Oda's latest One Piece art already hinted at Zoro and Sanji's Gororsei matchups

Modified Apr 30, 2024 02:30 GMT

Oda's latest One Piece art already hinted at Zoro and Sanji's Gororsei matchups (Image via Toei Animation)

Over this past weekend, fans saw author and illustrator Eiichiro Oda’s original One Piece manga series continue with the release of its 1113th chapter. Unfortunately, chapter 1113 also announced a break for the series following its release due to the Golden Week holiday in Japan, meaning the series won’t return officially until Monday, May 13 at 12 am Japanese Standard Time.

While the break week is unfortunate, One Piece fans were left with many significant developments, such as the beginning of Dr. Vegapunk’s message, which reveals a startling truth about the world. Fans also saw Sanji seemingly set up for a fight against Gorosei member Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, which dismayed many hoping to see Zoro fight the Gorosei’s resident swordsman.

Unfortunately, it seems that this won’t be the case, given that One Piece chapter 1113 sees Sanji directly engaging with Saint Nusjuro alongside Franky, Bonney, and some Giants. Moreover, the color spread preceding the issue’s events may further confirm that Sanji will be fighting Nusjuro and Zoro will fight among Gorosei’s ranks.

One Piece hinting at Zoro versus Mars, Sanji versus Nusjuro for Gorosei versus Straw Hat matchups

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The color spread for chapter 1113 saw Nico Robin playing a chess game in which her fellow Straw Hat crewmates were the various pieces on the game board. Notably, Sanji and Zoro were both knights dressed in full armor, complete with lances and shields, with the shields having some unique designs on them.

Sanji’s shield was red and yellow with a horse design that appeared to have flames emanating all around it, while Zoro’s was white and navy blue with a bird design on it. In the same issue, fans saw Sanji begin fighting Saint Nusjuro, whose Yokai form is a Bakotsu, otherwise known as a skeletal, flaming horse.

Considering the obvious connection to Sanji’s shield in the color spread, One Piece fans now assume that Zoro’s Gorosei fight matchup will be against Saint Marcus Mars. This is because Mars is the only Gorosei member whose Yokai form resembles a bird, his being the Itsumade, also known as a reptilian bird creature.

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While this artwork isn’t a definitive confirmation of these matchups, Oda has been known to foreshadow future developments inside supplementary official artwork for the series. Popular examples include the tease of Luffy’s Devil Fruit, Ace’s death, and more plotlines, sometimes even whole arcs like the Whole Cake Island arc.

Likewise, fans are already speculating that these are the accurate matchups for at least the Egghead arc’s conclusion, if not the final fight between the two groups. Moreover, the former seems more likely, considering Sanji already confronts Saint Nusjuro in chapter 1113 and that Zoro and Jinbe are in the same general area of Egghead Island as Saint Mars is currently.

However, this is all speculative as of this article’s writing, with the only confirmed pieces of information being the chapter 1113 color spread and Sanji fighting Nusjuro in the issue. Likewise, while fans have a long wait until the series’ official return, many expect the next issue to have some answers regarding these prospective end-of-Egghead arc matchups.