One Piece has many cool characters. There’s the enigmatic Red-Hair Shanks, the lone wolf Dracule Mihawk, and, of course, Sanji’s soul brother Duval. One of the top contenders for the coolest characters is the Straw Hat Pirates’ very own swordsman, Roronoa Zoro. After all, he has a tendency to act cool and do some badass stuff, though it’s probably to hide his clumsiness and knack for getting lost.
That being said, Zoro delivered some of the franchise’s coolest and most memorable scenes. Here are 10 of them.
Getting arrested for the sake of a young girl
Right from the beginning, Zoro is already a hard-boiled character. He was captured by Helmeppo after he killed the latter’s pet wolf. However, it wasn’t just a simple case of animal abuse. The wolf was terrorizing the town and putting the young girl Rika in danger. Zoro then kills the wolf to save Rika. Helmeppo got him arrested and promised to release him should he endure a month without food. Interestingly, Zoro was going strong nine days in, but that wasn’t just the cool part.
On his ninth day of captivity, Rika sneaks into where Zoro is and brings him some rice balls. Unfortunately, Helmeppo caught her in the act. The spoiled brat stomped on Rika’s rice balls as it was sweet rather than salty. Even so, Zoro ate the muddied food with Luffy’s aid. Then, he and Luffy wreaked havoc in that Marine base.
Zoro facing Mihawk’s slash head-on
Zoro’s dream has always been to become the strongest swordsman, and the only way to achieve that is by taking down the current title holder, Dracule Mihawk. The moment he encountered his target in Baratie, Zoro took the opportunity to fight him. However, he was far from Mihawk’s match at the time. Mihawk didn’t even use his famed black sword to humiliate Zoro. He used the smallest blade on him and made easy work out of the pirate hunter.
Zoro didn’t whine over his loss. Instead, he took it graciously. When Mihawk was about to finish him, he asked for a request. He wanted to take the slash head-on, as an injury on a swordsman’s back was apparently a disgrace to them.
Winning against Sandai Kitetsu’s curse
It is common knowledge that Zoro uses three swords to fight. Prior to the time skip, however, few swords were able to withstand his power. They often break after a few uses. Only his Wado Ichimonji was able to contain the full brunt of his attacks. That changed, however, in Loguetown.
At the time, he was looking for swords to replace his broken ones. He happened to find Ipponmatsu’s shop and saw the cursed sword Sandai Kitetsu. He was set on buying it, but Kuina tried to stop him, telling him the sword’s banes. In his adamance, Zoro decided to put his luck against the sword’s curse. He threw the sword into the air and put out his arm, testing whether the sword would amputate him. Obviously, he won the bet and got both Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri for free.
Zoro taking on all of Whiskey Peak
Whiskey Peak was the Straw Hat Pirates’ baptism to the Grand Line. The whole town welcomed the group and threw a feast in celebration. Unbeknownst to most of them, however, the town was filled with bounty hunters. The whole celebration was a charade to make them put down their guard. However, Zoro and Nami weren’t fooled.
The name Baroque Works hinted the place’s true nature. Having their secret revealed, the bounty hunters then ganged up to eliminate him. Zoro took them on all on his own and won.
Defeating Mr. 1 in Alabasta
Zoro’s entanglement with Baroque Works persisted until Alabasta, where the Straw Hats took on Crocodile. During the final match-up, Zoro took on Crocodile’s right-hand man, Mr. 1. Daz Bones ate the Paramythia Devil Fruit Dice-Dice Fruit, allowing him to turn his body into steel. As such, the Straw Hat couldn’t deal any damage to him at first.
But as the fight proceeded, Zoro overcame his limitations and managed to cut Mr. 1’s steel body. That was before he acquired the ability to use Haki.
Taking Luffy’s pain at Thriller Bark
Thriller Bark was an eventful arc for the Straw Hat Pirates. It was in Thriller Bark where they met Brook, Zoro acquired Shusui, and the whole group took down the zombified Oars. It was especially stressful for Luffy as he took on a number of shadows to beat down Moria. Needless to say, they were pretty beat up toward the end of the arc.
However, they weren’t given any break. After defeating Moria, Bartholomew Kuma appeared. They couldn’t take on another Warlord, so some compromise was made. Sanji and Zoro offered themselves in exchange for Luffy, but the swordsman knocked out Sanji. Despite being severely injured at the time, Zoro still took on Luffy’s pain, fatigue, and injuries. When Sanji woke up and asked him what happened, the famous quote “Nothing happened.” was created.
Zoro defeating Monet without Haki
During the Punk Hazard Arc, Zoro found himself fighting Monet, the eater of the Snow-Snow Fruit. The harpie-looking girl was doing great keeping the Straw Hat and Tashigi at bay. He initially let Tashigi handle Monet, but after seeing the former losing, he stepped in. Zoro snapped and stepped in. He first cut Monet’s cheek, then cut her in half. Since he didn’t imbue his attack with Haki, Monet survived. However, the sheer terror from Zoro’s attack made it difficult for Monet to return to her original form.
Cutting the giant Pica in Dressrosa
One of Mihawk’s greatest feats was cutting the iceberg created by Aokiji. Zoro emulated this feat during the Dressrosa Arc. At the time, he was fighting Pica, who already merged with a mountain, turning him into a giant. Even so, Zoro flew up with Orlumbus’ help and cut the stone giant into multiple pieces. Other than the difficulty of getting into the air, the swordsman cut Pica’s body with relative ease.
Using a small knife to cut a building in Wano
Like Luffy, Zoro wasn’t the best at following plans. As such, his role as a traveling ronin in Wano Country was perfect. During his stint as such, he was captured and sentenced to death for supposedly committing murders at night. He smelled the stink of blood coming from his accuser and judge, Tsujigiro, and figured the latter was the one committing the murders. Using the small knife meant to disembowel himself, Zoro unleashed a flying slash that cut toward Tsujigiro and the building.
Zoro taming Enma
Shusui, the sword Zoro got from Ryuma in Thriller Bark, turned out to be a historical and legendary sword in Wano. As such, Hiyori traded Oden’s Enma for it. The Straw Hat accepted as a gesture of gratitude for being allowed to visit Ryuma’s grave. However, Enma was far more difficult to wield than Shusui.
Enma was known for being a wild sword that forcefully drew out its wielder’s Color of Armament Haki. In extreme cases, it would render its user into a husk. Zoro felt the full brunt of Enma’s rowdiness the moment he tested it. Instead of cutting a tree, he accidentally cut the edge of the cliff. Furthermore, the act emaciated his right arm. But by fully mastering his Color of Armament Haki, Zoro ultimately mastered Enma and even wounded Kaido with it.
Published: Sep 7, 2024 10:50 am