Who Is Roronoa Zoro?

Roronoa Zoro, also known as "Pirate Hunter" Zoro, is a character in the manga and anime series One Piece, created by Eiichiro Oda. As one of the main protagonists, he is the first member to join the Straw Hat Pirates, a crew led by Monkey D. Luffy, and serves as their master swordsman. Notably, he is not the first member to appear in the anime, as Nami was introduced prior to Zoro, but he does join the crew officially before Nami in both the manga and anime. His ultimate dream is to become the greatest swordsman in the world.

Appearance

Roronoa Zoro is a tall, muscular young man with distinctive spiky green hair, light tan skin, and scars on his torso and ankles. He also has a scar running down his left eye, which he gained after the two-year time skip. He is almost always seen with three swords and wears a green haramaki over his right hip. After the time skip, he wears an open, long green coat with a red sash, and a black bandana tied around his bicep, which he moves to his head when fighting seriously.

Personality

Zoro is a serious, focused, and determined character who is intensely loyal to his captain and crew. He spends much of his time training, sleeping, or drinking. He is also famously known for having an abysmal sense of direction, which is a running gag throughout the series.

Background

Formerly a bounty hunter, Zoro earned the "Pirate Hunter" nickname. Zoro was rescued by Luffy and invited to join his crew. Zoro has one of the most detailed family trees in the series.

Immediate Relatives:

• Father: Roronoa Arashi was a swordsman born and raised in Shimotsuki Village in the East Blue. He was killed by pirates when Zoro was a child.

• Mother: Tera was the daughter of a bandit, she married Arashi and lived in Shimotsuki Village before dying of an illness when Zoro was very young.

• Grandfather: Roronoa Pinzoro was a swordsman who was among the founders of Shimotsuki Village in the East Blue.

• Grandmother: Shimotsuki Furiko was from Wano Country and helped found Shimotsuki Village. She was the sister of Ushimaru and the great-granddaughter of Ryuma.

Distant Descendants/Relatives: 

• Shimotsuki Ryuma was a legendary samurai from Wano Country revered as the "Sword God." Centuries after his death, his zombie was defeated by Zoro during the Thriller Bark arc, who inherited his sword, Shusui.

• Koshiro is the master of the Isshin Dojo where Zoro trained as a child. He was given Kuina's sword, Wado Ichimonji, to Zoro after her death.

• Shimotsuki Ushimaru was the last daimyo of Ringo in Wano and a formidable samurai who bore a striking resemblance to Zoro. He was the younger brother of Furiko, Zoro’s grandmother.

• Shimotsuki Kuina was a distant cousin of Zoro, as well as his childhood friend and rival at the Isshin Dojo. Her death inspired Zoro to become the world's greatest swordsman.

• Shimotsuki Kozaburo was Kuina's grandfather and a master swordsmith from Wano who forged the Wado Ichimonji and Oden's sword, Enma.

Powers and Abilities

Zoro's powers come primarily from his sword skills and his mastery of Haki. 

Sword Skills

Zoro is a practitioner of the unique Three-Sword Style (Santōryū), where he wields a sword in each hand and a third in his mouth.

Three-Sword Style (Santoryu)

• Oni Giri ("Ogre Cutter"): Zoro's signature technique. He crosses his two swords across his chest, places the third in his mouth, and rushes forward to deliver a high-speed, three-way simultaneous slashing attack.

• Purgatory Oni Giri: A much more powerful and faster variation of Oni Giri, used by Zoro after the time skip.

• Dragon Twister (Tatsu Maki): Zoro spins with his swords to create a dragon-like tornado that slashes and blows away opponents. A much stronger version is called Black Rope Dragon Twister.

• Three Thousand Worlds (Sanzen Sekai): A powerful secret technique where Zoro rotates his swords rapidly while running toward his opponent, then cuts the foe with immense speed and power.

• Ultra Tiger Hunt (Ushi Bari): Zoro puts his hand swords over his mouth blade and swings them forward in a powerful downward slash.

• 1080 Pound Phoenix (1080 Pondo Ho): An air-based projectile attack where Zoro spins his swords to launch three high-speed, spiraling air projectiles at his target.

• Crab Grab (Gazami Dori): With all three swords held horizontally and parallel, Zoro clamps down on an opponent like a crab's claw for a guillotine-like effect. 

• Makie: Hana Arashi Sanjuroku Pound Ho (Bait: Nose Storm 36 Pound Cannon): This unique maneuver was used during the Enies Lobby arc to fight against CP9 agents Kaku and Jabra. Usopp (as Sogeking) is used as one of Zoro's three "swords" to perform a version of Zoro's signature 36 Pound Ho technique.

Two-Sword Style (Nitoryu)

• 720 Pound Phoenix (720 Pondo Ho): A stronger version of the 72 Pound Phoenix, this technique launches two spiraling air projectiles from his swords.

• Rashomon: A fast dual sword-drawing technique where Zoro unsheathes and sheathes his swords so quickly that he can cut large obstacles in half.

• Rhino Rampage (Sai Kuru): Zoro holds his swords like rhinoceros horns and spins quickly to attack opponents.

• Nigiri: Toro Samon: A dual sword-based projectile attack where Zoro uses an upward diagonal slash to launch two cutting air projectiles at his opponent. 

One-Sword Style (Ittoryu)

• Lion's Song (Shishi Sonson): An extremely fast sword-drawing technique where Zoro dashes toward his target, unsheathes his sword, attacks with precision, and sheathes it again. The attack lands the moment his sword is fully sheathed.

• 360 Pound Phoenix (360 Pondo Ho): An air-based slash attack where Zoro swings a single sword in a circular motion to launch a projectile of compressed air at a distance.

• Great Dragon Shock (Hiryu Kaen): Zoro performs a two-handed overhead swing while in the air to split his opponent from the top down. The enemy erupts in flames after being cut. 

Nine-Sword Style (Kyutoryu)

• Asura: A demonic illusion technique that allows Zoro to sprout six extra arms and two extra heads, giving him a total of nine swords to attack with. It is one of his most powerful techniques and was used to injure Kaido.

Haki

Zoro has developed the three types of haki known throughout the world of One Piece, including Armament, Observation, and Conqueror's Haki.

• Armament Haki: Creates an armor-like force that strengthens attacks and defenses, allowing armament haki users to harm Devil Fruit users and ignore their powers.

• Observation Haki: Gives individuals a sixth sense that allows them to perceive and predict their opponent's movements. In its advanced form, they can see moments into the future, though Zoro has not displayed the same level of mastery as Luffy or Shanks.

• Conqueror's Haki: A rare form of Haki that allows individuals to knock out those with weak wills. With advanced control, conqueror’s Haki users can coat their body with this Haki to further enhance their attacks. 

Goals and Reputation

His ambition to become the world's greatest swordsman is driven by a promise he made to his deceased childhood friend and rival, Kuina. However, Zoro has been willing to sacrifice this goal to ensure that Luffy can become the King of the Pirates, most notably when he chose to accept a bubble of pain from Bartholomew Kuma during Thriller Bark, even after being told it would likely kill him.  Roronoa Zoro's bounty after the Wano Country Raid is 1,111,000,000 Berries. This massive increase followed his crucial role in the Onigashima Raid, where he defeated King, a powerful member of the Kaidou’s crew.