Highlights
- Zoro's journey in One Piece as a master swordsman adds depth to the world of the series, particularly in terms of fighting techniques and the lore surrounding swords.
- Zoro's current swords, including Enma, hold significant importance and have the potential to improve his power level, especially through blackening, which strengthens the blades and the user.
- The process of blackening is hinted at in the story, and it is likely that all three of Zoro's swords will eventually be classified as Supreme Grade Weapons, making him an extremely formidable opponent.
Zoro is one of the most important characters in Eiichiro Oda's One Piece. Introduced at the very beginning of the series, Zoro was revealed to be a master swordsman with the goal of defeating the World's Strongest Swordsman, and taking the title for himself. Zoro eventually joined the Straw Hat Pirates and rose to great importance. He's one of the most important characters in the entire series and his role, particularly as a swordsman is crucial.
It is through Zoro that Oda elaborates on the beautiful world of One Piece and adds more depth to it, especially in terms of fighting, as well as lore related to the swords. Zoro is a Three Sword Style swordsman, meaning he relies on three blades in combat. In One Piece, blades can be graded and that means Zoro receives a power-up every time he improves his blades. While he possesses very powerful blades right now, he can reach new heights if he improves his current weaponry.
Zoro's Swords Through The Years
Zoro began his journey in One Piece with three swords, however, only one of them was named. This sword was none other than the Wado Ichimonji, one of the 21 O Wazamono Grade swords. His other two blades were normal swords and they shattered in his fight against Mihawk on Baratie. Shortly after, Zoro went to Loguetown, where he picked two new swords for himself. The first of these two swords was the Sandai Kitetsu. This sword was revealed to be cursed and would bring a terrible fate upon those who wielded it. This sword also belonged to the Wazamono Swords.
At the same time, Zoro also picked up Yubashiri, which belonged to the 50 Ryo Wazamono swords, meaning it was superior to the Sandai Kitetsu. This sword was described to be very light and very sharp at the same time. Unfortunately, this blade was destroyed during the Enies Lobby arc, where Zoro was faced by Shu, a powerful Marine Captain with the ability to rust all metal. Later on, Zoro got his hands on Shusui, which was one of the Black Blades of the One Piece world. This sword also belonged to the rank of 21 O Wazamono swords and it served Zoro very well for about 2 years. Eventually, this sword was returned to the land of Wano, where it was regarded as a national treasure, and for it, Zoro received a very good replacement.
Zoro's Current Swords
Currently, Zoro wheels three swords, namely the Wado Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, and Enma. Enma in particular, is a sword that was given to Zoro by Hiyori, the owner of the blade. This sword was formerly under the possession of Kozuki Oden, the legendary samurai from the land of Wano. For the longest time, this sword was not wielded by anyone, however, after Zoro returned Shusui to the land of Wano, he was offered this incredible blade as a replacement. Enma also belongs to the class of 21 O Wazamono swords. This means it is one of the strongest blades seen in the One Piece world. Currently, it might even be Zoro's most important sword, given the property that this sword possesses.
As seen in Wano, Enma is a blade with the power to absorb Haki. In fact, this blade sucks up Haki like no other and only a handful of users can handle it. If a regular samurai were to wield this sword, it would forcibly drain out the Haki from their body, leaving them a husk of their former selves. Zoro certainly was not an ordinary samurai and he managed to gain control over this sword eventually. While it certainly took him some time, during his fight against King, Zoro learned how to make full use of this blade. Letting it drain his Haki allowed Zoro to make use of the Color of the Supreme King as well, making him stronger than ever before in the process. Using these powers, Zoro disposed of King and took the next step as a Swordmaster.
How Zoro Can Improve His Swords
While Zoro is already very powerful, as evident from his bounty of 1.111 billion berries, he still has room to grow. He is certainly not on the same level as Dracule Mihawk at the moment and that means Zoro can attain further power. Of course, Zoro can simply improve his Haki and his base strength, however, another way to improve his power level is by improving his weaponry. For one, Zoro might end up replacing the Sandai Kitetsu at some point with another blade. This would automatically make him stronger than he is currently. However, even if that doesn't happen, there is another way for Zoro to get stronger. This is by blackening his blades. All blades in One Piece can be permanently blackened. This strengthens them even further and makes the user stronger as well. There isn't much that has been revealed about Black Blades so far, however, the process can be achieved by using Haki extensively.
Just as Kozaburou mentioned, Enma can blacken under Zoro and this would mean that the rank of the sword will increase. This would make Enma one of the Saijo O Wazamono, or Supreme Grade Swords in One Piece. The same logic would also apply to Wado Ichimonji. This sword can also be blackened by Zoro and that will increase its rank as well. Wado Ichimonji certainly has the potential to become one of the Supreme Grade weapons as well. That leaves Zoro's last sword. This largely depends on what blade Zoro is going to be wielding at the moment. If he is still in possession of Sandai Kitetsu, then the sword will most likely not rise to the rank of Supreme Grade. However, if Zoro has replaced this blade, then it is possible that he will gain another Supreme Grade Sword, making all three of his blades of the highest order. At that point, Zoro would be extremely difficult to take on in combat for anyone, even the World's Strongest Swordsman, Dracule Mihawk.
How Oda Hinted At Zoro's Final Sword Grades
Zoro blackening his blades is not just a theory. It is something that is eventually going to happen, given that blackening is a process that takes place over time and there are already enough clues in the story to conclude that this is something that Zoro must do to ascend to the next level. If that wasn't enough, however, fans can look at the inspiration for Black Blades and draw a similar conclusion.
Looking at all the Supreme Grade Blades in the world of One Piece, the total number at the moment is 12. The Excellent Grade swords are 21 in number and the Fine Grade swords are 50. It is believed that this grading system is based on a book called Kaihou Kenjaku, from 1797. Curiously enough, this book was later revised and three more swords were added to the class of Supreme Grade Swords. This might be an indication that all three of Zoro's swords will eventually be classified as Supreme Grade Weapons and that would mean that Zoro will end up blackening all three of them.
It will be interesting to see what direction Oda takes with Zoro's swords, however, it can be said for sure that it is going to be incredibly exciting to see Zoro take one more step closer to his dream by achieving the blackening of his blades. Fans can only sit back and wait for it to finally unfold.
One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1092, is set to be September 18, 2023.