One Piece Is Officially Making Roronoa Zoro A New God

The swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates, Roronoa Zoro, is one of the most important characters in One Piece. Being the first member to join Luffy’s crew, Zoro holds tremendous importance to the overarching plotline, with his goal to become the strongest swordsman in the world and to help his captain fulfill the ambition of becoming the Pirate King as well.

With One Piece deep in the Final Saga, Eiichiro Oda is playing more with the concept of Gods. Monkey D. Luffy, the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, is the official Sun God Nika of the world, which was officially confirmed in Chapter 1044, released on March 28, 2022, in Weekly Shonen Jump #17. Similarly, the Elbaf arc has introduced us to the Warrior God of Elbaf — Nidhoggr, as well as the Devil God Nerona Imu, and the Rain God Zaza. In the Final Saga, Oda has already lined up a similar God stature for Roronoa Zoro by making him the successor of the former Sword God of the One Piece world, Shimotsuki Ryuma.

Why Roronoa Zoro Will Be The New Sword God After Shimotsuki Ryuma

Shimotsuki Ryuma was first introduced to us in the Thriller Bark arc of One Piece in Chapter 448, which was officially released in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #14 on March 12, 2008. At first, Ryuma only appeared as the zombie of a samurai that Moria stole from Wano Country. However, it was clear that this zombie must have been tremendously tough in his prime days. The fact that Ryuma wielded the Black Blade Shusui and, on top of that, was able to keep up with Zoro despite having the shadow of a weaker individual such as Brook inside him meant that he was a monster in his prime days.

The lore pertaining to Ryuma was further expanded upon in One Piece’s Wano Country Arc in Chapter 937, titled “Gyukimaru The Bandit”, which was released on March 25, 2019, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump issue #17. Eiichiro Oda officially labeled Shimotsuki Ryuma as the God of the Blade, or the Sword God. Ryuma’s skill was described as impeccable, and his strength was such that he single-handedly kept all foreign attackers away from Wano Country. Being its sole defender, Ryuma is held in a similar light to Joy Boy in terms of his legendary might in Wano. What’s more, Ryuma’s feat of slaying a dragon, which was officially mentioned first in One Piece Chapter 937, was stated to have been only one of his many incredible feats.

“It is said that he chopped the head of a giant dragon over the Flower Capital. But that is only one of his many achievements.” — Gyukimaru, One Piece Chapter #937

Clearly, Ryuma was a legendary samurai, and One Piece Chapter 1023 highlighted this fact once again on August 30, 2021, through the characters of Kawamatsu and Hyougoro, with Ryuma being a legendary samurai the likes of which hardly anyone could match. An interesting connection with Roronoa Zoro arises through their bloodline.

“Ushimaru was a fantastic swordsman and a direct descendant of the Sword God, Shimotsuki Ryuma. And this man was the one to finally return Shusui to Wano. It must be fate, as Ryuma was also a one-eyed Samurai.” — Kawamatsu, One Piece Chapter #1023

Zoro’s Blood Connection To Ryuma Sets Him Up For The Ultimate Power Up

Image by Toei Animation

In One Piece chapter 1023, Eiichiro Oda officially confirmed the blood connection between Ryuma and Zoro through their family tree. Ryuma was from the Shimotsuki line, and the former Daimyo of Ringo, Shimotsuki Ushimaru, was his descendant. Curiously enough, Zoro is directly connected to Ushimaru. It is Ushimaru’s sister who moved to the East Blue and there, married Zoro’s grandfather, Roronoa Pinzoro. Pinzoro then gave birth to Zoro’s father, Roronoa Arashi, and eventually Arashi married Tera, and together, they had Zoro. Zoro is directly connected to Ushimaru, who is the direct descendant of Ryuma, which means Zoro carries the blood of Shimotsuki Ryuma, as was confirmed in the family tree in One Piece Volume 105 SBS on March 3, 2023. It is because of this fact that Zoro looks exactly like Ryūma and, at the same time, wields a similar sword style to him, which was also confirmed in One Piece Chapter 1023 on August 30, 2021.

Given that Zoro fights just like Ryuma and holds similar potential, it is a direct setup by Eiichiro Oda to make him the new Sword God of the next generation. Just as Luffy stands as the Sun God of the world, and Loki stands as the Warrior God, Zoro will become the new Sword God of the One Piece world. To do that, he must first best Dracule Mihawk and become the strongest swordsman alive.

Why Roronoa Zoro Will Be The Strongest Sword God In History

In the final saga of One Piece, Roronoa Zoro is most certainly going to become the strongest swordsman in the world and defeat Dracule Mihawk. By becoming the strongest, Zoro will also become the next generation Sword God, stepping into the footsteps of Shimotsuki Ryuma. With One Piece expanding upon the lore pertaining to the Void Century in Elbaf, such as in Chapter 1181 on April 27, 2026, in WSJ Issue #22-23, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Roronoa Zoro’s ancestor, Shimotsuki Ryuma, being connected to this timeline as well and standing tall as a fierce individual.

“He may be a foreign boy, but he reminds me of the former Daimyo of Ringo when he was young. He and Shimotsuki Ushimaru are like two peas in a pod. Right down to their sword handling!” — Hyougoro explains Zoro’s Ryuma connection, One Piece Chapter #1023

In that sense, Zoro will have a huge role to fulfill. Given that Ryuma, as a potential ally of Joy Boy, would have been on the losing side, Zoro would have to fix this slight and ensure that this time Luffy, who stands as the new Joy Boy, wins the war against Nerona Imu and the World Government. In doing so, Roronoa Zoro will further strengthen his grip over the title of the Sword God, and that is something that we absolutely cannot wait to see. Zoro will also have to surpass Shimotsuki Ryuma by the end of One Piece. It must be remembered that Ryuma had a black blade named Shusui; however, in the case of Zoro, we know that he wields three powerful blades. By the end of One Piece, all three of Zoro’s blades must be blackened, and this was officially set up in One Piece chapter 955, titled “Enma”, which was officially released on September 14, 2019, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #42.

“Enma has yet to become a black blade. However, in your hands, I’m sure it’ll reach that level.” — Tenguyama Hitetsu to Zoro in One Piece Chapter #955

With Zoro possessing three Black Blades come the end of One Piece, being a master of both advanced Armament and Supreme King Haki, as well as wielding the best sword skills in the entire series, he is sure to surpass even Shimotsuki Ryuma and become the strongest Sword God in the entire series’ history.

All chapters of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece manga series are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.