The more Oda reveals about Conqueror's Haki, the more I admire the concept behind it

Something I've really come to appreciate about Oda's handling of Conqueror's Haki is that it feels like he's gradually defining a philosophy rather than just introducing another power system ability.

At first, it seems like it's simply an exceptionally strong will.

But with everything Oda has revealed since, I think it's more accurately understood as:

An absolute sense of self, expressed through an absolute will.

You have such an absolute conviction in who you are, your own worth, and the will to remain true to yourself, that other wills cannot withstand it.

And then the most advanced expression of it takes that idea even further: your will doesn't merely resist the world. It begins to impose itself upon reality.

So the progression almost feels like:

Absolute self → self-worth → absolute will → overwhelming other wills → imposing your will on reality.

And that's what I find so cool about it.

Oda could have simply made Conqueror's Haki another magical ability: "This person has more Haki than you, therefore you lose."

Instead, the power seems to be increasingly tied to what kind of person possesses it and how absolute their sense of self is.

And I think that idea actually translates surprisingly well to real life.

Obviously, real-life "Conqueror's Haki" isn't making people pass out. 😄

It's the ability to have such a firmly established sense of self and self-worth that other people's opinions, pressure, rejection, or attempts to define you don't easily override your own judgment.

Not "I am better than everyone else."

More like:

"I know who I am. I know what I am worth. And I will not let someone else's will determine who I become."

That's probably what I admire most about the concept.

It's not really the idea of dominating others.

It's the idea of having a will so completely your own that it cannot easily be overwritten.

And Oda somehow turned that abstract idea into a literal power in the world of One Piece.

That's much more interesting to me than simply having another superpower with bigger explosions.

I uploaded about up-cycling my daughter and I cosplay outfits for the upcoming comic con in our area.. this was our finished look!! We had so much fun!!

One of the most “wtf do we do now” moments in the series

I’m doing research for my oc, so I want to hear your suggestions on one piece hair colors.

I always cringe seeing like half the rumble ball falls out of chopper's mouth when he crunches on it lol. Would there be any power difference if he starts eating it better?

I like killingham.

I forgot to share my york cosplay that I crocheted for anime magic this year! I figured yall would appreciate it :)

I was only able to get some McDonald’s once this past month and got two planktons

My mom really wanted the smitty/brook toy however we gotta make due with a meager disability check every month and my birthday was also last month so after that and paying all the bills

We had to hold off until the next paycheck on 10/21. Of course by then the one piece promo will be over

So I assumed Meh that’s it

However when I talked to a friend who lives next door today and mentioned the one piece happy meal toys

He brought up he got the Skeleton and showed me it before asking if I wanted it for my collection

I thanked him and said yes then gave him my extra plankton

The fandom instinct always seems to be to pit Sanji and Zoro against each other, and this has held true in regards to the last couple of chapters. "Sanji's chapter is better!" "No, Zoro's is!" Around and around we go.

I feel like these chapters work better when you acknowledge that they both feed into and are informed by each other. They are both working together to tell a story about what Conqueror's haki is, and what it means for these two characters.

First, thanks to Mihawk, we come to the understanding that CoC is about having a strong, unwavering sense of self.

But what does having a strong "sense of self" actually mean? I think for a long time, CoC has been associated with a lofty goal, with ambition, with being a leader. But CoC users like White Beard, Katakuri, and Yamato chafe against this sort of definition (and arguments for why they do or do not fit it are rampant).

But if CoC is simply one's sense of self, then everything clicks into place. These characters all have a strongly defined sense of personal identity and deep conviction about how they want to live their lives. With this chapter, we can understand that CoC is not about *what* you want. Your desires can be humble ("I want a family") or ridiculous ("I want to be Oden!") or evil (Doflamingo) or everything and anything in between. CoC is just about living a life that is entirely true to who you are. This is why CoC can't be taught - you can't tell someone how to be themselves.

Throughout the series, Zoro has been a pretty straightforward person with a strong sense of who he is and what he wants. So why did he have difficulty with Conqueror's haki?

Let's consider Sanji's chapter and circle back to that.

Because Sanji is another character that fits this new understanding of CoC. He already has strong convictions about how he wants to live his life (seen, for example, in his insistence on using his hands only for cooking, his infamous unwillingness to hit women, etc.), but we see that that alone is not enough.

In Sanji's chapter, we learn that self-love is a necessary component to actually unlock CoC.

You need to have both a strong sense of self AND an acceptance of that self, a willingness to assert it. You need to be able to accept yourself - ALL of yourself. Even (or maybe especially) the things you don't like about yourself. For Sanji, this means reconciling with his past and his Germa blood.

Side note, but this is why it's no wonder that Luffy is such a natural CoC user. He has an absurdly strong sense of self, and he has entirely made peace with his strengths and weaknesses. "I can't use a sword. I can't cook. I can't navigate. I can't even lie. But I can beat you."

Zoro, on the other hand, does not have this same acceptance of his own weaknesses. This doesn't manifest in Zoro in the same way it does for Sanji, who can have low self esteem and be very self-sacrificial and self-destructive. Instead, Zoro is hyper-critical. As Sanji rightly points out in Punk Hazard, he's incredibly hard on himself.

This panel is one of my favorite examples of this attitude. "I'm so weak!!" he says, while repeatedly lifting the most comically large and heavy dumbbell I've ever seen. Ok dude!

Thriller Bark was the SH's victory. Zoro survived the seemingly un-survivable, he saved Luffy and protected his crew, they all worked together to defeat Moria and Oars. And yet, Zoro berates himself.

There's nothing wrong with acknowledging your flaws and wanting to improve, but Zoro goes beyond that. He fixates on what he lacks, to the point that it blinds him to what he does have. He had Conqueror's haki all along, but couldn't recognize it in himself.

Throughout chapter 1194, we see this mentality in full force once more. Zoro tries again and again to find what he's missing, how he's lacking. Am I trying too hard? That wasn't it! Is it because I'm not a leader or captain? Not it, not it, not it!

When he finally does permanently cut Sommer's hand, he's confused. He didn't do anything different. But that's the point. He remembers Luffy, affirming that the CoC is already there, flowing out of him. He remembers Mihawk's words.

And Zoro finally understands that he doesn't need to be or do anything different. It's not that he lacks something. Not to quote Kung Fu Panda, but There is no secret ingredient. It's just you. All Zoro has to do is rely on what he's always relied on, the thing that he's always had: himself, his own unwavering conviction.

In this way, Zoro's chapter acts as the foundation that Sanji's builds on, and Sanji's chapter recontextualizes Zoro's. I appreciate the fact that these power-ups are happening side-by-side. It'll be interested to see how these fights conclude, and whether there might be more in store for these two in Elbaf (fingers crossed).

I wanted to put that rust rust devil fruit user who was in ennies lobby under underrated ability but he was not there and was lazy to search for his pic to upload lol

In Color Walk 1 art book, Oda calls Luffy, Zoro and Nami the “triggers of One Piece”, a sentiment that rings true once you take a look at the way Oda would utilizes these characters pre time-skip. Luffy, Nami and Zoro would always be at the center of any major events, while characters like Ussop and, more specifically, Sanji would be sidelined:

• In Alabasta, the three of them confront Crocodile over his plan, while Sanji only arrives later to save them.
• At Jaya, the three of them meet Blackbeard and his crew, while Sanji stays on the ship.
• On Water 7, the three of them confront Robin and CP9 in Iceberg’s office, while Sanji is nowhere to be found.

Throughout the story there would be large portions where Sanji is completely missing, just for him to make a triumphant appearance, and get his “big moment” of the arc, before disappearing yet again. This is what gave him the reputation of having “Mister Prince” moments.

After the time-skip, this way of Oda writing Sanji fundamentally changed. Nowadays, Sanji takes a more central role in the story, and has often been the one pushing the narrative forward (Punk Hazard, Dressrosa, Zou, etc.).

There is nowhere where this is more evident that through his relationship with his family: the Germa 66.

Germa Awakening

I don’t think I have to explain how Germa had an influenced on Sanji as a character during Whole Cake Island arc – that is self-explanatory. What I wanted to talk about is how Germa influenced Sanji beyond the so-called “his arc”, because, as we have seen, Sanji’s story didn’t end with the conclusion of the Whole Cake – It continued well past it.

Even before the start of Whole Cake Island (during Zou arc) his relationship with Germa starts to shape the story moving forward. Thanks to the revelation of the familiar connection to them, Sanji now has a lot of obstacles to overcome, allowing for his character to have struggles and be further developed.

We see this first hand during Wano Arc where the Germa genetics catch up to Sanji and he has to quite literally struggle with his heritage: does he choose the power of his “blood” and become the emotionless killing machine his brothers are OR refuse it and remain the person Luffy wants in his crew?

Sanji does make his choice but the lingering threat of his new genetics turning him into emotionless killing machine remains, with a lot of opportunities for it to be used in the future before we are done with Sanji.

Dr. Vegapunks and the MADs

It’s not only Sanji’s relationship to Germa that can be used to develop the character but also Germa’s connection to MADS or, more importantly, Judge’s connection to Vegapunk.

Vegapunk is a massively important character. He was the centerpiece of the Egghead Island arc, and someone who, not only revealed a lot of details regarding Devil Fruits, but also secrets of Poneglyphs and the Void century. And Sanji, as someone connected to him through his family, can reap the benefits through that connection. Sanji can now organically be connected to the larger, overarching story of the One Piece’s world.

Sure, there wasn’t a big focus orverbal acknowledgement of this, but we, the readers, subconsciously make that connection due to what we know about Sanji. This is something we can observe in Sanji’s fight with Seraphims.

There once was a popular theory that Sanji has Lunarian genes (hence his fire), but now that doesn’t matter anymore as he is facing Seraphims, Lunarian clones, which are very close to what he is: a genetically engineered human. Sprinkle in some cloning, a thing that Sanji hated about his Dad, and you have an easy-to-be-interested-in fight.

His fight with Queen is also a great example of how easy it is to build an interesting connecting between him and the opponent he is facing, and in turn create an engaging conflict for readers to follow and be invested in.

As Sanji ended the WCI arc without physically defeating his family, he can now do that in the form of Queen, an ex-colleague of his father who also possesses all of the powers that his brothers do.

Not to mention that we are getting “Neo MADS” being formed, with Judge and Caesar who are both connected to Vegapunk, that are undoubtedly going to play a role in the future, tying Sanji even further into the overarching story of One Piece.

And lastly, we have the current fight Sanji has found himself in, against the Knight of God and member of the World Noble Rimoshifu Family: Saint Rimoshifu Killingham

Elbaph: Land of the Conquerors

If Sanji was gonna get Conqueror’s Haki was a hotly contested topic for at least 5 years – ever since Zoro unlocked his, during the Onigashima Raid. I personally was always at least 70% sure he is going to get it, but many doubted him, citing his personality – that of an uncertain, less than an ambitious individual – as a big reason for him not getting it.

Turns out we were both right, because, while Sanji is certainly going to unlock Conqeuror’s Haki, he just first needs to overcome that uncertainly.

This uncertainty, yet again, stems from his relationship with Germa as Sanji lacks “self-love” due to the continuous and repeated abuse he, as a kid, had experienced from his family. This abuse lead Sanji to develop and inferiority complex and created a constant need in him to prove himself, which most often manifests with his competition with Zoro. And if it’s not a dick-measuring contest with Zoro, it’s his constant desire for recognition, or for his bounty to be high, etc.

Another unspoken dynamic of Sanji’s fight with Qillingham is that Sanji is Royalty – a Noble. Sure, he is not on the same level as a World Noble, but that only makes the dynamic more interesting, as it explores a sort of a “noble hierarchy” that can be observed a couple of times in the story. Namely, with Stelly wanting to become a World Noble that sits on the Empty Throne, and York wanting to become a Celestial Dragon.

Pudding and the Blackbeard Pirates

The crazy thing about Sanjis is that, even with everything that has so far happened to him – Germa family revelation, Germa genes awakening, Conqueror’s Haki, etc. – he is still not done. Another thing that Germa 66 relationship brought for Sanji is his arranged marriage to one of the daughters of the Yonko Big Mom: Charlotte Pudding.

Why is this important? Because Pudding is currently kidnapped by the Blackbeard Pirates (presumably due to her Third Eye): the Pirate Crew that the Straw Hats are undoubtedly going to face-off against in the future.

With Pudding’s safety at risk, Sanji now has an easily established personal connection and emotional investment in this fight, and in turn the readers have it as well. Oda doesn’t have to spend an extra chapter or two to build a connection between Sanji and whoever he ends up fighting from Blackbeard’s crew as he has already done that back in Whole Cake Island and the following Cover Story.

Conclusion

It’s crazy just how much Germa 66 has reinvigorated Sanji’s character. He went from being a 2nd fiddle to the Romance Dawn trio, to being the focus of a major part of post time-skip story.

A simple familiar connection for Sanji has made it so that, even 10 years after the big reveal, Sanji still reaps the benefits. From simple, unspoken details, to bigger character arcs and struggles, to finally larger, overarching storylines, Oda introducing Germa 66 truly is the best thing to ever happen to Sanji’s character.

I just wanted to take a moment and talk about how DEEPLY Robin’s story resonates with me, in a way no other character in fiction quite does, and I was wondering if anyone had a similar experience with any of the characters as well.

I’m kind of a loner. I have “friends”, but I’m rarely included in plans unless it’s a birthday celebration. I have other friends who do care for me, but they have friends they’ve had longer. I’m no one’s first choice, and all my relationships with others feel half-baked. I don’t know if anyone would care about me enough to make sacrifices for me, to fight for or defend me. It’s gotten to the point where I would rather people not know about me at all than they know me and not want to be around me.

I have the kind of hopelessness that Robin had. The kind of pain that came from accepting that I would always be alone, that I wouldn’t ever find friends who would love and support me during my ups and downs, who would stick around even when I’m sometimes unbearable or imperfect. People that I don’t have to actively wonder every single day if a single mistake would destroy my relationships.

But she found her friends. She found people that would fight for her, even if she made mistakes. “Ain’t no one born in this world to be alone.” Robin had lost hope for a long time, but eventually, Saul’s words proved true. The seas were big, and yet Robin found her place with Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats. It gives me a little more hope that maybe it’s possible for me to not be alone forever.

Anyways, this was just a little bit of a rant for people who might understand a little more than my “friends” do (I have one closer friend who watches One Piece but she doesn’t have the same insecurities as me, so she doesn’t really get it despite her caring for me). Thanks for listening to my TedTalk. If ya’ll have any similar thoughts or feelings, feel free to share! Frankly, I’m just curious if I’m the only one who felt this surreal connection with any of the characters.

first time actually drawing sanji...LOVE YOURSELF!!!