The way learning about the vinsmokes and sanji's childhood re-contextualized so much about him hit me like a truck and i still reel when i remember that feeling

"You can die for your pride if you want, but listen - if you eat and survive, won't that give you the opportunity to fight for pride truly worth having?"

"Give up your ambition and live!"

"When he's fighting, he's not afraid of anything. Not even death."

These three lines stick out to me the most when thinking about sanji, but also the progression of these three lines too. Sanji says that first line to a starving man and it's sensible, it's wise. Live to fight another day, and all that. And the second line seems reasonable too, on its own. Why throw your life away when you know you won't win? It is a waste. But it also clashes with the heart of the scene - of zoro putting his life on the line for his dream. If this fight is the ultimate goal of zoro's ambitions, the point of his whole life, how can he just walk away? Because this is the thesis of the series - that extraordinary dreams are worth risking it all. Luffy says himself, with a smile on his face, that if he dies chasing his dream then he'll die. At least he tried. So how can sanji be a main character in a show about chasing dreams if he won't risk anything?

It's because the vinsmokes are still holding him back.

Of course sanji has this mentality, that when danger arises he has to keep his head down and survive until he reaches a mythical someday when everything will be fine. That's what got him through the hell of the first eight years of his life. Things will be better later, just hold on for now.

But the thing with humans is we take our worst days and burn them in to our memories so if they happen again we can survive them again. No matter how much time passes. "Give up your ambition and live" is good advice for a bad situation, but Sanji couldn't see he didn't need it anymore. He's been stuck in that mentality for years even after breaking free of the life where he needed it every single day. And zeff didn't know how to make him see that.

But luffy could show him. And zeff could sit with his son and watch what it was like to live without fear.