a piece Currently at the climax of the Elbaf arc, chapters 1187 and 1188 line up the final battles of the arc centered around the monster trio of Straw Hat Pirates. with the latest a piece Released on July 12, 2026, in Shuisha's Weekly Shonen Jump issue #33, Monkey D. by Nerona Emu. Seeing Luffy lose, all attention shifts to his two wings, Zoro and Sanji.
In order for Luffy to resurrect and emerge victorious in the battle against Nerona Emu, it is necessary to defeat two Holy Knights, Somers and Killingham. for that, a piece Now officially lining up two new Haki transformations for Zoro and Sanji with both of them mastering the color of the Supreme King in Chapter 1189 and beyond, before Luffy officially pushes Emu out of Elbaf for good.
Eiichiro Oda has lined up two new Haki-based forms for Zoro and Sanji in the Elbaf Arc Climax.
a piece The Elbaf arc was always going to be huge for the Monster Trio and the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates. This arc was there to see Luffy grow stronger and grow closer to other legends like Shanks, such as Gol D Roger and Joy Boy. With that in mind, Eiichiro Oda is doing a great job, and setting up Luffy's defeat in One Piece Chapter 1188 on July 12, 2026 is the best way to achieve that. At the same time, there are other Straw Hats who also need significant power-ups, and Ichiro Oda has noticed them as well.
a piece Chapter 1152, which was officially released on June 23, 2025 in Shuisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump issue #30, officially put Supreme King Haki powers on the line for both Zoro and Sanji. While Zoro has already unlocked Supreme King Haki in One Piece Chapter 1010 in the Wano Country Arc, he has no control over it. In other words, Zoro cannot bring out the true power of Supreme King Haki as things stand.
“Absurd.. Haki is a power that needs to be controlled to be used properly. Your captain is one of the Four Emperors. How do you plan to help him without knowing?” – Scooper Gaban confirms Zoro's lack of Haki control, one piece chapter #1152
Meanwhile, things are very different for Sanji. Sanji has yet to fully tap into the power of Supreme King Haki, and this is due to his self-deprecating nature suppressing his Haki very strongly. On July 5, 2026, a piece Chapter 1187 officially confirmed that Sanji possessed the Haki of a latent conqueror that he needed to bring to the surface. As such, it has officially lined up both Zoro and Sanji for a major Supreme King Haki upgrade. Through this Supreme Raja Haki, they will officially acquire new transformations or forms.
As for Zoro, the strongest change we've seen with the use of Supreme King Haki is his “Hell's Three Swords Style”. When Zoro taps into this transformation, he develops an aura of green flames and black lightning flashes from his swords. Zoro used this power against King the Wildfire and officially destroyed him in battle in One Piece Chapter 1033, and later down the line, overpowered Luki with it as well. However, in 1180, a fragmentary chapter against Nero Emu, this power failed. It has not utilized its full potential. When Zoro masters Supreme King Haki, the King of Hell's Three Swords style is officially going to be upgraded forever, and fans can even see a completely new look at this power. When activated at full potential, Zoro's King of Hell: Three Swords style is going to be very dangerous and last very long in battle, giving him access to an entirely new transformation.
“You also have the qualities of a conqueror. But for some reason, I sense a dangerous self-observation in you. If you really want Luffy to be the Pirate King, then you should 'become the king.'” – Scoper Gaban confirms that Sanji has the Supreme King Haki, One Piece chapter #1187
For Sanji, awakening Supreme King Haki and learning to control it meant his body would become much stronger both offensively and defensively. This will allow him to tap into the hot flames that correspond to Nerona Emu's Omen or Maki, which was explained to us in April 27, 2026 One Piece Chapter 1181. This would boost both Zoro and Sanji to incredibly high heights, giving them new Haki forms. Yonko and the admirals.
How Zoro and Sanji can evolve the King of Hell and Ifrit Jambe into Elbaf
As for Zoro, the King of Hell is likely to take on a completely new form once he gains complete control over Supreme King Haki. King of Hell: The Three Swords style is incredibly powerful, but its biggest downside is its short usage duration. As Zoro himself said, he could very well die using the King of Hell: Three Swords style if he didn't end his fight against the king soon enough.
“So how do I stabilize my hockey? If I keep putting it out at this level, it will kill me. But no, it's perfect! I want to keep my word to my captain and my best friend.” – Roronoa Zoro confirms the weakness of the King of Hell, One Piece Chapter #1033
By gaining complete control over Supreme King Haki, this limitation will be formally removed. More than that, Zoro's firepower will be greatly increased, as will his defensive abilities, and we may even see a completely new transformation from him. He can then also incorporate the 'King of Hell' into his nine sword style, making him one of the deadliest fighters in the One Piece world, strong enough to fight and defeat even Yonko.
As far as Sanji goes, his Supreme King Haki is going to make him very strong and potentially allow him to tap into the Black Flames of the Omen or something very similar. Sanji's Supreme King Haki would bring his overall flame temperature to a level that could potentially burn all other flames and possibly even Sakazuki's magma. Sanji had already destroyed Kizaru's laser, and that was before he tapped into Supreme King Haki. With this new power-up, he becomes even stronger than the Navy Admiral and Yonko's favorite rival, gaining strength to defeat them on par with Zoro.
Zoro and Sanji's power level after the Elbaf arc
Following the events of the Elbaf arc, Zoro and Sanji are both going to become incredibly strong on the level of the likes of Admirals and Yonko. They defeat the Yonko Right Hands and overtake the First Mates. With Supreme King Haki, as well as other abilities that they hold up their sleeves, Zoro and Sanji are finally going to the final stage. The distance between them and Luffy is going to close significantly, and at the same time, they will be elite pirates standing on par with the other emperors of the sea.
“Those voices were telling the truth. Eventually someone will come and overtake us all. We were too early.” – goal d. Roger claims that the Straw Hats will overcome his team, one piece chapter #968
If the Straw Hat Pirates are to defeat the likes of the World Government and the likes of the Five Elders, along with other Yonko-level figures, they need to cross all boundaries and leave even the Roger Pirates in the dust. This was confirmed by Roger himself on January 20, 2020 in One Piece Chapter 968 and finally, we are paying off this plotline. Zoro and Sanji's new Haki forms will be fun to watch at the end of the Elbaf Arc.
All new One Piece manga chapters by author Eiichiro Oda are available to read through Manga Plus and Viz Media.
