On December 6, 2021 a piece Chapter 1034, Sanji, the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates and one of the Pirate King's wings, is officially tapped into his strongest power, known as Ifrit Jambe. This power was awakened after Sanji tapped into the power of his Germa exoskeleton and combined it with his well-refined Armament Haki to give him a massive regeneration, durability and strength boost. The combination of these two powers increased his overall flame resistance to sky-high levels, and he was able to generate Ifrit Jambe's power, allowing him to defeat the Queen of the Beast Pirates.
5 years have passed, and now, Eiichiro Oda, the creator of a pieceOfficially the new flame upgrade line for Sanji after Ifrit Jambe. While Ifrit Jambe is strong, it is not powerful enough for Sanji to fight the enemies the Straw Hat Pirates are currently facing. As such, a new upgrade is coming to Ifrit Jambe, and the foundation for it has already been established in the Elbaf Arc. By awakening the colors of the Supreme King, Sanji's overall firepower continues to increase, and he is likely to awaken a new flame-based kicking technique.
The Elbaf arc of One Piece sets up the upgrade to Ifrit Jambe by officially upgrading Sanji's Haki
Since the beginning of the Elbaf arc, Sanji has started using Ifrit Jambe more often than before, even against insignificant enemies. At the beginning of Elbaf, on September 23, 2024, when Sanji fought against Iskat inside a diorama created by Rod in chapter 1127, he officially baited Ifrit Jambe for the first time. Some time later, he used this technique again to break Rod's steel trap in chapter 1129, and also released this technique against Saint Killingham. a piece Chapter 1176 on March 9, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #15.
“That elitist attitude and a gross ideology. It's typical of a Celestial Dragon. If you don't even know a former general like Jinbe, you must be really out of touch. Now, how do you pay for disrespecting our team member? Should I pop that bubble mask of yours? Ifrit Jambe:” — Sanji attacks Killingham with Ifrit Jambe, One Piece Chapter #1176
With Sanji using Ifrit Jambe over and over again, series creator Ichiro Oda has set a precedent for unlocking a new, stronger power. This makes perfect sense when juxtaposed with the big reveal in One Piece Chapter 1152, released in Shuisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #30 on June 23, 2025, where the only way Scopper Gaban can officially defeat the Holy Knights is to use the Supreme King's Color. This was repeated in a piece by Gaban in chapter 1170, which was released on January 5, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump double issue #6-7. There, Scoper Gaban fought against King Harald and told Shanks that the greatest weakness of immortality and resurrection was people who could influence their attacks with the colors of the Supreme King.
“Give him enough hits, and we might manage to put him out of commission. If these guys have any weakness, it's against those of us who can fill our attacks with the colors of the Supreme King!” – Scooper Gaban explains the only weakness of Immortals, One Piece Chapter #1170
Now, One Piece has officially pitted Sanji against one of the Holy Knights wielded by Nerona Imu's Omen, and that is none other than Saint Killingham. This official matchup was set in One Piece Chapter 1182 on May 10, 2026 in Shuisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #24. As things stand, Sanji has nothing in his arsenal that can take down Killingham. Although he can harm him, Killingham can regenerate and eventually take Sanji down. The only way for the Straw Hat Cook to defeat Saint Killingham is to awaken the color of the Supreme King, which sets the stage for Sanji to gain even stronger flames.
When combined with the fact that Sanji is supposed to be parallel to Skoper Gaban, who is also a user of all three types of Haki, it is almost certain for him to instill this power in Elbaf. Sanji can then infuse this newly awakened Haki throughout his body, allowing him to emit even hotter flames and take his Ifrit Jambe one step further.
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Why Strong Conqueror's Haki Infusion will unlock new flames for Sanji
To understand how the Supreme King color affects Sanji's Ifrit Jambe, we first need to look at how Sanji's flame-based fighting style works. When Sanji taps into Diable Jambe, the technique only works due to its resistance to fire, which was also tackled by Eiichiro Oda in One Piece Volume 105 SBS on March 3, 2023. In this volume release, Oda officially states that Sanji's fire resistance allows him to develop Diable Jambe. His resistance to fire increased even more after the awakening of his Germa exoskeleton.
“Sanji is the exact opposite of his siblings. To him, the Red Suit revealed the power of science. Sanji already had an unusual resistance to flame. That was a strange little incident, wasn't it? Let's see where it takes him in the future.” — Eiichiro Oda, One Piece Volume 105 SBS
The exoskeleton grants Sanji a certain level of durability, and when combined with the high recovery rate offered by his genetic modification and, on top of that, another buff to overall defensive abilities using the Color of Armament, Sanji can withstand very hot flames. Thus, the higher Sanji's durability and defensive abilities are, the hotter the flames he can sustain at his feet. Supreme King's Color is perfect in this regard as it enhances both defensive and offensive capabilities. Not only is Sanji's flame hot, but his own body is also becoming stronger by wearing the color of the Supreme King. His superior defensive ability will allow him to maintain even hotter flames in the battle against Holy Knight Killingham. With this, Sanji's Ifrit Jambe is set to develop further, pushing the Straw Hat Cook to new levels of power. With his new ability, Sanji can officially put an end to one of the most powerful Holy Knights, already wielded by the Omen of Nerona Imu.
Sanji's demonic connection may be linked to Nerona Emu's omen
When Sanji's new flames are finally revealed at the climax of the Elbaf arc, those flames are likely to be black in color, as this would directly tie in with Nerona Emu's Omen. In One Piece Chapter 1181, which was officially released in Shuisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump Double Issue #22-23 on April 27, 2026, Nerona Emu stated that Omen is her military power and that it is a power that resides within everyone. Interestingly, Emu's Omen manifests itself as black fire. When Sanji's flames are upgraded, they usually change color, and currently, they are blue-white flames.
“The omen is my military power. A power that resides in all living beings.” – Nerona Emu tells her Black Flames, One Piece Chapter #1181
Infused with the Conqueror's Haki, these flames could potentially turn black, which would tie in perfectly with Nerona Emu's Omen and perhaps allow Sanji to manipulate the same power. It will be interesting to see what color flames Sanji generates. Given his theme and moniker of Black-Leg, it would make perfect sense for him to awaken the black flames at the end of the Elbaf arc. We eagerly await how his development will unfold.
All the latest chapters of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga are available to read through Manga Plus and Viz Media.
