One Piece chapter 1197 was released on November 1, 2026, in Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump issue 49. In this chapter, the creator of the series, Eiichiro Oda, put quite a lot of focus on the power of Supreme King Haki. This chapter was entirely focused on the battle of Sanji against Saint Killingham of the Holy Knights. It further went to show how important Haki is, especially in the New World, heading into the Final Saga.
In the Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy is quite clearly the strongest Haki user and also the one who is most experienced. Under Luffy, the consensus was that Zoro was the best Haki user up until now. However, things have changed quite a lot, as Sanji, the cook of the crew, has emerged with slightly better overall Haki mastery when compared to the swordsmen of the Straw Hat Pirates after the events of One Piece chapter 1197. This sets up another Haki upgrade for Zoro in the future, so that the sword and the shield of the Sun God are finally evened out once again.
One Piece Sets Up Sanji As A Stronger Haki User Than Zoro
When it comes to the power of Haki, not every member of the Straw Hat Pirates is a capable user. Right now, five members of the Straw Hats have shown control over different forms of Haki, but primarily, the crew has three monstrously powerful Haki users, those being the members of the Monster Trio: Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji. In One Piece volume 71, which was officially released on August 2, 2013, Eiichiro Oda confirmed to us that the Monster Trio excel in different types of Haki. For Sanji, the highest proficiency comes in the Color of Observation, while for Zoro, it is the Color of Armament, and for Luffy, it is the Color of the Supreme King. In other words, Sanji has the highest ceiling when it comes to using Observation Haki, and the same goes for Zoro with Armament Haki, and for Luffy with Conqueror's Haki.
Out of the three, Luffy is quite easily the strongest Haki user, but within his underlings in the Straw Hat Pirates, Zoro was by far the best at using it up until now due to his involuntary control over Conqueror's Haki. In One Piece chapter 1194, which was officially released on September 28, 2026, Zoro was finally able to gain control over his Supreme King Haki, and this pushed him to the next level overall. Now, in One Piece chapter 1197, released officially on November 1, 2026, Sanji has taken his powers to the next level as well. Not only did this chapter give Sanji control over the advanced Color of the Supreme King, but it also gave him mastery over advanced Armament Haki. In fact, Sanji's Armament Haki became so powerful that he was able to break through Killingham's defenses on multiple occasions and deal deadly damage to him.
"Armament Haki alone isn't enough! I'll make these legs of mine tougher than anything else!" — Sanji improves his Armament Haki potency, One Piece Chapter #1197
As things stand, Sanji has control over advanced forms of both Armament and Supreme King Haki. It can be stated that Sanji's control over these two forms of Haki is just as good as that of Zoro. At the end of the chapter, Sanji managed to infuse the Color of the Supreme King into his kicks and become the toughest shield of the Sun God, breaking through Saint Killingham's Maki Armor.
Sanji: I did it!
Ivankov: Love is Defense!!
Sanji: I don't even feel a hint of pain! This is like Armament Haki taken to the extreme. Even when I take a hit, it feels like I'm the one landing it!
— Sanji infuses Conqueror's Haki, One Piece Chapter #1197
Right now, Zoro and Sanji are neck and neck when it comes to the usage of the Color of the Armament as well as the Color of the Supreme King. Where Sanji holds the advantage is the Color of the Observation. Sanji's Observation Haki is incredibly refined and far better than that of Zoro. When taking into account all three types of Haki, Sanji has a slight edge over the swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Why Zoro Is Bound To Get A Haki Upgrade In Elbaf
Given that Sanji has a slight edge when it comes to the Color of Observation over Zoro, it only makes sense for the swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates to get a further upgrade in terms of Haki. Interestingly enough, Zoro's fight against Saint Sommers isn't fully over yet. Last time we saw Sommers, he was running away from Zoro at the end of Chapter 1194, which means that there could be more to this battle than what we have seen. In that case, Zoro could potentially get better feats against Sommers in the upcoming chapters and show that his Color of Armament evens out against Sanji's Advanced Color of Observation.
"Hey Zoro, you be Luffy's sword, and I'll be his shield!" — Sanji awakens Conqueror's Haki, One Piece Chapter #1197
All things considered, the wings of the Pirate King are always going to be neck and neck. One Piece Chapter 1197 further solidified that by making Sanji the Shield of the Sun God while making Zoro the Sword of the Sun God. One cannot be greater than the other in order for Luffy to not only become the Pirate King but liberate the entire world, and that is the essence of their rivalry.
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Zoro and Sanji are two of the strongest characters in One Piece, and their overall powers have grown consistently over the past few arcs. Right now, both Zoro and Sanji are at Yonko level and can hold their own against enemies like Admirals of the Navy, as well as the Emperors like Big Mom and Kaido. But this isn't the ceiling for these characters. Zoro and Sanji have to grow even stronger if they are to make Luffy the Pirate King and, on top of that, help topple the World Government.
In the next few arcs, Zoro and Sanji are going to gain even further power-ups, and they need to leave the likes of Yonko behind in the dust. Silvers Rayleigh and Scopper Gaban, both of whom are known to be far stronger than the likes of the Yonko, are the floor for these two individuals. In their primes, they have to be far stronger than both Rayleigh and Gaban, which goes to show that their overall powers need to be on a completely different level.
Furthermore, Luffy, the Captain of the pirate crew, needs to surpass Joy Boy by the end of the series. In a similar manner, Zoro and Sanji must go on to surpass their Void Century counterparts and reach completely new levels. By the end of the series, these two characters are going to be monstrously powerful and, alongside Luffy, likely among the top three strongest of all time.
All chapters of One Piece by creator Eiichiro Oda are available for fans to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
One Piece TV-14 Comedy Action Adventure Anime Fantasy Release Date October 20, 1999 Studio Toei Animation Creator Eiichiro Oda Streaming Service(s) Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
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