5 Years Later, Oda Finally Delivers Sanji’s Promised Upgrade In One Piece’s Elbaph Arc

The Straw Hat Pirates have shown tremendous growth over the course of the Final Saga, especially in the Elbaph arc, which is currently being tackled in the manga. Sanji, the cook of the Straw Hats and one of their strongest warriors, is no different in that regard. Over the course of the last few years, Eiichiro Oda has made sure to pay extra attention to the character of Sanji and ensure that he grows to a very high level of power where he can fight against the elites of the One Piece world effortlessly. Sanji’s growth in Elbaph does not come as a surprise to the readers, as Oda had promised this upgrade for him in SBS Volume 105. Now, nine volumes later, the author has already started to deliver on that promise.

How Eiichiro Oda’s SBS Volume 105 Foreshadowed Sanji’s Science Upgrade 5 Years Ago

Sanji’s biggest upgrade in power came in the Wano Country Arc, where he finally tapped into his Lineage Factor after wearing the Raid Suit three times. When Sanji was born with his brothers, he was the only one unaffected by the Lineage Factor Manipulation, and as such, had his emotions preserved at the cost of his mom’s life. On the flip side, he did not receive any powers that his brothers did, such as the exoskeleton, the incredible physical strength, the durability, and the high regeneration rate.

The Wano Arc changed all that, as Sanji finally tapped into these powers one after another and was eventually able to defeat even Queen The Plague. In SBS Volume 105 of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda clearly stated that Sanji’s scientific evolution has begun and asked the fans to keep a close eye on him as the story headed into the Final Saga, evidently implying that there is more to come from him. Now, in Elbaph, Sanji’s growing power is clear for all to see.

Sanji is the exact opposite. So, for him, the Raid Suit caused the power of science to manifest. Sanji already had an abnormal resistance to flame. That was a strange little event, wasn’t it? Let’s see where this takes him in the future. — Eiichiro Oda, Volume 105 SBS

Breaking Down Sanji’s New Strength Upgrade In The Elbaph Arc Of One Piece

In the Elbaph arc of One Piece, Sanji has grown tremendously already, and that is clear to see, especially based on the latest chapters where he fought against Saint Killingham. Despite the latter being one of the strongest subordinates of Nerona Imu, Sanji was able to dismantle him in battle effortlessly and deal sustaining damage to him, despite him being able to regenerate infinitely. Sanji dismembered his body from head to toe and had the other Straw Hats tie him up. His beatdown of Killingham got to a point where the latter held an unending grudge against him, swearing vengeance on him at some point later down the line. What’s even more surprising for the fans is that Sanji was able to deal with this individual without even using a fraction of his true powers.

Despite the Straw Hat Pirates not receiving direct power-ups, Oda has upgraded their strength tremendously in Elbaph. Sanji is now strong enough to deal with Yonko Commanders without even going all out, destroying the lasers of Admiral Kizaru, and holding his own against the elites of the world, with the likes of Nerona Imu being the only ones capable of one-shotting him. Sanji’s growth in the Final Saga is clear for all to see, and Oda has delivered upon his promise greatly, with many more powers for him on the way, such as Conqueror’s Haki. Given that Nerona Imu has entered the battle in Elbaph, it is highly likely that Killingham will return to fight him, and Sanji will go on to awaken Conqueror’s Haki in this fight to take his overall capabilities to the next level.

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Sanji’s Post-Elbaph Power Level Makes Him One Of The Strongest Pirates In The World

Following the events of the Elbaph arc, which is already in its climax, Sanji will be among the elites of the One Piece world. In fact, it is required of him to be among the elites because of the challenge that the Straw Hats face. The Great War is on the horizon, and the elites of the World Government have already started moving. As such, Luffy needs to get much stronger, but so do his subordinates.

This isn’t something that applies uniquely to Sanji; Zoro must get stronger as well, and so must the likes of Nami, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jinbe, Chopper, and Usopp. All the members of the Straw Hat Pirates need to be at the peak of their strength if they are to curb the influence of the World Government and claim victory in the Great War that is set to begin. Oda has already planted the seeds for their growth.

One Piece chapter 1180 will be available to read on Manga Plus on April 19, 2026, at 11 a.m. EST.

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

Writers

Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)