Great chapter. Usopp winning baby Carrot her juice is a rare cool guy moment for him.
The culprit behind the hurt geisha being invisible Queen is simple yet clever. Spamming beams and extending body parts under our noses, Queen possessed the abilities of the Germa quadruplets all along. My goodness was this dino-Blackbeard holding back in Udon. The conclusion of this fight is Sanji restoring his honor in front of the geisha he thought he hurt by surpassing a woman-beating MADS scientist with all the powers of the evil Germa brothers in one body. If the stakes don't feel personal yet, let's have O-Some risk her life in a warzone for a mouse named Chu-ji.
The exoskeleton turns out to be a rather resourceful power up not only boosting Sanji's defenses, but his attack and speed as well. With a body that can withstand hotter flames, stronger and faster kicks, Sanji can now unleash the higher-level Ifrit Jambe and blindingly fast speeds that a YC2 with the power of invisibility thinks Sanji went invisible! Oda pulled the old bait and switch here, Sanji dissapearing with the sfx for invisibility in 1031 just as Queen does this chapter becomes the sfx for speed like Niji using "Stealth". Whether Sanji can truly go invisible, eliminating the return of the raid suit for good, is a mystery for the time being.
When her name is O-some but she ain't giving you any.
Sanji's white lightning = the Color of Cooks.
Although the power up lacks visual flair, the strong impact panels and good choreography made the fight quite enjoyable. The speedy Sanji had to work hard to dodge Queen's endless arsenal, still got tagged and was made to bleed through the exoskeleton. Sanji breaking Queen's arm was a raw experience. The full Kuroobi combo and back kick as the finisher was the perfect nail in the coffin for a tanky Ancient Zoan. You can imagine the final Beef Burst as Sanji accepting his half human/half Germa weapon power — the passionate flames he got from Sora and a sparking kick emanating Judge's Denji Crack, though I'm sure it's just haki.
Sanji vs Queen has hit just about every emotional chord necessary to conclude. His longest fight at 12 chapters since 1023 (or 20 since 1015), Sanji has been rewarded for overcoming his most physically and mentally challenging battle yet. The only hanging thread left, as Queen can't answer where Sanji's fire powers come from, is why was he so obsessed with Judge? With 1035 likely marking the end of Volume 102, Oda must be salivating at the prospect of also wrapping up Zoro vs King this year.