One Piece Chapter 1197 was officially released on November 1, 2026, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 49, and this chapter progressed the battles in the Sun World of Elbaf extremely well. The vast majority of the focus of the last few chapters of the series has been on the Wings of the Pirate King, Zoro and Sanji. In One Piece Chapter 1194, Zoro finally tapped into his Color of the Supreme King in an attempt to defeat Saint Sommers of the Holy Knights. In One Piece Chapter 1197, Sanji finally tapped into his own Color of the Supreme King and showcased his tremendous strength to us by dismantling Saint Killingham in battle.
With Sanji awakening the Color of the Supreme King, he is now a King, both in terms of wielding this legendary power that only those with kingly qualities wield, and by being royalty from North Blue with the greatest power of all. As such, the latest chapter of One Piece marks the birth of one of the strongest Kings in the entire world of One Piece, who now serves as the shield of the Sun God.
One Piece Chapter 1197 Confirms Sanji’s Status As A King
One Piece Chapter 1196, which was officially released on October 18, 2026, in Shonen Jump Issue 47, set up Sanji’s Conqueror’s Haki, revealed to us. Two weeks later, as One Piece returned from its hiatus, Eiichiro Oda finally gave us the full reveal of Sanji’s Conqueror’s Haki. In One Piece Chapter 1197, Sanji’s Conqueror’s Haki was put on full display, and it was clear to see that he is now on a completely different level of strength compared to before.
“I won’t take a single hit from you any longer. I don’t care if you’re a Celestial Dragon or whatever. You’re standing there talking down to me in front of the people who took us in. You’re getting on my nerves. Your head is too high. I said, bow down, horse-man!” — Sanji’s nature shifts, One Piece Chapter #1196
The power of Conqueror’s Haki was first explained to us in Chapter 597, which was released officially on August 30, 2010, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 39, by none other than Silvers Rayleigh. According to Rayleigh, Conqueror’s Haki is a power that a select few are born with. This is not an ability that one can train, and only those with kingly qualities possess this power. Sanji, by wielding these kingly qualities, is automatically a King of the World, but there is more to his kingly connections than just wielding supreme King Haki.
“Though you can control the Color of the Supreme King, you can’t train it to be stronger directly. It is the embodiment of the spirit of the user. The only way to make it stronger is for the user to grow stronger.” — Silvers Rayleigh explains Supreme King Haki, One Piece Chapter #597
Sanji is the son of Vinsmoke Judge and hails from the Vinsmoke family of the Germa Kingdom. The Germa Kingdom once ruled the North Blue for 66 days, around 300 years ago. However, some unforeseen circumstances led to them losing their home and never regaining control of it ever since. Propaganda eventually led to the Germa Kingdom being known as a family of evil assassins, but there is more to this kingly family that once ruled over the entirety of the North Blue than just that. Sanji is destined to be a King of the North Blue and is most certainly the strongest North Blue king in the entire history of the series.
Sanji Officially Taps Into Advanced Conqueror’s Haki
Sanji descends from a line of powerful Kings who once ruled over a quarter of the entire world, and that essentially makes him one of the strongest people in the entire world of One Piece. Given that the new generation always goes on to surpass the previous one, Sanji is most certainly going to be the strongest North Blue King of all time.
“Hey, Iva-chan! It seems that the day of my limits is finally here. I need strength right here right now. If I build up my defense, will I get stronger? While I need power, you’re telling me to take care of myself?” — Sanji thinks to himself, One Piece Chapter #1196
To demonstrate that, Eiichiro Oda finally gives him Conqueror’s Haki in One Piece chapter 1197 on November 1, 2026. Sanji’s Conqueror’s Haki is absolutely incredible, as was shown in this week’s chapter. Not only did Sanji awaken the basic level of this ability in the most recent chapter, but he also managed to coat his entire body in it and use it offensively in combat. His Conqueror’s Haki powers were strong enough to terrify Killingham in battle, preventing him from landing even a single hit on the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates.
This Haki awakening is the perfect representation of Sanji’s status as an elite King within the ranks of the Straw Hat Pirates. What makes Sanji extremely special, however, is that he doesn’t care about his kingly status. Sanji’s concern has always been feeding the lowly and the downtrodden, and his biggest character trait is his kind heart, which Eiichiro Oda highlights time and again in the series. These traits make Sanji a wonderful King who will do anything to make Luffy reach the final island, Laugh Tale, claim the One Piece, and declare himself the king of the pirates.
Why Sanji’s Strength As A King Will Grow
As things stand, Sanji is now among the strongest characters in One Piece by having awakened the Color of the Supreme King. This new power-up has taken him to a completely new level of strength and made him stronger than the vast majority of the Holy Knights and a rival even to the likes of the Five Elders. More than that, Sanji can now hold his own against the likes of the Admirals and even defeat them in battle. Sanji can also hold his own against the Yonko of the One Piece world, but, surprisingly, this isn’t his ceiling.
There is more to Sanji’s growth as a Conqueror that we are going to see over the course of the next arcs. Sanji’s genetic modifications have not fully matured yet, and the strength of his flames, which are fueled by his love, continues to grow. Just as Luffy and Zoro have not reached their peaks yet, Sanji still has a lot of room to grow, and by the end of the series, he will be far stronger than the vast majority of the Yonko, the Admirals, and the other legendary figures of the world. Alongside Luffy and Zoro, Sanji might just be one of the three strongest characters in the world of One Piece by the end of the series.
All the latest manga chapters of One Piece by Eiichiro Oda, published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump, are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
