This article contains spoilers for the One Piece series.
The Straw Hat Pirates aren’t the strongest crew out there, but they certainly have some fighters that really stand out, notably Luffy, Jinbe, Zoro, and, of course, Sanji. The cook of the crew, Sanji is one of the Straw Hats’ top fighters, and Oda always has big fights in mind for him. The Final saga will be filled with some intense encounters for Sanji, such as a potential battle against Saint Mars, or maybe even Saint Killingham. Fans are excited to see what Oda has in store for him.
Saint Rimoshifu Killingham
A Member of the Holy Knights
Killingham is one of the four Holy Knights who have made their entrance on Elbaf, alongside Gunko, Shamrock, and Sommers. Killingham would be the perfect match out of them for Sanji. Gunko will be Luffy’s enemy, while Sommers is a swordsman and would be a better fit to fight Zoro.
This leaves just Killingham, who wields the incredible power of the Kirin Mythical Zoan. Sanji would be the perfect enemy for him in Elbaf, but to even take him on in this battle, he will have to learn Conqueror’s Haki to bypass his immortality.
Brogy
A Former Ally Turned Enemy
Brogy, just like Dorry, was an ally of the Straw Hat Pirates. However, during the events of Elbaf, they were turned into enemies by Imu with the Demonic Contract, Akuwaru, and then Domi Reversi’d. Now, they are both amped and have immortality and infinite regeneration.
Dorry and Brogy together are a Yonko-level threat that could be split between Sanji and Zoro. Just like with the Holy Knights and the Five Elders, Sanji would need to learn and master Conqueror’s Haki to even have a shot against Brogy.
Sir Crocodile
A Member of The Cross Guild
The Cross Guild is a new rising threat in the One Piece world. This guild was started by the new Yonko Buggy, and he has quite a few powerful underlings, including Dracule Mihawk and Sir Crocodile. Fans know Zoro will eventually take on Mihawk, but it leaves a big question about who Sanji could fight in the Cross Guild.
While this isn’t necessarily a match-up that will happen, at the moment, the only character that is available for him to fight would be Sir Crocodile. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time a Straw Hat fights a former Luffy enemy, as Zoro did the same against Rob Lucci on Egghead.
Admiral Kizaru
A Marine Admiral
If there’s one Admiral fans have always wanted Sanji to have an all-out battle with, it’s definitely Kizaru. Kizaru has the Pika Pika no Mi, and his fighting style is focused on kicking with speed. This is the exact same style that Sanji uses, and fans know that he is also an incredibly fast fighter who kicks with tremendous ferocity. Sanji and Kizaru had a small encounter on Egghead Island, but this only whetted the appetite of the fans for an all-out battle.
Kuzan
A Former Admiral of the Marines
Kuzan, formerly also referred to as Admiral Aokiji, has left the Marines and is now a part of the Blackbeard Pirates. Kuzan is powerful, with his Hie Hie no Mi, and is on the level of the current Fleet Admiral Akainu.
Kuzan would definitely make a great matchup for Sanji, and it would be a battle of ice and fire. Given that Luffy will fight Blackbeard and Zoro will fight Shiryu, Sanji’s matchup being Kuzan makes a lot of sense. This makes even more sense when taking into consideration the fact that Kuzan kidnapped Pudding from Whole Cake Island, and it will be up to Sanji to rescue her and punish Kuzan for this folly.
Saint Marcus Mars
A Member of the Five Elders
The Five Elders, also known as the Gorosei, attacked the Straw Hat Pirates and their allies during the events of the Egghead arc. All the Gorosei are impressive and showcase immortality as well as powerful Yokai forms. One that stands out as a potential rival for Sanji in the future is Saint Marcus Mars.
Saint Mars’s Yokai is an Itsumade, which is a giant bird that can use some fire attacks. This would be a great battle and showcase Sanji’s aerial skills, which he himself claims is his forte. Of course, Sanji has to first unlock and learn to control Conqueror’s Haki first, something that will definitely happen during Elbaf. After that, he will be ready to face off against Mars.
One Piece Chapter 1165 will be out this week. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on November 9. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1165 is November 9, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
- Release Date
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October 20, 1999
- Network
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Fuji TV
- Directors
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Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
- Writers
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Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda
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Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
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Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)