Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece has been airing for 25 years; during this tenure, the show has featured a number of gripping arcs, but none of them could come close to the emotionally charged storyline of Whole Cake Island Arc. The saga features the most intricate and stirring narrative of Vinsmoke Sanji.
The arc delves knee-deep into the complexity of the family structure between the Vinsmoke and Charlotte Linlin’s family, which became a catalyst for the major character development of the Sous Chef of Straw Hat Pirates.
Though Black Leg was having an inner conflict, he tried to ward off his crewmates to put them away from harm’s way. However, Luffy and his crewmates did not give up and retrieved their cook. Nevertheless, a question that always lingers in the minds of the fans is, “How would the arc develop if Zoro were a part of the Sanji retrieval team?”
Roronoa Zoro Would Have Changed The Entire Narrative of Whole Cake Island Arc
In the long list of arcs presented in Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece, the Whole Cake Island Arc stands as the most underrated saga of the grand adventure of Monkey D. Luffy and his crewmates.
Though this arc made its viewers teary-eyed, they often wondered about the repercussions of Sanji kicking his captain if the Pirate Hunter were present on the scene. A renowned anime content creator (@Wafer-the-Dog) on YouTube talked about the entire narrative of the arc changing if the swordsman were present.
The creator stated that if Zoro were part of the arc, “three possibilities” would have taken place. Firstly, “Zoro beats the cr*p out of Sanji.” There is no denying that the Moss Head embodies unwavering faith and loyalty to Luffy, and kicking the captain in front of him would not have gone over well with him.
Secondly, “Zoro respects the captain’s decision and just watches.” Even though he showcases immense loyalty toward his captain and will not tolerate any insult hurled his way, he would not have acted on his own because he would like to know what Luffy would want for his nakama.
Thirdly, “Sanji would be dead before he kicks Luffy a second time.” Despite the Moss Head following the wishes of his captain, he never acted on his own. However, he would forget everything when someone lays a hand on his captain. In this instance, Sanji kicking Luffy the first time would have led to an all-out brawl between the members of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Zoro’s Presence Would Have Led To Different Decisions To Retrieve Sanji
In the same video, the creator explained that if the Moss Head were a part of the retrieval team, The Whole Cake Arc “would simply not exist.” Due to the presence of Zoro, it would compel Luffy and Nami to make “different decisions all along.”
This is because The Pirate Hunter would have never trusted Pudding in the first place. Additionally, the Monster Trio makes a different character dynamic than just Luffy and Sanji. They doubt that the “Luff-Sanji face-off” would have happened because Zoro would probably have “sliced the d*mn carriage in two,” leading to an all-out Straw Hat-Vinsmoke brawl.
Nevertheless, the YouTuber emphasized that the brawl between the two rivals would have initiated until Luffy would have done anything. They explained how Zoro understands the actions of the Sous Chef as he did something similar in Thriller Bark too.
But more importantly, he values Monkey D. Luffy as a captain above all else. They felt that the narrative would have changed by three members of the Straw Hat Pirates beating Charlotte Cracker a lot quicker, or “Zoro stays to fight him and tells Luffy to go ahead.”
In either case, things would have turned out very differently, and the entire arc’s storyline would have changed, compelling Eiichiro Oda to make an altogether alternative narrative for his magnum opus.
One Piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
