Three Sword Style/Nine Sword Style

Nine Sword Style is an addition to Zoro's main Three Sword Style and uses, as the name suggests, "nine swords". Thus, Nine Sword Style effectively triples Zoro's potential power.
==Overview==
Nine Sword Style is an extension of Zoro's spirit and, as the name suggests, involves nine swords. Through sheer will, Zoro creates an illusion of two more heads and four more arms appearing on him, which wield copies of his swords for a total of nine blades. At the same time, a three-headed, six-armed silhouette appears behind Zoro, making him resemble a "demon god" (the mythological asura). Thus, Zoro's power grows threefold, as he can use his nine swords to slice an opponent thrice more than usually, and Zoro tends to do so by rushing past his foe at high speeds.
Zoro developed Nine Sword Style before the two-year timeskip, first showing use of it during his intense duel with the CP9 agent Kaku. After being overpowered by Kaku's ferocious attacks, Zoro awakened Nine Sword Style, which allowed him to overpower Kaku's most powerful Rankyaku and cut the CP9 member down. Afterwards, Zoro used his Nine Sword Style one more time as a last resort against PX-4 on Sabaody, while badly wounded, plus once more (non-canonically) during the events of Movie 10.
Post-timeskip, while fighting on Onigashima's rooftop, Zoro used Nine Sword Style a third time against the Emperor Kaidou, who was in his half-dragon form, and left a permanent scar on the Emperor. Kaidou himself noted that Supreme King Haki was used by Zoro to achieve said feat, although it is unknown if Zoro's pre-timeskip usage of Nine Sword Style involved Haki. In the anime, Zoro uses Ashura without the nine sword style to drink and eat at the same time.
==Techniques==
As with Zoro's other swordsmanship styles, Nine Sword Style encompasses of derivative techniques that Zoro can use after having created his demonic illusion of nine swords.
*: The basis for Nine Sword Style. Zoro, with his Wado Ichimonji in his mouth and his other two blades held out in front of him, creates an illusion born of his , according to Kaku. To onlookers, it appears as if Zoro gains an additional pair of heads and four more arms, all wielding duplicates of his swords—each appearing twice more, for nine swords total. At the same time, an indistinct, six-armed, asura-like silhouette forms behind Zoro, the same entity he comes to resemble, described by Kaku as a . The anime further adds to the first-seen activation of Ashura: Zoro, angered by Kaku, had a dark aura begin surrounding him, expanding several meters around where he stood and causing a swirling gust to form. is the Japanese term for "asura", a class of demons/demigods from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. This is called Demon Aura Nine-Sword Style Asura in the VIZ manga and Funimation adaptations.
===Before the Timeskip===
*: The first derivate Nine Sword Style attack that is seen. Zoro, holding his swords so that the blades are pointing toward the enemy, leaps toward them at great speeds, powerfully slashes them with all nine of his swords at once, and ends up behind the enemy's back, holding his blades in a manner that makes them look fanned out. The attack was strong enough to disperse Kaku's Rankyaku "Amane Dachi" (the CP9 agent's strongest attack) by turning the massive slash wave into "mist" (hence the attack's name), before cutting down Kaku himself in his half-giraffe form. The technique's name is a pun on , meaning "a silver quarter ryō". This is called Asura: Silver Mist In the VIZ manga and Funimation adaptations and Asura Ichibugin in the English dub of the game One Piece: Unlimited Cruise. In the Wii video games, the Unlimited series, and Gigant Battle, this move does not see Zoro charging against the opponent, instead producing a longer ranged, expanding shockwave.
*: An attack similar to Ichibugin, where Zoro in his "Ashura" state approaches the enemy to consequently slice them up with his nine swords, before ending up in a stance that has the blades resemble a wheel shape. The attack was first seen in use against the Pacifista PX-4, breaking through its harder-than-steel armoring to draw blood from the cyborg. In the anime, the game Unlimited Cruise, and the Pirate Warriors games, the move has Zoro perform a rotatory motion that is not observed in the manga. This is called Demon Nine Flash in the VIZ manga and Asura's Nine Lightning Strikes in the in the Funimation adaptations.
===After the Timeskip===
During his two-year training period with Mihawk, Zoro learned to imbue his sword with Armament Haki, drastically increasing the power behind his sword attacks, including Nine Sword Style. In addition to this, during their battle, Kaidou noticed that Zoro unintentionally incorporated Supreme King Haki into his Nine Sword Style.
*: First, Zoro holds Enma out horizontally in his right hand, his other swords in his left hand and mouth as usual, and enters his "Ashura" state, with the silhouette behind him clasping two of its six hands. Amid this, Haki begins emanating from him as he hardens his swords using Armament Haki. He then readies his swords and moves past his opponents in a flash while cutting them with incredible force. The attack was first used on the Emperor Kaidou while the latter was in his human-dragon form (in the anime preceeded by Zoro clashing with Kaidou first while in his "Ashura" mode), and was successful in inflicting a deep, bloody gash across Kaidou's torso. As noted by the shocked Emperor, Supreme King Haki seemed to have been added onto this attack as well, although Zoro was confused about this, unaware he possessed that Haki. Despite Zoro being severely wounded and having failed to knock Kaidou off his feet, the Emperor acknowledged that Zoro's slash would leave a permanent scar, making it the second attack to have done so. The name of the move references , a Kamigata Rakugo play from the Edo period. However, rather than , the attack's name uses to play on the pronunciation. Unlike previous Nine Sword Style uses, the kanji for "Ashura" are accompanied by hiragana, not katakana. In the VIZ manga and Funimation adaptations, this attack is called Asura: Blades Drawn Dead Man's Game.
===Non-Canon===
*: An attack only seen in Zoro's fight against Indigo in One Piece Film: Strong World. The move quite resembles Zoro's other Nine Sword Style attacks, the main difference being that, as Zoro rushes past his enemy, violently slicing them with his illusionary nine blades, said enemy is blown up high into the air from the impact. Using this technique, Zoro defeated Indigo in a single blow, despite the scientist having sustained no prior injury in their fight. The technique's name likely comes from , the Japanese name of the big-scaled redfin, a species of fish. In the Funimation adaptations, this is called Asura: Piercing Drill.
==Trivia==
*In Dharmic religions, "asuras" (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of powerful, power-hungry demigods—often portrayed as demonic with three heads and six arms. They are featured in many Buddhist and Hindu cosmological theories and, both in Buddhism and Hinduism, are prominently described as battling the more benevolent, heavenly "devas" or "suras" (gods), being considered the "enemy of the gods" in Vedic and post-Vedic literature. More specifically in Buddhism, asuras ("antigods", "demigods" or "titans") constitute the third of the six existential realms of Saṃsāra, which reincarnation into occurs based on karma gathered in current/past lives. Into the realm of asuras, people are reborn due to actions based on jealousy, struggle, combat, or rationalization in a previous life.
:*Thus, Zoro's Nine Sword Style follows the theme of his other sword techniques that often incorporate Buddhist terminology/imagery, as well as "demonic" motifs.
*Upon first seeing the illusion of Zoro with three heads and six arms, with the figure behind him, Kaku described what he saw as a . This term, which most literally translates as "demon/oni god", is usually used to refer to "fierce or wrathful deities" in Buddhist myth (wrathful "aspects" of enlightened buddhas, bodhisattvas, or devas), but is also applicable to more "demonic" beings with superhuman power/ability, such as asuras or rakshasas, as well as "fierce" Shinto gods.
*The concept of a sword attack involving nine simultaneous slashes, as seen with Zoro's Nine Sword Style, is similar to the "Kuzuryūsen" technique used by Rurouni Kenshin's protagonist Kenshin Himura. Interestingly enough, Eiichiro Oda has worked as an assistant for the author of Rurouni Kenshin.
*Nine Sword Style is the fighting style that Zoro has gone the longest without using in the manga (without considering the No Sword Style, that has not been used again since its reveal back in 2004): in fact, between its last use pre-timeskip and its first use post-timeskip, 12 years and 8 months passed in real life (two years in the story's timeline).
==References==
ca:Estil de tres katanes/Kyutoryu
de:Kyūtōryū
es:Estilo de tres espadas/Estilo de nueve espadas
fr:Santôryû/Kyûtôryû
id:Santoryu/Kyutoryu
pl:Styl dziewięciu mieczy
pt:Santoryu/Kyutoryu
ru:Санторю/Кюторю
tr:Santoryu/Kyutoryu
zh:三刀流/九刀流
Category:Fighting Style Subpages