Wiz: The master of the martial arts.
Boomstick: Like Sanji, the sous chef of the Straw Hat Pirates searching for the One Piece.
Wiz: And Rock Lee, the hard working ninja warrior from the village of Naruto.
The penultimate match of season seven calls forth martial artists from some of the longest-running and most prolific of anime. Born without fantastic abilities, today's fighters make do with expert legwork and the very energy that fuels them. Training, discipline, and inner strength come in different forms, just as they do with Sanji and Rock Lee, two of the latest chosen to partake in a death battle.
First to be covered is Vinsmoke Sanji, prince of the seafaring Germa Kingdom. When the children of king Vinsmoke Judge were conceived, he became obsessed with the idea of his sons attaining great power; Sora, his wife, was against this idea, concerned they would become unfeeling sociopaths in exchange for their power. Against her wishes, Judge forced his queen to undergo surgery to grant them the physical prowess he sought. Sora took medicine to negate the surgery's effects in the hopes of giving her children a normal life. Of Judge and Sora's ensuing offspring, only Sanji was unaffected by this surgery. Sanji's childhood was a miserable one, being bullied by his brothers for his weakness, imprisoned by his father for the same, and losing Sora due to the effects of the medicine; the only reprieve he had during this time was in discovering an interest in cooking. His sole sister eventually took pity on Sanji and helped him escape. Traveling the world and honing his culinary talents with several chefs, Sanji learned of the All Blue, a place in the world where all the oceans and their sea life intersect, a perfect location for a chef such as him. Eventually, Sanji's path crossed with that of the ragtag adventurers known as the Straw Hat Pirates. It was shortly after meeting the Straw Hats that Sanji would join their ranks, serving as the team's chef on their journeys while still on his own for the All Blue.
People may have come and gone in Sanji's life, but each has had their role to play in teaching him. One such gourmand, "Red Leg" Zeff, taught Sanji his own perferred fighting style: the Black Leg. As a cook, Sanji believes his hands should be reserved for culinary affairs and have no place in a battle. Thus, the Black Leg, inspired by martial arts such as capoeira and taekwondo, puts all its attention on acrobatic movement and leg-based strikes. Several of Sanji's techniques consist of sweeping kicks; some are powerful enough to alter the target's facial structure. For utility, the Black Leg offers the Sky Walk technique, which sees Sanji kick with such speed that miniaturized sonic booms form beneath him to propel off of. These skills are undoubtedly helpful, but pale in comparison to the Diable Jambe, the crown jewel of the Black Leg, which consists of building up enough speed that the ensuing friction sets the user's leg aflame; this provides Sanji's kicks with additional strength and the capacity to inflict burns on his enemies. Sanji supplements this power with two variants of the mystical energy known as Haki: armament and observation. Armament Haki temporarily hardens the user's body, increasing their durability and physical force. Observation Haki, meanwhile, gives the user a heightened awareness of their surroundings; from a distance and limited precognition. After confronting his family, Sanji received a raid suit, the combat uniform custom-made for the Vinsmoke family. With its jet boots, accelerators for heightened kicking power, and even the capacity for invisibility, Sanji's raid suit both complements and enhances his Black Leg technique.
Sanji is certainly an impressive human, but he is still just that. Compared to his siblings, Sanji has none of their superhuman enhancements and little in the way of comparable powers, making him the weakest of the Vinsmoke children. Additionally, two of Sanji's personal tenets are that he will never fight against a woman and abstain from the usage of his hands in a fight; rules he stands by even when his life is put in danger. Still, the résumé that Sanji has developed as a fighter can be seen as all the more remarkable despite these setbacks. The chef of the Straw Hats is on a similar level of skill as his captain, Monkey D. Luffy, who is able react to and dodge lasers moving as speeds similar to actual light. Also on a similar caliber of proficiency as Sanji is the Straw Hat swordsman Roronoa Zoro. While Zoro is quick enough to slice midair bullets perfectly in half, his strength is of even greater quality, as he fought to a standstill the Marine admiral Fujitora; as Sanji has fought pirates roughly as powerful as the meteor-summoning Fujitora, so too can Sanji be considered as powerful as Zoro. From humble and tragic beginnings, Sanji has since come past them to become a greater man, and as long as he remains as committed to his life's goal and the Straw Hats, his finding of the All Blue can simply be a matter of time.
With all that said, the fight moves on to Rock Lee, native of Konoha. In the world Lee hails from, the energy known as chakra pulses through all living things; the humans of this world can channel it for superhuman feats of strength and skill. Lee is an exception, having been born without the ability to use chakra. Mocked by his peers, Lee pushing his body further to prove them wrong. Lee showed enough promise in his training to be paired alongside ninja prodigy Neji Hyuuga. While their ensuing rivalry gave Lee the motivation he needed to better improve his physique, he still lacked a family to find a mentor and guidance in. Thankfully, help came in the form of Might Guy, who had a similar lifelong disability. Empathizing with Lee's ordeal, Might Guy took it upon himself to give Lee a proper training so as to keep pace with his more talented contemporaries. As time went on, Lee learned from his new master's teachings to become as splendid a ninja as he envisioned he could possibly have.
Although taijutsu, the concept of physical combat to ninjas, is all Lee has going for him, he puts his all into his craft. The focus of his fighting style is Strong Fist, a martial art which emphasizes brutality; bruises and broken bones are the forefront of Strong Fist. Lee, in particular, uses the Strong Fist as the source of his trademark attack, the Primary Lotus spinning piledriver. A similar martial art Lee specializes in would be the Drunken Fist, designed to emulate the swaggering motions of a drunkard; as the name implies, the Drunken Fist becomes his go-to style when intoxicated. More important than how Lee fights, however, is the way he enhances that style. The human body eight gates that maintain the flow of chakra throughout the body; even those who cannot use it for superhuman abilities or illusory tactics can open these gates to increase the chakra they can draw from. With each gate opened, the user becomes stronger in some manner. The opening of the first two gates free them from full physical and mental inhibitions; the Eighth Gate, meanwhile, unlocks its user's full potential and can even warp the reality around them. While it has never been shown if Lee has been able to access the last two gates, his tutelage under Might Guy, who has been able to open all eight, plus several statements from characters set later in the series confirming as much, lends credence to the idea that Lee has mastered all eight gates himself.
Among those whom Lee can be measured to are fellow ninja student Naruto Uzumaki, whom can evade light rays, and obviously, Might Guy himself serves as another point of reference. With the Seventh Gate opened, Might Guy can perform attacks on an island-leveling scale, while with all eight opened, he can serve as a challenge to Madara Uchiha; Might Guy doing more to damage Madara than enough chakra to burst a hole through the moon and speaks volumes as to the potential offered by the opening of all eight gates. Even by his own standards, the young Lee can perform feats of similar renown. Alongside Might Guy and five others, Kee contributed to the shattering of a meteor threatening all of Konoha. The eight gates are easily the greatest weapon Lee has at his disposal, but they are also his most dangerous: every gate opened takes from its user just as much as it gives. The first few gates serve to tax the user's stamina upon their activation, but higher levels can tear away at their body. The Eighth Gate specifically guarantees the death of whomever opens it, forcing them to gain all they can out of its activation before the massive influx of chakra takes its toll. While Lee has never reached the point of needing to open all the gates, he has done much to live up to the possibilities they offer, and in teaching taijutsu to the next generation of ninja, including his own son, he ensures that martial arts will live to see its potential realized for a while longer.
Today's fighters have been studied and they're ready for action. One advertisement for Bluechew ED treatment later, and now, it's time for a death battle!
In the port town where the Straw Hats have docked lies a bar, and in this bar lies Vinsmoke Sanji, preparing a dish for his customer. With his meal prepared, Rock Lee samples his curry and rice, but his eagerness soon gives way to revulsion. The curry, too lacking in spice for his tastes, is an affront to the very nature of the dish, and as such, the taijutsu master refuses to take another bite. Sanji's pupils contract with rage as he lauds his own cooking, and without a moment to spare, swings an outstretched leg towards Lee. The ninja leans back to dodge, and vaulting off his stool, goads Sanji further. With kicks colliding, the martial artists appear to be at a stalemate.
FIGHT!
That stalemate is soon broken as Sanji dodges Lee's ensuing attempts to fight back. With a pair of kicks to launch Lee away, Sanji gives chase with a front kick that the taijutsu master evades. Rock Lee repays the blow with one in kind, a sweeping punch that sends the pirate chef skidding across the room. The Vinsmoke prince is still quick to stay in the fight, closing the distance anew and catching Lee in a series of sweeping kicks that knock him head-first into a barrel of liquor. Lee pulls himself out the barrel, and, now at the mercy of Drunken Fist style, ambles his way towards Sanji. The ninja's inebriated flailing take Sanji by surprise, and the wild flailing of Lee's fists and feet end with the pirate crashing through the walls of the bar. Still keeping his composure, Sanji uprights himself, his eyes glowing with the aura of Observation Haki. He senses the ninja vanishing from view, and immediately after, Lee seemingly materializes at Sanji's side; this time, the prince is better prepared, raising a knee to shield himself from another punch.
The disciples of Red Leg and Might Guy parry each other's kicks before Sanji goes on the defensive. With every one of Lee's attempts to strike him, Sanji deftly kicks him back away. Even in his intoxicated state, the spirited ninja refuses to give up, pushing his attack with a series of straight kicks. The master of the Black Leg deftly meets every approaching with a diving stomp of his own, until, using Lee's outstretched leg as a platform, he rotates rapidly until his leg is set ablaze; using the Diable Jambe, Sanji pushes himself off Lee and divebombs into the ninja. The impact of the kick sends Lee crashing into another building, completely demolishing it. The flush fades from his cheeks as the Drunken Fist wears off, a broken pipe dripping water onto the taijutsu expert's forehead. Lee barely has enough time to nurse his hangover when he focuses himself on the battle at hand. Pushing himself back up, a blue aura surrounds the Konoha native as he opens the first five of the gates limiting his chakra.
Lee's skin turns red as he dashes towards the chef. An upward strike launches Sanji into the sky, giving the shinobi enough time to activate the Sixth Gate. Leaping after his foe, Lee launches a furious assault, with kicks battering Sanji as fast as they send him flying different directions. Sanji comes to his senses, only to find a long wrapping holding his ankle taut. The bandages ensnared around Lee's arms are pulled back, reeling Sanji in. With the activation of the Seventh Gate, Lee unleashes an overhead punch that smashes Sanji into the brick tiles of the port town. Dust clears from the area as the prince of Germa pulls himself up; a black capsule is now nestled in one hand. Lee touches down and kicks it out his grasp. What follows is a midair clash as Sanji chases after the capsule and opens it; Rock Lee attempts to tackle him, but is too late to stop Sanji from donning his raid suit and disappearing from the ninja's sight.
Clad in black finery, Sanji pops into view behind Lee, repeatedly stomping on the spirited youth and readjusting his face briefly. With a diving dropkick that shatters his ribcage, Lee plummets back to earth, but he refuses to give up. He reiterates his fighting spirit and his will to survive before plunging a thumb straight into his heart; the Eighth Gate has been opened. A red aura envelops the Konoha ninja as he rockets back into the sky, creating currents from every direction that seem to trap Sanji in the center. The master chef escapes meets Lee's outstretched fist with another stomp. Sanji's leg wavers under the intense force before rupturing and bursting in a spray of blood. Lee is blasted back into the street and prepares himself for Sanji's touchdown; an axe kick from the one-legged pirate knocks him off balance. Intent on making his ungrateful customer atone for his actions, Sanji delivers a sweeping kick to the torso that rips Lee clean in half. The pirate positions himself by a dock and helps himself to a cigarette, uncaring as he listens to Lee's bifurcated carcass crash behind him and crumble to ash as a "The End" card closes out the fight.
K.O.!
In the aftermath of the fight, its elements are laid out for review. Lee was definitely a formidable opponent for Sanji thanks to his years of training and the powers granted by the eight gates. Sanji, however, has had a similarly extensive time spent practicing his craft and could keep pace with anything Lee had to offer. Compounding matters were Sanji's Observation Haki, which both increased Sanji's defenses and nullified the "chaos advantage" of Rock Lee's Drunken Boxing, and his Raid Suit, which further increased Sanji's already powerful advantage in mobility and defense. While they both have feats of island-destroying proportion to their names, the meteor that the Straw Hats demolished was of a scale greater than Lee or Might Guy's usage of the Seventh Gate. The best bet that Lee would have to win in this fight would be activating the Eighth Gate, and while mutually-assured destruction is not the most practical option for victory, it is still an option. Indeed, Sanji may be durable, but he is well beneath the level of stamina that Madara displayed in his fight with Might Guy under the effects of the Eighth Gate. If Lee were able to hit Sanji in this state, it would be too much for the pirate to handle; the problem is that Lee would have to catch him first. By comparing Sanji to Luffy, who has effortlessly avoided laser fire, Lee's opponent would be capable of comfortably moving at speeds thirteen times faster than that of light. Between Sanji's speed, his ability to essentially fly, the Raid Suit enhancing both those traits plus giving him invisibility, and the attack predicting powers of Observation Haki, the odds of Rock Lee actually being able to hit Sanji whilst in the Eighth Gate were low. Another point against Lee's favor is that the Eighth Gate is a suicide move that will kill the user, and Sanji's superior defense became a weapon in its own right, as Sanji could literally just evade Rock Lee until the Eighth Gate fatally burned him out. The Eighth Gate's effects are undeniably powerful and would certainly net Lee the win in certain circumstances, but Sanji's greater speed, precognition, and similar martial arts prowess would be the key ingredients to his much more likely victory.
Wiz: The winner is Sanji!
Next time on the season finale...
Sanji vs. Rock Lee contains examples of:
- An Arm and a Leg: Sanji gets his left leg literally smashed to pieces by Rock Lee's Eighth Gate-powered kick.
- Berserk Button: Rock Lee starts the fight by insulting Sanji's cooking, and continues pressing it by claiming that as the paying customer, he deserves to have the food made to his specifications, not what Sanji believes is superior.
- Book Ends: The fight starts off with Rock Lee criticizing Sanji's curry as not being hot enough; it ends with the ninja being burnt to cinders as Sanji concedes Lee was right.
- Continuity Nod: Previous combatants Roronoa Zoro, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Might Guy, and Kakashi Hatake are all referenced during the episode.
- Sanji is scaled to Zoro, while Might Guy (and through him Naruto) is used for Lee.
- It's reiterated that although the Eighth Gate will kill the user, it still counts as a victory if the user kills their opponent first, which was the case during Might Guy's tenure in the ring. Unfortunately for Lee, he couldn't replicate his mentor's feat of a Mutual Kill.
- Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Eighth Gate, which boosts Rock Lee's strength to a level even Sanji couldn't have survived, but which will kill him.
- Drunken Master: Rock Lee slips into this fighting style when he has any alcohol. DUMMI points out that true Drunken Boxing only imitates a drunkard's swaying movements, but Lee and Boomstick both prove actually being drunk works just fine for them.
- Foregone Conclusion: No matter how the fight ended, Lee was always going to die. Either being killed by Sanji, or by using the 8th gate.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: When the fight moves outside the restaurant, the Thousand Sunny can be briefly seen docked at the harbor.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Sanji quite literally kicks Rock Lee in half.
- Heroic RRoD: The Eighth Gate gives the user the power to output several Petatons of TNT, and was able to fatally injure the likes of Madara Uchiha, but as a consequence, will kill the user once their time is up. It's noted by the hosts that the Eighth Gate would grant Lee the power capable of killing Sanji multiple times over, but sadly for Lee, it's far more likely to be a fruitless effort, given the chef was several times faster and had precognition.
- Major Injury Underreaction: Sanji barely even flinches after having his leg blown off, and ends the fight simply kneeling in a pool of his own blood and casually smoking a cigarette.
- Pirates vs. Ninjas: Sanji is the cook of the Straw Hat pirates (though here, he's working in a land restaurant) and Rock Lee is a ninja from Konoha.
- Pyrrhic Victory:
- The battle animation has Sanji win, but only after he loses one of his legs. Although this may sound like a particularly devastating cost for victory, especially for an Extremity Extremist like Sanji, it's actually a downplayed example given how his home universe treats such an injury as a mild annoyance for most characters on his level.
- The post K.O discussion notes that this was basically the best Rock Lee could hope to achieve; the only thing that would amp him up enough to have a winning chance against Sanji was the Eighth Gate, and that meant he would have died even if he'd defeated the Straw Hats' cook.
- Serious Business: Sanji and Rock Lee literally fought to the death over a plate of curry.
- Shout-Out
- During Rock Lee's rundown, Boomstick attacks DUMMI while drunk; his finishing blow is reminiscent of Bayonetta's fighting style, landing a kick with his shotgun leg and then firing once it connects.
- After being hit with Sanji's kicking barrages, Lee's face briefly turns into the infamous handsome Squidward.
- While describing Rock Lee can become a Drunken Master, the screen behind the hosts gives a visual example with the film series of the same name.
- Super Mode: Like his mentor, Might Guy, Rock Lee can channel the power of the Eight Gates to enhance his power at the risk of his own death, with the Eighth Gate outright guaranteeing his own demise if he uses it. While he never used the Seventh or Eighth Gates in canon, they are both accounted for as part of his repertoire due to being Guy's student. Unfortunately for Lee, despite the Eighth Gate being more powerful than Sanji, it could not contend with Sanji's speed.
