User blog:DancePowderer/Where There's Vinsmoke, There's Power

Just when you thought you got rid of me, I'm back with another one of my occasionally almost award-winning blogs. This time the topic is going to be Sanji's family, as if the catchy title didn't tip you off to that already (let the smoke puns begin, am I right?). This is a family that warrants investigation. We know Sanji's family seems to be powerful, but I feel that their power runs deeper than we all think. How deep exactly? Well, let's find out.

Brook was just a fountain of information in Chapter 813, wasn't he? Let's start with the first thing he says. The name sent chills down his spine. That may just be a skull joke to some, but it tells us a lot. First, that the family is powerful and infamous enough that their name alone can strike fear into someone who knows of them. Second, considering Brook's age, it could also mean they're a rather old family. Bege criticized Sanji's lack of grooming, meaning they are at the very least nobility. Maybe not World Nobles, but close. Brook's next exclamation could be indicative of a high level of influence in the World Government. For those of you who don't know, or at the very least forgot, crossing the Red Line is not a trivial task. Unless you want to ditch your ship and hoof it, you need special permission from the World Government, which is very difficult to obtain. Since they were able to cross, that tells us they have a good deal of influence in the World Government.

We know they're powerful, but let's take a look at just how far their influence extends. We'll start with Sanji's wanted poster. As we've seen, it is very rare for wanted posters to say anything other than "Dead or Alive" yet Sanji's said "Alive Only". This tells us that the Vinsmokes are not only influential in the World Government, but in the Marines as well, seeing as they were able to get Sanji's poster to stipulate something other than the norm. What I'm curious about is why his original poster didn't say this. My guess is that they either didn't think the bounty was high enough to warrant clarification or that the photo was so damn unrecognizable that they thought it was someone else. Probably the latter. I'm still trying to discern the family's exact standing. I'm hesitant to call the Vinsmokes World Nobles because, in theory, Sanji's bounty would have been waived due to his diplomatic immunity as a member of that status. That's at least the simplest view, and I can't really talk any deeper than that with the utmost confidence right now.

And now, we look at the most apparent information regarding the Vinsmoke family. They are doing dealings with a Yonko. This family sure has its fingers in a lot of pies, I can tell you that. This means they have ties to the Yonko (obviously), as well as the underworld and all the fun stuff that comes with it. Based on what little I know about marital culture in the upper echelons of Japanese society, Sanji and Purin's marriage will more than likely serve as some sort of business agreement between the Charlotte and Vinsmoke families. What that business is regarding, I cannot say. Brook seemed to be the only one among the the four spectators present who had any reaction to the Vinsmoke name, which is vaguely understandable, seeing as he possibly had ties to a royal family by being the leader of a battle convoy. This is one of the more intriguing observations I made. Considering the kind of business they're involved in, one would think Caesar would react as well, yet he only reacted to the Charlotte name. This is where we get to the true darkness of the Vinsmoke family. Unlike the World Nobles, this family does not make its name very public. Due to its involvment with, let's call them competing organizations, this family could not be very open about its affairs, at least on one end unless they're pulling some double agent crap that I don't want to get into. This is one of those families that would be pulling the strings (jeez, as if we didn't just get enough of those in the last arc) from the back, silently making plays and influencing God knows what. Sanji's marriage will be a pivotal play in ensuring power in both the lawful and unlawful worlds. This family is stronger than we think, and more dangerous than we know. That's my take on it anyway. Prove me wrong or tell me otherwise.