WARNING: The following contains spoilers for One Piece Chapter 1034, "Sanji vs. Queen," by Eiichiro Oda, Stephen Paul, and Vanessa Satone, available in English from Viz Media.
Previously, Zoro was struggling to control his sword Enma, which had started draining his Haki after he heard the sound of a shamisen. On top of this, he was constantly be bombarded by King, who had yet to take any significant damage. In the Pleasure Hall, Queen explained to Sanji that King was the last of the Lunarians, who could adapt to any environment and were once seen as gods. When asked how they all died out if they were so powerful, Queen only readied a laser beam in response. Back outside, Zoro managed to land a Death Lion Song attack on King, but it had little to no effect. King launched a counter assault, nearly sending Zoro falling off the island.
After a series of memories regarding how he received his various swords, Zoro realizes that an old man who lived in his village was a samurai from Wano and Kuina's grandfather. His name was Shimotsuki Kozaburo, and he was also the one who created Enma. After coming to this realization, Zoro concludes that Enma is testing him by draining his Haki uncontrollably. He also concludes that the only way to win is to completely drain his Haki to keep his promise to Luffy, even if it kills him.
Chapter 1034 opens with an explosion in the Pleasure Hall. The woman who was frightened by Sanji, Osome, rushes into the fray looking for someone named Chuji. The other women call to her to come back, but she ignores their pleas; she's determined to find her friend. Back outside, Momonosuke is still struggling to create enough Flame Clouds to stop the island's progression. Instead, he comes up with a new idea: to grab the Flame Clouds Kaido created that are pushing Onigashima forward and pull it back. If he can't push the island back the way it came, he can at least prevent it from going further and keep it still.
We then get a glimpse of the samurai trying to keep the pirates from escaping on the Live Floor before cutting back to the Pleasure Hall. Queen shoots beams from his eyes in an attack he calls Sparking Queen. Sanji recognizes this as one of Ichiji's attacks, Sparking Valkyrie. While Sanji is still in the air after dodging, Queen launches a Henry Queen attack, extending his robotic arm and shocking Sanji, similar to Niji's Henry Blazer attack.
Queen then explains that he can also use Germa 66's techniques. He wanted to defeat Sanji using his father's science while Sanji was wearing his Raid Suit as a way to show up Judge Vinsmoke. He's also done research on Germa's scientific progression, replicating anything that the Vinsmoke children can do. He then uses Yonji's Winch Guillotine against Sanji, dragging him across and through the wall.
Sanji manages to break loose of Queen's grip, smashing his robotic arm in the process. He tells Queen that he warned him about talking about the Vinsmokes in front of him, but Queen is more offended that Sanji tries to tell him what he can and cannot say. Sanji uses a Flanchet Strike against him, kicking him in the stomach. It seems to do major damage to Queen, with Sanji pointing out that because they've been fighting for so long, they're both getting weaker. As he finishes his speech about finding his resolve, Queen disappears from sight using Sanji's own Stealth Black technique.
Sanji, however, is momentarily shocked but then seems more impressed than anything and shocks Queen by disappearing himself. The cyborg quickly figures out it's more speed rather than technique and that Sanji will eventually run out of stamina. Queen then sees Osome as she finds her little mouse friend Chuji and becomes enraged that she has the nerve to show her face when she had turned him away earlier. Still invisible, he approaches her, ready to punish her for her transgressions.
Suddenly, Sanji reappears above him, using all of his skills and abilities to launch an attack hotter than any before. He uses an Ifrit Jambe attack just as he realizes that it was Queen who had attacked Osome earlier, not Sanji suffering side-effects, angering the chef further. The strike causes Queen to reappear, with Osome witnesses the assault. Sanji then attacks Queen in a barrage of kicks and in one final push, sends him flying with a Boeuf Burst, closing out the chapter.
The next chapter of One Piece will be available on Sunday, December 19th.
