One Piece: The Gorosei's V. Nusjuro fighting Sanji in chapter 1113 is the most unexpected development yet

Before the traditional break for the Golden Week Holiday, One Piece will delight fans with a new installment of the manga. Readers will have to wait a few days to enjoy the issue's legitimate translation and polished scans, as the official release of One Piece chapter 1113 is scheduled for 29 April 2024. Until then, fans can get a sneak peak at the chapter's content through the first spoilers and raw scans.

Based on the leaks, One Piece chapter 1113 will continue the narration of the Egghead Incident, while also bringing exciting and quite unexpected developments that are guaranteed to leave fans speechless. As the Gorosei, the highest authorities of the World Government only below Imu-sama, have landed on Egghead, the Straw Hat Pirates and their allies are doing their best to flee.

With Egghead being converted into a messy battlefield, one of the most anticipated fights that fans expected to see was the one between the Straw Hat crew's second strongest member, Roronoa Zoro, and the Gorosei's Warrior God of Finance, Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro. However, based on One Piece chapter 1113, it seems that things have taken an unexpected turn.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1113.

Sanji, Bonney, and the Giants fight against Nusjuro in One Piece chapter 1113

An overview of the new chapter's spoilers

Nusjuro in front of Bonney and the others (Image via Shueisha)

In the previous chapter, Saint V. Nusjuro located Jewelry Bonney, who, along with Franky, Vegapunk Atlas, and some members of the Giant Warrior Pirates, was heading to the ships to escape. Nusjuro, who had already taken down every single Mark III Pacifista on the island, quickly appeared before Bonney and the others.

As seen in the scans of One Piece chapter 1113, Nusjuro was about to attack the group, but, before he could do that, Sanji, who was carrying Vegapunk's body, appeared out of nowhere. Quite hilariously, Sanji shouted at Franky to stop, who was also trying to take action against the incoming Gorosei, as he wanted to have Bonney's appreciation all for himself.

Sanji goes on the attack (Image via Toei Animation)

Immediately after, Sanji struck Nusjuro with a powerful kick in the face, allegedly breaking one of his teeth. However, the Gorosei endured the blow seamlessly, and entered his Bakotsu form. Transformed into the Yokai-like demonic horse, Nusjuro counterattacked.

With his large jaws, Nusjuro bit Sanji's entire upper body, making him scream in pain. At the sight of the scene, Bonney cried out. Luckily, Oimo and Kashii from the Giant Warrior Pirates stepped in and saved Sanji before Nusjuro could devour him.

Oimo and Kashii grabbed Nusjuro from behind, restraining him and forcing him to spit out Sanji. Bonney then exploited the occurrence to use her Distorted Future move in order to become a giant version of herself. With her newfound enlarged body, she attacked Nusjuro. Meanwhile, Atlas escaped the scene with Vegapunk's body.

Will Sanji fight Nusjuro in the place of Zoro?

Nusjuro using some of his powers (Image via Shueisha)

Before One Piece chapter 1113, no one would have expected Sanji to meet and fight Nusjuro, as the ominous Warrior God of Finance seemed to be Zoro's designed opponent. Since the introduction of the Five Elders in the story, fans have been theorizing about a fight between Zoro and Nusjuro, given their almost specular roles as powerful swordsmen and prominent fighters of their respective groups.

It should be noted that Nusjuro wields a sword that heavily resembles the Sandai Kitetsu, one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades, as well as the superior version of the Shodai Kitetsu, one of the swords that Zoro obtained at the very beginning of the One Piece story.

Expand Tweet

The narrative connection between Zoro and Nusjuro doesn't stop here, as many fans speculate that Nusjuro is an immortal warrior who once fought with "Sword God" Ryuma, of which Zoro is a descendant. Another interesting coincidence is, Nusjuro's abilities were first revealed in the very same chapter in which Zoro showed off his strength, annihilating Rob Lucci.

Moreover, Zoro now goes by the name of “King of Hell”, and owns Enma, a blade named after the Buddhist ruler of the underworld. With Enma, Zoro can perform ravaging fiery attacks, which became even more powerful after he learned how to use the Advanced Conqueror’s Haki to upgrade his potency.

This depicts Zoro as Nusjuro's equal and opposite at the same time, as the Five Elders member can transform into a fiendish horse that, despite being clad in flames, can unleash slash that leaves the target frozen.

Expand Tweet

Given their intriguing connection, Zoro's matchup with Saint Nusjuro seemed to be set in stone. As regards Sanji, most fans expected him to fight against Saint Saturn, taking revenge on the latter for what he did to him, Vegapunk, and Bonney, or to face Saint Shepherd Ju Peter.

Of course, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda loves to tease and surprise his readers with unexpected twists and turns. It wouldn't be unprecedented for him to raise massive hype around something only to reveal it as a red herring despite the established appearances.

The entire Egghead Arc is a good example of this, as most of the events featured in the recent chapters have been anything but predictable. It's cool to see Sanji finally taking the spotlight, especially considering how disappointing his performances have been throughout most of One Piece's post-timeskip narration before the Wano Arc.

Sanji also failed to protect Vegapunk from Admiral Kizaru, which led to the scientist's alleged death. After this fiasco, the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates has now a great opportunity to redeem himself.

What will happen next in One Piece?

Sanji during the Egghead Arc (Image via Toei Animation)

As things stand in the present, with the events unfolding in compelling and yet unforeseeable ways in each new installment of the manga, it's objectively difficult, if not impractical, to make well-founded predictions. Only the forthcoming One Piece chapters will reveal the narrative path chosen by the franchise's author Eiichiro Oda.

Admittedly, with Oda's unpredictable storytelling, nothing is ever sure or definitive. As Saint Saturn easily subdued Sanji, threatened Bonney, and inflicted a nasty wound on Vegapunk, whom Sanji had sworn to protect, most fans expected the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates to eventually take revenge on the former.

However, as per One Piece chapter 1113, it seems that the manga will go a different route. Granted, Sanji must be extremely careful as Nusjuro seems even stronger than Saturn, a foe that gave him a lot of trouble recently.

Expand Tweet

However, Franky, Bonney, and the two Giants Oimo and Kashii are around to provide essential help. As seen in One Piece chapter 1113, Oimo and Kashi have saved Sanji from Nusjuro's jaws, restraining him from behind. Bonney is also going on the offensive, ready to hit Nusjuro while he is held in place by the Giants.

Everyone's help is needed, as the Five Elders are just too powerful. A testament to this is the fact that Sanji, who had arrived on the scene to save the others from Nusjuro, immediately needed their help in the face of Nusjuro's ferocious counterattack.

The Elders tend to play with their food and act carelessly as they know that they can seemingly recover from any kind of injury. In fact, Ju Peter regenerated despite being cut in half, while Saturn came back unscathed, despite Franky blasting a hole through his body, and both Kuma and Luffy pummeling him.

Still, in some way or another, the Straw Hat Pirates need to get the drop on them and escape from Egghead. There's no way their adventure is going to end here.