Roronoa Zoro (Roronoa Zoro?), also known as Roronoa Zolo, is a fictional character in the anime and manga series One Piece by Eichiro Oda. He is a swordsman and the first member of Straw Hat Pirates to join the crew.

Being the second member of the Straw Hat Pirates and the first mate, he had a bounty of 60 million Belli after the Alabasta Arc, which was raised to 120 million after the events of Enies Lobby. According to Oda, Zoro resembles a shark.[1] Oda uses the color green to represent Zoro, and he smells of steel.[2] Zoro is also left handed.

Originally, the American version of the manga(VIZ) spelled his name as “Roronoa Zoro”, but it was changed to “Zolo” in chapter 50. His family name, Roronoa, comes from the real-life French pirate François l’Ollonais.[3] The name “Zoro” comes from the Japanese “zorome”, meaning a palindrome (a sequence that is the same backwards and forwards), since his birthday is November 11 (11/11).

Zoro is a skilled swordsman who fights with santōryū, three daito katana, and his own unique fighting style. Though not a samurai, he appears to maintain a certain degree of bushido, and is frequently mistaken for one. Unlike Luffy and most of the other Straw Hat pirates, Zoro has been known to kill his opponents if he has to, though never in cold blood.

Eiichiro Oda stated that he made Zoro as a bodyguard of Buggy in earlier versions of the story. However, he scrapped that idea for the final version of One Piece.

Zoro has a stern, serious and distanced personality, but unlike Robin he often reacts in a goofy and exaggerated comic style due to his gruff, impatient attitude. On the ship, he normally either trains with weights or sleeps. The only work he is seen doing regularly is hoisting the anchor using his great strength. He also likes sake, almost to the degree that Luffy likes meat, but like Nami, he never gets drunk due to his inhumanly-high endurance and tolerance for alcohol.

Another notable trait is his lack of orientation, as Zoro often gets lost, even in small, familiar spaces or when being led by someone. Despite this, he is often the first to sense an enemy or danger, and the first to react. He is often displayed as being well aware of dangerous situations and people around him as well as harsh but true facts.

Zoro often reminds others of those harsh facts, such as his speech to Chopper in the Davy Back Fight arc before the Groggy Ring match, reminding him that it was his choice to go to sea and to “be a man” and more recently, his speech concerning accepting Usopp back into the crew, stating that if Luffy went back on his word the crew couldn’t rely on him.

While speaking out like this shocks some of the other crew members, he usually ends up being right. Zoro has proclaimed himself an atheiest because the only being he’s ever believed in his himself. He often comes across as arrogant and overconfident, but only because he knows he’s a strong man with great fighting ability.

Even so, Zoro acknowledges that he still has a lot of untapped potential, and is constantly seen training and trying to improve his fighting skills. Zoro also adheres to a strict swordmaster’s code of honor, and never falsely brags or lies about his abilities, sometimes outright admitting a weakness, even to an enemy. He also never runs from a battle, and rarely uses trickery to win, believing that doing so is cowardly and scorning anyone who uses such tactics too often. Zoro is very vigorous, strong-willed, and determined. On Little Garden, he attempted to slice off his feet to escape death and return to a battle, resulting in scars around both his ankles.

While he doesn’t show it, he holds all of his crewmates in high regard and despite his focus on his dream he loves being a Straw Hat and has grown accustomed to his life as a pirate. There has been a strong rivalry between Zoro and Sanji ever since they met on the Baratie.

They are constantly trying to outdo each other and often get into comical physical and verbal fights over petty matters at very inopportune moments, such as during the Davy Back Fight. When they work together in combat, however, they make a terrifying team. Zoro also holds a slight grudge against Nami, as she has blackmailed Zoro many times. Nevertheless, he helps and protects her whenever she’s in any real danger. Zoro has a unique relationship with Ensign Tashigi of the Marines.

Tashigi and Zoro met in Loguetown, where she helped him search for a new katana. She is opposed to Zoro, as she is marine, and dreams of taking legendary swords (such as Zoro’s Wado Ichimonji) away from pirates and bounty hunters. Zoro is the swordsman of the crew, and therefore normally fights other swordsmen of enemy groups such as Cabaji the Acrobat in the Buggy the Clown arc or Mr. 1 in the Alabasta arc. His goal is to become the world’s best swordsman.

To accomplish this, he has to defeat Dracule Mihawk who, as of now in the story, holds the title. He confronted Mihawk once during the Baratie arc but lost to a 6 inch knife and was left with the huge scar on the front of his torso, which was caused by Mihawk’s Black Sword (Großes Messer). After his defeat Zoro vowed never again to lose in terms of swordsmanship to anyone. This is one of the very few scenes in which Zoro is seen crying. Zoro’s preoccupation with his swordsmanship is so great that he usually shows little interest in anything outside this narrow focus.

When Zoro has the intention to fight seriously, he normally ties his trademark black-green bandana (which is usually tied around his left upper arm) over his head.

Unlike most of the Straw Hats, Zoro claims to be an atheist. Nami and Chopper have both claimed that Zoro is more arrogant than a god. Ironically, most of Zoro’s attacks are puns with religious connections despite his view on religion. One of Zoro’s common attacks, Oni Giri (Demon Slash), is a pun on the Japanese word onigiri (rice ball). Another common attack, the 36/72/108 Pound Cannon, is a reference to the 36 passions of Buddhism. Zoro’s newest power, Asura, also borrows from religion by taking its name from a group of Hindu demons.

Zoro spent his childhood training in a dojo. How he became a student of that dojo was not explained in the manga, but was in the anime. When Zoro was a young boy, he challenged the dojo to a match with its strongest person in order to test his strength, even though he had no experience in sword-fighting whatsoever.

He made a deal with the dojo master, saying that if he won, he’d take their school sign. If he lost, he’d join the dojo. However, instead of fighting against the dojo master as he’d expected, Zoro ended up fighting against the master’s daughter, Kuina, who was only two years older than Zoro. Kuina defeated Zoro with one blow, and he ended up joining the dojo.

After training in the dojo for a short time, 11-year-old Zoro had become adept in fighting with two swords and was now strong enough to defeat the dojo’s adults. However, there was one person Zoro still could not beat - Kuina. Frustrated, he tried to get stronger, pushing himself to his limits in training every day, seemingly to no avail.

After their 2000th fight (and Kuina’s 2000th victory) Zoro challenged her in private for one more match - with real swords. He lost. Afterwards. Zoro cried out of frustration; he couldn’t fulfill his dream of becoming the world’s best swordsman if he couldn’t beat Kuina. After Zoro stated this, Kuina started to cry as well, explaining that she wanted to be the best swordsman too, but her father had said that girls can’t be master swordsmen since they will mature to be physically weaker than males.

This angered Zoro. He yelled at Kuina that this wasn’t true, that she could still beat him, and that training so hard to defeat someone who’d become weaker than him made him look bad. Zoro swore that the day he defeats Kuina, it’d be because he trained hard and grew stronger, not because she grew weaker. This made Kuina feel better and she decided to continue chasing her dreams. Inspired, the two made a promise: that both would grow stronger, and one day, one of them would eventually become the world’s best swordmaster.

The next day, Kuina dies falling down the stairs to the basement while looking for her whetstone. Zoro attends her funeral procession without crying, showing his mourning instead by training more vigorously and desperately than ever.

Note: In the English dub by 4Kids, this scene was censored and instead she was written to have been badly hurt by a group from a nearby town and was unable to fight anymore.
Later, Zoro’s sensei, Kuina’s father, had a private conversation with Zoro, saying that Zoro’s presence had inspired her to train harder and become stronger than ever before.

He said that because of Zoro, Kuina had begun breaking down the physical barriers that prevented a swordswoman from becoming the greatest. Though he doesn’t specifically say so, it is clear that Kuina’s father regrets telling his daughter that she couldn’t be the best on the basis of her gender alone. Upon hearing this, Zoro cries for the first time since Kuina’s death, and begs his sensei for Kuina’s sword, so that he may achieve their shared dream of becoming the best swordsman for the both of them, and travel from then on with her memory beside him. His sensei agreed, and gave him the Wado Ichimonji, and Zoro begins training in Santōryū, three-sword style.

Several years later, Zoro, now a teenager, is seen using santōryū to destroy rocks. He then prays at Kuina’s gravestone with his sensei one final time before setting out on his journey to become the world’s best swordsman.

In the manga, Zoro’s past is much shorter, not explaining how Zoro came to be a student at the dojo. It also does not include any of the young Zoro’s training scenes, Kuina’s funeral procession, the sensei’s conversation with Zoro about Kuina’s growing strength, and Zoro’s last visit to Kuina’s grave before he began traveling the East Blue. These scenes were all added into the anime.
Zoro went to sea, looking to find and challenge Mihawk, the current strongest swordsman in the world. However, he somehow got lost at sea and was unable to find his way back to his island. Since swordfighting is more or less Zoro’s only skill, he made money by catching wanted pirates and turning them in for their bounties, becoming known as the terrifyingly strong “Pirate-Hunter Zoro”.

Because of his reputation, Zoro was offered a position and a number in Baroque Works because of his bounty hunting skills, but declined when he was not allowed to “be the boss”. Afterwards, he killed the person who offered, the late Mr. 6 of Baroque Works.

A moment of kindness landed Zoro in trouble with Helmeppo, the wimpy son of the Marine captain Axe-Hand Morgan. Zoro joined Monkey D. Luffy’s crew after being saved from execution from the Marines, and is now one of Luffy’s crew as the first mate. Holding onto his dream of becoming the greatest swordsman in the world, he told Luffy that he only joined him to avoid dying before achieving his dream.

Zoro swore that if being on Luffy’s crew ever got in the way of this dream, he’d kill him. Luffy simply smiled and said that as the future Pirate King, he wanted no one other than the strongest swordsman in the world on his crew.

In Loguetown, Zoro acquired the Kitetsu III and the Yubashiri to replace the swords that’d been destroyed during his battle with Mihawk.

During the Alabasta arc, it was revealed that Zoro had yet to learn to cut steel. This caused a major problem for him during the Baroque Works Saga during his fights against Mr. 3 and Mr. 1. During his fight with Mr. 1, he discovered the Shishi Sonson (Lion’s Breathe) attack, which allowed him to cut through virtually anything by focusing the ki in his sword. On the brink of death, Zoro used this attack right when Mr. 1 was about to deliver the finishing blow, defeating the Baroque Works agent and achieving his goal of cutting steel.

During the Enies Lobby arc, Zoro’s Yubashiri was destroyed by a Marine who’d eaten the Rust-Rust Devil Fruit.

As Merry fell apart and Luffy and the crew gave her a Viking funeral, he continued to show his signature tough guy attitude by standing staunchly and not shedding any tears. He was later seen staring at the broken hilt of his sword wondering what he should do.

In Chapter 435, he was seen trying to buy a sword but had no money and was thrown out. Shortly after, Zoro’s new bounty is revealed to be 120 Million Beli.

In Chapter 438 the Straw Hats discussed whether or not to allow Usopp to rejoin the crew.

During this scene, Zoro gives an emotional rebuttal including the following points:

Luffy and Usopp settled their conflict with an honorable duel.

Usopp lost, and “left on his own terms”.

Luffy would be breaking his word if he allowed Usopp to return without an apology

If Zoro cannot trust Luffy, he will “cause a fight and leave”.

Interestingly, when Usopp does show up and the first thing he does is pretend the duel was just a joke, both Luffy and Zoro pretend not to hear it, and Zoro is later seen smiling after Usopp repents and rejoins the crew.

Zoro stayed on Thousand Sunny when Luffy, Nami and Sanji went to investigate the ghost ship. When they come back with Brook, Zoro shows extreme dislike for Brook and is shocked by Luffy’s impulsive decision. When Brook explains his unique condition, Zoro seems to be suspicious about his story.

Later, Zoro joins Luffy in boarding “Thriller Bark” where they meet a Cerberus. Along with Sanji, Zoro discourages Luffy from asking a couple of zombies to join their crew. While in Hogback’s mansion, Zoro disappears not long after Sanji does. Later, a zombie was shown attacking Robin, Luffy, and Franky with Zoro’s Ishitoryu: 36-Pound-Cannon attack. However, the zombie’s body was that of a man who died protecting his family at the age of 59. After Gecko Moria revealed the extent of his powers, it is now believed that the zombie received Zoro’s shadow, which in turn gave him Zoro’s attacks.

Zoro is found sleeping near Luffy and Sanji, back on the Thousand Sunny, by Usopp, Chopper, Franky, and Robin. Ussop manages to wake him by lying that a “Lady Swordsman” had arrived. Awoken now, Zoro berates himself at the dishonor of being taken off his guard. Luffy tells Zoro who has his shadow and plans are made to retrieve Luffy’s, Sanji’s, Brook’s, and his own shadow.

He is currently fighting Ryuuma and confidently plans to take his sword, the Meitou Shuusui (Clear Autumn Water) when he wins. However, Ryuuma is a far more powerful opponent than Zoro believed. Five minutes into the battle, Franky and Brooke see Zoro flying out of the building and landing unconscious and wounded. Ryuuma is standing in a cloud of steam, looking down at Zoro out of the building. Brooke remarks that the duel is over and Ryuuma did not even have to fight seriously against Brooke earlier. The condition of Zoro is not known at this time.

Zoro is a master swordsman, able to use one, two and three swords in varying attack styles, although he is most proficient with his Santōryū (literally: three sword style). Lacking a third hand for a third sword, Zoro holds his third sword in his mouth. Zoro often speaks with his sword held in his mouth, though it’s unknown how he manages to do so.

The creator of the series, Eiichiro Oda, has said that it is his heart that allows him to speak, though Oda is known for giving joke answers to fans’ questions, as well as just making up answers on the spot to avoid leaving a fan’s question unanswered. A more realistic explanation to this question could be that Zoro mastered a form of ventriloquism.

Zoro is extremely physically strong and although he is widely considered the second strongest fighter on the Straw Hat crew, his physical power and combat skill rival those of Luffy (in base form, without the aid of their newest skills Gears and Asura). Zoro is Luffy’s first mate and while most superpowered characters gain power from eating one of the Devil Fruits, Zoro has gained his powers through hard work and training alone.

Even without his swords, he has monstrous strength (in the Alabasta Arc, he lifted and tossed an entire building at Mr. 1, despite being injured) and he can use some sword techniques without his swords (in the Groggy Ring portion of the Davy Back Fight Arc, he launched Pickles towards Big Bun with a swordless style Dragon Twister). Zoro has shown to pack powerful punches, even developing the ability to pump his arms up with pure muscle. His leg strength, while certainly nowhere near Sanji’s level are also quite formidable, allowing him to kick massive beasts to submission and run at the same speed as Sanji

Zoro’s endurance is also near superhuman, as it shows the fact he has defeated incredibly strong opponents (like Hachi and Mr. 1) at their peak when he was greatly injured to the point of near death. While fighting Hachi, he was still wounded from his fight with Mihawk, developed a fever, was stabbed in the shoulder by Arlong, hurled across Arlong Park by Luffy (who was unaware of his injuries) and hit in the head with a large rock when the park was destroyed, and completely recovered.

Recently, he has developed the ability called Asura, where he presumably focuses his ki, giving off an illusion of three faces on his head and six arms all equipped with swords for a total of nine swords to use. Due to this, he is capable to use the Kyutōryū (nine sword style), with an attack power probably similar to Luffy’s Gear skills, but it’s not yet confirmed.

Until now, he used only one Kyutōryū attack, Asura: Ichibugin (Three-Headed-Six-Armed-Demon-God: One-Mist-Silver), but he might use some other Kyutōryū move in future battles. Asura is presumed to be extremely hard to maintain, as Zoro has only used it once in short burst, as the finishing move of the fight.

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