Roronoa Zoro

ℹ️️**Notice**This character is a **crossover character** and is therefore not canon to Glad you Came

**Roronoa Zoro**, also known as **"Pirate Hunter" Zoro**, is a main combatant of the Straw Hat Pirates, one of their two swordsmen, one of the Senior Officers of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, and is publicly recognized as the right-hand man of his crew's captain Monkey D. Luffy. Formerly a bounty hunter, he is the second member of Luffy's crew and the first to join it, doing so in the Romance Dawn Arc.

## Statistics

### Official English Name:

Roronoa Zoro (Uncut dub, Early VIZ manga),Roronoa Zolo (Edited dub, VIZ Media, 4Kids)

### Alias:

"Zoro-juurou"(ゾロ十郎, Zorojūrō?, Funimation: Zorojuro, VIZ Media: "Zolojuro")

### Epithet:

"Pirate Hunter Zoro" (海賊狩りのゾロ, Kaizoku Gari no Zoro?)[9]

### English VA:

Brian Zimmerman

Born in the East Blue, Zoro is the son of Tera and Roronoa Arashi, the grandson of Shimotsuki Furiko and Roronoa Pinzoro, and the grandnephew of Shimotsuki Ushimaru, making him a matrilineal descendant of both the Shimotsuki Family of Wano Country and the legendary samurai, Shimotsuki Ryuma. As a master of Three Sword Style, a swordsmanship style which he created during his childhood training in Shimotsuki Village, Zoro is one of the three most powerful combatants of the Straw Hats, alongside Luffy and Sanji, who are referred to as the "Monster Trio". His dream is to become the greatest swordsman in the world, in order to honor a promise he made to his deceased childhood friend Kuina.

In addition to his infamy as one of the Straw Hats and as a former bounty hunter, Zoro, alongside his captain are included among the ranks of the "Worst Generation", pirates who simultaneously reached the Sabaody Archipelago with bounties of over 100,000,000 shortly before the Summit War, as well as Marshall D. Teach.

Zoro gained his first bounty of 60,000,000 after the Arabasta Arc. It later increased to 120,000,000 after the Enies Lobby incident, then again to 320,000,000 after the Dressrosa Arc. Following the Raid on Onigashima, his bounty was increased to 1,111,000,000.

## Past

### Zoro and Kuina

Zoro was born 21 years ago in the East Blue to Tera and Roronoa Arashi, a descendant of the Shimotsuki Family. By the time he was 8 years old, Zoro's father had already been killed in a battle against pirates threatening the Village, and his mother died of illness, leaving Zoro orphaned at a dojo in Shimotsuki Village, where he trained to be a swordsman. Zoro stated in the Baratie, that, "Once he decided that he would become an invincible swordsman, he left his life behind".

Even as a child, Zoro was strong enough to defeat most adults, but could not defeat Shimotsuki Kuina, the daughter of the dojo's master, Koushirou. During a training session, he got to meet Kuina's grandfather, Shimotsuki Kozaburo, who gifted him a pair of swords to aid in his practice. After their 2000th fight (and Kuina's 2000th victory), Zoro challenged her in private for one more match—with real swords. Although he had improved tremendously since their first match, he still lost and cried with frustration, telling Kuina about his dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman. Hearing this, Kuina confided in Zoro, telling him that she shared the same dream but knew she could never attain it. Her father had told her that girls could never be true sword masters, and that her fighting potential would decrease as her body matured. Zoro, annoyed by her defeatist attitude in spite of repeatedly winning against him, told her that one day he would beat her because he was more skilled, not because she was a girl. The two made a promise—that either of them had to become the world's best swordsman.

The next day, Kuina suffered a fatal fall down the stairs of her dojo, much to Zoro's anger and disappointment. Realizing that she would never have a chance to fulfill her dream, Zoro took it upon himself, asking Koushirou for her sword, Wado Ichimonji, and began working to develop his signature Three Sword Style, holding his own two swords in each hand, and Kuina's clenched between his teeth.

## Personality

Zoro usually maintains a very stern, serious, and distanced personality, but often loses his temper in a goofy and exaggerated comical style. It would seem however, that this anger is the only emotion that Zoro often feels comfortable showing. Outside of situations where he feels confident in battle, he tends to smile or laugh the least out of the Straw Hats and rarely fools around with the rest of the crew and likes to distance himself more to sleep or train. In fact, his defeat at the hands of Dracule Mihawk and subsequent vow to Monkey D. Luffy is the only time since his friend Shimotsuki Kuina passed that Zoro has been seen crying in the series.

Even in moments that are particularly tough on the crew and would warrant sadness, Zoro chooses to maintain a quiet solemnity rather than outwardly express his emotions. He has been shown to believe to a degree that these emotions can hinder his judgement as a swordsman: when Ohm asked him if he was out for revenge upon discovering Tony Tony Chopper wounded and unconscious, he replied that he does not like to fight for reasons like that. Despite this assertion, though, he cares deeply for his crewmates and wishes to protect them at all costs, telling Ohm that in spite of his preference for fighting without a motivation he can feel one coming on.

Although Zoro cares for his crew, he can also come off as a very blunt and cold person, especially when he is trying to get his point across. During the Davy Back Fight, when Chopper was forced to join Foxy's crew after losing an event, Chopper cried and complained, which prompted Zoro to yell at him and stating he was disgraceful. He reprimanded Chopper, reminding it was his choice to join the Straw Hats and compete in the fight and told him to man up and have faith in the crew to win him back. As with the ordeal when Usopp left the crew, Zoro refused to let him come back and even yelled at Nami to shut up when she tried to say otherwise. Zoro lectured the entire crew reminding them Usopp was the one who picked the fight with Luffy and left of his own free will and they cannot let him come back unless he accepts responsibility for his actions and apologizes for his behavior. Zoro also often reminds others of the harsh facts, which often shocks some of the other crew members, although they usually decide he is right in the end. This is especially true in regards to strangers, as Zoro rarely shows much trust in others. This was made apparent when Nico Robin joined, and he was the only one to keep his guard up around her due to her being a former enemy. However, over time, he seems to have learned to place his trust in others more, as he agreed with the alliance with Law and believed Hiyori when she revealed her identity to him.

Zoro is also very perceptive, something he demonstrates by providing important and logical decisions at critical times and by evaluating the situation from an objective point of view, as he did in Water 7 by evaluating the best way to handle what seemed like Robin's betrayal. And later again when the crew wanted to bring Usopp back after he challenged Luffy to a duel over the Going Merry and lost, saying that they shouldn't pity Usopp. Zoro was the one who noted that Usopp was at fault for leaving the crew of his own accord.

Like Nico Robin, Zoro is also easily really sensitive when put into embarrassing situations to where he prefers to object vocally while usually blushing from embarrassment (though Robin usually ignores and lets go of these situations most of the time because of her patience), rather than respond violently like Nami or Sanji. Examples are during the Thriller Bark Arc, Zoro refused to do something stupid like address Franky as "Bro", or Franky's later joke technique "Pirates Docking 6: "Big Emperor" where after they disassembled, Zoro felt stupid for agreeing to do it in the first place. In the Dressrosa Arc, Zoro was embarrassed when he had Wicca with him when traveling through town, as trying to communicate with her made the people around them think Zoro was "talking to himself" since they couldn't see Wicca due to her small size (though it was revealed at the end of that arc that Dressrosa's citizens were secretly aware of the dwarves' existence). Also, during anime-only events in the Post-Enies Lobby Arc, when Zoro was forced to help take care of children, he intended to make sure that the crew or any of the town's residents that knew him personally did not find out about this embarrassing situation, though later was found out by Robin. Zoro does have rare moments of responding violently in these situations, such as choking Chopper during Aqua Laguna for mentioning to Luffy and Nami the embarrassing story of how Zoro got stuck in the chimney of a house which Luffy laughed about (though Luffy was also in a similar situation earlier).

He also seems to be partially irreverent, but not seriously so, simply choosing to focus more on his training and what is clearly in front of him than worry about spiritual matters as well as questions about its mysteries that he cannot truly answer.

While he is quite indifferent to the gender or/and age of his opponents, many of his adversaries (like Tashigi and Monet) seem to believe he does not take women seriously when in fact it is only because Tashigi reminded him too much of Kuina and that Monet was merely a distraction. When the latter tried to take advantage of this belief, he cut her down without hesitation, only refraining from killing her because she was too weak to even be considered a proper opponent, using a non-Haki strike in lieu of a blunt attack. During his fight with Miss Monday, Zoro did not hesitate to crush her skull with his bare hands to knock her out. It should be noted that he does disagree to a certain extent about using excessive force against women. For example, when Nico Robin was violently electrocuted by Enel, Zoro was extremely ferocious at him, reminding the Birkan that his target is a woman.

Like Luffy, Zoro shows little interest or attraction to women. He was not enticed or won over by the beauty or charms of Nami or Robin when they joined, did not peep on the women's bath when Nami and Vivi were bathing, nor does he show interest in overwhelming beauties such as the Mermaid Princess Shirahoshi or Boa Hancock. Zoro seems to rather focus on whatever task is at hand and his own training. Despite this, Zoro has acted flustered around some women, though not in romantic ways. During his childhood, Zoro was seen blushing when Kuina mentioned her figure was beginning to develop. When he first met Tashigi, he was visibly shocked by her strong resemblance to Kuina and whenever he encountered her, he would constantly try to run away unable to face her. This is no longer the case after the timeskip, as he lost his uncomfortable behavior around her and treated her coldly during their fight with Monet and was more irritated when she complained about him carrying her after she passed out. During his interactions with Kozuki Hiyori, Zoro was very startled to wake up seeing her sleeping on top of his chest and tried to explain to Brook that nothing happened, and more so when she playfully asked if he enjoyed it.

Though he rarely uses it, Zoro knows various phases of the traditional warrior's battle cry of "Sunacchi"; something that he recounts hearing and learning from Shimotsuki Kozaburo in Shimotsuki Village. He's never used it personally however but has told Momonosuke about it to energize the latter in his sword training, saying that it would strengthen his heart when his courage falters.

### Honor and Loyalty

He has a strong sense of leadership and reasoning. Zoro is a dedicated follower of the samurai philosophy and doctrine of Bushido, such as the code of honor and integrity where he strictly fights fair and square by consistently refusing to attack an adversary whose back is turned, with the only exception being when his friends are in imminent danger of losing their lives in which Zoro would strike the attacker from behind. Zoro himself considers a scar on the back to be a swordsman's greatest shame. Due to his affinity with Bushido, Zoro chose to disguise himself as a Ronin, a masterless samurai, while working undercover in Wano, adopting the mannerisms and speech pattern of the samurai such as ending his sentences with *Degozaru*, even employing them when he became a criminal. He also requested Hiyori to allow him to pay his respect to Ryuma, a legendary samurai hero, and is willing to relinquish Ryuma's parting gift Shusui back to Wano in exchange for Enma, one of the dual legendary swords of another great samurai Oden. Despite so, Zoro refused to wear samurai armor that Hitetsu provided due to his combat pragmatism as it would hinder his movements.

He is also very loyal as he will stand by Luffy's decisions regardless of whether he personally agrees or not, stepping in only to point out the seriousness of a situation where it has been overlooked by his crewmates, most notably when they wanted to bring Usopp back into the crew after Usopp challenged Luffy to a duel over the Going Merry and lost, even willing to quit the crew himself if Luffy just brushed the incident off and treated it as another joke because it betrayed his strong values in loyalty.

Zoro values loyalty highly and will not easily forgive fellow crewmates if they break ties with the crew, first seen when Nami took the Going Merry. Zoro was furious and stated that he never trusted Nami in the first place. When this happened again with Nico Robin and Usopp, Zoro was wary of Robin, questioning whether they should treat Robin as a friend or a foe, and after Enies Lobby, Zoro did not accept Usopp wanting to rejoin the crew saying he stepped on Luffy's pride. Furthermore, he would not allow the sniper back unless he got down on his knees and apologized for his disrespect to Luffy. This dislike for leaving crewmembers was shown once again in Zou; this time over Zoro's long-standing rival Sanji. Zoro was angry that Sanji had gone without an apology or a "thank you for everything", calling Sanji an "idiot" for messing around with Big Mom when they were already facing Kaidou. This cold attitude towards crewmates received negative attention from the crew and will provoke certain crewmembers (mainly Nami) to yell at him.

While the crew sails from one island to another, he normally spends time lifting weights, practicing meditation or napping, only to be regularly awakened in a rather violent way by Nami, Sanji, or (accidentally) Luffy. While in his spare time, Zoro takes up hobbies such as fishing, drinking, and training.

### Kindness and Morality

Zoro has a very kind heart, as he was willing to risk his life for the sake of a little girl he did not know shortly after his introduction. When Rika made him some onigiri, Zoro kindly accepted it and thanked her for the meal. When the meal was stepped on by Helmeppo, Zoro asked Luffy to take it and feed it to him, then tell Rika he thought it was delicious. When Charlos shot an innocent man, Zoro carried the victim to a hospital despite being total strangers. Even though Hiyori and Toko were strangers at first, he did not hesitate to protect them from Kamazo. When fighting weaker or innocent people, he does try to hold back when fighting and use the dull side of his swords in order not to seriously injure them though as pointed out by Nami, his monstrous strength still manages to cause great damage.

A rarely seen aspect of his kindness is that he strongly detests evil individuals with extreme cruelty towards the innocent, as shown when Charlos shot Hatchan, Zoro was silently wrathful, as he fully intended to cut down the World Noble if it were not for Luffy injuring Charlos first. He also held strong fury towards Pica for attacking the injured as well as attempting to kill Riku Doldo III. When Shimotsuki Yasuie was executed by Orochi and seeing the citizens of Ebisu Town laughing along with his daughter Toko, Zoro was furious and only calmed down after Hiyori explained they laugh due to the SMILE fruits having robbed them of their emotions. When Zoro learned how Orochi fed them faulty SMILE fruits to rob them of their ability to express sorrow over the suffering and misery he caused them, Zoro silently angered and stood up trying to kill Orochi when the latter tried to kill Toko.

Zoro is also very humble when it comes to receiving gratitude from others whenever he saves people. Like Luffy, he didn't care and didn't like to be called a hero, instead yelling for the fish-men and mermaids to bring him sake instead. This was shown again when he saved Hiyori and Toko from Kamazo and merely desired food and alcohol for protecting them. When in the poverty town Ebisu, Zoro was given a small portion of water despite what little resources they could offer. Seeing their suffering, Zoro politely turned down their offer, knowing how hard it is for them to get by.

Zoro also has a soft spot for children and women. At Upper Yard, he rushed to catch Robin before she could hit the ground after she was attacked by Enel and berated him for attacking a woman, despite ordinarily sharing the self-proclaimed god's mindset of not holding back against a woman in battle. At Punk Hazard, he did not object to helping save the children Caesar Clown was experimenting on and later agreed to help Kin'emon look for Momonosuke. Also instinctively grabbed Sanji's hand when he slipped on the snow while Sanji was in Nami's body. While in Wano, he did not hesitate to protect Tsurujo when she was being attacked by Kaidou's men and later defended a wounded Hiyori from Kamazo's attacks despite being attacked by Gyukimaru. Even though he knew that taking down Kamazo would cause problems for him, he still chose to fight him to protect Hiyori and Toko despite not knowing them or their situation. In Onigashima, he initially berated Luffy for causing unnecessary commotion before facing Kaidou, but when he learned how the Beasts Pirates callously wasted food while the poor Wano citizens constantly suffered hunger, Zoro went along with attacking the enemy. He would later get enraged by Queen's sadistic Ice Oni game, and this not only provoked Zoro into taking down Scratchmen Apoo with a single strike to quickly recover the antidote so he could pass it off to Chopper, but Zoro also destroyed Queen's gatling gun afterwards to prevent Queen from infecting any more victims angrily stating he came to fight Kaidou and not deal with Queen's stupid game.

### Recklessness

Zoro has been absurdly reckless in the face of major battles, often at the cost of his own well-being. Many times, he has suffered injuries which would kill a normal person and muscled through them through sheer willpower, such as when he was given his gaping scar, which he allowed to be inflicted on himself deliberately, and when he absorbed all of Luffy's pain from his fight with Gecko Moria after Bartholomew Kuma pushed it out of him and made Zoro take it upon himself in return for sparing his captain's life, which was so traumatic that his eyes temporarily became bloodshot. As a result, he has often been left very heavily bloodied and bandaged, as well as gained scars more times than anyone else in the Straw Hat Pirates crew, all of which were notably inflicted after joining Luffy on his travels. Despite this, he has a habit of ignoring these dire injuries and continuing to fight, sometimes before he is fully healed. His recklessness extends to the point of self-mutilation, willingly risking a limb by throwing the Sandai Kitetsu in the air while holding out his arm and allowing it to land and see if he could overcome its curse (a successful risk), and slicing up his ankles to escape a deathtrap, which not only failed, but made him lose a lot of blood and gain more scars. Furthermore, Zoro tends to face death in a defiant manner and show no fear of dying even when he is in a gravely injured state. This has threatened his life by causing unhealed wounds to reopen or be strained, leaving him in crippling agony.

He can also allow his temper to get the better of him, as after Orochi murdered Yasuie in cold blood and tried to kill his daughter over a trivial matter, Zoro was so furious, he attacked the shogun in a rash fit of rage, completely ignoring the consequences of his actions.

He also regularly resorts to drastic measures to solve simple problems, suggesting solutions that others would normally consider to be their last possible, worst-case-scenario choices. When he and Usopp were accidentally handcuffed together, Zoro's first suggested solution was to cut off one of their hands. In addition, when he, Vivi and Nami were stuck on Mr. 3's candle set, he actually tried to cut his own feet off in an attempt to escape, and when that failed, decided he would strike a cool pose for his dying moments upon being encased in wax.

### Ruthlessness

**Zoro**: It has been moaning; it craves blood.

When Zoro has the intention to fight seriously, he ties his bandana (normally kept tied around his left arm) around his head. Zoro lives for the thrill of combat. Scratchmen Apoo commented on his "insane killing intent", acknowledging that Zoro was a "real beast". Indeed, when an average human has the intention of fighting Zoro, his glare alone is usually enough to make them back off. He also has a habit of smiling in satisfaction whenever he faces a particularly skilled opponent, which often unnerves both friend and foe alike.

However, Zoro will still maintain his stern demeanor during the thrill of combat if the stakes are high enough. In his battle with Ohm, the priest stood in the way of him rescuing Nami and Gan Fall from Nola's stomach. Against Kaku, the ability to save his crewmate hinged on him defeating the CP9 agent in a timely fashion. He instantly lost his cocky attitude against Shu after the latter destroyed Yubashiri, as his katanas were in serious danger. This seems to suit Zoro perfectly as any given moment where Zoro is not in battle, he is typically sleeping, lost, yelling at/being yelled at by someone, or training.

Unlike some of the members of the crew, Zoro does not shrink from the idea of using deadly force against dangerous enemies and has been noted by several of his fellow Supernovas to be capable of exuding a tremendous amount of murderous intent.

He can be extremely intimidating, easily frightening weaker opponents with just his glare. It has been stated that he has a monstrous killing intent evident from the fact where he almost drew his sword on one of the World Nobles. Furthermore, it has also been stated that Zoro is a born killer capable of showing absolutely no mercy during combat. It has been mentioned that Zoro has killed before joining the crew. Zoro is also not above committing murder if the situation calls for it. When Orochi ruthlessly executed Yasuie and tried to kill his daughter, Zoro furiously attacked the shogun with the intent to kill him.

### Belief in Fate

While he can be the voice of reason on some occasions, Zoro rushes into things most of the time and leaves it to fate to decide the details, much to the horror of crew members as he fails to see his own fault. He seems to have a very strong belief in fate and destiny in general. He is even known to resort to methods like drawing sticks or casting lots whenever the Straw Hats need to choose someone to do a particular task. One of the most obvious instances of this is when he took an interest in the cursed blade, Sandai Kitetsu, and left it up to fate to decide if he would wield it by testing his luck against the sword's curse; he tossed the sword spinning into the air and extended his left arm into its falling path, to see if it would cut him, fully aware that the sword was sharp enough to easily sever his arm.

This is later shown again after the two-year timeskip when he tells the pirates of the ship, he had just destroyed to blame fate for him ending up on their ship.

When Luffy was on the Execution platform and a lightning struck Buggy's sword, causing Luffy and the tower to fall down, Sanji asked Zoro if God existed to which Zoro responded that it was nonsense. Such as when Enel posed as God, Zoro was asked by Sanji if he believed in God, but Zoro did not show any devotion toward the idea of one and did not care one way or the other. Also, there have been several instances where Zoro has bluntly stated that he does not believe in God and does not pray. Despite claiming to be an atheist, Zoro showed belief in a paradise after death, though Usopp joked that Zoro's behavior in his life was not likely to get him into heaven, with Zoro becoming offended because Usopp implied that he would go to hell. Zoro has also prayed at least once, which occurred at the end of the Thriller Bark Arc when laying his sword Yubashiri to rest at the burial site of the Rumbar Pirates.

### Running Gags

A running gag throughout the series is that while he is very perceptive during battle (as well as out), his sense of direction is extremely poor, to the point of getting lost on a straight path. This often results in Zoro not understanding directions. In the Arabasta Arc, he mistakes going north for going up. In the Drum Island Arc, he believes that he can keep the ship on course by heading toward a large cloud (which can move and change shape). He is unaware of his lack of direction. (For instance, in the Enies Lobby arc, when Nami said to go up the staircase, Zoro went to the opposite side instead, and then said that Nami has misguided him) Often when he gets lost, he mutters "the others are lost again". However, after the timeskip, Zoro is the first Straw Hat to arrive back at Sabaody Archipelago days before the others, shocking Sanji, though it was Perona who helped Zoro reach Sabaody early. He seems to make up for this, though, by confusing a gigantic pirate galleon for a fisherman's small boat when it is pointed out to him. Even while sitting down on a moving animal, Zoro still got lost while believing everyone else got lost along the way. Furthermore, due to his innate pride, Zoro is unable to admit his mistakes and is defensive when people point out this shortcoming; and if someone is guiding him, he ends up blaming them for "being bad at giving directions". It is to the point that people who know him actually wonder if there is something wrong with his brain and that if he's a fantasista.

Another running gag of the series is Zoro's ability to effortlessly deliver perfectly timed lines in passing or even during battle that are deemed "cool" by other characters, leading him to be borderline worshiped and idolized, especially by crewmates Usopp, Chopper, and Brook.

The third running gag is how Zoro keeps untying bandages when he is not fully healed, claiming that they make it hard to move, only to be scolded by Chopper, who tells him that they are there so that he does not move.

The fourth running gag are the situations Luffy puts Zoro in. While in midair or far away Luffy tends to grab Zoro with stretched arms and make him fly through the air, crashing with force that would kill any normal person. Zoro's usual response to this is that he is one day going to kill Luffy, while Luffy responds only with apologizing to Zoro. Sometimes, Usopp joins in on the idiocy. Like how Luffy tried to invite Zoro to play tag and when he refused Usopp came and infuriated him, making him run around the ship trying to catch the two. And how he hates being called names by the two idiots.

The fifth running gag would be how Nami always tried to use Zoro to help out in certain situations. Like how she tried to tell Zoro to help Vivi and get 1 billion Belly, saying to Zoro that he had debt from borrowing a hundred thousand beli with 300% interest to buy swords, although Zoro didn't spend the money.

Zoro is also somewhat dense, as he thought there was too little notable attributes about King to connect him with the artificial Lunarians, the Seraphim, while listing out many of them that could have easily pieced everything together, something Luffy, Rob Lucci and Kaku called him out for.

### Pride

Zoro is very proud of the reputation he has built for himself both as a swordsman and as "**The Pirate Hunter**", starting with his 60,000,000 bounty which has quintupled since then. He also enjoyed the fact that he previously had a higher bounty than Sanji. During the assault on Enies Lobby, one of the Marines referred to Zoro as "Luffy's underling" much to the delight of Sanji, who quickly became infuriated when Zoro pointed out that Sanji's lack of notoriety puts him below Zoro in status. Since then, once in a while to anger Sanji, Zoro will refer to him as "**Pirate A**". More recently he has been calling Sanji "**#7**", referring to his order of arrival at Sabaody. When Sanji's bounty had surpassed Zoro's, Zoro was annoyed and went as far to attack Sanji with Enma when the cook mockingly pointed the bounty gap between them.

However, in spite of his personal pride and self-respect, Zoro has shown to be willing to lower himself to the ground in complete humility for the sake of his friends, as was seen when he begged Bartholomew Kuma to spare Luffy's life in exchange for his own (Zoro's). And then again when he shamelessly bowed before Dracule Mihawk, begging the Warlord of the Sea who is his enemy, to train him in the ways of the sword. This shows that despite Zoro not being completely humble, he is not overly arrogant.

Zoro can also be very vigorous when he is determined to achieve a goal or defeat an enemy. The risks that he will often take to pursue his dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman often leave others wondering if he is crazy. As far as Zoro is concerned though, only he has the right to call himself "crazy". However, he is able to accept defeat when he perceives it to be inevitable.

### Love for Alcohol

Zoro loves to drink different types of alcohol and is particularly fond of sake almost to the degree that Luffy loves meat and Nami loves money. When traveling around, Zoro frequently carried around bottles of wine or rum and drink straight from the bottle. In Wano, Zoro attacked some members of the Beasts Pirates simply because he wanted to steal their gourd bottle of sake. When Tsurujo wanted to repay him for saving her, he only wanted more alcohol. Due to his love for drinking, Zoro loathes being deprived of alcohol, evident when Mihawk imposed temperance on him until he mastered coating his swords in Haki as an incentive.

### Attachments to Swords

Though not to the same extent as Tashigi, Zoro is extremely attached to his Meito swords primarily due to their sentimental value which were given to him from people he respected, such as Kuina's Wado Ichimonji, Ipponmatsu's Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri, Ryuma's Shusui and Hiyori's Enma. He refused to sell Wado Ichimonji regardless of the price offered, due to his personal sentiment towards Kuina. Zoro often holds them close while napping and was extremely upset when Shu destroyed his Yubashiri, and thus opted to fight Shu using other swords to not risk damaging Wado Ichimonji and Sandai Kitetsu. He continued to carry the destroyed Yubashiri out of respect until he found a replacement, then buried it with a funeral in Thriller Bark with the Rumbar Pirates out of gratitude for its service. Zoro is particularly attached to Shusui which became his favorite sword after the timeskip and stubbornly refused to part with it. When Wicca stole Shusui, Zoro persistently chased after Wicca endlessly and also sternly rejected Kin'emon's attempts to challenge him for Shusui. Zoro ruthlessly cut down a corrupt magistrate who tried to frame him in order to claim Shusui for himself. Zoro also chased after Gyukimaru from Ebisu Town all the way to Ringo when the latter stole Shusui. Zoro was deeply annoyed when Hiyori also requested him to return Shusui, a national treasure, back to the Wano Country, declaring that Shusui belongs to him (having earned its bequeathment from Ryuma). Zoro only relented when Hiyori promised to give him Enma, a sword of equal value, in return. Zoro took an instant liking to Enma, seeing its immense difficulty to master as a great challenge to become stronger, which quickly became Zoro's new favorite as when Sanji insulted Zoro for having a lower bounty, Zoro instantly retaliated with Enma. He was also intrigued when he heard that Enma and Wado Ichimonji were crafted by the same craftsman.

On the other hand, Zoro had little attachments to many of his previous swords, as he admitted to Mihawk that he broke many of his own blades up to when he challenged him the first time, including the two katana that Mihawk broke. Mihawk made it part of Zoro's training to master Haki, so to ensure Zoro would give his swords more protection and care.

Zoro's attachment to swords led him to be able to determine its properties simply by sight, as he saw both Sandai Kitetsu and Nidai Kitetsu as powerful, if cursed, blades, and took particular notice to Shusui upon setting his eyes on it. He was rather aghast that Luffy wielded Nidai Kitetsu with callousness, such as throwing the sheath aside while simply throwing punches while holding the sword without making use of the actual blade.

## Relationships

### Family

Although a descendant of the Shimotsuki Family, Zoro seems to be completely unaware of his connection to it and its members that he has met in his life.

### Crew

Though not as much with strangers, Zoro is always ready to protect and save his comrades whenever they are in danger, even at the cost of his own life. For example, in Skypiea, when he noticed the Going Merry being dragged away, he told everyone to leave the ship, saying he would stay back alone and protect it. Furthermore, he was willing to trade his life for Luffy's when Kuma first attacked the Straw Hats and he knocked Sanji unconscious when the latter tried to intervene. Another example is when Usopp was trying to escape from a Pacifista while dragging an injured Zoro; during which, despite the severity of his injuries, he told Usopp to escape and let him fight, which the latter objected against. Zoro is usually distant with the crew, as he frequently trains in the lookout or sleeps. Only coming out to tell Luffy, Usopp and Chopper to quiet down or when the crew gathers together, the two crewmates Zoro interacts the most with is Nami and Sanji (by way of arguing).

#### Monkey D. Luffy

Zoro trusts Luffy implicitly and always follows his decisions whatever the consequences, acknowledging it as a captain's decision, which a crew must carry out without question. When Zoro first joined Luffy, he made it clear that he would turn on or even kill his captain if he ever stepped between him and his dream. However, by the time of the Thriller Bark Arc, Zoro had completely changed his mind about Luffy. He said that he cannot fulfill his dream if he does not help his captain fulfill his.

Zoro seems to have the most respect and loyalty for Luffy, not only as a captain but due to their mutual understanding of each other. This deep respect has been demonstrated on various occasions. For instance, he was willing to throw away his dreams and ambitions for Luffy's during the appearance of Kuma at Thriller Bark without the slightest hesitation. When he was almost on the verge of death from his wound from "Hawk-Eyes" Mihawk at the Baratie, he tearfully vowed to Luffy that he would never lose again, asking if it was alright with him as Pirate King. He even went as far as to repeat Luffy's earlier sentiment that as Pirate King, he would be in a "real dilemma" if Zoro did not become the best swordsman. Despite his respect for Luffy, he was willing to fight his captain at Whisky Peak when Luffy gave him no choice though things were cleared up.

During the Long Ring Long Land Arc, after winning the Davy Back Fight contest against the Foxy Pirates, Zoro implied that he would never have become a pirate if it were not for Luffy and commented that he would have no point of being one if he ever left the ship. This respect is not only for Luffy as a person, but also because of his position as captain. When Luffy learned that Usopp was planning on returning to the crew during their time in Water 7 and was immediately ready to welcome him back, Zoro made it clear that a crew member who fought against their captain should not be forgiven so easily. Zoro explained to the others that one should respect their captain unconditionally and he would quit as well if Luffy allowed someone to walk all over him like Usopp, who wanted to rejoin without even apologizing for his actions. When Luffy was distraught after having to defeat Usopp, Zoro reminded him that those hard decisions are part of being captain and that he cannot lose himself. He reminds Luffy that if he wavers, the crew has no one else they can trust.

After the death of Luffy's brother, Zoro tried to get back to his captain as he was aware of the pain Luffy was going through. During Luffy's second appearance at Marineford, Zoro begged Dracule Mihawk to train him (despite it not being honorable) in order to become stronger for Luffy's sake.

After the timeskip, Zoro and Luffy still get along though he remains annoyed with Luffy's stupidity and will not tolerate Luffy calling him out on being stupid. However, he will without hesitation follow the latter's orders in his serious moments. After knowing Luffy for a long time, Zoro has come to accept Luffy charging stupidly into battle without a plan and is surprised when Luffy actually sticks around. Zoro also happens to be one of the only two (the other being Sanji) that does not worry about Luffy when he is in battle, often telling the other crewmates to believe in their captain.

During the battle against the New Fish-Man Pirates, Zoro was impressed that Luffy was capable of using Haoshoku Haki while jokingly stating that if Luffy was not capable of that much, he would have to step down as captain. In the Punk Hazard Arc, it was Zoro who reminded Luffy that being reckless would cost his life since the crew has made it to the New World. Upon meeting Luffy at Wano Country, Zoro was overjoyed at the reunion before being nearly suffocated by Luffy's big embrace.

Zoro will get annoyed at Luffy disrespecting katanas as he was shocked that Luffy threw away the Nidai Kitetsu's scabbard and was further outraged when Luffy did not even use the katana during the fight with Hawkins and instead used punches while holding the katana.

After their adventure in Wano, Zoro learned that Luffy's goal of becoming Pirate King is just a means to an end to fulfil his ultimate dream. When he heard what it was, Zoro was rendered speechless as he thought it was insane. However, he continued his unwavering support to help his captain achieve it.

#### Usopp

Zoro has been good friends with Usopp since the start of their journey. In fact, Zoro was the one to tell Usopp to get on board the Going Merry. Zoro finds Usopp's cowardly nature disgusting and will always refuse Usopp's requests to be his bodyguard. Zoro also gets easily annoyed when Usopp hides behind him, and even more so when he tries to lie his way out of a fight, finding it shameful. Zoro is aware of Usopp's braver attributes after seeing how hard he fought to protect Syrup Village and Kaya and views his sniping skills as dependable. However, he still openly displays his desire for Usopp to act less like a coward. Despite his views on Usopp's cowardice, Zoro has displayed a strong amount of loyalty and care for Usopp, and has saved and stood up for him on more than one occasion. The best example of this is during the Arlong Park Arc when Zoro attempts to slash Nami when she lied that she had killed Usopp, before being stopped by the recently joined Sanji. Another example is during the Water 7 Arc when he and the other members of the crew find a beaten and bloodied Usopp. Zoro and the rest of the crew became furious and attacked the Franky Family in retaliation and destroyed their base in the process.

Zoro and Usopp occasionally make idiotic decisions during a serious situation such as when they were fighting CP9 and got handcuffed together, causing the swordsman and sniper to run around in a panic. Zoro suggested he cut off one of their arms to which Usopp strongly disagreed, which caused Zoro to come up with a plan to use Usopp as his sword. This plan failed, though they worked better together in the future. Zoro would not forgive Usopp's desertion from the crew and disrespect towards Luffy and would accept Usopp back only if he bowed his head and apologized. When Usopp finally did this, Zoro was pleased to have him back.

After two years, their dynamic has slightly improved, with Usopp now being less cowardly in battles, which Zoro first took note of during the battle against the New Fish-Man Pirates. Zoro has also seemed to have become more tolerant of Usopp's behavior, but still gets annoyed by it from time to time.

#### Sanji

Zoro is always shown to compete with Sanji, getting into fights with each other over petty matters, often at inopportune moments. They had some early disagreements with each other during the Arlong Park Arc on how to deal with Nami's alleged betrayal, but their back-and-forth relationship officially began on Little Garden when the two competed in a hunting expedition. Their rivalry extends to Sanji's cooking, as Zoro rarely acknowledges its quality, usually just calling it "okay".

Zoro also has a habit of insulting Sanji when he is flirting with Nami or Robin. Both have common insulting nicknames they call each other. Zoro never calls Sanji by his name, usually calling Sanji "dartboard brow", "ero-cook", or "dumbass cook" while Sanji often calls Zoro "marimo" (mosshead), "shitty marimo", or "shitty swordsman". This has gotten to the point where Zoro has never actually referred to Sanji by his name. After their return to Sabaody Archipelago after training for two years, Zoro mocked Sanji arriving later to him by referring to him as "Number 7" and himself as "Number 1". Additionally, after the nose bleeding problem Sanji went through, particularly during their adventures in Fish-Man Island, Zoro invented a new insulting nickname for Sanji "Mr. Nosebleed" which he first used when the battle against the New Fish-Man Pirates began. In Wano Country, Zoro called Sanji "Browgoro" while Sanji called Zoro "Mossjuro".

Despite their comical fights and rivalry, they have an unspoken trust and care between them they would never admit to. In fact, the two warriors understand each other better than other crewmates. Zoro's trust in Sanji's strength and character can be seen multiple times. He smiled when Sanji returned to fight Jabra. When Usopp and Franky were worried about the Sunny crew after arriving at Zou, Zoro stated that they would be okay since Sanji was with them. Despite saying he did not care what happened to Sanji, Luffy caught Zoro listening intently to Pekoms from outside the door showing he still cares for Sanji's safety. When Luffy pointed this out, Zoro got annoyed. When the pair are forced to fight together against a common foe, they are nearly an unstoppable team, such as their fight against Hamburg, Pickles and Big Pan.

Zoro and Sanji are often paired up together during arcs and they are usually presented, visually and narratively, as Luffy's biggest support. They have also been referred to as the *Pirates King's Wings* (海賊王の両翼, *Kaizoku-ō no ryōyoku*?) Despite their differences, they know they can rely on each other to have their captain's back as well as each other's. When Sanji decided to call Zoro after his genetic modifcations had awakened, asking Zoro to kill him if he started to become an emotionless monster like his brothers. A request that Zoro accepted, before asking Sanji not to die until then, showcasing the deep trust and respect between the two men, despite their constant bickering.

Whenever new bounties were distributed, Zoro would always be smugly proud that his bounty remained higher than Sanji's. However, after Sanji's bounty became higher than his after the events at Totto Land, Zoro became irritated and threatened to fight Sanji over it. When his bounty became higher than Sanji's once more after the Raid on Onigashima, Zoro did not hesitate to mock Sanji about his lower bounty by referring to Sanji as "Number 4" and himself "Crew's 2nd", causing Sanji to fight with Zoro.

#### Tony Tony Chopper

Chopper is in total awe of Zoro's strength and "tough guy" attitude. Zoro also appears to have a close relationship with Chopper, seeing as the youngest crewmember runs to him when he is scared or in danger, and the swordsman is the first one to jump into action whenever Chopper falls in the water. During the Arabasta Arc, Zoro carried Chopper on a barrow or on his head when they were crossing the desert and rivers. Zoro also washed Chopper's back in the large bath in the castle. But the strongest display of Zoro's care for Chopper was displayed in Skypiea, when he found him seriously injured from Ohm's Ordeal of Iron and grew angry enough to the point that he fought Ohm for revenge, a concept he normally does not support. This is probably because Chopper seems to care a lot about Zoro as he is usually the one taking the most damage after battle, so Chopper is usually the one healing him. During the Davy Back Fight with the Foxy Pirates, Zoro told Chopper to stop crying when he was claimed by Foxy and to act like a man, which he then does, earning a great amount of respect from the swordsman.

#### Franky

Zoro like the others (except Robin) was hostile towards Franky from the outset due to the cyborg beating up Usopp and stealing their money but after the events of Enies Lobby and Franky building the Thousand Sunny for the crew Zoro grew to like the cyborg, though Franky's tendency to cry a lot gets on his nerves. On one occasion at Thriller Bark, when the two traveled to help Brook against Ryuma, after feeling angry for having been caught so easily earlier, Zoro is further enraged by Franky's suggestion of addressing him as "Bro" since he helped save him earlier. Zoro makes it clear that he will never call him that.

Zoro was also moved when Franky built the Mini Merry saying it was the kind thing to do. Franky, though super strong himself, acknowledges that Zoro is superior battle-wise and even claimed to Brook that he is the strongest swordsman.

#### Brook

Zoro was at first disturbed and confused by Brook's skeletal appearance, but later on, they get along very well. Brook is in awe of Zoro's sword skills, despite the fact that Brook is 69 years older than him.

After hearing about Brook's connection to Laboon and saving him from Ryuma, Zoro began to enjoy the skeleton's company. Brook is indebted to Zoro for defeating the undead samurai, which gave Brook back his shadow. Brook was further amazed when Zoro along with Sanji offered their own lives instead of Luffy's to Kuma.

After the timeskip, they still get along and Zoro was impressed when Brook learned to detach from his body. However, Zoro is still annoyed by his jokes. Brook also argued with Zoro on Punk Hazard when the latter called him "grandpa".

#### Jinbe

Zoro met Jinbe during the Straw Hats' visit to Fish-Man Island. Zoro found Jinbe to be a trustworthy ally and offered his aid to help free Fish-Man Island. Jinbe and Zoro fought well together, and Zoro had no objections to Luffy offering Jinbe a place on the crew.

### Friends

#### Seia

They are good friends and a deadly duo just like he and Luffy. The two often clash, due to some opposing beliefs, but remain ally's regardless. Both share a bond together and cherish each other like brothers.

## Enemies

### Worst Generation

#### Trafalgar Law

Zoro and Law both share the title of Super Rookie, given by the Marines to them. They first met at Sabaody Archipelago and both sides helped one another fight off the Marines that were attacking them. They met again two years later where Law offered an alliance with them. Zoro trusted Luffy's judgement enough to go along with this and worked closely with Law in their shared efforts. In the aftermath of the Dressrosa incident and the declaration of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, Zoro can be seen forcing Law to partake in the festivities. In Wano Country, Law and Zoro's relationship is slightly similar to the relationship Zoro has with Sanji. Law was annoyed with Zoro not keeping a low profile and not sticking to the original plan, along with him wreaking havoc with Luffy in Bakura Town. Aside from this, Law respects Zoro as a fellow swordsman.

#### Buggy

Buggy was the very first pirate Luffy and Zoro dealt with together. Zoro never held any respect or signs of worth towards the pirate clown. The two have fought briefly, with Buggy being little more than an irritation for the swordsman, mostly because of his devil fruit ability. Even after learning of his history with the Roger Pirates from Silvers Rayleigh, and hearing about his ascension to the statuses of both Warlord and Emperor, Zoro's opinion on Buggy did not change whatsoever. In fact, he was in complete disbelief after hearing the news about the formation of Cross Guild, simply stating that Dracule Mihawk becoming Buggy's henchmen was an impossibility, and then shrugged the news off entirely.