One Piece: Every Character That Sanji Couldn’t Beat On His Own, Ranked

Highlights

• Sanji faced tough opponents like Pearl and Kalifa, needing help to survive their attacks.
• Surume, a kraken enslaved by the New Fish-Man Pirates, was tamed by Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji.
• Doflamingo, a ruthless ruler with immense power, almost killed Sanji if not for Law’s intervention.

Sanji is one of the most loved characters in One Piece. He has earned the affection of the audience with his strength and kindness. Sanji is a member of the Monster Trio, along with Luffy and Zoro. While Sanji is a cook by profession, he can more than just concoct new recipes.

He is a talented fighter on whom the crew can rely in times of need. Sanji does not have a Devil Fruit, but he possesses physical abilities that far exceed those of a normal person. He has conquered many tough opponents, but there have been a few who have forced Sanji to seek the help of others.

6 Pearl

Needed Help From Gin

Aside from Sanji’s debut, the Baratie arc had a lot of fights. One of them saw Sanji going up against Pearl, who was among Don Krieg’s top officers. He had formidable armor that kept him safe from attacks. It was extremely difficult to deal any kind of damage to him.

Pearl was able to mercilessly beat Sanji because the Krieg Pirates took Zeff hostage. Sanji knew that he couldn’t do anything, so he had no choice but to withstand a flurry of attacks from Pearl. If Gin had not stepped in and beaten Pearl, Sanji could have very likely died.

5 Kalifa

Needed Nami To Step In

Kalifa was a member of CP9 and one of the main villains of the Enies Lobby arc. She was a talented assassin who could take down her opponent without much difficulty. Like all the other members of CP9, Kalifa could use Rokushiki to overwhelm her enemies.

In the Enies Lobby arc, Kalifa’s first opponent was Sanji. The Straw Hat was a lot stronger than her, and he should have easily beaten her, but he couldn’t do so because of his principles. Sanji only tried to block her attacks, which gave Kalifa a massive advantage. She used the power of her Awa Awa no Mi to put Sanji out of commission. Thankfully, Nami was in the vicinity, and she decided to take care of Kalifa. If she had not arrived on time, Sanji would have died.

4 Satori

Underestimated His Opponent

Satori was a priest of Enel and one of the secondary antagonists of the Skypiea arc. Like the other priests, Satori was a powerful individual who could take on multiple enemies at the same time. He had access to Mantra, which he used to read the movements of his opponents.

In the Skypiea arc, Sanji, Luffy, and Usopp had to confront Satori and overcome his trial. They believed that he was a weakling, but they were soon proven wrong as Satori absolutely demolished them. After regaining their senses, all three combined their efforts to throw Satori off-guard and ultimately beat him.

3 Surume

Was Helped By Other Monster Trio Members

Surume was a kraken that the Straw Hat Pirates encountered while they were on their way to Fish-Man Island. It was enslaved by the New Fish-Man Pirates, due to which it acted hostile towards everyone.

Surume was large enough to destroy multiple ships with a single swipe of its tentacles. It also possesses the ability to regenerate lost limbs. So, it is not easy to beat Surume in combat. When it was trying to attack the Thousand Sunny, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji decided to stop the monster. Each of them launched devastating attacks, which caused Surume to stop. Their attacks also tamed Surume, who returned later in the arc to help out the Straw Hat Pirates.

2 Doflamingo

Required Intervention By Law

Doflamingo was a Shichibukai and the ruler of Dressrosa. He was also the supplier of artificial Devil Fruits to Kaido, who wanted to create an immensely powerful pirate crew. Doflamingo was a ruthless man who would go to any lengths to achieve his goal. He possessed all three types of Haki and the Ito Ito no Mi. His Devil Fruit’s power was difficult to read, which gave him a massive advantage in fights.

Doflamingo and Sanji clashed briefly near Green Bit. The latter was trying to protect his fellow crew members from Doflamingo’s threat, but the Shichibukai’s power proved to be too much. Sanji was badly wounded while fighting and would have died if Law hadn’t intervened. Seeing Law caused Doflamingo to turn his attention away from Sanji and the Straw Hats, giving them a chance of escape.

1 Gecko Moria

The Entire Crew Had To Work Together

The Thriller Bark arc proved to be one of the biggest tests for the Straw Hat Pirates. The crew managed to defeat Gecko Maria’s top officers without any major problems, but things became complicated when the Shichibukai took over the body of Oars.

As he took control, it became impossible for a single Straw Hat to beat Gecko Moria. The crew ended up combining their efforts to increase the overall danger, but it also helped them to avoid any critical hits. Sanji was also a crucial part of the plan, and without his help, the situation could have been worse. The combined efforts of the Straw Hat Pirates made it possible for them to take down Gecko Moria.