Sanji

Sanji is a pirate and the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates. He is the fifth member of the crew and the fourth to join. Since he was born in the North Blue, he is the first Straw Hat not to originate from the East Blue.

Appearance
Sanji is a slim young man with blond hair, often well-dressed, and keeps his hair brushed over his left eye. Sanji's left eye is so rarely seen that many fans have questioned the assumption that he has one at all. In the manga it is never seen, but is seen in the anime (episodes 21, 27, 82, 128 and Movie 6 although usually very briefly and most likely due to animation errors). He almost always wears a black, double-breasted suit with tie and long-sleeved, buttoned shirts of varying colors, with or without pinstripes. His fashion changes at times, like in the Water 7 Arc where he had no suit jacket, but a black vest over an orange, pinstriped shirt. He also wears dress shoes, mostly for his Red Leg martial arts. These shoes are extremely durable, and were designed to increase the power of his attacks, though he can very well attack without them as he did against Kuroobi. Sanji is also a chain-smoker and is rarely seen without a cigarette. During the Straw Hats' separation, Sanji starts to dress exactly like a typical okama.

According to Oda, Sanji most resembles a duck, is identified by the color blue, and smells of seafood and cigarette smoke.

Sanji's right eyebrow forms a spiral, and he gets very upset if somebody (usually Zoro) chooses to point it out.

On the thumb of his right hand, Sanji has three small scars from when he cut himself peeling apples.

Personality
Like Zoro, he is more perceptive than he seems, and often tells people what they need to hear instead of what they want. Hence, he is seen as one of the more hardened members of the crew and can often be as scary as Zoro at times. Unlike Zoro, however, he is not afraid to show his emotions when the moment calls for it, and is entirely capable of crying or losing his temper. In fact, a running gag has appeared since Sanji's fight with Jyabura, during which he stated that when he gets angry, he 'heats up'. After this fight, when Sanji gets particularly angry at a villain, he appears to burst into flame. This occurs against both Absalom and Duval, though the latter example appears only in the anime.

He is very amorous, constantly flirting with any attractive woman he sees, earning him the nickname "ero-cook". He has sworn to never let women be insulted or injured while he can still stand, regardless of how attractive (or unattractive) they are. This is often problematic in his fighting as he can't attack female opponents; he would rather die than hurt them (though that doesn't mean he won't resort to blocking their attacks). All of this is apparently the result of a "strict upbringing". Also, while most cannot see it, he has a deep respect towards his mentor, Zeff, who selflessly gave all his food to the young Sanji back when they were stranded. As a result, during his time on the Baratie, he exhibits little to no hesitation in beating customers who spoke ill of Zeff's former status as a pirate.

Sanji considers himself handsome and charming, often comparing himself to a fairytale prince. So far, he has found nobody who agrees with him, and tends to be brought sharply back to earth by the more cynical people around him (such as being called the "prince of Retardia" by Zoro prompting Sanji to attack him).

Sanji also likes to swear a lot and is overall a bit of a trash talker, insulting his opponents while fighting - especially if they insult him or his friends first.

One of Sanji's most prominent characteristics is a strong respect towards food and preparation of food in the kitchen; since food and sustenance play a crucial role in maintaining life, he strongly believes that a chef's work must be treated as though it were sacred. Prior to being stranded on the rock with Zeff nine years ago, Sanji thought food was dispensable, and tossed out any that has gone bad. In fact, he was disgusted by how his fellow chefs would eat leftovers from customers. However, after being starved at the rock, he came to regret his maltreatment to food. As a result, he has a strong tendency to become hostile towards those who waste food, or regard it in any way that is less than the way he does. Thus, he has a habit of beating up anyone who steals food from the fridge (mainly Luffy). This is precisely why Sanji, in his first appearance, proceeded to make quick work of Fullbody.

Crew
Sanji respects Luffy as a captain, but often gets angry at him for eating too much and showing disrespect for the aesthetics of cooking; he also dislikes Luffy imitating him. However, he does care for Luffy as he is shown dragging his captain out of the water more often than any of the other crewmembers. He is constantly in physical and verbal fights with Zoro (who he refers to as 'marimo' (moss ball) because of his green hair) over their differences. Regardless, the two clearly respect each other for their fighting skills and they have developed a bit of a rivalry, almost like that of two brothers. However, though he spends a lot of time arguing or competing with Zoro, Sanji isn't beneath admitting Zoro is right during those rare occasions where Zoro has seen the bigger picture then everyone else (such as Usopp's rejoining).

He is rather protective of the female crewmembers and Nami likes to take advantage of him, exploiting his extreme servility. He's also good friends with Usopp; Sanji understands him quite well. Despite this, he occasionally beats him and Luffy up when they do something immature, like eat too much food or goof off in serious situations. Sanji originally wanted to cook Chopper, and continues to refer to him as their "emergency food supply" to tease him. However, he does consider Chopper a friend, and will give him or Usopp advice when they need it. In short, he cares as much for the crew as any Straw Hat should, even going as far as trying to sacrifice his own life to Bartholomew Kuma for the sake of his crewmembers despite mentioning that he meant to do so for the female members.

Friends
Sanji had a habit of getting on everyone's nerves while at the Baratie. However, he parted with everyone on good terms despite this and the entire cooking staff was upset by his departure. They have kept an eye on him ever since and used him to promote their restaurant when his bounty was released.

Despite being enemies, Gin also considered Sanji as a friend because he showed him the only act of kindness he ever experienced. Gin was unable to bring himself to finish Sanji off and left on the vow that the pair would try and meet again on the Grand Line if it was ever possible.

Duval initially hated Sanji for resembling his wanted poster. He was wounded in the back by someone who mistook him for Sanji. However after a defeat during a fight with him, Duval became friends with Sanji because Sanji reshaped his face to make him look handsome. However, Duval's love for his new handsome face gets on Sanji's nerves.

Enemies
Sanji supposedly has many people who bear grudges against him from his time at the Baratie. Essentially, Fullbody has a personal vendetta against him for what happened at the Baratie. However, this has never been taken seriously. Like all the Straw Hats, he is wanted by the Marines.

Abilities and Powers
Sanji is considered to be one of the crew's top three fighters (despite not having one of the top three bounties, which Robin takes). While Luffy always fights the strongest enemy, and Zoro fights the second strongest, Sanji always ends up doing battle with the enemy considered third strongest. Sanji has mastered an unnamed martial art that the pirate Zeff apparently taught him. All of his maneuvers come from his legs and feet. His legs and feet are extremely powerful, able to smash boulders and defeat creatures much larger than himself (like Bananawani and Momoo). His legs also imbue him with superior speed and agility, able to leap and run much farther than most humans. He has stated that the reason he fights with his feet is that he doesn't want to risk damaging his hands as he needs them to cook, though handstands aren't prohibited. This fictional martial art seemingly takes some inspiration from the Brazilian martial art Capoeira and the Korean martial art Tae Kwon Do and may have took some from the Chinese art Tan Tui and bears an almost identical line, in name and in style, to the extremely powerful and dangerous (to both user and opponent) style Blood Leg. Inspirations may also point to a French fighting style now known as Savate. Originally developed by French sailors, Savate employs similar techniques that utilize the hands to support the body and give added power to kicks, and is especially useful on a swaying ship. And the French law at this time considered hands as lethal weapons, which could lead to death if hands were used to kill someone. Possibly for this reason, Sanji's main opponents throughout the series so far were all martial artists with their own unique style (such as Kuroobi's "Fishman Karate" Bon Clay's "Okama Kenpo", Wanze's "Ramen Kenpo" and Jyabura's "Tekkai Kenpo").

As for his actual "attacks", Sanji has a very large number of specific kicks and techniques he uses to fight with. It should be noted that he doesn't call out an attack name whenever he kicks someone or something, but for important events and fights he usually will. Most of his attacks are said in French and are usually cooking/food terms related in some way to the specific portion of the opponent's body that he's targeting or to the nature of the attack itself. In the 4Kids English anime, the attacks are changed to be funny sounding, non-existent food items that have something to do with the target area of the attack.

Common attacks are Mutton Shot (Sanji jumps and flips, and kicks with all his might into the foe's mid-region or head) and Anti-Manner Kick Course (One of Sanji's most powerful kicks where he delivers a 180 degree vertical kick upward into a giant foe's torso or back, which is usually used on those he sees as having no manners, e.g. those that attack women; a typical finishing move). In the Enies Lobby arc, Sanji reveals a new ability - Diable Jambe, the power to heat his lower legs to a temperature so high that they glow bright red, by spinning rapidly in place. 'Diable' means "devil" in French and it's also a type of dish. 'Jambe' means "leg", but the kanji reads diable's wind. The aforementioned attacks also have the word Diable Jambe preceding it (ex. Diable Jambe: Flambage Shot). The heat of the attack is so high that contact for one second would set a person aflame. Sanji used this ability during his fight with Jyabura, in which his attacks weren't so effective due to his active usage of Tekkai. With the heat of his new ability, Sanji overcame his inability to smash through Tekkai by burning through it instead. Also revealed during the Crew's battle against the Kuma Clones, it appears that Diable Jambe puts extreme stress upon Sanji's legs. After several uses of the technique, Sanji himself comments that if he were to use the attack one more time, his legs would break. It is unclear at this point in time whether it is Diable Jambe itself that puts stress on his legs, or the strain of kicking the extremely durable Pacifista cyborgs repeatedly.

Although Sanji fights with his legs, his arms are nearly as strong, enabling him to use an array of handstands, making him more versatile in certain situations. He is also able to use one-handed handstands. During the Skypeia Arc, while riding the Going Merry, he lifted a large mallet that must have weighted several tons before using it to slam an Impact Dial that had been set on top of a barrel; needless to say, the impact would have busted a hole on the Going Merry's deck had it not been absorbed by the Dial. His upper body is also superhumanly durable, having been known to take head-on attacks like Kuroobi's fists and half of Jyabura's Gekkou Juushigan right before counter-attacking them with his kick. His tolerance against fire is also astonishing, which would make sense since he is a cook. This would explain why he is able to utilize Diable Jambe without showing any signs of getting burned himself while the opponent gets incinerated at the receiving end. However, Oda has said that it doesn't damage him because while the Diable Jambe burns hot, Sanji's heart burns hotter.

Though he's one of the physical powerhouses of the crew, Sanji can also be a brilliant tactician if need be. This was particularly evident in the Baroque Works saga, where he was responsible for both disguising himself as Mr. 3 and fooling Crocodile into believing that the Straw Hats were dead on Little Garden and posing as "Mr. Prince" to get the Straw Hats out of Rain Dinners at Arabasta. His skills in this area showed again during the Enies Lobby arc, where he first maneuvered Sogeking onto the roof, where his sniping could be used to full effect. Then appeared again when he shut the Gate of Justice, giving the crew the opportunity to escape the Buster Call.

Sanji also had a fondness for reading books when he was younger and knows of many legends, albeit they are mostly "fairy-tale" like in nature opposed to Robin's "historic" recollection of legends. He had already heard of the legendary ingredient the Blue-Finned elephant Tuna before he saw it. He had also been familiar with the tale of Montblanc Norland through the book King of Liars, Norland. Through a book on Devil Fruits he learnt of the Suke Suke no Mi, although since he had interest in only that particular fruit what else he knows on Devil Fruits is unclear.

Last but not least, Sanji is an expert cook, knowing and capable of preparing almost any kind of food with a strong sense to the aesthetics of cooking. He cooks with amazing speed and dexterity, particularly in his use of knives. Though lacking the power and technique of Roronoa Zoro with a bladed weapon, he is able to make very accurate cuts. He rarely uses them in battle, stating that kitchen knives are not meant for that purpose, but makes an exception when Wanze uses food as a weapon, something that he, as a chef, finds unforgivable, and sees a loophole in using his knives as weapons against food. When he does this he is exceptionally skilled in nitouryuu (two-sword style).

A comic side-effect of Sanji's kicks is that, when directed at the face, they can make the victim more handsome, as seen with Wanze and Duval.

The Dream of Two Fools
Sanji was Zeff's protégé and sous-chef, and the two had a long history together. Nine years earlier, when a young Sanji was working as a ship's cook on the Cruise Obit in the North Blue, the pirate Red Leg Zeff and his crew attacked the ship. However, both ships were caught in a sudden storm, and sank. Zeff managed to save the young Sanji from drowning and the two were washed onto a rock outcropping, high above the sea. He saved Sanji because right before the storm he yelled of his dream to find All Blue, which was also a dream of Zeff's.

Despite their good fortune, there was little food for them: a few rations had washed onto the rock with them, but there was no vegetation, no animals, and no way to reach the water to fish. Splitting up what little rations remained, Zeff ordered Sanji to sit at the other end of the island, and look for a ship. Sanji protested that Zeff was keeping a large sack for himself, but Zeff brushed him off, saying that as an adult, his stomach was bigger. Days passed. Sanji had no more food, but there was still no sign of a ship. Many weeks afterward (the exact amount of time differs between the manga and anime), an emaciated Sanji decided to take a chance, and kill the old man for his food. He did not kill Zeff, however: when he slashed open the old man's sack in a fit of rage, he discovered that there was no food inside, only treasure. To his horror, he realized that Zeff had eaten his own leg to survive (in the anime, he lost it while saving Sanji after becoming entangled in one of the wrecked ships, and simply ate nothing). Zeff confessed that he often lacked food on the high seas, and planned on opening a restaurant on the seas. Sanji, guilty over plotting to kill Zeff, agreed, but Zeff remarked that he was too weak to help. Soon after, a ship appeared, and they were spared from death. Because of this ordeal, Sanji pledges to never refuse food to a starving individual, no matter how evil or poor they may be. In the manga, Sanji began smoking shortly after starting to work at the Baratie in order to impress Zeff, despite Zeff's warnings that it would destroy his taste buds.

Meeting Luffy and Gin
While doubling as a waiter one day since the rest had jumped ship, Sanji served a particular couple of guests to the Baratie, Marine Lieutenant Fullbody and his lady friend, Moodie. Though Sanji served them as a good chef, his slight actions and responses towards Fullbody made the Marine lose face in front of the other customers. Angered, Fullbody dared to pick a fight with Sanji. Sanji on the other hand, upon seeing Fullbody waste the food prepared for him out of frustration, beat the Marine up. As the situation intensified with Patty coming, Sanji was suddenly confronted by Zeff who was at the moment dealing with some trouble, Luffy. Seeing the mess that Sanji stirred up, Zeff immediately got into the argument as well. Just as things were going crazy as usual in the Baratie, a new development arrived. The prisoner that Fullbody and his men captured, Gin, had escaped and was then demanding food from the restaurant. Though dangerous, the starving pirate however was denied food from the other chefs and was kicked out of the restaurant. While his fellow chefs denied the pirate food, Sanji however gave the starving man food for which he gratefully ate. Luffy, who was witnessing Sanji at the time, was impressed by such a kind act and decided to invite Sanji to join his crew.

Despite the Luffy's offer, Sanji refused due to his own personal debt to Zeff. After seeing Gin off, Sanji went back to work and glanced upon one of Luffy's crew members, Nami. Seeing such a beauty, he declared his willingness to become a pirate as long as he was with her. Though the declaration was mere flirtation, the scene however intensified when Zeff butted in. After a brief argument between the two chefs, Sanji continued his flirting with Nami and gave a bad impression to Usopp with his womanizing nature.

Two days after the incident with Gin, Sanji and the rest of Baratie witnessed a fearful sight before them. Though wrecked, the ship, the Dreadnaught Sabre, came before them. The ship belonged to Don Krieg, the pirate captain that Gin served under. With the knowledge of Baratie being a floating restaurant, Gin brought a starving Don Krieg and his crew before Sanji and the other chefs. As before all the chefs but Sanji refused to give food to such a dangerous person. However, no sooner had Krieg finished the food that Sanji gave him and regained his strength, did the pirate showed his true colors. Demanding food for his men, Sanji complied with Krieg's request. However because Krieg also demanded the Baratie, Sanji's efforts were hindered by the other chefs. Though Sanji's efforts to give food were hindered, Zeff instead gave food for Krieg's men.

Defending the Baratie
After a lengthy discussion, Sanji and the rest of the chefs of Baratie prepared for upcoming battle. Luffy, spurred by the turn of events, decided to join Sanji in defending the restaurant. However, before anything could happen, Don Krieg's ship was suddenly sliced up before the eyes of Sanji and the rest. Finding out that these new turn of events was caused by Mihawk of the Shichibukai, Sanji and the rest then witnessed momentarily a battle between this legend and one of Luffy's crewmembers, Roronoa Zoro. Though Zoro was skillful, Sanji and the rest witness Luffy's companion fall to the master swordsman. As the battle ended and they witnessed Luffy's Devil Fruit powers, Sanji and rest heard Zoro's vow to Luffy. With that finished, Sanji and the rest were able to concentrate on the battle with Krieg's forces. With his fighting skills learned from Zeff, Sanji was able to defeat a great deal of Krieg's men. One amongst them however was different from the rest. Pearl, the so called invincible wall, was significantly stronger than them. Made fiercer by a blunder by Luffy, Pearl proved to be a real threat to Sanji. Despite this, Sanji was still able to handle his own against this tough opponent. Though Sanji was getting the upper hand against this opponent, in the midst of their battle however, a new surprise developed. As Sanji and the others were fighting, Gin snuck up on Zeff and took the old man hostage. With this, Sanji was asked to surrender.

With Zeff being held hostage, Sanji was negotiated by Gin that he and the other chefs should just leave the Baratie and thus everything will be alright. Due to what Sanji done to Zeff in the past, he refused to make Zeff give up another one of his treasures. Seeing this behavior the other chefs asked Sanji what he meant by this. As he was being attacked by Pearl who took the opportunity for some payback, Sanji explained to them that in the past, Zeff sacrificed everything, including his own leg, so that he could live. Sanji explained to them all that it was his obligation to Zeff. With this, Sanji stood still and took all of Pearl's attacks, ready to die for the Baratie. As Sanji was being attacked however, Luffy did something unexpected. Luffy broke part of the Baratie much to everyone's surprise.

Angered by this sudden action, Sanji asked why. In response, Luffy told him that since the ship was the goal of Krieg and his men, destroying it would be the solution to the problem. Luffy also explained to him that Zeff didn't saved Sanji's life so that he could throw it away for the ship. As they were talking about all this, Pearl decided to attack once more. However before Pearl could strike Sanji and Luffy, Gin suddenly defeated him. Explaining himself to Krieg, Gin stated that he'll be the one to finish off Sanji. Told that this was a special honor for the food that he gave Gin, Sanji battled with the pirate. Despite his skill, Sanji was unfortunately overpowered by Gin. However just as Gin was about to land the final blow, Sanji found himself before a supposedly heartless pirate unable to kill. Because of Sanji's previous kindness, his opponent wasn't able to bring himself to finish the job. While this saved Sanji from being bludgeoned by Gin. It however angered Don Krieg. In the scuffle that followed in which Krieg fired his MH5 bomb, Sanji was fortunately saved by the efforts of Luffy and Gin. Gin however was poisoned while saving Sanji.

With this turn of events, Sanji told the other chefs to help the poisoned Gin. As they were helping Gin, Sanji noticed an angered Luffy decide to go against Krieg. What followed next was a battle between Luffy and Krieg in which Sanji and everyone watched. As the battle raged, Sanji was told by Zeff to watch Luffy carefully. With every turn of the battle, Sanji was amazed at Luffy's determination against such odds. At the very climax of the battle, Sanji and the others witnessed Luffy do the impossible, break Don Krieg's famed impenetrable armor. Though this was a deciding blow, Sanji and the others saw that Krieg still had a few tricks.

While this did not deter Luffy from ultimately defeating Don Krieg, the outcome however caused the young pirate captain to fall into the water. Seeing this and after being told of Luffy's weakness, Sanji fortunately dove in and rescued Luffy. After a few moments with a slightly less poisoned Gin, Sanji gave the defeated crew of Don Krieg a little boat in which they can use to retreat in. With everything done, Sanji awaited an unconscious Luffy to tell all that happened. Though Sanji still refused to go with Luffy when he woke up, he however shared with him about his dream.

Leaving the Baratie
As Sanji and Luffy then decided to have well deserved meal, they came before a surprising incident. Apparently, every chef there thought that Sanji's soup was disgusting. Though this got to Sanji, in truth, they were just making an excuse so that Sanji could go with Luffy and fulfill his dream of finding the All Blue. As Sanji was pondering about all this outside, he noticed a strange sight. The spectacle that crashed into Sanji and into the restaurant, was one of the Luffy's traveling companions, Yosaku. Due to Nami taking the Going Merry during the battle with Don Krieg, Luffy's crew and traveling companions were forced to part midway and thus unable to fully aid Sanji and the rest. With Yosaku back, the bounty hunter asked Luffy to come with him back to the others for an urgent matter. As Luffy decided to accompany him, Sanji finally decided to become Luffy's chef. After a few moments with the other chefs and with himself, Sanji packed his stuff and went to go with Luffy and Yosaku. As he was leaving, Sanji was met with one last surprise. Zeff, a man who usually belittled Sanji one way or another, asked Sanji to take care of himself. Completely moved by this, Sanji fell to his knees crying and thanked Zeff for everything he done for him. With an emotional Baratie behind, Sanji left with Luffy and Yosaku aboard his small ship, the Shimashima Shopping.

Destruction of Arlong Park
While Johnny, Usopp and Zoro were on their own, Sanji, Luffy and Yosaku headed to meet up with the rest of the crew. Yosaku told Luffy and Sanji about Fish-people. Ignoring him, Luffy began doodling what he imagined fish-people look liked to Sanji's amusement, and what Nami would look like if she was a mermaid (though all he did was draw hair on his horrendous sketch, causing Sanji to demand Luffy destroy it). Sanji then cooked them lunch which was interrupted by the arrival of Momoo. Keeping to his oath, Sanji almost fed Momoo, then kicked him for trying to eat his hand with the food.

Using Momoo to lead their boat toward Arlong Park, the three were flung right into Zoro. Johnny found them shortly after, claiming having seen Usopp get stabbed to death by Nami. Before he and Yosaku left, Nami shows up to confirm this fact, which causes Zoro to attack her and Sanji to defend her. Still actually alive, Usopp ran to meet up with the gang, while Luffy slept and Zoro commented on his own views of Nami, which made Sanji become enraged and the two prepared to fight, only to have Usopp's face come in between the impact.

Nojiko appears, and after Sanji claims she had to be Nami's sister, because they're both so beautiful, she tells the crew the story of Nami's past. Once Nami breaks down and asks Luffy for help, Sanji, Usopp and Zoro join him on the march on Arlong Park.

After Usopp began his fearful run from Choo, Sanji became distracted watching Zoro fight Hachi and takes a powerful punch from Kuroobi and blown from the impact through a wall many yards away. Sanji gets back up after Zoro's fight is done claiming that Kuroobi's strength doesn't compare to the kicks he received from Zeff. In order to save Luffy from drowning, Sanji dives into the pool. Kuroobi follows Sanji into the water, demonstrating that Sanji's movement is slowed down underwater, while fish-people remain unaffected, if not stronger, by beating him up and preventing him from surfacing. Grabbing Sanji, Kuroobi pulls Sanji up, then down quickly so that the severe change in water pressure would crush Sanji's body. Thinking quickly, Sanji remembered that fish die when their gills are blocked. Sanji does this and escapes from his grasp.

After assuring Zoro that Luffy was alive, Sanji challenged Kuroobi to a battle on land. Kuroobi accepts but is quickly defeated by Sanji's kicks. He and Zoro then fight against Arlong, but the two were both defeated, agreeing that only Luffy could win. While Zoro kept Arlong distracted, and with minor interference by Hachi, Sanji dives back into the water and frees Luffy's body, then watches Luffy battle with Arlong while he watches with Nojiko and Gen.

Arrival at Loguetown
After regaining Nami, Sanji and his fellow crew mates sailed towards the Grand Line. Along the way, they decide to stop by Loguetown for last minute supplies for the journey ahead. Knowing the need of his fellow pirates, Sanji bought some food, among which was an Elephant Tuna. Though the shopping trip was relatively uneventful, something suddenly happened as the day went on. Sanji's captain had suddenly been captured.

In the midst of their trip around Lougetown, Sanji's captain had been captured by an old foe of his, Buggy. Having been caught by this old foe, Luffy was going to be executed by Buggy on the same execution platform that Roger died on. Seeing Luffy in danger, Sanji and Zoro immediately tried to rescue their captain. Though they weren't able to reach Luffy in time, Luffy was nonetheless mysteriously saved by a bolt of lightning. Regardless of how it happened, Sanji regrouped with his fellow crewmates to escape Buggy and the Marines stationed in Lougetown.

As Sanji and his two companions were escaping, they were momentarily stopped by Captain Smoker. Despite the brief road bump and the sudden appearance of a mysterious storm, Sanji and the rest were able to regrouped back on the Going Merry to begin their new journey into the Grand Line. As the Straw Hats sailed through the storm, Sanji pulled out a barrel for which he and his fellow crew mates could have a little ceremony. Swearing their dreams upon breaking the barrel, the Straw Hats sailed towards the Grand Line.

Into the Grand Line and a New Enemy
After going through a storm and a slight detour, Sanji and the rest of the Straw Hats went up the Reverse Mountain to enter the Grand Line. Though they were able to climb successfully up the mountain, they unfortunately hit a snag as they entered the Grand Line, a giant whale was blocking the entrance. While Sanji and the rest of the crew were able to stop the ship just in time, Luffy's special seat however was broken in the process. Due to the ensuing reaction that came from Sanji's captain from this, Sanji and the majority of the crew except Luffy unfortunately got swallowed by the whale in retaliation.

Within the whale's stomach, Sanji and his fellow pirates found out that an old guy named Crocus had made his home within the whale. From him not only did they learn that of a way out of the whale, but also of the whale's story. The heavily scarred whale, Laboon, was bashing his head on the Red Line in hopes of being reunited with a group of pirates that left him fifty years ago. While Sanji and the rest couldn't do anything about this problem, Sanji's captain however gave the whale some new hope to look forward to.

After the situation with Laboon and getting some antics involving on how to travel the Grand Line, Sanji and the rest of the crew's company was soon joined by two more, the beautiful Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9. The two were suspicious looking people that tried to take Laboon's meat earlier. Through certain circumstances, they required the aid of the Straw Hats in getting back to their home at Whiskey Peak. Despite the suspicious nature of the individuals, Sanji and the rest took the two aboard. After experiencing some of the abnormalities of the Grand Line, Sanji and the rest of the Straw Hats came to their suspicious passengers' home of Whiskey Peak. Upon arrival, the Straw Hats found to their surprise a rather warm welcome. Instead of the generic fear towns have towards pirates, the inhabitants of Whiskey Peak greeted the pirates happily and treated them to a big party. The party in particular pleased Sanji as he was able to meet alot of pretty girls. In no time at all, the party soon tuckered out Sanji and most of the Straw Hats, not knowing of the real danger that lurked in Whiskey Peak.

As events occurred, Sanji along with Usopp were soon rudely awoken and dragged to the Going Merry by Luffy. Despite not knowing fully what exactly was happening, the both of them instinctively let their guard up the moment they realized an opponent snuck aboard the Going Merry threatening Miss Wednesday. Though initially on the offensive towards her, Sanji immediately fell in love with Miss All Sunday the moment he got a better look at her. After this brief encounter, Sanji and Usopp soon learned the whole truth about Miss Wednesday's secret identity, princess Nefertari Vivi, and her plight. Knowing this, Sanji pledged to help Vivi as he and the rest of the crew sailed towards the next island.

A Mission of Espionage in Little Garden
After some sailing, Sanji and the rest of the crew reached their next destination, Little Garden. Noting that they didn't properly restock their food supply while in Whiskey Peak, Sanji hoped that they get properly resupply in this jungle island. As most of the crew was going out to explore, Sanji asked Zoro to get some meat. The simple request however turned into a heated squabble as Zoro proclaimed that he would do so since Sanji was incapable of doing so. Spurred on by this, Sanji challenged Zoro to a hunting competition to see who can catch the bigger prey. With this, the both of them went into the jungle to hunt.

As Sanji ventured through the jungle, he encountered a dinosaur. Defeating it, he returned back to the Going Merry with his prize. However while waiting at the ship as time passed, Sanji noticed that something might be wrong as nobody else but him had returned. Setting out into the jungle once again, Sanji discovered by chance a house completely made out of wax for which he momentarily enjoyed a cup of tea in it. As he was leaving, he heard a Den Den Mushi ring. Answering it, he was surprised to find out that he was directly talking to the leader of Baroque Works, Crocodile.

Realizing that the house he was in was the base of one Baroque Works' agents, Sanji pretended to be Mr. 3 for whom Crocodile mistook him for. Talking to Crocodile in this guise, Sanji tried to convince the Shichibukai that he had accomplished his mission in eliminating Vivi and the Straw Hat pirates. As he was talking, Sanji was momentarily taken off guard as Mr. 13 and Miss Friday, the Unluckies, appeared. After defeating these two and finishing up his false report to Crocodile, Sanji took the Eternal Pose to Arabasta that was meant to be given to the real Mr. 3 by the Unluckies. Knowing that there were Baroque Works agents on the island, Sanji then rush off in search for the rest of the crew.

Eventually, Sanji regrouped with the rest of the crew together with a pair of giants they befriended. To his joy, Sanji not only found out that both Vivi and Nami were safe, but he also got to see a nice sight from Nami caused by the battle with Mr. 3 and his group. After explaining things about his talk with Crocodile to the rest of the crew, Sanji revealed to them the Eternal Pose he swiped much to their delight. With this and after a slight argument about who won the hunting competition, Sanji and the rest of the crew set sail for their next destination. With a little help from the giants in defeating a giant goldfish, they were able to finally leave Little Garden.

Adventure in a Doctorless Kingdom
Sanji was one of the most devastated upon hearing that Nami's disease could possibly be fatal. Once he and the rest of the Straw Hats arrived on Drum Island in search for a doctor, he decided to depart with Luffy and Nami on their quest to find the witch living in the abandoned castle who could possibly save Nami's life. Along the way, he and Luffy encountered an infant Lapahn, and easily defeated it. However, this invoked the wrath of an entire herd of enormous adult Lapahn, who attempted to assault the two. During the ensuing struggle, Sanji protected Luffy and (more importantly to him) Nami, at the cost of becoming critically injured. In the end, after the Lapahn caused an avalanche, the wounded Sanji was carried alongside Nami by Luffy to the top of the mountain where the doctor lived.

Upon regaining consciousness, Sanji attempted to capture Chopper, hoping to turn him into a stew for Nami to make her feel better. Once he witnesseed Chopper's transformation, though, he expressed shock along with Luffy that the reindeer was a "monster". However, once Luffy claimed that he wanted to recruit Chopper into his crew, Sanji seemed to go along with his desire.

As Luffy continued to chase after Chopper, Sanji and Nami listened as Dr. Kureha informed them of Chopper's sad past. As she finished her story, Chopper burst into the room, informing her that Wapol had returned.

Sanji joined Luffy outside to defeat Wapol and his minions Chess and Kuromarimo. When Luffy ran inside to get Nami's jacket, though, Sanji and Chopper were left to fend for themselves. Kuromarimo launched bits of his hair onto Sanji, which clung onto his body. The hair was then lit on fire by one of Chess's flaming arrows. After Luffy and Chopper began their counter-attack, Dr. Kureha pinned Sanji to the ground, making sure that he didn't battle so that he wouldn't agitate his already wounded body. Even without his help, though, Luffy and Chopper managed to deal with the tyrant king and his two followers.

War in Arabasta
Sanji was below deck when the rest of the crew rescued and met Mr. 2 Bon Kurei. When the crew landed, Sanji was apparently assigned to go get desert attire for the crew, which resulted in him buying dancers outfits for Vivi and Nami. Throughout the desert, Sanji got annoyed with Luffy's ability to lose their food (first with the Kung-Fu Dugongs, then with the Warusagi Birds). When the Straw Hats came across the Sandora Lizard, Luffy, Zoro and Sanji easily defeated it.

Upon reaching Rainbase, the crew separated to escape the Marines. He and Chopper were the only ones who were not captured by Crocodile. After they decimated the Baroque Works Millions, Sanji introduced himself as "Mr. Prince" and made it seem like he had been captured to lure Crocodile outside with a Baby Den Den Mushi. Using Chopper as a decoy, Sanji then somehow destroyed the bridge to Rain Dinners and found Vivi, who was sent to go find help. Sanji then fought Bananawani to get the key to the cage the rest of the crew were in. Instead, Sanji kicked Mr. 3's wax-wax ball out of one of them, whom he 'persuades' to make a duplicate key. The crew then raced to the Alubarna, the capital of Arabasta, on a Moving Crab. When the crew provided a distraction for the remaining Baroque Works officers agents so Vivi could get past them. Sanji and Chopper were chased by Mr.4 and Ms. Merry Christmas. Sanji leaves Chopper to go check on Usopp and Eyelashes, who were followed by Bon Kurei.

Sanji sets off to save Vivi from Bon Kurei. He initially has the advantage over Bon Kurei's Okama Kenpo and outright ridiculous use of his Mane Mane no Mi. Bon Kurei then turns into Nami, which he reconignizes as Sanji's weakness. As Nami, Sanji could not bring himself to attack Bon Kurei. Sanji then sees Bon Kurei's weakness: he can't use his ballet kenpo in Nami's form. After Bon Kurei uses his swan slippers, the battle reaches its peak where Sanji has a slight advantage over Bon Kurei and ends it. Sanji then delivers the 'final blow' to Bon Kurei after saying he wouldn't. Sanji and Zoro then help defeat the billions in 'two seconds' and helps Vivi get to the clock tower.

Rumble in Jaya
Though depressed at not having the beautiful Vivi join the crew, Sanji and the rest of his crew mates came across a new development. Another beauty, Nico Robin, a.k.a. Miss All-Sunday from Baroque Works, had stowed away on the Going Merry and to Sanji's delight asked Luffy to let her join his crew. To his joy, Sanji's captain agreed and thus Sanji wasted no time in making Robin feel right at home. Not long afterwards, a massive ship fell from the sky. From a brief search of the sinking ship by his captain and an explanation from Robin, Sanji and the rest of his crew mates learned that the ship fell from an island in the sky called Skypiea. Needing more info on the matter, Sanji joined the expedition team consisting of himself, Luffy, and Zoro. Using special diving suits made by Usopp, they explored the sunken ship. As they were exploring the ship, their search was suddenly cut short as the ship was suddenly clamped and filled with air, and a bunch of other people appeared. After taking care of the intruders within the newly created air pocket, Sanji and his companions encountered a monkey-like person bursting into the room. Although his captain initially got along with the person, they unfortunately got on bad terms with Masira when they found out they were after the same thing.

Fortunately, Sanji and his two crew mates were able to escape from Masira as well as from a giant turtle that ate the ship. As Sanji and the others were about to deal with Masira and his crew, they all suddenly found themselves in the presence of shadowy silhouettes of creatures much larger than normal giants. After apparently escaping from the creatures and getting rid of a little stow away, Sanji and the rest learned of Jaya from an Eternal Pose that Robin stole. Needing more info on Skypiea, Sanji and the rest sailed to the island.

Arriving at Jaya at the port of Mock Town, Sanji and the others learned that they had landed at a lawless town filled with pirates. Unable to join either Nami's group or Robin in exploring the place due to Usopp and Chopper's begging, Sanji stayed behind to guard the Going Merry. After the rather uneventful wait, Sanji and his two companions were surprised to find that Luffy and Zoro were heavily wounded. Although Nami's group proved unsuccessful in getting any information, Robin however was. Learning that a man by the name of Montblanc Cricket might know something, Sanji and the others headed off to the other side of Jaya.

After encountering and escaping from a brief encounter with Masira's brother, Shoujou, Sanji and his fellow crewmates came upon Cricket's home. There they had a little misunderstanding with Cricket and Sanji had a brief battle with him. However in the middle of the battle, Sanji and the rest found out that the old guy suffered from decompression sickness. Taking care of the old guy, Sanji and the rest were able to clear things up with him and his two proteges, Masira and Shoujou. As Sanji and his fellow crewmates explained their problem on how to get to Skypiea, they learned that Cricket was a descendant of Montblanc Norland, a guy known for being a liar in Sanji's home seas. Showing interest in the story and Cricket's dream, they convinced him to help them out. Later as the Saruyama Alliance and the Straw Hats were dining on Sanji's cooking, they realized that they needed something important to aid them, the South Bird. This bird as explained to them by Cricket, was needed to find a Knock Up Stream needed to help them get to Skypiea. Having been told this, Sanji and his fellow pirates quickly went in search for the bird.

Teaming up with Nami and Usopp, Sanji and his fellow companions found that searching for the bird was harder than expected. Despite the antics, Sanji and his fellow pirates were able to catch a South Bird thanks to Robin. With the bird, they headed back to Cricket's. Upon returning however, they discovered that while they were away Cricket and his proteges were robbed by some pirates that Luffy encountered in Mock Town earlier. As Luffy went off to get Cricket's gold back, Sanji and the rest stayed behind to heal the Saruyama Alliance's wounds and repair the Going Merry.

After a long wait for Luffy's return, Sanji and his fellow pirates were able to set sail on the newly modified Going Merry escorted by Masira and Shoujou's ships. Arriving at the designated place for a Knock Up Stream, they waited until the conditions were just. As they maneuvered the Going Merry through the waves into the right position, the Straw Hats encountered a certain pirate and his crew that Luffy met at Mock Town. The pirate and his crew had come to claim the new bounties issued on Luffy and Zoro during Arabasta. To Sanji's disappointment, he didn't get one despite his efforts. This encounter with this pirate however was short as the Knock Up Stream suddenly started to burst. Riding on the propelled Going Merry, Sanji alongside his fellow pirates went up into the sky as well inadvertently escaping from the pursuing pirate.

Arrival at Angel Island
After surviving an intense trip up into the sky, Sanji and the rest of the Straw Hats arrived in an ocean of clouds. Experiencing their new surroundings for the first time, Sanji and the rest soon encountered hostilities. Due to the lack of oxygen in such a high altitude environment, Sanji, Luffy, and Zoro were easily beaten by a masked assailant. Fortunately, the Straw Hats were saved by a the sky knight, Gan Fall and his pet bird, Pierre. After being saved by this strange knight, Sanji and the rest maneuvered the Going Merry across the White Sea until they reached Heaven's Gate. Upon entering, they were allowed to be transported to Skypiea by a sky shrimp without paying the gate watcher, not knowing that they would entering illegally.

Arriving at Angel Beach, Sanji and the rest of the Straw Hats soon befriended two locales, Conis and her father Pagaya. The former of the two entranced Sanji with her beauty. As the Straw Hats were entertained and informed of local stuff by the two, Sanji noticed that Nami, who had decided to try out a dial powered device known as a waver earlier, had gone out of sight. It was then that the pirates learned of the forbidden place called Upper Yard. Fearing that Nami may have gone there, Sanji immediately wanted the rest of them to look for her. However before the pirates could do anything, they were intercepted by the White Berets.

Having been accused of entering illegally, the Straw Hats were forced to pay the fine. Despite their initial cooperation, they were put into a dire situation when a recently returned Nami unintentionally knocked down the White Beret leader with the waver, McKinley. Seeing the situation, Sanji along with Zoro and Luffy immediately subdued the hostile White Berets. Though they defeated them, they unfortunately got a higher penalty than what they started out with. Realizing the situation they were in, the Straw Hats decided to set sail so as to not bring any trouble to their hosts.

As Sanji was preparing for the journey ahead at Conis' house, he along with Luffy and Usopp learned of a new development. Aside from the fact that Nami had put on a shirt over her bikini top, Sanji and his two crew mates saw the Going Merry and the rest of the crew on it being taken by a large sky shrimp. From their hosts, Sanji and the remaining two pirates learned that the rest of the crew were being taken to a sacrificial altar in Upper Yard to receive judgment from the priests. They on the other hand, were to be tested as they attempted to rescue their captured crew mates at Upper Yard. Having no other choice, Sanji and his two companions decided to head to Upper Yard to rescue the rest of crew. Lead by Conis to a dock for gondolas, Sanji and his two companions were instructed how to get to Upper Yard and given a gondola, the Karasumaru, to use. As they were lead by her, they noticed that she and everyone else they met along the way were acting very strange. To their surprise, Conis revealed to Sanji and his two companions that not only was it her that called the shrimp that took the Going Merry, but she was also helping them so selflessly as it was her forced duty to Skypiea's god, Enel. Despite this revelation though, the pirates were more concerned that Conis was now going to be target for telling them such things. It however was too late, Enel exacted his judgment on Conis for telling them the truth in the form of a gigantic lightning volt.

Fortunately, Conis was saved at that moment by Gan Fall. With the knight promising to take care of Conis, Sanji and his two companions headed out to Upper Yard.

The Upper Yard Forest
As Sanji and his fellow pirates sailed through the Upper Yard Forest in search of their kidnapped crew mates, they eventually came upon one of the so called trials. Entering a part of the forest filled with lots of balls made from island clouds, they soon encountered one of Enel's priests, Satori. Upon encountering the priest, not only did Sanji and his companions find out that Satori had some form of technique that allows him predict where their attacks would come from, they also found out that the guy had some sort of trick that allows him to deliver massive blows with a simple touch. Adding to that fact that the priest had also hidden all sorts of surprises in the clouds found throughout the area, Sanji and his two companions found the guy to be very challenging as he knocked them off the Karasumaru and set their boat adrift.

As they struggled fighting with the priest, Sanji and his fellow pirates were able to get a chance when Luffy messed up one of Satori's attack. Upon messing up the attack, Sanji's captain was able to capture the priest in the aftermath. With their opponent restrained, Sanji was finally able to lay well placed hit on Satori. Having defeated the priest, Sanji and his fellow pirates pressed forward after Usopp relocated the lost Karasumaru. With this, they continued their search not knowing of the consequences their actions have caused.

As they continued their search, Sanji and his fellow pirates found the rest of the trip uneventful except a brief meeting with the guerilla that attacked them earlier, Wiper. Eventually, they were able to reunite with the rest of the crew at the sacrificial altar. Seeing the state their ship was in, and having too many questions, Sanji and the rest of the crew decided to camp out for the night. As they discussed the events that unfolded, Sanji and the rest learned something important from Nami, Upper Yard was the long lost part of Jaya mentioned in Montblanc Norland's tale. Realizing the truth to the tale, Sanji and the others decided then that as pirates they should search the fabled gold mentioned as well. After a night of discussing things and dancing with wolves, Sanji and the rest of the Straw Hats went ahead with the plans they made. With the Going Merry somehow mysteriously fixed, Sanji joined the team consisting of himself, Nami, and Usopp. With the ship, they were to navigate it out of Upper Yard and dock it as close to the ruins where the gold was said to be. As they were sailing to the designated place, Gan Fall, who had joined the pirates' company through some events, explained some things about Skypiea and Upper Yard. From the former God, they learned about Skypiea's history, the use of Dials in warfare, and Mantra, stuff which explained some of the mysteries they dealt within the sky island.

Though their trip out of the Upper Yard Forest initially appeared uneventful, Sanji and the companions with him came upon unexpected meeting, Enel appeared before them. With the God before them, Sanji and Usopp were easily knocked out cold by Enel's powers. Though unconscious, they were protected by Nami and Gan Fall from Hotori and Kotori. Later their wounds were tended by Conis, who came into Upper Yard with her father and a Shadian girl.

Final Moments in the Sky
After recuperating through a series of events, Sanji awoke to find that Nami was no where in sight on the Going Merry. As he looked around, he spotted her on a flying ship hovering over Upper Yard, the Maxim. Seeing that she need rescuing, Sanji woke up Usopp and they both attempted a rescue mission. Using Usopp's devices, Sanji and his fellow pirate were able to climb aboard the soaring ship. As the two split up in order to locate Nami faster, Sanji came across some important looking gears within the ship.

After messing with the Maxim's gears, Sanji arrived just in time at the top deck to save Usopp and Nami from Enel. Though he was shocked by Enel for doing so, Sanji's actions down below however put a wrench in the God's plan. As Sanji lay unconscious once again, Usopp, who was able to secretly stay aboard, took the electrocuted chef off the Maxim and back down to the rest of the Straw Hats. Though he had been rendered unconscious again by Enel, Sanji woke up upon hearing the legendary golden bell of Shandia rang as Luffy finally defeated Enel.

After the whole ordeal and some recuperating, Sanji and his fellow pirates decided to hold a large party with everyone on Skypiea in celebration. After several days of nonstop partying, Sanji along with the rest of the crew were woken up by Luffy to get ahold of some gold. Learning from his captain of some gold located in the belly of the giant snake, Norla, Sanji and a few of the crew journeyed into the sleeping beast's belly to gather some much sought after treasure. As Sanji and the rest were preparing to leave with their "stolen loot", they saw a bunch of Skypieans and Shandians carrying what they believe was a huge cannon. Believing the people were going to get them for stealing, Sanji and the rest immediately left in a hurry towards the Going Merry, not knowing that the cannon that the sky natives were carrying was actually a golden pillar that they were planning to give to the Straw Hats as a reward.

After escaping aboard the Going Merry, Sanji and the rest of the crew were taken to Cloud's End by Conis. There, they were transported back down to the Blue Sea by a Balloon Octopus. As they floated back down, they heard the ringing the golden bell that was rung in honor of Straw Hats.

Davy Back Fight
After their adventure in Skypiea, Sanji and the rest of the Straw Hats finally returned to the Blue Sea. After navigating through some of the Grand Line's dangers and a discussion with what to do with the gold they gathered from their previous adventure, Sanji and the rest soon came to their next destination. While Luffy and two others decided to explore this new island, Sanji and the rest decided to stay behind on the Going Merry. However as they were preparing things, they soon came to face with a new danger. A giant ship had trapped the Going Merry between its anchors and its crew, the Foxy Pirates, were itching for a fight with the Straw Hats.

Facing this new foe, Sanji and those with him soon learned that the Foxy Pirates wanted to challenge the Straw Hats to a Davy Back Fight. Knowing what a Davy Back Fight is, Sanji along with Robin explained what it was to Zoro and Nami. With this knowledge, Sanji and the rest also realized what had happened to some pirates they had met earlier. Knowing that their pride as pirates was on the line, Sanji decided to partake in the sport as his captain accepted the challenge in the distance with a gunshot. With this, Sanji and his fellow pirates entered into a Davy Back Fight with the Foxy Pirates.

After some pre-game formalities, Sanji and his fellow pirates decided on what Davy Back Fight games they would participate in. Along with Zoro and Chopper, Sanji decided to participate in the second round of the Davy Back Fight games, the Groggy Ring. As Sanji and the rest awaited for their turn and watched the first round of the games, they soon learned of the Foxy Pirate's cheating ways. The most devastating of their tricks, the Straw Hats witnessed was from their captain, Foxy, who had eaten the Noro Noro no Mi. With this Devil Fruit, Foxy caused the Straw Hats to lose the first round. Having won the round for the Foxy Pirates, the sneaky captain then took away Chopper thus taking one of Sanji's teammates for the next round. With Chopper taken away, Sanji along with Zoro were forced to not only participate in their event with one man short, but also forced to face against three of most gigantic members of the Foxy Pirates, the Groggy Monsters.

Following the rules of the game, Sanji was unfortunately made the ball of the Straw Hat team. His role was that if he was dunked into the Straw Hats' buoy, the Groggy Monsters would win. For his opponents, their ball was the biggest member of the team, Big Pan. While Sanji and Zoro were more than capable to handle the situation they were in, their team however suffered a major setback. Due to their rivalry with one another, they spent most of the match arguing with another rather than working together, a trait their gigantic opponents were masters of.

To make matters worse, the referee of the match was a member of the Foxy Pirates who would "unfortunately" look the other way at certain times thus giving the Groggy Monsters chances to use illegal weapon. This made Sanji mad however despite his protests, he was unfortunately given a yellow penalty card for attacking the referee. With Sanji and Zoro's inability to properly work together, the Groggy Monsters' teamwork, and the crooked referee, the two of them soon found themselves being hammered by their opponents. As the two of them were beaten to a bloody pulp, they however decided then to stop bickering with one another and defeat their opponents.

Standing once more to their opponents, Sanji and Zoro were then pitted against the strongest attack the Groggy Monsters could deliver, Monster Burger. However thanks to them finally deciding to work together, they were able to counter the attack successfully and turn it into their advantage. In the middle of the fray also, Sanji kicked to his delight Pickles, one of the Groggy Monsters, towards the unsuspecting referee who decided to not watch the match as the Groggy Monsters were cheating. With practically all of their opponents neutralized through their teamwork, Sanji and Zoro did one last team attack which ultimately resulted in Zoro dunking Big Pan into the Groggy Monster's buoy. Having thus won the match, Sanji and Zoro were able to win a match for the Straw Hats in the Davy Back Fight and get Chopper back.

Water 7; A Breaking Ship, A Breaking Crew
After the Going Merry narrowly escapes being hit by a "sea train", the crew meets an old woman, Kokoro, and her granddaughter, Chimney. Kokoro gives Luffy a map to Water 7. Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and Chopper follow Usopp's bloody trail to the Franky House where they find him passed out in front. The four of them challenge the Franky Family only to find out that their real target, Franky himself, is gone and has taken the money with him. Once they're back on the ship, Luffy has to finally tell Usopp that the Going Merry can no longer be repaired and that they've chosen to get a new ship without him. Usopp believes that Luffy has abandoned the dignity of their ship and says he's leaving the crew. That night, he challenges Luffy to a duel. Usopp fights Luffy in order to decide who keeps the Going Merry; he fights harder than he's ever fought before. The Straw Hats get themselves a hotel room. An incredibly high tide called the "Aqua Laguna" is coming and Chopper and Sanji rush to warn Usopp. While the crew hide from angry residents, Sanji and Chopper discover Robin and she tells them what they've feared: she's responsible and she wants to part ways. Nami goes her own way so she can rush to the Sea Train. As Nami nears the station, Sanji, ahead of her, approaches the train.

On board, he storms the cars. Sanji fights his way through another train car and finds Usopp and Franky. Sanji contacts the rest of the crew and fills them in on his current situation. Usopp separates from them but later, when Sanji and Franky are spotted, a man named Sogeking comes to their rescue. Sogeking makes his grand entrance. Franky and Sanji aren't fooled by his costume but they try to humor him. They devise a plan first, then detach the last two cars and fight their way through the rest. Sanji tells Franky and Usopp to go on without him so he can fight Wanze and his "Ramen Kenpo". On the Puffing Tom, Sanji beats Wanze beautiful, though Wanze thinks he's ruined his face. After beating their respective opponents, Franky and Sanji stand to fight against the other CP9. They stumble into the room with the CP9 and meet with Sanji and Franky. Sogeking produces a smokescreen. The four head into another car, detach it, and escape. It's not long before Blueno pulls their car back, though. Franky knocks down the wall so they can escape but ends up on the enemy car. Blueno opens a door then back in the Straw Hat car. Robin willingly follows Blueno into his improvised door and Sogeking and Sanji are left alone. For a while, Blueno explains a little of Robin's past involving the Buster Call. Luffy and the others finally catch up to Sanji, Usopp, and the rest of the Franky Family as they near Enies Lobby. Paulie sits down with the group and talks about their plan. Luffy doesn't bother to follow the plan, and slingshots himself beyond the gates before the train stops.

Rescuing a Nakama from Enies Lobby: The Wolf and the Hunter
As they arrive at Enies Lobby, the Rocketman lands on Oimo's back. All of them, except Luffy, ride Sodom and Gommorah to the Courthouse. As they wait for the bridge to be activated, they line up on the roof and convince Robin to accept their request of saving her. When Kokoro hears that the bridge was only lowered halfway, she helps by using the Rocketman. Luffy drags them all down as he jumps onto the train and they crash-land in the Tower of Justice. After they land, Fukurou appears declaring that a key is needed to un-cuff Robin. The crew decided to fight individually and set out in search for the CP9 agents. Sanji confronts Kalifa, and was requested to teach her how to make a tea. Later, Kalifa attacks Sanji, who will only defend himself due to his chivalry. Later he is been seen, by Nami and Chopper, under the effect of the Awa Awa no Mi and tells them "I won't kick a woman, Even if I die". He recovered from the Devil Fruit's powers when the fountain falls on him. He takes over for Usopp, who had been defeated and stated that he is the Hunter, whilst Jayabura is the Wolf. He defeats Jyabura with his new skill called Diable Jambe and takes his key. Later, he is seen with Zoro cheering for Usopp's sniper skills as he shoots at Spandam and Marines. He and Zoro carry Usopp to the tunnel to escape. They almost drown when the tunnel floods but are saved by Kokoro, who ruined Sanji's dreams of beautiful mermaids because Kokoro is a mermaid, and ugly. As they steal their escape ship Sanji disappears, and is revealed to have turned the lever to close the Gate of Justice. Unfortunately, their escape ship explodes. They hear a voice telling them to jump over into the sea and when they realize that it was Going Merry, they jump together and finally escape.

After Enies Lobby
With the Going Merry, everyone has managed to escape Enies Lobby safely. However, after escaping, Iceburg arrives in a Galley-La just in time to pick up the Straw Hat Pirates as the Going Merry suddenly breaks apart. Luffy then gives the Going Merry a viking funeral by burning it as the crew tearfully says goodbye.

Sanji helped cook for the festival the Straw Hats and allies were having, which incidentally drained almost all of their remaining Beli. In chapter 435 he received his first bounty of 77,000.000 and is nicknamed "Black Leg", in contrast to his old mentor Zeff, who was known as "Red Leg". However, Sanji is horrified to see his picture on the bounty poster. The marines weren't able to obtain a photo of him(someone left the lens cap on the camera) and thus used a horrendous composite sketch.

Sanji was then seen defending the Thousand Sunny from Garp's attack.

Adventure on Thriller Bark
After sailing for some time on the Thousand Sunny, Sanji and the rest of the crew came across a mysterious barrel floating on the ocean. Upon opening it, a flash shot up from it. After braving a storm that mysteriously came afterwards thanks to Nami and Franky, Sanji and the rest of the crew found themselves in the presence of a ghost ship.

Making sure that nothing would happen to Nami who decided to tag along Luffy in exploring the ship, Sanji climbed aboard along with them. There they met a skeleton named Brook whose being made Sanji ask a lot of questions. Luffy instead asked Brook to join his crew which in turn the skeleton accepted. This shocked both Sanji and Nami. After climbing back down to the Thousand Sunny, Brook suggests that they eat dinner, which Sanji agrees to cook. Over dinner, Sanji was deeply appalled by Brook's bad manners as the skeleton explained his past. Just as Brook was about to perform before Sanji and the rest of the crew after dinner, a ghost appeared and some clanking sounds were heard. These sounds were caused by the gates of the island that suddenly appeared, Thriller Bark, closing. These events prompted Brook to head to the island before Sanji and the rest of the Straw Hats' eyes.

Franky then showed the other Straw Hats his present which Nami, Usopp, and Chopper decided to test ride. After crashing into the island and hearing Nami scream, Sanji decided to go ashore and find her. However before Sanji and the rest could go to the island, they were stopped by an invisible thing. The thing grabbed Sanji's leg as he was jumping overboard and slammed the cook to the side of the ship. It then proceeded to trip up Sanji and lick Robin. The thing later left Sanji and the rest baffled.

After the Thousand Sunny got caught in what was apparently an unbreakable spider web, Sanji and the rest descended to the island. There they met the Cerberus which didn't intimidate Sanji. After Luffy tamed the beast, Sanji and the rest met two more of the island's creatures. Luffy caught the "Geezer Tree" while Franky caught the unicorn. Sanji, along with Zoro, then stopped Luffy before he could ask the "Geezer Tree" to join the group.

Later as Sanji was scolding Luffy, he and the rest came across some ghosts whose strange abilities affected Franky, Luffy, and Zoro. After they recovered, they pressed forward. Sanji and the rest encountered some Zombies and defeated them with a combo technique(600,000,000 Beli Jackpot). The group then met with a old man who looked like a Zombie and asked them to defeat Gecko Moria who had stolen his shadow, so the group headed for the mansion. During the first fight inside the mansion, Sanji was kidnapped and brought to Moria to have his shadow put inside Inuppe. The rest of the crew later find him on the Thousand Sunny along with Zoro and Luffy decorated by the zombies. After finding out what had happened to Nami, Sanji is more then determined to stop her wedding with Absalom. After the crew splits up, Sanji, along with Usopp, Franky, and Zoro, end up in Perona's room. When it is revealed that only Usopp can stand up to Perona's ghosts, Sanji makes his way to the wedding chapel to save Nami. There Sanji engaged Absalom in battle to stop Absalom's intended wedding to Nami. He was able to defeat him with ease due to his rage, but got hit a few times and was even stabbed through the heart to protect Nami. Sanji later teamed up with other members of the crew to take down Oars. Sanji landed the final blow in flipping Oars over, taking out his legs with an Anti-Manner Kick Course. After Robin's shadow is taken, Sanji is furious enough at Oars and Moria to use Diable Jambe to combat Oars. He ends up redirecting a giant sized Gomu Gomu no Bazooka from hitting the unconscious Robin. He is later beaten down after a team move with Chopper by a Gomu Gomu no Gatling Gun from Oars. Things were looking dire as the Straw Hats could not beat Moria.

Luffy soon manages to knock down Oars in his Nightmare Luffy form, but this is still not enough to defeat the behemoth. Luckily, the entire Straw-Hat crew, including Brook, woke up soon after to take Oars down once and for all. Sanji contributed by kicking the rudder chain of Thriller Bark around Oars, so that they could straighten Oars' spine to the point that it wouldn't be able to withstand Luffy's Gigant Bazooka. After Luffy defeated Moria in his Shadow's Asgard form (which nearly cost Sanji and the other shadowless people their lives, had their shadows not returned to them) and subsequently passed out, Bartholomew Kuma appeared to kill the Straw Hats and the Thriller Bark Victim's Association. Not even one of Sanji's kicks was able to damage Kuma (due to the fact that he is a cyborg, which no one knew at the moment), and so, Kuma decided to give the group a choice: Either die, or surrender Luffy to him. After refusing, the group was knocked out cold by Kuma's Ursus Shock. When the attack didn't knock Sanji out, he began to bargain with Kuma for Luffy's life to stop Zoro who was doing the same thing, knowing that Zoro's dream was far too important for him to just give up his life. However, after he asked Zoro to tell the crew to find a new cook, Zoro knocked him out. After the rest of the crew awakened, Sanji found a heavily wounded Zoro standing in the woods.

After this, the crew and the Thriller Bark Victim's Association prepared a party to celebrate their victory over Moria and his zombie army. Sanji learned from the Risky Brothers, who also witnessed what he and Zoro did to protect Luffy, that Zoro took in all of Luffy's pain and exhaustion from his fight with Moria. Sanji told them not to tell any of the Straw-Hats this, even though Robin had spied on them without his knowledge. As the feast continued, Brook told Sanji that he also saw what happened, and asked him for a song request that Brook would play on the piano. But before Sanji could say anything, Brook began playing Bink's Sake. When the Straw-Hats prepared to sail away from Thriller Bark, Sanji was ecstatic to go to Merman Island so he could see the mermaids. So much in fact, that when one of the Risky Bros told them that mermaids do not wear panties, he and Brook got massive nosebleeds.

The Nightmare of Duval
After leaving Thriller Bark, Sanji became more upbeat on their journey to Fishman Island, particularly considering the comments made by members of the Rolling Pirates about the existence of mermaids around that area. Sure enough, the chef is in heaven when the Straw Hats rescue one after arriving at the Red Line. But Keimi immediately ask for his and the other crew's help for the rescuing of her partner Hatchan from the grip of the slave trader Iron Mask Duval. Although Sanji initially believes this as a means to get on a mermaid's good side, this would turn into a personal nightmare.

Upon arriving at the Flying Fish Riders' base to free Hatchan, Sanji helped defeat the Flying Fish Riders with the other Straw Hats, before learning that Duval's has a grudge against him, because Duval looks exactly like Sanji's highly inaccurate wanted poster and his life was ruined by Marines and bounty hunters trying to arrest him. Sanji then proceeds to running up to Duval and kicking him in the face. However, Duval responds by having his Flying Fish riders capture Sanji in a metal net, before diving underwater, in an attempt to drown him. After Keimi saves him, resulting in him getting a large nosebleed from his perversion, Sanji counters by attacking Duval with his face-rearranging kick combo Parrage Shot, in order to destroy the one thing he can't stand looking at; the face of his horrible wanted poster. The beating renders Duval's face beautiful, ending his grudge against the Straw Hats and Duval now calling himself "Handsome".

An Incident on Sabaody Archipelago
At this time, Sanji remains on the Thousand Sunny as the other Straw Hats go about on the Sabaody Archipelago. When he gets a call from the rest of the crew out in Sabaody Park that Keimi had been kidnapped by Fishman/Merman hunters, he decides to call in Duval's favour and the Flying Fish Riders to help find her again. He took part on the conflict Luffy initiated by attacking a World Noble in the Sabaody Slave Auction House. With Duval and his Rosy Life Riders' arrival, the Straw hats escape on their Flying Fish. Meanwhile, Sanji berates Luffy for falling asleep in such an intense situation. He also learned the truth about Gold Roger's execution from the Silvers Rayleigh when they regrouped in Shakky's Rip Off Bar. Apparently Roger gave himself up, as opposed to the Marines' claim that Roger was captured.

Roger contracted a serious illness which couldn't be cured, and spent three of his last four years traveling and eventually conquering the Grand Line. After being dubbed the "Pirate King", Roger gained fame and fortune although it didn't matter due to his impending death, so he disbanded his crew, and surrendered himself to the Marines. While the Marines wanted to make an example of him, his lack of fear before his execution sparked "The Great Pirate Age".

After telling his story, Rayleigh decided to coat the Thousand Sunny free of charge, but said it would take three days. To make up for this, he said he would be going to a different location, and gave everyone Biblicards to find him. Zoro suggests they split up, and regroup later to avoid capture due to the Admiral arrival on the archipelago, while Sanji notes it's an ironic statement from him. As the Straw Hats depart, they say farewell to Shakky, Keimi, Pappug and Hatchan as they decide to split up only to be confronted by a soldier who appears to be Bartholomew Kuma. The Straw Hats battle with the cyborg, who can fire beams out of his hands as well as his mouth. Sanji notes that while they last encountered Kuma when they were worn out, now there at full strength, as Luffy activates Gear Second.

Sanji, Zoro and Luffy land a combo called Gomu Gomu no Diable Mouton Jet 600 Pound Cannon to slow "Kuma" down momentarily. Zoro notes that their opponent may not even be the real Kuma as he demonstrated none of his Nikyu Nikyu no Mi abilities thus far and is instead a replica Pacifista. This presents a problem because it means there's more than one with Kuma's level of strength. After much intense fighting, the Straw Hats finally manage to do significant damage on the Kuma clone and the Monster Trio deliver their finishing blows to it. Sanji uses a 'Diable Jambe: Flambage Shot' to give it serious damage, as Zoro activates his Asura technique to use his 'Asura: Makyuusen', right before Luffy activates Gear Third and finishes it off with a 'Gomu Gomu no Gigant Rifle'. As they rest, they contemplate how such a powerful opponent could appear right so early while they're waiting for the ship to be coated. Sanji gets up and notices the Kuma clone has "PX-4" written on its arm, but before he could work out what it meant, a broadaxe-wielding warrior named Sentoumaru appeared and ordered a Pacifista entitled "PX-1" to capture them. Seeing little choice, the Straw Hats chose flight instead of fight, and Sanji, Nami and Franky ran together, however PX-1 ambushed them, as Kizaru: one of the 3 Admirals appeared and attempted to kill Zoro, exhausted from one of his attacks. However, his attack is deflected by Silvers Rayleigh. After the two engage in small talk, Luffy orders his crew to escape as in their current state, they cannot hope to match either Kizaru, Sentoumaru or another Pacifista. Kizaru attempts to come after Usopp, Zoro and Brook but Rayleigh confronts him again, this time using his sword. Seeing them in danger from PX-1, Sanji runs back telling Franky to protect Nami and kicks the Pacifista as hard as he could, and narrowly avoided his laser beam. However, PX-1 makes a direct hit on Sanji and leaves him unconscious. He awakens just as the real Kuma appears and vanishes Zoro, he is later vanished when he tried to attack the real Kuma.

Straw Hat Separation Adventure- Kamabakka Kingdom
Because of Kuma's power, Sanji has landed on Momoiro Island in Kamabakka Kingdom, where the land is pink and occupied by transvestites (both animals and humans). Sanji was seen running away in horror from a group of pursuing transvestites asking him if he was 'one of them'. They chased him across the beach and through the castle. Later, it appears that somehow the transvestites caught up to Sanji and forced him into being "one of them". Sanji is seen in a frilly dress, a curly wig, high-heeled sandals, and thick make-up frolicking with the transvestites. It is yet to be seen whether he does this against his will.

Filler Battles

 * Sanji vs. Reik
 * Sanji and Chopper vs. Whetton
 * Sanji vs. Boo Jack
 * Sanji vs. President Heaby
 * Sanji vs. Honky
 * Sanji, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Robin vs. Governor
 * Sanji vs. Zoro
 * Sanji and Usopp vs. Salco and Arabelle
 * Sanji vs. Largo
 * Sanji vs. Scarlet

Anime and Manga Differences
A scene of young Sanji beginning to smoke during his early days at the Baratie was not shown in the anime, possibly because it showed a child smoking and implied that smoking was a way of seeming mature.

Like all of the Straw Hats (save Luffy) his location revealing was extended. It showed that he was treated by a what appeared to be a beautiful women named Elizabeth. Sanji then followed her, only to discover that "she" was an okama. Unfortunately for him, do to a miscommunication between the two of them, Sanji is interpreted as an okama and is soon seen running away.

In the anime, the rules of the Davy Back Fight were changed and Sanji participated in the Donut Race together with Luffy. They made it to the coral area assisting Nami's crew in the process.

Translation and Dub Issues
In the original Japanese manga, the Japanese anime, the uncut FUNimation dub, and the Viz English manga, Sanji is a chain smoker. In the 4Kids anime, Sanji instead sucks on lollipops (due to the audience the dub was aimed at). For the aired, edited FUNimation version, the cigarette was completely edited out and any scenes that show him lighting cigarettes or other such actions were redrawn. The same was done in the Singaporean English dub by Odex.

In the English-language manga, Sanji often uses "Crap" as an adjective while speaking (when calling Crocodile, he refers to the restaurant as "Restaurant Le Crap"). This is an attempt to convey both his extremely coarse speaking style in Japanese, as well as his use of "kuso" (roughly "feces") as an expletive; fans often translate it as "shit" because of his manner of speech. For example, he often calls Zeff "Kuso-Jiji" (roughly "shitty-geezer"). In other fan translations, it is rendered as "old fart" or "old man".

In the English anime produced by 4Kids, he simply calls Zeff "old-geezer" or "old fart" (in fansubs, he is also referred to by this name), and "crap-geezer" in the English manga. Also, in the 4Kids English dub, Sanji has an extremely nasally Brooklyn accent, while in the FUNimation version, there is no accent.

Cameos and Crossovers

 * Sanji appeared in a Shonen Jump special, where Enel attacks Tokyo and Odaiba.
 * Sanji and other characters also appeared in Cross Epoch.
 * Sanji has appeared in the games Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars for the DS. He also appeared in Battle Stadium D.O.N on the GameCube and PlayStation 2.

Merchandise
As a main character, Sanji has been the choice character in many forms of merchandise. He has been featured in the series of models Portrait of Pirates. When the Wii game One Piece: Unlimited Adventure was released Sanji was one of the crew produced as a figure in the One Piece Locations Trading Figures series.

He also featured in the 5 piece One Piece VS Figure Gashapon set. Another Gashapon set he featured in was the One Piece Full Color R Gashapon, of what he was featured twice. He was issued alongside Zeff in a One Piece Block Figures set featuring the Straw Hats and their past mentors/loved ones. He is part of the One Piece Sky Island Mascot Keychain collection. He also featured alongside Vivi in the One Piece Desert Kingdom Mascot Keychain/Cellphone Strap collection.

Songs

 * Girls ni Kubittake (with Nami and Vivi as back up singers)
 * The Great Blue~Dessert wa Kimi
 * Sea Moon Sea You (sung by Kid Sanji)
 * Moulin Rouge
 * Respect! (With Luffy and Zoro)
 * Akuma no Mi (Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji)
 * Hi! Ho! Ready Go! (Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji)
 * Family (with other crew members)
 * We Are! (with other crew members)
 * Utae! Jingle Bell (with other crew members)
 * You Are the One (with other crew members)
 * Jungle Fever (with other crew members)
 * Sekai ichi not otoko to yobareru ni naru tameni (with Usopp and Zoro)

Trivia

 * Sanji owns his own Jolly Roger, as does the rest of the crew. It has Sanji's right curly eyebrow, fork and knife for cross-bones, and a chef's hat.
 * According to Oda in an SBS, Sanji "has" 930 Maerchen Ero Ero's (Note: "ero" is a way to infer something sexy, erotic or perverted)
 * Sanji is described as being like the second son of a family.
 * Sanji's favourite food is Spicy seafood pasta and stuff that goes with black tea.
 * Sanji’s curly right eyebrow is supposedly one of the seven great mysteries of One Piece, according to what Oda said in an SBS. In another SBS regarding if every Devil Fruit has swirls, Oda says yes and then states that he often wonders if Sanji is a devil fruit due to the swirl eyebrow.
 * The brand of cigarettes Sanji smokes is called King Ground. This is revealed when Sanji falls down during the Straw Hats descent to the Blue Sea.
 * Apparently Attachan went through much trouble to get Sanji's picture for his bounty poster. In one instance Sanji was either showing his heart face while in another he was under the influence of the Awa Awa no Mi, yet another had his face being blocked out by someone else and in another shot he was kicked in the testicles at the moment. The picture that was supposed to be his was when they got over the Enies Lobby Main Island Gate but the lens cap was on.
 * Despite being labeled as one of the "monster trio" (the top three fighters: Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji) of the crew, Sanji himself does not have the top three bounties (Robin takes that place), and Sanji himself is the only one of the said three who did not make it into The Eleven Supernovas list, his bounty being lower than [[Image:Bsymbol.gif]]100,000,000.
 * He is the Straw Hat's sole unarmed combatant with no Devil Fruit powers.
 * Sanji has the ability to read any woman's three sizes and it was he that according to Oda identified Robin and Nami's measurements. Another nod to that was a published missing scene from the manga that Oda made from Water 7 about the time Robin disappeared. In this scene, Sanji bumps into a woman who he swears is Robin due to the fact he knows no other woman with those same measurements, yet Sanji is confused because she is wearing a mask.
 * Sanji has a habit of saying "Mellorine" when looking, talking, or commenting about a beautiful woman. This carries over to the FUNimation English dub.
 * The failure of the Marines to get a photograph of Sanji may be a reference to his habit of being off screen doing something else while the rest of the crew are fighting, such as his sleeping through the attack of Whiskey Peak, separation from the others during the Little Garden arc, his tenure as "Mr. Prince", his sabotage of the Maxim, and his closing of the Gate of Justice.
 * Sanji's role of most major arcs are to go undercover and infiltrate some place or save someone, like saving Luffy during the Arlong Park Arc, finding Mr. 3's hideout during the Little Garden arc, Rain Dinners to save his comrades during the Arabasta Arc, sabotage of the Maxim during the Skypiea arc, infiltrated the CP-stationed sea train during the Water 7 arc, infiltrated into the Gates of Justice Control Room during the Enies Lobby Arc, and saving Nami from Absalom during the Thriller Bark Arc.
 * Sanji starts off in the set of mini-cover stories: "Straw Hat's Separation Serial". He is the first Straw Hat to have his own cover story, "Sanji's Resisting in Kamabakka".
 * Sanji's knife from volume 7 page 18 (chapter 54) had writing on it saying "Hokuto no Ken" refering to a series from Oda's elementary school days called "Fist of the North Star".
 * If Sanji lived in the real world, he would be French.

Related Articles

 * Straw Hat Pirates
 * Zeff
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