Character Discussion Thoughts on Zoro's Journey to become The Strongest Swordsman?

[pg13]

Zoro's Dream is to become the Worlds Strongest Swordsman (Sekai Saikyō no Kenshi) What are your thoughts on Oda's handling of Zoro's dream, I think everything was fine until Oda had Mihawk train Zoro that's when things got shaky and then I feel like Oda should've done 1 of the following by now, Either highlight Mihawk or Zoro's Opponents, so far Oda hasn't really done either of those things until King in Wano. If the plan is really to save Mihawk until the Zoro fight, that's mid asf damn near trash. Zoro Vs King should have been the bare minimum quality for Zoro's fights Post Timeskip if that's the case. hopefully Zoro gets more extreme diff fights before Mihawk and hopefully Mihawk gets a fight or 2 to show his abilities before the Zoro Fight.

Spoiler: ZORO’S STRONGEST SWORDSMAN JOURNEY

Spoiler: MIHAWK SO FAR

 

[Yoho]

Other than mihawk does Zoro honestly have any competition?

 

[Cruxroux]

Other than mihawk does Zoro honestly have any competition?

Literally every other Top tier with a sword.
Zoro choose who's at the top , not the contenders.

 

[Yoho]

Literally every other Top tier with a sword.
Zoro choose who's at the top , not the contenders.

Who?

Fujitora? He doesn't seem to want the title

Vista? Zoro mid difs Vista

Rayleigh? He's retired and isn't gonna come out of retirement just to fight for the wss title

Shiryu? Based off what we know he's a high tier fight st best in zoros favor

Shanks? Also doesn't seem to actively want the title and if fhe strawhats do fight the red haireds that's luffys fight

Anyone else with a sword isn't even worth mentioning

 

[Cruxroux]

Who?

Fujitora? He doesn't seem to want the title

Vista? Zoro mid difs Vista

Rayleigh? He's retired and isn't gonna come out of retirement just to fight for the wss title

Shiryu? Based off what we know he's a high tier fight st best in zoros favor

Shanks? Also doesn't seem to actively want the title and if fhe strawhats do fight the red haireds that's luffys fight

Anyone else with a sword isn't even worth mentioning

If you look at it that way.
Mihawk didn't wanted the title either.
He just wanted to fight strong people.
Zoro is dream has to do more with promise to kuina , so yea his something very unique to him only. Otherwise everyone wants to be strong in One piece.

 

[DavyJones]

Zoro can't be challenged by pure swordsmen enough to push him to Mihawks level. So instead he fights opponents with gimmicks that force him to cut the uncuttable or test his will on deaths door.

I want a proper swordsman fight between now and Mihawk though, and other than Shanks (who I dont see Zoro fighting) I don't see one with the clout to mean anything.

 

[NikaInParis]

Other than mihawk does Zoro honestly have any competition?

Yeah that's my biggest gripe with how Oda handled it - no one besides Zoro and Mihawk gives a shit about being WSS
Like, not even a delusional fodder guy that would get put in his place by Zoro. Nobody.

 

[Yoho]

If you look at it that way.
Mihawk didn't wanted the title either.
He just wanted to fight strong people.
Zoro is dream has to do more with promise to kuina , so yea his something very unique to him only. Otherwise everyone wants to be strong in One piece.

Yeah that's my biggest gripe with how Oda handled it - no one besides Zoro and Mihawk gives a shit about being WSS
Like, not even a delusional fodder guy that would get put in his place by Zoro. Nobody.

Exactly Oda majorly fumbled the bag with that one

Tashigi could of been actually powerful and an actual rival that reminded zoro of kuina other than looking slightly similar imagine zoros reaction if Tashigi used the same sword style has Kuina

 

[Cruxroux]

Exactly Oda majorly fumbled the bag with that one

Tashigi could of been actually powerful and an actual rival that reminded zoro of kuina other than looking slightly similar imagine zoros reaction if Tashigi used the same sword style has Kuina

I don't understand , what does it has to do with others chasing it as well.
None of SH dreams are shared by anyone either. Except for Luffy (Obviously because of plot)
Everyone has their reasons.
And this clown who said no one gives a shit about it except mihawk and Zoro , simply lacks reading comprehension.

Mihawk never cared about it , He was bestowed with it. He didn't chase it.
Zoro chasing the greatest swordsman so that he complete his promise with Kuina. That's it.

 

[SkySanji]

Very mid, WSS is the most hollow WS title and it's ironic since it's the only WS title a main character is aiming for.

It's to be expected though, Oda prioritizes Zoro nowhere near as much as Luffy so it ends up with Zoro's dream being sidelined with almost zero focus.

 

[Yoho]

I don't understand , what does it has to do with others chasing it as well.
None of SH dreams are shared by anyone either. Except for Luffy (Obviously because of plot)
Everyone has their reasons.
And this clown who said no one gives a shit about it except mihawk and Zoro , simply lacks reading comprehension.

Mihawk never cared about it , He was bestowed with it. He didn't chase it.
Zoro chasing the greatest swordsman so that he complete his promise with Kuina. That's it.

Wym just about every pirate luffy fought wanted to be pirate king

Big Mom said if she had the giants she'd be pirate king

Buggy recently said he's gonna become pirate king

Kaido also expressed interest in being king

So did Shanks

Every supernova went to sea to become pirate king

Mihawk more than likely beat someone to become wss and the odds that he wasn't interested in the title is pretty low

Also all the other strawhats dreams are pretty vague it's not a matter of being stronger than another person

 

[Salah WG]

Highlighting Mihawk is same as saying, why didn't Oda show us One Piece & All Blue & Void Century & All Healing Cure & World Map ... etc
Zoro's Journey towards WSS isn't about how Strong his Opponents is, cuz no matter how much People wanna Hype them, They are always No Match for Zoro

Instead They are Opponents who ask certain Questions & push Zoro to reveal the Answer, which would represent One of Most Important Ingredients to become WSS

Hatchan asked the Question "What if Zoro faced someone with More Swords"
Zoro gave us the Answer by showing how important Quality of Swords is, over Quantity
So Lesson 01 ---> "Best Swordsman only deserves Best Sword(s)"

Mr. 1 asked the Question "What if Zoro faced someone He couldn't Damage?"
Zoro gave us Answer by learning Breath of All Things, which represents Swordsman's Ability to choose what to Cut
So Lesson 02 ---> "Best Swordsman should be able to Cut anything in their Path"

Ohm asked the Question "What if Zoro faced someone He couldn't Reach?"
Zoro gave us Answer by learning Flying Slashes, which represents his Ability to use his Attacks from Range
So Lesson 03 ---> "Best Swordsman should be Physically so Strong, They can Cut from any Range"

Kaku asked the Question "What if Zoro faced someone with All Three Previous Challenges Combined & also Counters Zoro"
Zoro gave us Answer by learning Nine-Sword Style, which represents Zoro's Peak Style
So Lesson 04 ---> "All Three Previous Achievements are Irrelevant, unless you have Greatest Sword-Style"

Then He faced Zombie Ryuma, which was simply Mini-WSS Fight, it's basically Pre-TS Version of WSS Duel
And what happened? Zoro was Perfectly Equal to Zombie Ryuma with Two-Swords
Meaning He is Faster when using One-Sword (But Weaker), and Stronger when using Three-Swords (But Slower)
Indicating that Zoro officially have Access to Level of Gentle Blade & also Strong Blade that is above Zombie Ryuma

So Oda created Zoro's Fighting Style in a way that would make him be Perfectly Matched against WSS, while still proving that Zoro's Swordsmanship is Superior, which is ngl, Very Smart Idea

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for Post-TS, Zoro will have Five Main Fights as well, with Five New Skills to Highlight
However, this time his Opponents didn't offer a New Challenge, They instead got same ones as Pre-TS
But Fight Scenario requires Zoro to Highlight for us what He needed to learn

Hyouzou Fight ---> Highlighted Zoro's CoO
Pica Fight ---> Highlighted Zoro's CoA
King Fight ---> Highlighted Zoro's CoC

So Three Lessons of Post-TS are "Best Swordsman must Perfect all Three Types of Haki so that Nothing can Counter him"
Because as much as Hyouzou, Pica & King didn't have many Attacks that Zoro can't handle, but their Fights were written in a way where if Zoro didn't have CoO, He would have Lost against Hyouzou due to his Backstabbing, and if He didn't have CoA, He would have Lost against Pica, and if He didn't have CoC, He would have Lost against King due to Enma

Now for Zoro's Next Opponent, He is gonna be just like Kaku was Pre-TS, a Combination of All Three Challenges
Meaning Zoro is gonna Face someone who will Truly Test all his Three Types of Haki together & Zoro gonna Unlock something New

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So Overall, Zoro's Journey revealed to us that you cannot be WSS unless you have:

1. Peak Blade(S)
2. Peak Breath of All Things
3. Peak Physical Strength/Range
4. Peak Sword-Style
5. Peak CoO
6. Peak CoA
7. Peak CoC
8. Peak ??? (Zoro's Penultimate Lesson)

And when you look at Mihawk, even though We barely saw anything of his Capabilities, We were shown enough to understand He is "Best".

1. We don't know how He acquired Yoru,
2. We haven't seen his BOAT Highlighted
3. We haven't seen his Max Strength
4. We don't even know Name of his Sword-Style or any Named Attack
5. We don't know how much He Mastered CoO
6. We have never seen him Use CoA
7. We have never seen him Use CoC
8. We know nothing about his Trump Card

And yet, it's pretty evident that this guy have Best Blade, his Student was able to Cut even Kaidou, just Shockwave of his Swing was able to Cut Huge Mountain, He is stated to have Perfect Sword-Style (Combines both Gentle & Strong Blade), his Eyes & Epithet & entire Design highlights his CoO, his Black Blade is proof of his CoA Mastery, and Shanks inability to Defeat him is a sign about his CoC, and Finally his entire Personality, Design & desire to Face someone Stronger than Shanks indirectly confirms He dreams of revealing his Trump Card to someone

Zoro's Journey is Perfect Hype for Mihawk, and i have never seen any Character getting Hyped like this in any Fiction without doing anything, while everyone else needs to Hype themselves & flex their Power, Mihawk gets Hyped by World Building itself, that's the same way One Piece Treasure is Hyped, We have no idea what it is, but Luffy's Journey keeps Hyping it every single Arc

And Every Ship that appears adds more Hype to Franky's Final Invention, and every Flashback that is shown adds more Hype to Void Century Flashback, and every Doctor or Cure that is shown adds more Hype to Chopper's All Healing Cure ... etc

Zoro vs Mihawk is imo Best Rivalry in One Piece & among Best in Fiction Overall

 

[Cruxroux]

Wym just about every pirate luffy fought wanted to be pirate king

Big Mom said if she had the giants she'd be pirate king

Buggy recently said he's gonna become pirate king

Kaido also expressed interest in being king

So did Shanks

Every supernova went to sea to become pirate king

Mihawk more than likely beat someone to become wss and the odds that he wasn't interested in the title is pretty low

Also all the other strawhats dreams are pretty vague it's not a matter of being stronger than another person

Tf is wrong with you?
I never questioned Luffy dream. Its due to plot everyone chasing PK title.
This ain't a Swordsman Anime or Manga.

What I said was , how only SH chasing their dreams makes it petty or low.
They all got their reasons. None of the SH dreams are shared by anyone in the whole story. Making Luffy an exception (which I stated already) and yet you proceeded to write the big ass paragraph. I'm not even reading it.

 

[Zolo]

Yeah that's my biggest gripe with how Oda handled it - no one besides Zoro and Mihawk gives a shit about being WSS
Like, not even a delusional fodder guy that would get put in his place by Zoro. Nobody.

How many times this was told for zorobois... now they are reading manga where coby is stronger than zoro... pathethic

 

[RoronoaZorro]

The problem with Oda's writing for Zoro's dream is his obsession to just put everything into strength. As in, the actual techniques of swordsmanship itself isn't being touched much.

Maybe this is why the title is WSS, not World Best Swordsman.

 

[GUI VI]

Simply the best journey of a One Piece character.

 

[Juanpiz]

Zolo..sword.. What.. Sorry I was too distracted by your pic

 

[zenox]

beating the previous sword god and a lunarian is pretty good for his resume imo

 

[BlackLegFring]

It’s all been said before, but Oda’s lack of focus on Zoro’s goal and treating it as basically irrelevant is indeed a fumble.

 

[Blazing Lion]

I think people have some difficulty understanding the WSS title. As a human, as a man, to compete and be above others is something very natural and I don't understand why people can't understand that. You listen to all the top athletes and they lie (sort of) when they say they don't want to be seen as the greatest in their sport, mostly they are just being respectful to the ones before them (which is good) and staying humble.

You don't just become strong if you don't want it, the reason for wanting to be strong can be different. But there are those who love and thrive and competition and there are those who are not as competitive but still strong. Those who seek the title want to show their supremacy not just to the world but also to satisfy their own desires.

Mihawk did not gain the WSS by competing in a title tournament but was recognized for his strength. Why did WB and Roger fight each other and why did they enjoy and cherish those battles? Why did Shanks and Mihawk have duels? Why are Luffy and Zoro always wanting to compete? They do so because they like the thrill of competition, to measure themselves against others, to beat the opponent and prove their strength.

At least these are my thoughts on the subject and why I like characters such as Goku, Ryu, Luffy, Zoro, Vegeta.


As for the path to WSS, again it is not a fucking title tournament where you subsequently beat stronger swordsmen. Swordsmanship is shown as the preferred fighting style/martial art for most of the top tiers. But it is not limited to dojo duels. The pinnacle of swordsmanship is being able to cut/defeat what one wants to and protecting what one wants to. The power progression is being shown for Zoro. Cutting steel, hitting hidden enemies, beating different styles, haki, cutting the toughest etc. Ryuma's legend was not him just beating other swordsmen but killing the dragon, defending Wano from everyone and one shotting his opponents.

The idea that only Mihawk and Zoro care about WSS is stupid, it's just that only one has been able to achieve this and only one has been shown to dare to dream and live it. The path to WSS is not just through swordsmen but includes other achievements too and at the end of it, at the pinnacle is Mihawk.