@CrazyMerlyn:
Maybe I was not clear enough. Weak is of course a bogus term unless used relatively. By weak I mean, weaker than Vergo, at least during the small skirmish they had.
Again, that boils down to him being significantly injured or not as well as the low amount of time available. This is just a case of agreeing to disagree. Too many unknown factors in play.
@CrazyMerlyn:
So you are saying that Vergo's kick is like a bullet to Sanji's hand? Because that just supports what I am saying.
That's not what I mean. What I mean is that he would not try to block Vergo's kick like that, if he knew it would fracture his leg. It is common sense not wanting to fracture your leg. You can see how he dodged or blocked the kicks in a different way than he initially did after the fracture. If he had done that from the start, he probably wouldn't have been injured.
@CrazyMerlyn:
And you were originally saying that Sanji used some crazy position to give the other person an advantage in battle because he didn't know Vergo's strength.
You need to reread that, because that was not what I wrote at all.
@CrazyMerlyn:
It doesn't tell us anything. I was just saying that there is no hint of him using haki in that kick. He destroyed Sanji's leg with a normal kick.
And I agree.
@CrazyMerlyn:
You were saying that Heart attacks don't matter because they are portrayed as temporary pain. While at the same time considering Sanji's damage as significant even though all the previous damage to his body came from explosions, something which has been portrayed as temporary again and again in the manga.
No, because Sanji's injuries were actually shown as being significant, while there was no indication of clenching the heart having any lasting effects.
@CrazyMerlyn:
Quite true. But the point you made is simply wrong. Size doesn't really matter in One Piece.
Some giants are strong, some are weak. But because you want Sanji to be facing the strongest, you are automatically assuming Wadatsumi to be the strongest even though he was an underling.
All of them were underlings. And size does matter, since it gives an inherent advantage. And yes I am not denying I have a bias towards Sanji, but I also stated that he probably didn't need to team up with Jinbei anyway.
@CrazyMerlyn:
Which just solidifies that being a Giant in itself does not mean you are strongest. you can still be weaker than others.
I never stated otherwise. I simply meant that bigger size gives an inherent advantage, just like being a fishman does. Them being easily defeated just shows that these advantages can be overcome, and that is an entirely different matter.
@CrazyMerlyn:
Almost any new entity is supposed to be hyped up. Most new characters look strong on their entry, regardless of being large or small.
Giants always have strength and size, but they are also always defeated by relatively normal sized people. Why is then Wadatsumi the strongest at FI? I don't see any reason to believe so.
Look at the other underlings. Who would you think could have a chance. Maybe Hyozou, since he had swords, but I just can't see anyone else. I was a bit annoyed when I wrote that and made it seem like a fact, when it is just an opinion.
@CrazyMerlyn:
Smoker was purposefully giving away the fight. Which made defeating him trivial for Vergo. He himself pointed that out.
That fight made me think that there is little, if any, gap between Smoker and Vergo. And that Smoker would have put up a tough fight if he wasn't giving Vergo so many openings.
Smoker tried to beat him fair and square initially. When that didn't work, he resorted to retrieving the heart instead. IF Smoker could actually beat him, why wouldn't he just do so and give Law his heart back afterwards? One could argue that it was easier to just let Law do it, but trying to retrieve the heart was a gamble and he had the motivation to beat him himself. To me there was a clear gap.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
@Atuin:
Maybe you guys would like to start a new thread discussing these finer points on Sanji?
Has anyone listed ALL potential candidates for the Next SH?
So far I've seen:
Jinbe (semi confirmed)
Rebeccah
Bartolomeo
Cavandish
Trafalgar Law
Viola
Kinamon
Momonsuke
Perona
Bellamy
Monet
Anyone else a consideration? Or at least a serious possibility?
Most of these are too underdeveloped I think. It doesn't seem like we will see any candidate before a while after Jinbei joins.