Oooh, man. I can already see some people coming into this thread with their pitchforks drawn. How dare I suggest something so blasphemous about Zoro! He is clearly a Shimotsuki!!! Well, that's what I want to discuss, because this is something that has been nagging me for quite some time now. Now there is two varying opinions divided among the fandom. One is that he has no connection to Wano whatsoever outside of being trained by Kyoshiro, and the other is that is lineage itself is of Wano origin.
For quite some time I fell on the spectrum that Zoro's lineage has nothing to do with Wano. Not because I didn't see the possibility in it, but for the one simple fact that we are over 80 chapters deep into the Wano storyline, and there has been absolutely zero mention or even indication from Zoro himself, that he has any ties to the Country. I can see Oda keeping it some sort of secret in the very beginning of the arc, but as time goes by, and the more characters Zoro interacts with, especially Yasuie who is a Shimotsuki, you'd think Zoro would at least elude to there being some kind of connection there. But we have gotten nothing.
So that started to make me wonder, as to how Zoro could possibly have his lineage connected to Wano, but not want to divulge that information. Then it hit me. What if he doesn't want to make his lineage known, because it is tied to a family that has been cast out by the Country? The Kurozumi family was once part of the six ruling families of Wano. However due to a failed Coup by Orochi's grandfather, the Family ultimately ended up falling from grace, and was hunted down and persecuted by the rest of the Country, after Orochi's grandfather was forced to commit seppuku.
Orochi has expressed great resentment towards the fact that all this transpired, but one thing he failed to ever mention was anything pertaining to his father. We know what happened to his Grandfather, but what exactly happened to his own father? Now if my assumptions are correct here, this first coup, should have roughly happened right around the time Shimotsuki Kozaburo left Wano and started to make his Journey to East Blue.
Now we are given no reason as to what caused Kozaburo to want to up and leave Wano, but it always struck me as odd as why such a renowned Swordsmith from a prestigious family, made that decision. What if the reason for that is because he was actually friends with Orochi's father, and didn't want to see him killed? This isn't too far fetched to think, because the Shimotsuki family actually took Orochi in, and looked after him like he was one of his own.
One thing we don't know about Orochi, is what he was doing prior to being taken in by the Shimotsuki family. This is pretty interesting, because from what we know, almost all of the Kurozumi family were eradicated. So what if, Orochi's father initially had two children, and one of them (Orochi) was thought to be killed? This is what prompted Kozaburo to take his friend, and his remaining child, and flee the Country. This remaining child would end up being, you guessed it. Zoro's father/mother. Years later, Orochi would reappear in front of the doorstep of the Shimotsuki family, and they would take him in, due to the fact that he was the child of Kozaburo's friend.
Now I am not saying this is definitive, and there is some aspects that I'm not to keen on myself, like Zoro being related to Orochi. But I'll be damned if the pieces wouldn't fit perfectly. Not to mention I think it would make for a way better plot point if Zoro (A Kurozumi) restores the Kozuki Clan back to the throne of Wano, while at the same time restoring his own Clan's name to its former glory. I'll take that over Zoro just randomly being named a Shimotsuki out of nowhere after 80 plus chapters of nothing.
For quite some time I fell on the spectrum that Zoro's lineage has nothing to do with Wano. Not because I didn't see the possibility in it, but for the one simple fact that we are over 80 chapters deep into the Wano storyline, and there has been absolutely zero mention or even indication from Zoro himself, that he has any ties to the Country. I can see Oda keeping it some sort of secret in the very beginning of the arc, but as time goes by, and the more characters Zoro interacts with, especially Yasuie who is a Shimotsuki, you'd think Zoro would at least elude to there being some kind of connection there. But we have gotten nothing.
So that started to make me wonder, as to how Zoro could possibly have his lineage connected to Wano, but not want to divulge that information. Then it hit me. What if he doesn't want to make his lineage known, because it is tied to a family that has been cast out by the Country? The Kurozumi family was once part of the six ruling families of Wano. However due to a failed Coup by Orochi's grandfather, the Family ultimately ended up falling from grace, and was hunted down and persecuted by the rest of the Country, after Orochi's grandfather was forced to commit seppuku.
Orochi has expressed great resentment towards the fact that all this transpired, but one thing he failed to ever mention was anything pertaining to his father. We know what happened to his Grandfather, but what exactly happened to his own father? Now if my assumptions are correct here, this first coup, should have roughly happened right around the time Shimotsuki Kozaburo left Wano and started to make his Journey to East Blue.
Now we are given no reason as to what caused Kozaburo to want to up and leave Wano, but it always struck me as odd as why such a renowned Swordsmith from a prestigious family, made that decision. What if the reason for that is because he was actually friends with Orochi's father, and didn't want to see him killed? This isn't too far fetched to think, because the Shimotsuki family actually took Orochi in, and looked after him like he was one of his own.
One thing we don't know about Orochi, is what he was doing prior to being taken in by the Shimotsuki family. This is pretty interesting, because from what we know, almost all of the Kurozumi family were eradicated. So what if, Orochi's father initially had two children, and one of them (Orochi) was thought to be killed? This is what prompted Kozaburo to take his friend, and his remaining child, and flee the Country. This remaining child would end up being, you guessed it. Zoro's father/mother. Years later, Orochi would reappear in front of the doorstep of the Shimotsuki family, and they would take him in, due to the fact that he was the child of Kozaburo's friend.
Now I am not saying this is definitive, and there is some aspects that I'm not to keen on myself, like Zoro being related to Orochi. But I'll be damned if the pieces wouldn't fit perfectly. Not to mention I think it would make for a way better plot point if Zoro (A Kurozumi) restores the Kozuki Clan back to the throne of Wano, while at the same time restoring his own Clan's name to its former glory. I'll take that over Zoro just randomly being named a Shimotsuki out of nowhere after 80 plus chapters of nothing.
