The new bounties of the Straw Hat Pirates completely changed one of the oldest dynamics in One Piece. The “monster trio” composed of Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, so called because of their monstrous strength, is no longer such, as the third-highest bounty in the crew does not belong to its gentleman cook anymore, but to the helmsman Jinbe, the Knight of the Sea.
The Straw Hats crew is not entirely composed of strong fighters, despite the fact that even the weakest members, such as Usopp and Nami, can hold their own in a fight. At the top of the mountain obviously stands captain Luffy, who has by now mastered both the most advanced uses of Haki and the secret powers of his Devil Fruit. Zoro and Sanji have always been the two closest to him in terms of strength, so much so that they usually have the job to take out the seconds-in-command of the groups that stand in the Straw Hats’ way. Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji’s power and reliability for the rest of the crew have earned them the nickname of “monster trio”, which was used first by Nami during their adventures on Thriller Bark.
The bounties that the World Government issues on the Straw Hats’ heads are used as an approximate measure of the strength of each member. Zoro is always number two behind Luffy, while Sanji is usually number three, even if he was sometimes surpassed by other members for reasons different from strength (for example, Nico Robin has an unusually high bounty due to her knowledge of the secrets of Ohara). However, in chapter #1058 of One Piece, Sanji saw his position as number three taken away by Jinbe, the newest recruit of the Straw Hat, who received a slightly higher bounty than the blonde-haired cook.
Jinbe is a very powerful fighter, a master of Busoshoku Haki and of the unique combat style called Fishman Karate. He is the former captain of the Sun Pirates and also a former member of the Seven Warlords. However, it’s still surprising to see him surpass Sanji in terms of bounty. During the battle against the Beasts Pirates in Onigashima, Sanji unlocked a new impressive set of powers which allowed him to defeat one of Kaido’s lieutenants, the mighty Queen, who had the third-highest bounty in the crew and was also a former member of the dangerous group of rogue scientists known as MADS. Jinbe, on the other hand, defeated one of Kaido’s lower-ranking officers, Who’s Who, even if his contribution to the battle was fundamental. Finally, Sanji is one of the heirs of the Germa Kingdom, another powerful rogue organization that commanders vast resources, and even if he broke ties with his family the World Government should have kept this in higher regard.
Jinbe rising up in the crew could be considered the end of the “monster trio”. However, Sanji and Zoro have a much deeper and long-standing dynamic with Luffy. As they proudly declared during the battle in Onigashima, they consider themselves “the wings that will lift the Pirate King up”. This means that, regardless of how One Piece will change the Straw Hat bounties, Zoro and Sanji will always be Luffy’s closest allies, and the “monster trio” will live on.
