Published Jul 21, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT
Joshua Edward Ryan Fox is a freelance writer for Screen Rant with a passion for pop culture. Joshua grew up in Connecticut where he developed an appreciation for writing and entertainment and has earned a Master’s degree in professional writing and technical writing. His writing has been quoted by both the anime streaming site Crunchyroll and the anime YouTuber Gigguk.
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Warning: Contains spoilers for One Piece chapters #1187-#1188.Even with One Piece almost 30 years old at this point, the series never stops finding ways to give the Straw Hats massive power-ups whenever the need may arise. Whether it’s through new weapons or techniques, a greater understanding of how to use their Devil Fruits, or, in most cases, increasing mastery of Haki, there’s rarely a time when the Straw Hats aren’t improving themselves, and that always helps to make the series more exciting, even after so many years.
It’s always great to see how the Straw Hats improve themselves in One Piece, and the Elbaph arc is shaping up to be no different. As the arc heads into its climax with the final fights against Imu and the Holy Knights of God, there’s already plenty of setup for some of the Straw Hats to get even stronger as they deal with some of their strongest opponents in the entire series, and for one Straw Hat in particular, they’re about to become a god-tier fighter the likes of which has never been seen.
With One Piece’s Elbaph arc in its climax, it’s now time for the final fights of the arc, and the stage is set for Zoro to get a massive power-up. Earlier in the arc, Gaban lambasted Zoro for having such poor control over his Conqueror’s Haki, as it was a major point that Conqueror’s Haki was the only way to hurt the Holy Knights of God. Because of that, now that Zoro is about to fight Sommers, it’s likely that Zoro will gain full control of his Conqueror’s Haki, which will make his King of Hell style even more menacing.
That idea makes even more sense when looking at Sanji’s current arc. With the reveal that Sanji can use Conqueror’s Haki, a point was made that Sanji needed to become a king to master Conqueror’s Haki, but more importantly, the entire process was necessary if he had any intention of making Luffy the Pirate King. Naturally, it makes sense for Zoro and Sanji’s training to parallel each other, but if the need to be strong enough to support Luffy is also a factor, then there’s no reason someone like Zoro wouldn’t do everything in his power to make it happen.
As it stands, the Straw Hats are facing their strongest opponents yet in Imu and the Holy Knights of God, and if it wasn’t clear before, then Imu destroying Luffy in their fight should make it clear that they all need to put even more work into being strong to deal with the latest threats. There’s no telling what Luffy will do to go along with that, but when it comes to Zoro, it’s clear that the answer is him getting even better at Conqueror’s Haki, and there’s no telling how far that could go.
Zoro getting a massive power-up is all but a certainty, and it highlights just how amazing the finale of the Elbaph arc will be. Between the massive lore drops and how much it has constantly topped itself in action and spectacle, One Piece’s Elbaph arc has been an amazing read at every turn, and it hasn’t slowed down in the slightest. Now, with the promise of Zoro and other characters getting even stronger on top of that, there’s even more reason to be excited for the finale, and it’s going to be great to watch play out.
With everything that’s happened in the Elbaph arc so far, it would only be fitting to end it with one big battle after another, and Zoro becoming even stronger by fully mastering Conqueror’s Haki would be the perfect way to make that happen. Even with the Elbaph arc nearing its end, there’s still plenty to be excited about, and hopefully, One Piece will make sure it lives up to the hype in every regard.
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Video Game(s)
One Piece: Unlimited World Red, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4, One Piece: World Seeker, One Piece Odyssey
One Piece: The Movie
First TV Show
Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura, Kappei Yamaguchi, Hiroaki Hirata, Ikue Ôtani, Yuriko Yamaguchi
Character(s)
Monkey D. Luffy, Roronora Zoro, Nami (One Piece), Nico Robin, Usopp (One Piece), Vinsmoke Sanji, Tony Tony Chopper, Franky (One Piece), Jimbei (One Piece)