he was seen wielding two axes in combat. Of course, back then, fans didn’t know who this person truly was. However, as the story moved forward, Oda added a lot more depth to the Roger Pirates. Following Crocus, Oda also revealed Silvers Rayleigh and Scopper Gaban in hdatabooksoks, and then eventually, Rayleigh made his appearance in One Piece’s Sabaody Archipelago arc. Fans had been waiting for Scopper Gaban to show up eventually as well, and that time is finally here. Oda provided a good glimpse at Scopper Gaban during the Oden flashback. But, that flashback was more about Oden than anyone, and it was only natural that the likes of Roger and Rayleigh weren’t going to get too much attention there. That’s precisely why every fan pinned their hopes on the Elbaf arc when it comes to Gaban, and Oda most certainly didn’t disappoint.

Scopper Gaban’s Strength Is On Par With Roger And Rayleigh

Gaban Stood As An Equal To Roger And Rayleigh

Scopper Gaban’s strength was spoken of in One Piece chapter 1139 in great detail. According to Oimo, Scopper Gaban is a living legend who is considered to be incredibly powerful. In fact, he is said to be a monster in combat, just like Roger and Rayleigh. These three, in particular, are said to be the strongest in the crew. Gaban in particular is said to be a rival to the First Mate Silvers Rayleigh, which means that Gaban is at the same level of strength as the Dark King. Fans already know how strong Rayleigh is, given that he’s considered to be a legend even by the likes of Garp. Now, Gaban is confirmed to be at a similar level.

One Piece chapter 1139 also confirmed one of his old legends to the fans. It is said that one time, Roger was battling his sickness and needed intensive care. Gaban took him to a mountaintop, where he was treated in a hospital. During this time, all the enemies of Roger surrounded the mountain and wanted to kill him. Gaban stood out alone with his two axes and slaughtered hundreds of pirates that day in the New World, all by himself. That isn’t even the craziest part. It is said that when Gaban was done, the mountain was laid bare, with not even a single tree left on it. It was almost as if the whole mountain was swallowed by him. This gave him the legendary epithet of “Mountain Eater.” According to Jinbe, this is a very famous tale across the world.

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Most excitingly, Oda went on to reveal that Gaban was respected as the Left-hand man of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and was a powerful figure on par with Roger and Rayleigh himself. This essentially confirms that Gaban was in the same legendary tier of strength as Roger and Rayleigh, which puts him among the most monstrous pirates in the story.

Sanji Is Confirmed To Reach Legendary Strength Tier

Sanji Is Luffy’s Gaban

Of course, it is quite easy to draw the connection between Sanji and Scopper Gaban. Just as Scopper Gaban is the left-hand man of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, Sanji stands as Luffy’s left hand. Along with Luffy and Zoro, he’s also the most powerful pirate on the crew, and holds legendary fighting prowess. In fact, in One Piece chapter 1139, Oda directly confirmed Sanji to be Luffy’s Gaban when the Straw Hat captain himself went on to say that Sanji would be just like Gaban when he’s old. Furthermore, Gaban calls himself the Minister of Love, while Sanji holds the power of love. Undoubtedly, the parallels are endless, and all that is to say is that Sanji is going to be just as strong as Gaban in the future. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Sanji would be stronger than Gaban since this pirate crew will have to go beyond the Roger Pirates to actually accomplish what they and even Joy Boy couldn’t.

All in all, Sanji’s overall tier should be similar to the Yonko of the One Piece world. Just as Gaban stood on par with Roger and Rayleigh, Sanji will stand on par with the future Pirate King, Luffy, and the World’s Greatest Swordsman, Zoro. All three of them are going to be exceptionally powerful, possibly even the strongest of the three characters in the entire story.

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 1139, is set to be February 9, 2025.

One Piece

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)