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After 28 years, One Piece’s most heated debate is finally settled -- at least for now. As of Japan’s latest Oricon reports, the longstanding Straw Hat rivalry between swordsman Roronoa Zoro and Sanji the cook has a decisive winner.
One Piece novel ZORO by Jun Esaka, released on July 3, 2026, has landed at the top of Oricon’s weekly light novel ranking for the second week in a row. After debuting at no. 1 last week with an estimated 18,239 copies, ZORO retained the top spot this week with another 17,494 copies, totaling 35,733 units sold overall.
This week alone, it sold more than the next seven titles on Oricon's light novel sales chart combined. The release also marks Zoro’s first solo light novel, which Sanji has never gotten and doesn’t appear to be receiving any time soon. Now, it will be harder than ever for the Straw Hat cook to catch up to Monkey D. Luffy’s right-hand man.
One Piece's New Oricon Sales Rankings Finally Put the Zoro vs. Sanji Debate to Rest
Initially announced earlier this year, One Piece novel ZORO takes the fandom inside the three-sword style user’s character like fans have never seen him before. The novel fleshes out Zoro’s backstory in the years following the death of his closest childhood friend, Kuina.
In the story of One Piece novel ZORO, the young swordsman finally leaves the village where he lost Kuina and gained his skill in swordsmanship in pursuit of stronger opponents. The adventure that follows takes place across three chapters, titled "Sasakaze," "Chasing Crane" and "Spirit of the Sword."
Zoro’s backstory, while not officially considered part of Oda’s canon One Piece narrative, has a captivating plot that hits on many of the major themes from the core story. Zoro investigates Dracule Mihawk, exposes a corrupt ruler and meets crooked Marines for the first time, all in the course of the three-chapter story, originally published across three separate issues of One Piece Magazine between June 2024 and October 2025.
Esaka’s previous works include four Naruto light novels published from 2018 to 2019: Sasuke Shinden: The Teacher's Star Pupil, Kakashi Retsuden: The Sixth Hokage and the Failure Boy, Sasuke Retsuden: The Uchiha Descendants and the Heavenly Stardust and Naruto Retsuden: Naruto Uzumaki and the Spiral Destiny.
In 2025, Esaka authored One Piece: Heroines, which debuted its official anime adaptation by Toei Animation on July 5, 2026, just two days after the release of One Piece novel ZORO. One Piece: Heroines features the stylized artwork of Sayaka Suwa, while Nakamaru’s talents were recruited for Zoro’s novel.
As the first Straw Hat Pirate to join Luffy’s Grand Line voyage, Zoro’s origins have long fascinated the One Piece fandom. This new light novel offers readers a fun way to experience more of the fan-favorite swordsman while quietly confirming what Zoro loyalists have been arguing for years: Sanji will never be on Zoro’s level.
