I've been thinking, whenever people ask what Zoro's future powerups look like, the answers are usually that he'll master is Conqueror's Coating (which should happen fairly naturally), or simply "he'll get black blades". But what exactly would that do for his strength? I think Oda has presented himself with a great opportunity to add another dimension to the strongest swordsmen's fighting styles, by allowing meito blades to 'awaken' under the right circumstances.
There are a range of different fighting abilities in One Piece. We have devil fruit users with creative awakening potential, races' such as lunarians or fishmen with unique strengths, and there are humans who are otherwise enhanced such as the Germa, SSG, or other cyborgs like Franky and Queen who all have df/lineage factor manipulation as potential developments. Each of these powers provide both versatility and power-up potential. Even Nami and Usopp have variety and space to greatly improve their kits with haki/science.
So far, I'm worried about how swordsmen compare. In every matchup discussion Zoro can beat pretty much anyone granted he actually hits them, but Oda has given him very little that would allow him to do that or otherwise give him an edge. If Zoro vs Mihawk happens and it's just clashing swords while occasionally cutting the environment as collateral, I'll be pretty disappointed. We've cut the biggest and hardest stuff, time to get more creative.
Now I'll get on to black blades. After learning that both Zoan dfs and Swords have their own will, it only makes sense that they both have further potential that needs to be unlocked, as if the objects can improve with their users. Given how few swordsmen have black blades, and the level of the swordsmen who have black blades, it's clear that forging black blades is no easy feat - perhaps even harder than awakening a devil fruit. While I'm not sure how a sword can become black I do believe that the result will be a new unique ability for the blade.
Oda has focused a lot on Enma and hinted that it could soon become a black blade - the first black blade in real-time. I think we'll find out not only how a black blade is forged but also that they gain a unique power that suits their disposition. It's why Oda's spent so much time showing us Enma's personality and the exposition surrounding blades in general. Soon after its introduction Enma became very exceptional even amongst O Wazamono blades, and its because it has the ability to freely absorb the user's ryuo or armament haki and use it to create stronger slashes.
With its potential unlocked and its master having fully tamed it, I believe Enma will expand this power and be able to absorb ryuo used by its opponent - either blades clashing against it or limbs imbued defensively - and steal it to use offensively later. It could even redistribute it to Zoro since Enma will have fully accepted him as its partner by then. This power reduces its enemy's defence and attack strength should Zoro block them, stamina (as it did for Zoro) and gives them incentive to dodge rather than defend. It also adds to Zoro's offensive capabilities and makes it harder to run out of Ryuo.
There are a range of different fighting abilities in One Piece. We have devil fruit users with creative awakening potential, races' such as lunarians or fishmen with unique strengths, and there are humans who are otherwise enhanced such as the Germa, SSG, or other cyborgs like Franky and Queen who all have df/lineage factor manipulation as potential developments. Each of these powers provide both versatility and power-up potential. Even Nami and Usopp have variety and space to greatly improve their kits with haki/science.
So far, I'm worried about how swordsmen compare. In every matchup discussion Zoro can beat pretty much anyone granted he actually hits them, but Oda has given him very little that would allow him to do that or otherwise give him an edge. If Zoro vs Mihawk happens and it's just clashing swords while occasionally cutting the environment as collateral, I'll be pretty disappointed. We've cut the biggest and hardest stuff, time to get more creative.
Now I'll get on to black blades. After learning that both Zoan dfs and Swords have their own will, it only makes sense that they both have further potential that needs to be unlocked, as if the objects can improve with their users. Given how few swordsmen have black blades, and the level of the swordsmen who have black blades, it's clear that forging black blades is no easy feat - perhaps even harder than awakening a devil fruit. While I'm not sure how a sword can become black I do believe that the result will be a new unique ability for the blade.
Oda has focused a lot on Enma and hinted that it could soon become a black blade - the first black blade in real-time. I think we'll find out not only how a black blade is forged but also that they gain a unique power that suits their disposition. It's why Oda's spent so much time showing us Enma's personality and the exposition surrounding blades in general. Soon after its introduction Enma became very exceptional even amongst O Wazamono blades, and its because it has the ability to freely absorb the user's ryuo or armament haki and use it to create stronger slashes.
With its potential unlocked and its master having fully tamed it, I believe Enma will expand this power and be able to absorb ryuo used by its opponent - either blades clashing against it or limbs imbued defensively - and steal it to use offensively later. It could even redistribute it to Zoro since Enma will have fully accepted him as its partner by then. This power reduces its enemy's defence and attack strength should Zoro block them, stamina (as it did for Zoro) and gives them incentive to dodge rather than defend. It also adds to Zoro's offensive capabilities and makes it harder to run out of Ryuo.
