One Piece Chapter 1182, which was officially released on May 10, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #24, has finally advanced the character arc of Roronoa Zoro in Elbaph. Zoro headed to Elbaph after defeating the likes of King the Wildfire and Rob Lucci, the strongest of the CP-0, but this level of strength was certainly not enough for him. Zoro intends to defeat the Strongest Swordsman in the World, Dracule Mihawk, in the Final Saga of the story. Reaching his level requires him to gain even further strength, which he seeks now in Elbaph.
In One Piece Chapter 1182, Eiichiro Oda, the author of the series, officially set up Zoro's clash against one of the strongest characters in Elbaph currently, that is, Super Sommers. This battle will see Zoro come up against his toughest enemy to date and push him beyond all limits, taking his overall powers to a higher level and making him so strong that he stands shoulder to shoulder with the other Emperors of the Sea.
Eiichiro Oda Officially Sets Up Zoro Vs Super Sommers In One Piece Chapter 1182
One Piece Chapter 1182 shed a lot of light on the character of Roronoa Zoro, hyping up his upcoming battle against the Holy Knights in the process. In One Piece Chapter 1180, Roronoa Zoro came up against Nerona Imu, whom he tried to attack with his Three Sword Style immediately after. As expected, Imu proved to be too powerful for Zoro to fight, and he utilized the power of Omen to completely knock back the Straw Hat swordsman and brutally injure him in the process. While his fate remained unknown after this attack, One Piece Chapter 1182 officially confirmed that Zoro was alive and well and that he did not intend to abandon Elbaph in its hour of need. Together with Goldberg, Zoro is now headed towards the Sea Cloud Port of Elbaph’s Western Village, where the kidnapped children are going to be taken soon enough. There, Zoro is set to engage in his official main Elbaph battle against none other than Super Sommers.
“Hello! This is Sommers speaking. Did I just say Sommers? I meant Super Sommers. I've found a Giant ship to use. Bring those brats over here in 5 minutes!!” — Saint Shepherd Sommers, One Piece Chapter 1182
Super Sommers is the upgraded version of the Holy Knight Sommers, which was officially unveiled by Eiichiro Oda in One Piece Chapter 1182. Having easily been defeated by Luffy and Loki, Sommers was at the mercy of Roronoa Zoro until recently and was about to be killed when Imu intervened and powered him up using an Omen. By granting him this Omen, Imu boosted him up drastically to the point where even flying became possible for him. In Sommers' own words from Chapter 1182, his strength is overflowing now, and he has grown to become Super Sommers.
As evident from the chapter, Super Sommers was so powerful that he casually lifted the ship of a Giant and threw it off a waterfall. This was but a fraction of the power that he possesses at this point. As such, Zoro's fight against Super Sommers is certainly going to be incredibly exciting once it begins officially on May 24, 2026, in One Piece Chapter 1183.
One Piece's Elbaph Arc Officially Shows The Power Difference Between Luffy And His Wings
Luffy's Wings, Zoro, and Sanji, are very powerful. They still pale in comparison to Luffy in strength.
Why The Fight Vs Super Sommers Requires Roronoa Zoro To Upgrade His Conqueror's Haki And Reach Yonko Level
Super Sommers possesses incredible strength up his sleeve and will certainly not be easy for Zoro to defeat. This is evident from the fact that Super Sommers has a Depths Covenant with Nerona Imu, the King of the World. This Depths Covenant grants him the power of regeneration, immortality, and inhuman strength. All these things alone are enough to see Sommers compete at the highest level of strength, but he also has access to powers like his Paramecia-type ability, Iba Iba no Mi. This Devil Fruit allows him to produce thorns and manipulate them freely in combat, and these thorns are incredibly difficult to cut even for someone as strong as Zoro. Their only weakness is fire, and this was evident when Sanji burned through them in One Piece chapter 1175 of the manga.
“That black flame though, it was transforming into bullets and bombs…and he clearly helped the Knights of God who were already here power up further. If we don't put an end to them soon, things will get out of hand.” — Roronoa Zoro, One Piece Chapter 1182
While Sommers was already very strong, he has now been powered up by Nerona Imu's Omen, and this black ring of flames over his head ensures that his overall power level increases drastically. His physical capabilities are now beyond human comprehension, and he can even fly, on top of everything else. All things considered, Saint Sommers has now been made a strong enough challenge for Roronoa Zoro. Normally, Zoro could have utilized his swordsmanship to cut down Sommers; however, as he is now, his power isn't enough to take him down. To be able to defeat Super Sommers, he needs full control over Advanced Conqueror's Haki, as confirmed officially by Scopper Gaban in One Piece Chapter 1152, released on June 23, 2025, in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #30, and this ability serves as his main power-up for the Elbaph arc.
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How Zoro's Newly Acquired Conqueror's Haki Control Will Make Him As Strong As A Yonko
In One Piece chapter 1152, which was officially released on June 23, 2025, Scopper Gaban, the Left Arm of the Pirate King, officially confirmed that the only way to defeat the Holy Knights is to utilize Conqueror's Haki. The Holy Knights may be able to regenerate from most attacks, but the ones coated in the power of Supreme King Haki become difficult to recover from. Their regeneration powers slow down tremendously, and when hit enough, they can be completely incapacitated. This is something that Gaban has done on multiple occasions throughout his pirating career and did in One Piece Chapter 1149 against Sommers.
Zoro must do something similar in the battle against Super Sommers, which is set to begin later this month. As things stand, Zoro can channel the power of Conqueror's Haki, but he possesses no control over it. Enma, his beloved blade, draws out his Haki for him. Up until recently, Zoro wasn't even aware of the fact that he had Conqueror's Haki. Eiichiro Oda has now set up Zoro gaining full control over his Haki in the battle against Super Sommers, and then utilizing this power to defeat him, despite the Holy Knight being powered up by an Omen.
“Haki is a power that's only useful when you consciously control it. How do you expect to support your Captain, an Emperor of the Sea, without knowing that?!” — Scopper Gaban to Roronoa Zoro, One Piece Chapter 1152
This battle will take Zoro from just a Commander-level individual to one who stands on the same level as the Yonko of the world. By fully mastering his Haki, Zoro will be able to bring out its true essence, as confirmed by Gaban in chapter 1152. According to Gaban, the true power of Haki can only be brought out when one learns to control it. This is proof that Roronoa Zoro will ascend in terms of strength after his battle with Super Sommers in Elbaph. Zoro's firepower is already enough to scar and injure a Yonko, as seen in Chapter 1010 of the story. All he needs is better Haki control, and as he successfully achieves that in Elbaph, he will become capable of fighting against the Yonko of the Sea by himself.
The newest One Piece chapters are all available to read officially on Manga Plus and Viz Media.
One Piece
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
