TLDR: Zoro will be transformed into a woman through Doc Q, then grow enraged by the idea that women are weaker than men, because of his respect for Kuina.
Once Sanji hears this, Sanji will understand Zoro respects women, and that it’s insulting to act like women are weaker than men.
This will lead Sanji into finally being able to fight women, and Zoro into fulfilling his promise to Kuina by proving women can be master swordsman.
Zoro and Sanji's core conflict revolves around women:
Zoro and Sanji origins are both tied to women in One Piece’s narrative.
Sanji chased his dream because his mother, Sora, and sister, Reiju, saved him from Judge’s evil. Zoro chased his dream because Kuina, his best friend who died, inspired him to become the World’s Greatest Swordsman.
This is what can make Sanji and Zoro finally see eye to eye. They will always be rivals who dislike each other, but, once Sanji realizes that Zoro’s dream comes from his respect for a woman, I think Sanji will come to see Zoro in a new light.
Sanji and Zoro both respect women, but have totally different beliefs regarding fighting them. Sanji believes hurting women is fundamentally wrong. To Zoro, there’s nothing wrong with fighting women, he just has a soft spot for them: if necessary, he will cut a woman, like Monet, down.
To Zoro, holding back against Kuina because she was female would be fucking disgusting. This is the real core of their rivalry: Sanji treats women like they are weak and need protection, while Zoro acknowledges women like Vivi as strong, and trusts them to hold their own, then aid them if needed.
This was the purpose of Sanji asking Robin for help against Black Maria: Oda is showing that Sanji is growing, and coming to realize he can rely on women to PROTECT HIM.
Women like Nami, Robin, Vivi, Sora, Reiju, Kuina, are strong. They DON’T WANT anyone's pity. They DON’T WANT to be viewed as weak. They WANT to be viewed as strong, as Sanji's equals (keep in mind Robin has had a higher bounty than Sanji at times in this series). Rouge is one of the strongest women in this series, because she sacrificed her life to bring Ace into the world. You don't need to have a huge power level to be a strong woman. When Bellemere died to Arlong, she gave her life to protect her daughters. Acting like Bellemere is weak for dying when she sacrificed herself to protect her kids is ridiculous.
Watching Zoro fight as a woman will make Sanji realize women are strong:
My bet is that Zoro is turned into a woman twice in this series: once against his will, by Doc Q, and once intentionally, by Ivankov.
In the first case, Zoro will get furious after being turned into a woman, as it implies that Doc Q thinks making him a woman makes him weaker. Then, Zoro low diffs Doc Q while speaking about how women are strong. This leads to Sanji realizing Zoro respects women, and is willing to fight them because he thinks it’s wrong to view them as weak.
Later on, Zoro will ask Ivankov to turn him into a woman, and will attack Sanji, until Sanji is willing to fight back. Zoro hates weakness, and I doubt he’s willing to tolerate Sanji’s inability to attack women much longer (also Zoro’s still pissed about the Whole Cake fiasco). I could go on for YEARS as to why Zoro and Sanji have to fight to settle their rivalry, but, that’s for other posts, and has been done to death.
Zoro, whose role model was a female swordsman, will turn into a female swordsman in order to force Sanji to come to turns with his weakness, and realize that refusing to fight women only means he sees them as weak.
Once Sanji is able to overcome his rival by attacking female Zoro, he and Zoro will finally become real rivals, who view each other with respect, and don’t actually hate each other, just really dislike each other. Sanji overcomes his weakness towards women, Zoro proves that women can be just as strong as men, honoring Kuina’s legacy. Hopefully the fight ends in a draw, and Zoro and Sanji finally accept each other as equals and worthy rivals.
Examples of how this could go:
Doc Q section:
Zoro gets turned into a woman by Doc Q around Sanji, and shouts, "WHAT DISEASE!?!? Our doctor Chopper is worth two thousand of you, you shitty old geezer riding some dying, flying horse! Where do you get off, acting like making me a woman made me weaker?!? WOMEN ARE STRONG! Women like Vivi and Nami risked their lives as young girls, to save their homes! The swordsman I respect most was a woman! When she died, I SWORE I WOULD BECOME THE WORLD'S GREATEST SWORDSMAN IN HER HONOR! DON'T YOU DARE SPIT UPON KUINA'S MEMORY, BY ACTING LIKE YOU MADE ME WEAKER, BY MAKING ME A WOMAN! I'll show you how wrong you are! You think my blades can't cut you, just because I have breasts?!?"
Doc Q starts sweating as Zoro leaks CoC Haki, while Sanji stares at Zoro in shock.
Sanji in his mind: ("All this time... Mosshead... Zoro respected women that much? The person who inspired him to challenge Mihawk... was a girl, his friend, who died?")
Sanji begins to cry, and bite his lip. ("When I refuse to attack lady enemies... am I just calling them weak? I've failed to protect Nami... and Robin... because I couldn't fight back against women...")
Zoro: "If you think women are weaker than men, IT'S JUST BECAUSE NO DECENT WOMAN HAS ANY INTEREST IN BEING AROUND A CREEPY OLD QUACK LIKE YOU! Since Kuina isn't here to kick your ass, I'LL DO IT FOR HER, AND SHOW YOU HOW STRONG WOMEN ARE! KING... no... QUEEN OF HELL!"
(Zoro goes into Asura, but, each form has eight arms, rather than two, for a total of 24 blades)
"SHIVA SCHISM!"
(Doc Q swears as he's cut out of the sky and falls away,, unconscious)
Zoro (spits onto the ground as he turns back into a man): "The women on our crew would never lose to a weakling like you. Learn how to be a real man... before you try to turn your enemies into women, in order to defeat them."
Ivankov Section:
Fem-Zoro rushes Sanji, and begins to swing at him.
Sanji: “Beauti-b-b-baka Marino, what are you doing?!? Why are you beautiful… UGH, why are you a woman, again?!?”
Zoro: “To kick your ass, stupid cook! I’M SICK OF IT! The way you look down upon women disgusts me! All this time, you’ve always been willing to fight me, but, the moment I grow breasts, you can’t hit me?!? DISGUSTING! Kuina would have kicked your ass, you know that?!?”
Sanji: “Listen… I can’t attack women, because of honor! Because-”
Zoro: “Screw your stupid excuses! Women aren’t weak playthings! Nami, Robin, Vivi, Carrot, Yamato, and so many others, have bled beside us! You’re spitting on their strength, by saying they’re too weak to be hurt! WE’RE ALL STAKING OUR LIVES AS PIRATES! TREATING WOMEN LIKE THEY’RE TOO WEAK TO TAKE DAMAGE, WHEN THEY’RE ALREADY DETERMINED TO RISK THEIR BODIES AND LIVES, IS PATHETIC, SANJI!”
(Sanji stops defending, and gets smacked in the face by the back of Zoro’s blade).
Zoro: “You’re pathetic, for having to let Nami and Robin rescue you, because you can’t fight women! IF THEY’RE STRONG ENOUGH TO FIGHT WOMEN, THEN WHY THE HELL AREN’T YOU?!? YOU THINK BEING A WOMAN WOULD MAKE ME WEAK?!? SCREW THAT! I DON’T CARE WHAT GENDER I AM! I’M GOING TO BECOME THE WORLD’S STRONGEST SWORDSMAN, NO MATTER WHAT!”
(Sanji grits his teeth while getting beaten up)
Zoro: “So, if you can’t hit women as you are, WHY DON’T YOU TURN INTO A WOMAN, TOO, SO YOU AREN’T USELESS IN A FIGHT AS SOON AS YOU SEE A PAIR OF BREASTS!”
(Zoro suddenly gets kicked in the face and sent flying, and Sanji lights up Ifrit Jambe)
Sanji: “…Fine. If it means protecting Nami, Robin, and Vivi… I’ll throw my own honor away. EVEN IF I HAVE TO KICK THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD IN THE FACE, I’ll do it, in order to save my Nakama! IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU, ZORO, you half-assed swordsman?!?”
Zoro licks his lips, and gets up, his feminine face bloodied.
Zoro: “Hell no, Sanji, you shitty cook. I’m going to prove, once and for all, who Number 2 is.”
Sanji: “Heh… bring it on! I’ll break your blades, no matter how beautiful you are, Zoro!”
Zoro: “STOP CALLING ME BEAUTIFUL YOU IDIOT!”
(fights ends in a draw, with Sanji catching Zoro as he turns back into a man. Chopper tends to them while Nami and Luffy watch over them).
Luffy: "Shishishi, I guess they finally settled things, huh? Zoro and Sanji are so close."
Nami: "Close, huh? Yeah, I guess you could say that. Heh. They really beat each other up, ugh. We're lucky, to have those two idiots to protect us."
Luffy: "Yeah! No matter how much they fight, they're a great team. Zoro cuts up people real good, and Sanji cuts up food real good! They're both the best!"
Nami (pats Luffy's Straw Hat as they giggle together): "Hahahaha! You're right. They're both the best, aren't they?"
Once Sanji hears this, Sanji will understand Zoro respects women, and that it’s insulting to act like women are weaker than men.
This will lead Sanji into finally being able to fight women, and Zoro into fulfilling his promise to Kuina by proving women can be master swordsman.
Zoro and Sanji's core conflict revolves around women:
Zoro and Sanji origins are both tied to women in One Piece’s narrative.
Sanji chased his dream because his mother, Sora, and sister, Reiju, saved him from Judge’s evil. Zoro chased his dream because Kuina, his best friend who died, inspired him to become the World’s Greatest Swordsman.
This is what can make Sanji and Zoro finally see eye to eye. They will always be rivals who dislike each other, but, once Sanji realizes that Zoro’s dream comes from his respect for a woman, I think Sanji will come to see Zoro in a new light.
Sanji and Zoro both respect women, but have totally different beliefs regarding fighting them. Sanji believes hurting women is fundamentally wrong. To Zoro, there’s nothing wrong with fighting women, he just has a soft spot for them: if necessary, he will cut a woman, like Monet, down.
To Zoro, holding back against Kuina because she was female would be fucking disgusting. This is the real core of their rivalry: Sanji treats women like they are weak and need protection, while Zoro acknowledges women like Vivi as strong, and trusts them to hold their own, then aid them if needed.
This was the purpose of Sanji asking Robin for help against Black Maria: Oda is showing that Sanji is growing, and coming to realize he can rely on women to PROTECT HIM.
Women like Nami, Robin, Vivi, Sora, Reiju, Kuina, are strong. They DON’T WANT anyone's pity. They DON’T WANT to be viewed as weak. They WANT to be viewed as strong, as Sanji's equals (keep in mind Robin has had a higher bounty than Sanji at times in this series). Rouge is one of the strongest women in this series, because she sacrificed her life to bring Ace into the world. You don't need to have a huge power level to be a strong woman. When Bellemere died to Arlong, she gave her life to protect her daughters. Acting like Bellemere is weak for dying when she sacrificed herself to protect her kids is ridiculous.
Watching Zoro fight as a woman will make Sanji realize women are strong:
My bet is that Zoro is turned into a woman twice in this series: once against his will, by Doc Q, and once intentionally, by Ivankov.
In the first case, Zoro will get furious after being turned into a woman, as it implies that Doc Q thinks making him a woman makes him weaker. Then, Zoro low diffs Doc Q while speaking about how women are strong. This leads to Sanji realizing Zoro respects women, and is willing to fight them because he thinks it’s wrong to view them as weak.
Later on, Zoro will ask Ivankov to turn him into a woman, and will attack Sanji, until Sanji is willing to fight back. Zoro hates weakness, and I doubt he’s willing to tolerate Sanji’s inability to attack women much longer (also Zoro’s still pissed about the Whole Cake fiasco). I could go on for YEARS as to why Zoro and Sanji have to fight to settle their rivalry, but, that’s for other posts, and has been done to death.
Zoro, whose role model was a female swordsman, will turn into a female swordsman in order to force Sanji to come to turns with his weakness, and realize that refusing to fight women only means he sees them as weak.
Once Sanji is able to overcome his rival by attacking female Zoro, he and Zoro will finally become real rivals, who view each other with respect, and don’t actually hate each other, just really dislike each other. Sanji overcomes his weakness towards women, Zoro proves that women can be just as strong as men, honoring Kuina’s legacy. Hopefully the fight ends in a draw, and Zoro and Sanji finally accept each other as equals and worthy rivals.
Examples of how this could go:
Doc Q section:
Zoro gets turned into a woman by Doc Q around Sanji, and shouts, "WHAT DISEASE!?!? Our doctor Chopper is worth two thousand of you, you shitty old geezer riding some dying, flying horse! Where do you get off, acting like making me a woman made me weaker?!? WOMEN ARE STRONG! Women like Vivi and Nami risked their lives as young girls, to save their homes! The swordsman I respect most was a woman! When she died, I SWORE I WOULD BECOME THE WORLD'S GREATEST SWORDSMAN IN HER HONOR! DON'T YOU DARE SPIT UPON KUINA'S MEMORY, BY ACTING LIKE YOU MADE ME WEAKER, BY MAKING ME A WOMAN! I'll show you how wrong you are! You think my blades can't cut you, just because I have breasts?!?"
Doc Q starts sweating as Zoro leaks CoC Haki, while Sanji stares at Zoro in shock.
Sanji in his mind: ("All this time... Mosshead... Zoro respected women that much? The person who inspired him to challenge Mihawk... was a girl, his friend, who died?")
Sanji begins to cry, and bite his lip. ("When I refuse to attack lady enemies... am I just calling them weak? I've failed to protect Nami... and Robin... because I couldn't fight back against women...")
Zoro: "If you think women are weaker than men, IT'S JUST BECAUSE NO DECENT WOMAN HAS ANY INTEREST IN BEING AROUND A CREEPY OLD QUACK LIKE YOU! Since Kuina isn't here to kick your ass, I'LL DO IT FOR HER, AND SHOW YOU HOW STRONG WOMEN ARE! KING... no... QUEEN OF HELL!"
(Zoro goes into Asura, but, each form has eight arms, rather than two, for a total of 24 blades)
"SHIVA SCHISM!"
(Doc Q swears as he's cut out of the sky and falls away,, unconscious)
Zoro (spits onto the ground as he turns back into a man): "The women on our crew would never lose to a weakling like you. Learn how to be a real man... before you try to turn your enemies into women, in order to defeat them."
Ivankov Section:
Fem-Zoro rushes Sanji, and begins to swing at him.
Sanji: “Beauti-b-b-baka Marino, what are you doing?!? Why are you beautiful… UGH, why are you a woman, again?!?”
Zoro: “To kick your ass, stupid cook! I’M SICK OF IT! The way you look down upon women disgusts me! All this time, you’ve always been willing to fight me, but, the moment I grow breasts, you can’t hit me?!? DISGUSTING! Kuina would have kicked your ass, you know that?!?”
Sanji: “Listen… I can’t attack women, because of honor! Because-”
Zoro: “Screw your stupid excuses! Women aren’t weak playthings! Nami, Robin, Vivi, Carrot, Yamato, and so many others, have bled beside us! You’re spitting on their strength, by saying they’re too weak to be hurt! WE’RE ALL STAKING OUR LIVES AS PIRATES! TREATING WOMEN LIKE THEY’RE TOO WEAK TO TAKE DAMAGE, WHEN THEY’RE ALREADY DETERMINED TO RISK THEIR BODIES AND LIVES, IS PATHETIC, SANJI!”
(Sanji stops defending, and gets smacked in the face by the back of Zoro’s blade).
Zoro: “You’re pathetic, for having to let Nami and Robin rescue you, because you can’t fight women! IF THEY’RE STRONG ENOUGH TO FIGHT WOMEN, THEN WHY THE HELL AREN’T YOU?!? YOU THINK BEING A WOMAN WOULD MAKE ME WEAK?!? SCREW THAT! I DON’T CARE WHAT GENDER I AM! I’M GOING TO BECOME THE WORLD’S STRONGEST SWORDSMAN, NO MATTER WHAT!”
(Sanji grits his teeth while getting beaten up)
Zoro: “So, if you can’t hit women as you are, WHY DON’T YOU TURN INTO A WOMAN, TOO, SO YOU AREN’T USELESS IN A FIGHT AS SOON AS YOU SEE A PAIR OF BREASTS!”
(Zoro suddenly gets kicked in the face and sent flying, and Sanji lights up Ifrit Jambe)
Sanji: “…Fine. If it means protecting Nami, Robin, and Vivi… I’ll throw my own honor away. EVEN IF I HAVE TO KICK THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD IN THE FACE, I’ll do it, in order to save my Nakama! IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU, ZORO, you half-assed swordsman?!?”
Zoro licks his lips, and gets up, his feminine face bloodied.
Zoro: “Hell no, Sanji, you shitty cook. I’m going to prove, once and for all, who Number 2 is.”
Sanji: “Heh… bring it on! I’ll break your blades, no matter how beautiful you are, Zoro!”
Zoro: “STOP CALLING ME BEAUTIFUL YOU IDIOT!”
(fights ends in a draw, with Sanji catching Zoro as he turns back into a man. Chopper tends to them while Nami and Luffy watch over them).
Luffy: "Shishishi, I guess they finally settled things, huh? Zoro and Sanji are so close."
Nami: "Close, huh? Yeah, I guess you could say that. Heh. They really beat each other up, ugh. We're lucky, to have those two idiots to protect us."
Luffy: "Yeah! No matter how much they fight, they're a great team. Zoro cuts up people real good, and Sanji cuts up food real good! They're both the best!"
Nami (pats Luffy's Straw Hat as they giggle together): "Hahahaha! You're right. They're both the best, aren't they?"
