Hello WorstGen. This theory has been originally cooked up by MelonTee, what I am doing here, is explaining her points and doing some sorts of my own interpretation on it. Please check out her youtube/twitch if you want more. There might also be a video comming out from her in future.
Just to make things clear, I am not in any camp and not biasing in this theory. I am in general a One Piece and Strawhat fan. I love Zoro, I love Sanji, I love their dynamics and in this theory I will go a bit deeper into it. So please stay with an open mind until the end.
Now that you have been warned: Let's dive straight into it!
Whole Cake Island: Setting up Sanji, Zoro's rival!
Many people still think of it as a joke by Oda. I agree, but are you aware that Oda uses nuances to foreshadow and invert later on?
Whole Cake Island was an interesting Sanji centered arc with alot of motion and reveals. An arc about not being ready, but steadily climbing for the next level to reach.
At the end of Whole Cake Island we receive Sanji's new bounty.
For the first time Oda has played with the thought of Sanji being more worth than Zoro. A play on the famous Zoro vs Sanji friendly banter and rivalry.
Oda enjoys writing major characters with an aspect of duality or trinity. Whitebeard - Blackbeard. Sakazuki - Kuzan. Luffy - Teach.
You get the gist of it, it is pretty clear that Zoro and Sanji is one of these iplied dualities, that Oda is continously writing and evolving.
Now before people point a finger towards me, I just want to explain my thoughts on their powerlevels once again:
I think Zoro and Sanji are written with a sort of Son Goku and Vegeta type dynamic. Where both need each other in order to grow stronger, a dynamic where one attempts to surpass the other, or where one always gets ahead up, which then enforces the other one to catch up. Same as Son Goku who always gets ahead in power, but Vegeta catches up throughout the story so at the end or post story both Son Goku and Vegeta end up equally sparring and training util a new threat appears.
I still think that Zoro will always be the stronger fighter, Sanji will always be the one who will push out new feats in order to close the gap between him and Zoro.
If noone pushes through, then both in hindsight would not become stronger and they would not be able to make Luffy Pirate King.
So yeah, post Whole Cake Island was the moment where Sanji managed to close the gap and their dynamics from now on should shape up differently.
Wano: The Wings of the Pirate King get born!
Wano brought us a few new ideas into this rodeo.
Oda is clearly crystallizing the idea of "topfighters" for the crew. Both Sanji and Zoro who are mostly on equal terms are facing their "Katakuri-fights" on Wano. Fights that are needed for both Zoro and Sanji in order to reach the next level.
Let's take a small summarry through Wano, because some dynamics are indeed important for what's to come. I am a firm believer that alot of those questionable nuances in Wano were actually great setups for the comming arcs.
First Zoro has participated in the Rooftop battles. It was a great portrayal for Zoro's current standing and a good place to vent his personal grudge against Kaido.
But let us be honest, Zoro probably was not ready to challenge Yonko's directly. Zoro was heavily wounded and he was in Sanji's care for a while.
Sanji gave Zoro into Chopper's care and he quickly got cheated back into shape to fight King.
Zoro ends up fighting King in a risky state and Sanji enters an extreme struggle versus Queen.
For this theory Sanji's struggles are secondary, but we all remember that Sanji was changing throughout the fight with Queen. He unlocked his exoskeletonic powers and had to embed these into his fighting style. As a result Sanji unlockes his blue flames power up, becomming even hotter than before.
Something that all in all was mentally draining for Sanji. Sanji needed the reassurance of Zoro and pinky promise in order to achieve all of it.
Before going into Zoro vs King and how it changes Zoro fundamentally, I want to make sure that we understand what even Zoro's and Sanji's roles are on a writing standpoint.
Thriller Bark was the arc that settled it all in stone. Zoro is someone who desperately wants to prove his worth to Luffy's cause of becomming Pirate King. But Zoro doesn't even want to prove that aspect, Zoro has another promise going on with Kuina, his dream of becomming the World's Strongest Swordsman. We know that Zoro is intelligent in that aspect and that he quickly can connect both goals. One is achievable with the other. His way of making Luffy pirate king is intertwined with becomming World's Strongest Swordsman.
As that, Zoro is symbolically a shoulder for Luffy's burden, and that is why he took in all of Luffy's pain in order to prove his strength to Bartholomew Kuma. It heavily shaped Zoro's character to borderline cross his own limits in order to keep the path clear for Luffy. Also an interesting inversion on the idea of Zoro always getting lost on the map, but in the end being that wing for Luffy that helps Luffy to progress on the path of the Pirate King.
Sanji played an important role on Thriller Bark, being a mental enabler for Zoro, but also showing how he is able to keep a secret from Luffy just for the sake of Luffy and Zoro and their determination. A sign of respect from Sanji.
Wano: Zoro and the Hell.
Back to Wano, Zoro faced King and defeated him. From this point on Zoro and Sanji have literally accomplished their missions of establishing themselves as the better topfighters on the battleground. They both reached what Luffy reached with defeating Katakuri, and hence they opened up for Luffy vs Kaido being the sole focus of the finale on Wano.
But there is one exception revolving around Zoro:
The Grim Reaper case!
I don't think that Zoro was hallucinating back then. From Brook we know that Afterlife exists in the One Piece world and knowing that Zoro is a Borderliner it is in our interest to assume that Zoro had a Near Death Experience in this moment. Going into Egghead and Elbaf this will become more relevant, but what exactly would a death constitue for Zoro?
We have to think back about Thriller Bark and Kuina. Death would mean that he could neither make Luffy Pirate King now fulfill his promise to Kuina. He would be ashamed of himself when meeting Kuina like this in the Afterlife, his words would have become...empty.
I think Zoro realized that if he fucks up and dies, everything he would have worked towards so far would have been for nothing. Zoro has been scared by death.
And one can only understand this if they understand his relationship with Kuina and why Zoro decided to take in Luffy's pain on Thriller Bark.
Seppukku has become a theme on Wano and the idea of Samurai comitting suicide if they fail to fulfill their determination, if they lose and their pride gets tarnished.
If we assume that Zoro is aware of honor codexes, if we assume Zoro is that thoughtful, then it makes sense.
In Baratie Zoro took the slash from Mihawk head on because of exactly those aspects, it has been inverted to us for a long time. And with that Zoro made a huge promise to himself: to never lose again!
Zoro is aware that he was as close to a loss as never before and that if ever messes up again...that could have been the end of the road for him.
Now imagine Sanji would have really lost himself there and Zoro needed to get back to his promise with Sanji...in his Near Death state he would have not been ble to keep that promise to Sanji, so Zoro can be lucky that Sanji got his shit together through the fight, because otherwise Zoro could have not been that shoulder that Sanji needed.
This is where the theory really starts...
Enter Egghead: There is something wrong with Zoro.
First of all, with the end of Wano Oda has literally established a new threshhold in his own powerscaling universe. I am calling it the "Challenger Tier".
The Challenger Tier is simply defined by those three Pirate Captains that successfully challenged Yonkos in the story so far. With this Oda has purposefully sparked a new controversity in the story. The idea of a new trinity entering the race for the One Piece. Three challengers that will define what it means to challenge the Emperors.
Without digging too deep into it and getting straight to the point with it: Both Trafalgar Law and Eustass Kid failed in their self-conquest, leaving Luffy as the current sole challenger. I think both Law and Kid will come back in some capacity, but this is not part of this theory.
At the same time Oda has defined the standing of Sanji and Zoro right now using Jinbei as his benchmark:
Oda is thoughtfully provoking the idea of a Yonko "Topfighter Tier" by showing Sanji, Jinbei and Zoro cracking the 1 billion berry threshhold. One that was prominently held by Yonko Commanders previously. A huge step up for them again mirroring the growth Luffy had on Whole Cake Island.
But something seems off right? Knowing Luffy, Zoro and Sanji are our protagonists in the story, shouldn't they become the challengers alongside Luffy? Shouldn't they stand shoulder to shoulder with Luffy like Kid and Law were doing? What is lacking?
Looking at the difference between those tiers we can clearly see a pattern: Kid and Law are both prominent users of the Color of Conqueror. The Haki of the Supreme King.
(edit 16.02.2025: I know I made a small error here, Law has no CoC. But it does not take away from the tiering and the dynamics I am explaining in the theory. As of now CoC is not a mandatory aspect of strength that yonko challengers should have. Also Kid has not shown any proficieny in it.)
In Wano Zoro has teased the useage of CoC, sadly unbeknownst to him as throughout Egghead he hasn't managed to replicate it.
This is where the first real theory comes into play, I think both Zoro and Sanji have to unlock CoC by the end and take the stage in the Challenger Tier alongside Luffy. I think there is no way around with the recent reveals.
Now let's continue with Egghead and a controversial battle that needs to be discussed in this theory...hey, else this wouldn't be a comprehensive Zoro theory, right? And I am pretty sure Oda knows what he is doing as everything is coherent and relateable so far.
Once again both Zoro's and Sanji's roles in Egghead have been clearly defined. Lucci wanted to go after Luffy, but the only way to open up Luffy's path to fight Kizaru was for Zoro to hold back Lucci and defeat him. Sanji meanwhile was the one keeping everyone in check and especially later through the arc being the one to attempt to keep his nakama aswell as Vegapunk safe. In the midst of the chaos Sanji achieved what was possible.
Oda has played with the idea of Zoro holding his crew back and Lucci even uses this idea to taunt Zoro, successfully.
We have to ask ourselves, which did Lucci's words have some sort of effect on Zoro at this point? Looking back to Wano and the Grim Reaper scene it would make sense to think of the idea that Zoro and his ego have been fragilized. Zoro doesn't want to put himself in danger and risk another knockout.
The aspect of ego has always stood with Zoro, Zoro has promises to keep, an ambition, a determination and a future to reach. So it is only understandable that he is a very egoistical character. If he can't stand last, then there would be noone else who could take down the enemies and protect both his captain and the other crewmates. This is Zoro's role. Oda knows it, the reader knows it and Zoro himself knows it.
Not only Lucci realizes that Zoro his holding himself back, but also Sanji whose role is to keep the crew in check, realizes that Zoro is holding himself back.
After Zoro snaps back to reality he onetaps Lucci and has then to have Jinbei interfere and escort him out.
For MelonTee to point it out and connect it to the events with the Grim Reaper makes alot of sense to me and opened my eyes.
Zoro himself is changing right now infront of our eyes, he doesn't want to be the warrior who pushes himself to his limits, and who might unnecessarily risk his life before accomplishing his goals. Luffy and the others need him, so he plays safe and starts to hold himself back. Zoro will continously need Sanji to keep check on him and if this continues to an extend like in Egghead, then Zoro is officially holding back his crew. Zoro knows that he is better than that and Zoro knows that he could have onetapped Lucci earlier if he wouldn't have let himself get taunted by Lucci's words.
Why did Oda write like this, because this seems to clearly be a setup? Egghead has all along been a setup-arc for Elbaf and the following Final War/Race to Lough Tale.
Oda is setting up Zoro for something, and I think I know what it is!
Elbaf: Zoro's "Ego Death".
Alright, now that we hve the Grim Reaper situation and Zoro's determination set in stone. Now that we have explained what has happenedto Zoro vs Lucci and why Oda decided to have it play out as controversial as it was, what is next in store in Elbaf?
Zoro so far has been weirdly written in Elbaf, so far he has not shown any lead dynamic in the arc. It is almost as if Oda sets him up similair to Egghead.
At the same time he gives Zoro tasteless remarks of slicing down giant children and what not. Why is that?
I think Zoro doesn't want a replay of the events on Egghead and thus he is trying to save face with these tasteless remarks in the arc so far. I seriously think that insecurities are plaguing Zoro and that very soon the crew might reach a similair conclusion.
Going into Elbaf we will have two interesting plotlines that will open up for Zoro and I pretty sure that these are predictable with the current meta knowledge we have on Zoro.
1.:
With Scopper's reveal, both Sanji and Zoro have now official benchmarks to reach. Their goal is to once again stand shoulder to shoulder with Luffy, once Luffy ralleys to become the Pirate King. This is bringing us back to the idea of a Challenger Tier, we previously established. We as fans want to see Zoro and Sanji on that tier and Oda knows it, he is slowly and palyfully introducing us to this and I am sure that Oda will deliver once it is needed.
I think for now it is clear what's next, Zoro has a dormant power inside him, the one of the Color of Conquerors, and for him it is better to learn of it sooner than later. So I think the major plotline for Zoro will be to learn about it, to have the Hakibloom moment in the story and be ready for the future fights for the Pirate King's throne. And this is what Gaban and Rayleigh are symbolically standing for. Ofcourse this is nothing onesided for Zoro. This conquest is also implied for Sanji.
The second important plotline will be this one:
The Summoning Circle!
Or to be more precise: The Holy Knights and their connection to the occult and diabolism.
This is directly playing into the Grim Reaper from Wano. I think that once Zoro faces someone from the Holy Knights, he will get the same ominous feeling from his Near Death Experience. I think that if the situation is fit and Zoro's mental state becomes fragile, that this ominous feeling or sort of traumatic flashback will become a burden to Zoro going into the upcomming fights with the Holy Knights.
Predictions: The future on Elbaf.
As we know the next huge plotline has been teased by Shamrock: The Holy Knights will summon backup and they will go after the children of Elbaf.
Sanji's role will most likely be the role of the check-keeper. He symbolizes the heroic needs within an arc, be it as Stealth Black or Osoba Mask or Sangoro. In Elbaf he will probably attempt to save some or most of the children against the Holy Knights. As for Zoro he will make sure that Luffy will have the time of his life going all out in Gear 5 against an enemy. Zoro will ave to face a tough and unexpected opponent, without that the idea of character growth with Zoro would die out quickly.
I think that Sanji will experience a Hakibloom throughout the fights in Elbaf, and Zoro could very well be the trigger for that...because I think Zoro will crash out this arc.
The Grim Reaper and Lucci were set ups for Zoro to crash out on Elbaf. I am not saying that he will break his promise and lose, but I am certain something will traumatically impact Zoro here, where he will end up thinking of himself as a failure, even if he technically isn't...but facing Sanji, Zoro will end up being the one who will lose, because Sanji will unlock the Color of Conqueror's before Zoro will do. Sanji will reach that next step, he will be the one who will finally keep Zoro in check and he will be the one who will set the next benchmark for Zoro. Zoro will need Sanji to once again step up, Oda will get back to what happend post Whole Cake Island where Sanji claimed to be stronger than Zoro. Oda has set it up for return.
Zoro as a result will for once have to shut down his ego, bringing back the idea of Seppukku from Wano. In order to strengthen himself, his inner spirit, in order to continue his Bushido, Zoro will let go once again. Zoro will have to give up on his past, because the only thing that will matter is the present and the future. The only way for Zoro to reach his hakibloom will be through reaching a mediative state after killing off his own ego. A practive buddhist monks for example are using, to reach a higher state of mind.
Funnily enough, I think this will be ironic, because Urouge is candidate to appear in this arc, and Oda could take back on this, showing how Urouge will probably utilize a similair practice to achieve a higher state of mind.
Don't worry guys, Zoro might crash out this arc, but by the end of it he will still be out Strawhat's number 2 and Sanji will be the Strawhat's number 3. That is just the play Oda has always used and he will stay loyal to that one. At the same time I think that Oda will take this whole Sanji and Zoro rivalry to a next level. If not in Elbaf, then when?
I think this will be Zoro's and Sanji's personal training arc, their next step to reach that Challenger Tier with Luffy, so they can fight once again Should on Shoulder.
Summary:
Oda is preparing Zoro for a crash out since Wano. Through Near Death Experiences, Insecurities and nuanced remarks a character growth arc for Zoro has been set up by Oda. The rivalry between Zoro and Sanji are systematic methods used by Oda, in order to push both characters to the next level. Elbaf will be the arc where all of these idea accumulate and Zoro's crashout occurs. Sanji will shoulder this crashout for Zoro, compensating and reaching new heights by unlocking Conqueror's Haki. Zoro will need a stronger Sanji to achieve a new state of mind and reach his own Hakibloom of Conqueror's Haki and surpassing Sanji once again. By the end of the arc both Sanji and Zoro will reach the next tier of strength, which will allow both to stand shoulder to shoulder with Luffy during the upcomming arcs/Yonko fights.
Outro:
Thanks for reading my theory and I hope you enjoyed that. We'd atp also have to thank MelonTee, she brought this Zoro character arc idea to my attention. The only thing I additionally interpreted here is the need for Zoro's and Sanji's rivalry and their definitive endgoal, that is very important for each one's character arc.
I am pretty sure some of this theory will come to fruition in the near future. What we as fans have to do now is pay utmost attention to Zoro and ofc also Sanji from now on. Especially with the Gaban reveal. Let's put all our eyes on Zoro and Sanji, let us watch them and let us see everything in detail, because that is what Oda writes for. The small nuances, the unnoticed things that have to be noticed by us true fans.
You will hear from me once the story continues, I will be watching both our wings and I will be rooting from the sidelines!
See ya!
Oda is preparing Zoro for a crash out since Wano. Through Near Death Experiences, Insecurities and nuanced remarks a character growth arc for Zoro has been set up by Oda. The rivalry between Zoro and Sanji are systematic methods used by Oda, in order to push both characters to the next level. Elbaf will be the arc where all of these idea accumulate and Zoro's crashout occurs. Sanji will shoulder this crashout for Zoro, compensating and reaching new heights by unlocking Conqueror's Haki. Zoro will need a stronger Sanji to achieve a new state of mind and reach his own Hakibloom of Conqueror's Haki and surpassing Sanji once again. By the end of the arc both Sanji and Zoro will reach the next tier of strength, which will allow both to stand shoulder to shoulder with Luffy during the upcomming arcs/Yonko fights.
Outro:
Thanks for reading my theory and I hope you enjoyed that. We'd atp also have to thank MelonTee, she brought this Zoro character arc idea to my attention. The only thing I additionally interpreted here is the need for Zoro's and Sanji's rivalry and their definitive endgoal, that is very important for each one's character arc.
I am pretty sure some of this theory will come to fruition in the near future. What we as fans have to do now is pay utmost attention to Zoro and ofc also Sanji from now on. Especially with the Gaban reveal. Let's put all our eyes on Zoro and Sanji, let us watch them and let us see everything in detail, because that is what Oda writes for. The small nuances, the unnoticed things that have to be noticed by us true fans.
You will hear from me once the story continues, I will be watching both our wings and I will be rooting from the sidelines!
See ya!
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