Sanji vs. King: Who Would Win in a Fight?

One Piece is an anime with its fair share of strong and powerful characters. Most of them are protagonists or their allies, but One Piece has also introduced us to many powerful antagonists. In light of that, the focus of this article is going to be a Straw Hat Pirates crew member, Vinsmoke Sanji, one of the best cooks in the series, and King of Kaidou’s crew, since the two of them have actually engaged in a short fight in Wano Country, but it was interrupted, and King went on to lose to Zoro, while Sanji defeated Queen. Still, in this article, we will analyze the two, as we will pit King against Sanji to determine who the stronger of the two is and to tell you who won the fight.

On paper, King is stronger than Sanji. Sanji does have a lot of specific skills, but King’s powers and strength are simply on a level above Sanji’s, and that is why King would’ve won against Sanji in a fight. This is probably why Oda had King fight Zoro while Sanji fought Queen. Had Sanji faced King in direct combat, he would have probably lost.

The rest of this article will further elaborate on the above-given answer, as we will compare King and Sanji in more detail. Through several categories, you will see who the stronger of the two is and why our answer is like it is, i.e., why King would ultimately be able to defeat Sanji in a fight.

Physical powers

Sanji’s kicks are the main source of his strength and power. Sanji has extraordinarily strong legs and feet that are capable of smashing boulders and easily overcoming opponents who are much bigger than him, demonstrating that he possesses highly superhuman leg strength. (such as Bananawani or Mohmoo). He can move with more agility and superhuman speed because of his legs, as demonstrated by the fact that, despite losing to Kalifa in the end, he could easily keep up with her. (although he stated that he would refuse to fight a woman).

Sanji primarily uses his legs to battle, but his arms are so powerful that he can stand on them, increasing his adaptability to many situations. He can also perform a handstand with just one hand. Despite being repeatedly subjected to tremendous strikes to the head and chest that only minimally harmed them, his body displays superhuman resistance.

He even managed to properly acquire an El Thor from Enel while still conscious for a bit, taunting his assailant in the process. Sanji’s speed, which is on par with Brook’s and Luffy’s in gear two, is one of his greatest assets. He can move so quickly that he can evade detection and assault individuals without anybody being able to even notice him. His body has gotten significantly faster and stronger over the past two years.

King has demonstrated incredible strength by propelling Shinobu into a tower with enough force to affect and damage it or deflecting a strong kick from Sanji with his leg when the pirate wore his raid armor. King used his sword to cut off one of Marco’s phoenix wings simultaneously. In addition to his physical power, King is incredibly resilient even in his human form, absorbing a direct hit from Roronoa Zoro’s Rengoku Oni Giri and merely being flung to the ground without suffering any noticeable harm. He appears to be moving quite quickly, considering his size, spanning a wide area in a single bound.

This is the category where King definitely dominates most other characters. King is incredibly powerful, so much so that it even impresses Kaido, and would definitely triumph over Sanji in a duel of strength, which is why he wins this point.

Points: Sanji 0, King 1

Devil Fruit

Vinsmoke Sanji is a very powerful character. He is known as one of the most powerful characters in the series and one of the series’ best one-on-one fighters. Sanji’s powers and feats suggest that he has consumed a Devil Fruit, but is that true? It’s not – namely, Vinsmoke Sanji has never eaten a Devil Fruit. This makes Sanji one of a very small number of characters (the most notable other ones being Zoro, Shanks, and Mihawk) who are extremely powerful but have not actually consumed a Devil Fruit; most of the other powerful characters have to thank their Devil Fruits for their individual reputations.

King ate the Ryu Ryu no Mi: Model Pteranodon, a Devil Fruit similar to a Zoan from the Paleozoic Era that grants him the ability to fully or partially turn into a Pteranodon. He can fly thanks to this fruit and use incredibly potent aerial strikes, as he demonstrated when he assaulted the Queen Mother Chanter, a huge ship with enough power to take down even Charlotte Linlin. Also, it gives him the necessary strength in his beak to strike Sanji in the stomach and hurt him. With his beast-human form, he can use his wings to fire strong flying slashes. You may throw these slashes one after the other, and they can cause much damage.

This category is fairly easy, as Sanji does not have a Devil Fruit, unlike King. In light of that fact, King definitely wins this point, and there is no dilemma about it.

Points: Sanji 0, King 2

Haki

Although Sanji has demonstrated proficiency with Kenbunshoku and Busoshoku Haki, the former is his area of expertise and is what he is best known for. Sanji is skilled at using Kenbunshoku Haki and even specializes in this style of Haki. With this kind of Haki, he could perceive other people’s presence, power, feelings, and intents. Even he was astonished when Charlotte Katakuri, who was a more skilled user of Kenbunshoku Haki, fired a projectile at him.

Sanji can use Busoshoku Haki in its most potent projection form. Even though the hit from Judge’s spear injured him, he did not demonstrate any use of this Haki before the fight. During their battle on Whole Cake Island, Sanji could also injure Luffy. Sanji used Busoshoku Haki to protect Carrot from Charlotte Daifuku’s brilliant attack later in the same story arc, just after he and Luffy had returned to Sunny.

King is known to be able to use two of the three varieties of Haki. King can employ the Observation Haki, and he claims to have been able to detect Sanji even when he was invisible. He can also employ the Armament Haki, as evidenced by how he hardens his katana before facing Zoro. Ironically, the Royal Haki is the only Haki King that cannot be used because he lacks the authority of a king.

Now, we don’t really know how to compare their Haki skills so as both of them can actually use the two same types of Haki, we have decided to split the points in this category.

Points: Sanji 1, King 3

Weapons

Although Sanji’s premise as a cook is to keep his hands just for cooking, he has faced off against many weapons during the play. Sanji, according to his father, underwent sword instruction. The extent of Sanji’s expertise is unknown, though, because he only uses his hands for cooking and avoids risking damage to them during combat.

When using knives, he does, however, demonstrate remarkable handling skills and is quite precise, not hesitating to juggle many blades with finesse. He also exhibits great ambidexterity, using both of his hands equally to hold two knives simultaneously against Wanze. He can slice Wanze’s ramen and place the pieces in a dish with enough accuracy. Kitchen knives aren’t designed for cutting people, as Sanji explains in his distinction between them and Sabers.

King wears a big katana that is appropriate for his size on his right hip. This sword’s smooth circular gold tsuba, matching gold kashira, and matching gold kojiri contrast with the light orange hilt’s light orange tsuka-ito, which create diamond-shaped recesses. The saya surrounding it is the same shade of orange as the tsuka-ito. Two red cords with protruding ends and extra red bands encircling the bottoms of the saya are attached underneath.

Well, King’s weapons are based on strength and are more powerful than Sanji’s in this aspect, but we cannot really ignore Sanji’s skills with blades and his dexterity, which is why we have decided to split the points here as well.

Points: Sanji 2, King 4

King would be able to defeat Sanji

Ultimately, it all comes down to the fact that Sanji couldn’t really counter King’s raw strength, especially in King’s Devil Fruit mode. Sanji is skilled, agile, and fast, but King has proved that he can counter that and that he is more powerful than Sanji, even when the latter is wearing his Raid Suit. The points also confirm this, as there is no category in which Sanji surpasses King, so yes – King is the clear winner in this match-up, we are certain.