"The Past that He Let Go of - Vinsmoke Sanji" is the 803rd episode of the One Piece anime.
Short Summary
Nami confronts Cracker and tries to use various tricks against him, but they prove ineffective and he overpowers her. However, Luffy regains his Haki and leaps back into the fray, taking Cracker by surprise with a Gear 2 punch.
In the Germa Kingdom, Sanji cannot continue fighting Niji due to the threat on Zeff, which allows Niji to pummel him. As his brothers stand over him, Sanji remembers his childhood in the Germa Kingdom. Judge had given him and his siblings superhuman abilities and had them train their skills, but Sanji continuously fell far behind his siblings' performances, causing him to be viciously bullied. Judge discovered that Sanji possessed no superhuman abilities after all, and he faked Sanji's death, locking his third son in a dungeon with an iron mask on to act like he never existed.
Long Summary
With Cracker facing off against them, Nami tells Kingbaum and the homies to run off while she battles the Sweet Commander. Kingbaum is shocked that she is going up against someone of Cracker's caliber, but Nami initiates her plan as she leaps out of the tree homie's mouth and strikes two Biscuit Soldiers with Thunderbreed Tempo. However, the soldiers are unfazed by the lightning strike, which only singed their biscuit bodies. They then attack Nami, overwhelming and subduing her. Cracker then confronts Nami personally, and asks her why she and Luffy are making the suicidal effort to get Sanji back. Nami replies that although Sanji can be annoying at times, he is one of her treasured crewmates and selflessly helps the crew in times of need, a relationship which Cracker does not seem to understand. Cracker ponders over Nami's words, and decides to attack her himself, believing that she will be unable to cause him pain. Nami manages to block the first few jabs of Pretzel, but Cracker eventually disarms her and holds Pretzel at her neck, saying he will take his time and kill her painfully. However, Luffy then bursts in with Gear 2 activated and punches Cracker, sending him tumbling away. Cracker is delighted to see Luffy again, and Luffy prepares to handle the Sweet Commander himself.
In the Germa Kingdom, Sanji has just kicked Niji square in the face, causing Niji to tumble into the wall. As Niji fixes his injured jaw, Ichiji reminds Sanji that they can have Zeff killed if Sanji keeps attacking, which causes Sanji to falter. Niji takes full advantage of this and quickly moves behind his brother, mocking him for his reaction to Cosette's beating as he rams an electrified knee into his back. Niji then sends Sanji sprawled out on the ground with an electrified punch, and he, Ichiji, and Yonji stand over their brother. They continue mocking Sanji's dedication to Cosette, and Ichiji reminds Sanji that he is still in the family's hierarchy as their failure. Sanji remembers his past in the Germa Kingdom, where he and his siblings stood before Judge. Judge told them that they had been endowed with superhuman abilities that would make them into powerful, emotionless military commanders, and said that they needed to train to awaken them. The siblings began to train, and as a test they jumped off a high balcony. Reiju, Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji landed on their feet easily, but Sanji was caught in his fear of the large fall and failed to jump.
This trend continued, as Sanji would continuously fall behind his siblings in every physical test, even almost drowning once during a swim across the ocean. He and Niji once sparred with wooden swords, and to Sanji's surprise, his sword broke when he tried to strike Niji with it. Niji then responded by viciously beating Sanji with the sword, going for so long that the Germa 66 soldiers had to remove him from Sanji. Sanji's siblings started preying on his weakness and bullied him regularly, with Reiju seeming reluctant but still joining in. Judge was not pleased with Sanji's weakness, and was bewildered to hear a report from one of his aides that Sanji appeared to be a normal human with no superhuman modifications whatsoever. Sanji was in his room feeding a rat when Judge came in, confronting his son over his weakness. Judge grew angry when he saw Sanji feeding the rat, telling him to stop acting like his deceased mother as he sent the rat and the food falling out the window. Judge's brutality caused Sanji to cry, and Sanji's misery continued as his normal human body could not withstand the hard training. Accepting that Sanji was a failed experiment, Judge held a funeral for his son, claiming that he had died in an accident. Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji did not care about the news of their brother's death. In reality, Sanji was taken to a dungeon, where he was left with an iron mask on his head. Shocked and confused, he begged the soldiers to let him speak to Judge, but they revealed that Judge ordered this, as he wished to pretend that Sanji no longer existed. Left alone in the cell, Sanji wailed in agony at the abuse he suffered.
Characters in Order of Appearance
- Nami
- Kingbaum
- Charlotte Cracker
- Monkey D. Luffy
- Sanji
- Jabra (flashback)
- Donquixote Doflamingo (flashback)
- Kouzuki Momonosuke (flashback)
- Tony Tony Chopper (flashback)
- Brook (flashback)
- Vinsmoke Niji
- Vinsmoke Yonji
- Vinsmoke Ichiji
- Zeff (image (flashback))
- Cosette (flashback)
- Vinsmoke Judge (flashback)
- Vinsmoke Reiju (flashback)
- Mont Blanc Noland (drawing, flashback))
- Sanji's mother (image, flashback)
Anime Notes
- The anime adds the following:
- Nami fighting Cracker and his Biscuit Soldiers alone to buy time for Luffy to recover.
- After Cracker overpowers Nami, Luffy recovers just in time to save her.
- Sanji activates Diable Jambe right before Niji warns him about fighting back.
- After Niji strikes down Sanji, Yonji taunts the latter about him protecting Zeff.
- While reprimanding Sanji for making food for a rat, Judge is shown smashing a portrait of his wife and Sanji.
- A partial image of Sanji's mother is shown.
- In the manga, the scene of Reiju explaining why she laughed alongside Sanji's brothers was shown after Judge forbid Sanji from cooking again. In the anime, it is before.