Since Oda has been forcing the wings gimmick, it has made me wonder who his next opponents will be.
If Sanji is truly equal to Zoro, then he will need an opponent as strong as Mihawk to beat. And currently there is only one option, someone who is close to Mihawk... Shanks.
Now, I know what you're thinking... "Oda would never have one of Luffy's crewmates kill Shanks" but let's assume for a second that Oda is a good and subversive writer.
Shanks is the perfect character to turn evil, he is the man that the protagonist, Goofy, looks up to the most. Let's say that he wanted Goofy to awaken the Nika Nika no Mi to its fullest extent just so he could eventually steal its power with the secret Conqueror's Haki subjugation power stealing move from the Heian Era, which Goofy will obviously do against Imu in Chapter 1200.
So once Imu is banished back to Elbaf, Shanks will appear to absorb Goofy's powers. It will be the most subversive moment in One Piece. Goofy will be distraught, but he will never be able to fight his mentor.
So this would set up the fight between Sanji and Shanks, Zoro has his hands full with Imu's son and successor, Mihawk, so Sanji will have to handle Nika Nika no Mi Shanks.
Luffy will handle Teach. He will realise that he never truly needed the Nika Nika no Mi and that Haki transcends all.
So in this way, the M3 all get god tier opponents to end the manga with.
If Sanji is truly equal to Zoro, then he will need an opponent as strong as Mihawk to beat. And currently there is only one option, someone who is close to Mihawk... Shanks.
Now, I know what you're thinking... "Oda would never have one of Luffy's crewmates kill Shanks" but let's assume for a second that Oda is a good and subversive writer.
Shanks is the perfect character to turn evil, he is the man that the protagonist, Goofy, looks up to the most. Let's say that he wanted Goofy to awaken the Nika Nika no Mi to its fullest extent just so he could eventually steal its power with the secret Conqueror's Haki subjugation power stealing move from the Heian Era, which Goofy will obviously do against Imu in Chapter 1200.
So once Imu is banished back to Elbaf, Shanks will appear to absorb Goofy's powers. It will be the most subversive moment in One Piece. Goofy will be distraught, but he will never be able to fight his mentor.
So this would set up the fight between Sanji and Shanks, Zoro has his hands full with Imu's son and successor, Mihawk, so Sanji will have to handle Nika Nika no Mi Shanks.
Luffy will handle Teach. He will realise that he never truly needed the Nika Nika no Mi and that Haki transcends all.
So in this way, the M3 all get god tier opponents to end the manga with.
