As a swordsman that uses the unique three-swords style, Zoro pays extra attention to the quality of his swords. That is why he only uses high-quality swords that have undergone its fair share of deadly battles. One of the swords that he owned and frequently used up until the Wano Country Arc is the Shusui.
Shusui is one of the most sought after katana in the world. After all, not only it is one of the “21 Great Grade Swords”, but it is also one of the rare “Black Blade” swords. That being said, what makes Shusui so well-known is the exploits of its previous owner, the legendary samurai Ryuma. Unfortunately, not many people know who Ryuma actually is. So let’s take this chance to talk about the life of the legendary samurai and the original wielder of the great Shusui, Shimotsuki Ryuma.
The Birth of A Samurai
Centuries before the current story of One Piece, a young boy named Shimotsuki Ryuma was born at Ringo, the northernmost province of Wano Country. The parents of this boy are never mentioned in the story, but since he bears the name “Shimotsuki”, we at least know that he was part of the Shimotsuki Clan, a long line of Daimyo of Ringo. This means Ryuma was actually a noble.
Unlike the other parts of the country, Ringo is covered with snow for most of the year. This is probably one of the reasons why the people of Ringo are some of the toughest people in Wano. Being a warrior was pretty much a way of life for them. In fact, there’s a tradition in Ringo that dictates every child has to be given a katana. They will use this katana throughout their life, and when they pass away, the same katana will be used as their grave mark.
The Rise of The Legend
The life of the young Ryuma was depicted in one of the early short stories made by the creator of One PIece, Eiichiro Oda, called Monsters, which is part of a short story collection called Wanted. Based on his appearance, Ryuma is most likely in his late teens or early twenties in the story.
The young Ryuma decided to leave Wano, and venture into the world. At this point in time, Ryuma still used a regular katana, which implied that he would encounter Shusui later on in his journeys. He was always quick to help people in need. He even cut the neck of a massive dragon in one slash in order to save a small town from its raging attack. That’s why the news of his might as a swordsman slowly but surely traveled into different parts of the world. It didn’t take a long time until the people that he saved started to call him “The Great Swordsman King”. However, since the man himself didn’t really care about fame, he didn’t even realize that people had considered him to be one of the strongest swordsmen in the world.
Years after that, Ryuma finally returned to his homeland, the Wano Country, with the great Shusui in his hand. It was said that those were particularly terrible times for Wano. Lots of foreign invaders continuously attacked Wano with the intention of occupying the country. And once again, the one who rose to the occasion and dared to fight against these invaders, and rallied the people of Wano to protect the country together, was none other than Shimotsuki Ryuma. Legends even said that Ryuma managed to slay a dragon that flies over the capital with his beloved Shusu. His valiant act earned him the title of the Hero of Wano and the God of the Blade.
Unfortunately, Ryuma didn’t get to enjoy a long life. At the age of 47, he passed away due to an unknown illness. His body was buried within the shrine that was built at the Northern Cemetery at Ringo, his hometown. And just like the other citizens of Ringo, his graveyard was marked by his beloved sword, Shusui. As a tribute to the mighty hero and savior of Wano, Ryuma and his sword was given the title of “National Treasure of Wano.”
Life After Death
There’s a unique tradition in Ringo called the Eternal Grave. Due to its cold temperature, the bodies of those that are buried in Ringo will be completely frozen. This means even if centuries have passed, the corpses buried in Ringo will still be relatively intact.
That is why around 23 years before the current story of One Piece, the pirate Gecko Moria stole the corpse of Ryuma, along with his sword, Shusui. He wanted to fill the ranks of his crew with zombies made out of the body of famed heroes and warriors. So in order to make Ryuma’s corpse live again, Moria stole Brook's shadow, and put it into Ryuma’s body.
The new Ryuma is clearly not as strong as the real him. After all, he was merely a zombie that can only use Brook’s sword techniques. That being said, the strength of Ryuma’s body and sword can still elevate Brooke’s technique into a whole another level. During the Thriller Bark Arc, Zorro gets a chance to engage in a deadly fight against the zombie Ryuma. Zorro manages to gain the upper hand, and win the duel. As a token of respect from one swordsman to the other, he gave his beloved sword, Shusui, to Zorro.
From that point on, Zorro always uses Shusui during his fights. That is until Hiyori asked him to give Shusui back to Wano in the Wano Country Arc. After all, it is still the national treasure of Wano. Zorro agreed, and in exchange he received another legendary sword from Hiyori, which is Enma, one of the swords used by her beloved father, Kozuki Oden. Thanks to this, though Ryuma’s corpse was cremated in Thriller Bark, his sword finally comes back home to its rightful place.