The cook of the Straw Hat Pirates, Sanji is one of the main characters in One Piece who joined the crew after the events of the Baratie arc. Interestingly, Sanji is one of the most curious additions to the crew; out of all the original five members who joined in the East Blue, Sanji was the only one with mysterious origins.
In the Whole Cake Island arc, his real origins and the connection to the Vinsmoke Family were finally revealed to the fans. But even before that, there were several clues in the story that hinted at his royal origin.
7 Sanji Called Himself “Mr. Prince” In Arabasta
One Piece‘s Arabasta arc gave fans the first big clue about Sanji’s lineage. When the Straw Hat Pirates were trapped in Rain Dinners, the casino at Rainbase, it was Sanji who came to their rescue after tricking Crocodile.
He held a conversation with the Shichibukai on the Den Den Mushi and referred to himself as “Mr. Prince.” After luring Crocodile into his trap, he managed to rescue the Straw Hat Pirates and save the day. Although it made little sense at the time, as the story progressed it became clear that Sanji actually was a prince and didn’t just call himself that for the sake of it.
6 Sanji Was The Only One In The Crew Who Knew About Noland The Liar
The tale of Noland the Liar was famous in the North Blue but known to only a handful of people living in the other oceans. When the Straw Hat Pirates arrived on Jaya, they eventually went to meet Mont Blanc Cricket, Noland’s descendant.
Upon reaching his place, the group found a book about Noland which only Sanji seemed to know about. The rest of the crew didn’t pay any attention to his information on the subject and the fans reacted the same way, however, looking back at the incident now, it’s obvious that Sanji’s knowledge of Noland’s life came from his time as a part of the Vinsmoke Family.
5 Sanji Was The Only Person Out Of The “East Blue Five” To Not Actually Be From The East Blue
Luffy recruited four crewmates in the East Blue, and together with him, the crew had a total of five members when they entered the Grand Line. All the members of the crew at this point were born in the East Blue, except for Sanji.
When the Straw Hats reached Jaya, Nami and Usopp were shocked to realize that Sanji wasn’t actually from the same ocean. Instead, he told them he came from the North Blue, which is also where the tale of Noland the Liar was very famous. Once again, for a person to have such a mysterious past was an obvious hint that he was carrying a massive burden. Unfortunately, the crew didn’t choose to dive deeper into it at that moment.
4 A Kid Cannot Cross The Red Line To Reach The East Blue
According to what Sanji told the crew in Jaya, he came from the North Blue, and while Nami and Usopp did find it strange, they didn’t think too much about it. Had they done so, they would’ve realized that in order to reach the East Blue from the North Blue, Sanji would’ve had to go over the Red Line.
For regular people, such a feat extremely difficult to achieve; only those with connections to the World Government can climb the Red Line, as mentioned by Pappagu. For a mere kid, this should’ve been an impossible feat, yet Sanji was living proof of someone who had achieved it.
3 Sanji’s First Wanted Poster Didn’t Have His Picture
Although Sanji was one of the main fighters of the Straw Hat Pirates, he didn’t receive his first bounty until much later in the Enies Lobby arc. Interestingly, while the entire crew had regular pictures taken for their bounty posters, Sanji’s was drawn by someone.
When the cameraman was asked about this, it was implied that the whole incident was a mistake, but the fact that he was the only one with a different poster was always very strange. Nonetheless, it was played off as a gag at the time, and later on, turned out to have a deep connection with Sanji’s past and how Judge finally got his hands on him.
2 Duval Was Tracked By Bounty Hunters After Sanji’s Bounty Was Revealed
Due to Sanji’s poorly drawn picture on his bounty poster, it was Duval who was instead hunted down by bounty hunters and the Navy sent out by Vinsmoke Judge. Duval’s tragedy was revealed to the fans in the Sabaody Archipelago arc of the story. While bounty hunters chasing pirates felt like an everyday occurrence, the intensity with which it was done was certainly odd.
Furthermore, Luffy and Zoro, despite having bigger bounties, didn’t come across any bounty hunters, yet Duval was pursued by dozens of them, which was shocking.
1 Sanji’s Bounty Poster Changed To Only Alive After The Timeskip
The Straw Hat Pirates received updated bounties after the events of the Dressrosa arc and once again, it was Sanji whose bounty was the strangest of the lot. While everyone else was wanted dead or alive, Sanji was wanted only alive, meaning someone important in Government who had connections with him didn’t want him dead.
This turned out to be Judge, who, after finally getting a new picture of his son, had his bounty changed to only alive. Vinsmoke Judge, the leader of the Vinsmoke Family, wanted to use him to ally with the Yonko, Big Mom, and gain greater power to conquer the North Blue once again.
About The Author
