@RomanceDawn:
What should Sanji do that would be better? Should he have not left at all and just risked Zeff getting stabbed in his sleep?
In this moment what are his options? It's not Luffy and the gang he's trying to protect, it's Zeff and Sanji's own hands. Sanji going off and being a completely different person in front of the Straw Hats and Judge at the same time works on multiple levels. Judge probably sees through Sanji's performance as well but interprets it as Sanji really trying to shoe them off all together to keep Zeff and his hands safe. The same higher than thou act tells Nami and Luffy that something must be really wrong and a simple fight isn't going to solve problems this time around. Sanji going about it this way gives Luffy and the rest to take it all in and come up with a plan.
Sanji explaining the situation as it is without all the insults only tells Judge that Sanji is definitely trying to weasel his way out of things.
Very nicely and succinctly put.
@Count:
Also, I don't see why Judge can't just threaten Luffy that he'll blow Sanji's hands off and/or get Zeff killed if Luffy does decide to act in a scenario where Sanji is honest about his predicament. He could have even still told them to not intervene and leave without having to pull the third "I was never your friend" crewmate facade, especially with how everyone knows Sanji vocally denies accustoming to his family' standards. In fact, why not just have Judge command Sanji to attack Luffy instead with another extortion threat or by claiming that he and the brothers will attack if he doesn't. A test of loyalty where Sanji is forced to start the fight in a similar fashion but without having to put up such a boring and obviously false front. There are plenty of varied ways this scene could have been played out. It's not the fight itself that bothers, just the hammy progeny acceptance speech.
Yes, there's the issue of Sanji's loyalty, but you're forgetting about the implications for the Straw Hats. Sanji being passive about it may get the Straw Hats to understand it eventually (though with Luffy, who knows), but after that's all said and done he's still leaving his crewmates to get attacked by his family and Big Mom. So him personally confronting Luffy for a fight makes it clear that Luffy is his opponent to defeat and dispose of, sparing the two from Judge and Big Mom. I obviously don't know how the fight is gonna end, but now that Sanji's made it his, he's made sure that he can play the biggest role in what happens to Luffy and Nami. And regardless of how the fight goes, him actually going against the Straw Hats should convince Vinsmoke+Charlotte enough that he's not gonna aid in any escape attempts. So even though it may feel off, Sanji's turn is definitely the best idea to not only keep his loved ones alive, but also to possibly smooth out his own scenario and aid him later.
@Sereques:
Yonji listened to Sanji because he just got his ass whopped by Sanji. Ichiji and Ninji will not listen to Sanji in this context because they are not afraid of him and his crew.
You don't have proof of that at all. And, if you think about it, Sanji would attack Niji if he attacked Nami, if only because he claims to be keeping Niji out of his battle. And it's not like Luffy wouldn't protect Nami, so Sanji's not exactly out of options in your scenario.
The story line seems to be Sanji disrespect his friends because, of the bomb on his wrist and Zeff. The bond of their friendship is stronger than anything at this point. This is not cocoyasi village where they were not sure if Luffy will beat Arlong or not. They've all moved beyond since and their belief in Luffy as the next Pirate King is no longer games.
A little disrespect is far better than getting not only your crewmates, but also your family back home, killed. I'll touch more on this later.
The question now is if you believe your captain will be the next pirate king, your captain is going after a yonkou Kaidou and you all expect him to win. Why cower under you brothers and father? Why not have faith in your captain and your crew? This storyline was appropriate in Water 7. Robin was new to the crew, she barely call them by their name. Mr. Long nose, Ms Navigator. Robin was not close to them. Robin didn't believe the crew will fight for her or that the crew can even defeat CP9. Robin reasons were justified.
It would have made sense if this story happen long ago, maybe at Loguetown. At this moment, the story feels weird. The same guy willing to offer his head to save his captain two years ago is now afraid of his wrist? Come on now. Do you think Franky and Zoro would have followed Bege so willingly?
When Mingo was about to execute Sanji and he told others to run away, Nami's response was NO. Can Nami rescue Sanji from Mingo? No but they don't care, they don't think like that. They always stick together regardless of the situation.
Anyway, I don't like this Sanji storyline one bit. It dissociates me further his character. I still haven't gotten over him drinking 3 cups of tea as Robin walk towards gate of justice.
The thing is that, if Sanji and any one of his crewmembers switched places, I have no doubt that he would immediately invade Totto Land with Luffy without a second thought. But now Sanji is in a position where any wrong step from him will result in the death of everyone he loves. It's one thing to put up a united front that has a great chance of perishing, but it's another thing to CAUSE a united front that might perish because of you. Pretty much no one with a shred of decency would want to do that, regardless of the trust they have in their friends. Add Zeff to the equation, who probably doesn't even know what's going on, and that just makes things worse.
Think back to Raizo and the minks on Zou. Raizo knew the minks were great warriors that would do anything to protect their allies, but did he want them fighting the Beasts Pirates and possibly dying because of him? Of course not! It's natural, human instinct.
I'm not saying that Sanji is resigning himself to helplessness; there may well be a plan, and him battling Luffy may just be a part of it. But he is not going to promote Luffy's normal behaviors when he knows that it'll be his fault if Luffy dies.