I'm bored, so I'll bite.
Sanji was always that strong. Bad guys used Zeff to stop Sanji from wrecking asses, and even after the beating he took, Sanji was still moving that it even impressed his own coworkers that knew him well. How did he suck in Drum Island when he saved Luffy and Nami and took damage? He's not rubber like Luffy. Bon is a male, and he and Bon have a similar fighting style. Otherwise Luffy sucks too because he lost to Crocodile twice. ALso, Sanji can't fight women, which is why he lost to Khalifa, so the strongest female BW agent was never going to be Sanji's opponent.
Sanji got beat up by rabbits, then got dispatched by Kureha. That's animals and a 100+ year old lady.
In fact, Gin only points his gun at Zeff midway during the fight. Before, Sanji only got a single hit in on Pearl, with his other two kicks being blocked.
In the same time Luffy accidently crashed into Pearl, causing him to bleed, and also blocked a ball-and chain-throw from Krieg, saving Sanji, this causes a mast to collapse on Pearl's head. In other word's, Luffy did more damage to Pearl even though he wasn't even fighting him.
And don't forget that it is Gin that defeats Pearl. With a single blow. Sanji's kicks couldn't even scratch the armor on the other hand.
Mr. 2 is both male and female, that's what he feels like. The Baroque Works hierarchy is based on gender, and strenght. That means Mister 2 is both the second strongest male and female agent. Also:
"Poison Spider" Zala: 35.000.000 Belly
Bentham of the Wild: 32.000.000 Belly
I know bounty isn't equivalent to strenght, but Mr. 2 was a Pirate Captain, complete with his own crew and ship, while Zala was an undercover barkeeper and is also four years younger than Bentham.
And just for comparison:
"The Killer" Daz Bones: 75.000.000
The difference here is too large to neglect it. Zoro beat someone who is much stronger than Sanji's opponent. It is Zoro that defeats such a guy, receiving a power-up while doing so and another power-up (flying slashes) an arc later.
How on earth can Sanji keep up with someone that got three power-ups (don't forget the new swords in Logue Town) in the time where he himself got...none?
Preskip Powerups Zoro/Sanji:
Zoro: New Swords, Iron Cutting, Flying Slashes, Ashura, Shusui
Sanji: Diable Jambe
How is that comparable? It is 5:1 in favor of Zoro. Saying that Sanji and Zoro are roughly equal, despite Zoro powering up five times as fast as Sanji defies both the internal logic of this Manga, as well as the internal logic of Shonen in general.
Robin could be considered the strongest Straw Hat at the time, tbh, until Luffy got enough speed to deal with her devil fruit power. Let's be real though, if Pell could survive a bomb, then he could survive even a Whitebeard attack or an Akainu magma attack.
Luffy can stretch so he can't be confined by Robin's arms. Anyways, Luffy beat Crocodile, against which Robin was absolutely chanceless, despite being prepared and having a plan. Robin definitely was never above Luffy.
Pell surviving the bomb comes down to dumb luck, not strenght, that much should be clear.
"Blonde Zoro?" Those two are polar opposite in terms of fighting and personality, other than their willingness to fight, competitiveness with each other, and laidback but brave ways.
Well, this is the impression that the term "Monster Trio" gives. But that term is fanfiction. It never had any solid basis in the Manga, and it is really only Sanji fans that push for it.
Sanji isn't a Supernova because he didn't get a bounty at the same time that Luffy and Zoro did. I forgot when Luffy got his bounty, but if it was during Arlong Arc, then Luffy and Zoro struck the Marine that caused them to get bounties. ANd since they already had bounties and were more visible, it was easier to increase their bounties until the crew beat Crocodile, a shichibukai. If I recall correctly, being part of the Supernova means having a certain amount of bounty.
Zoro only got his bounty after Alabasta, for defeating someone significant, something that Sanji had not done and also couldn't have done. Daz Bones would have killed him, that much is certain.
Then during Enies Lobby, both actually did defeat equal opponents with moderate difficulty due to their new power-ups....But only Zoro got an increase past the 100M. Had Oda wanted for Sanji to be part of the Worst Generation, that would have been the time to push him, but Oda didn't do that.
Quite the opposite, he introduced Kid and Killer as counterparts to Luffy and Zoro. Not Kid, Killer and Heat or Wire. Those last two even go unnamed throughout their introduction arc. There is no counterpart for Sanji, because Sanji doesn't belong into the elite circle.
