Reminder!
This take assumes that forging your weapon into a Black Blade means that only by then have you fully master your sword/weapon.
This take assumes that forging your weapon into a Black Blade means that only by then have you fully master your sword/weapon.
I will start with the Swordsmiths and the premise of them forging their prized possessions and also the wielder's role in forging it into a black blade aKa the pinnacle that weapon can reach.
Swordsmiths most likely forge blades with intent not only of their swords collecting the achievements through satisfying their malice of killing ( sword satisfying its malice ) but also to be tamed and forget into a Black Blade by its user. Only by then, Swordsmith can say that his blade fulfilled its duty and he as a Swordsmith has achieved his dream of forging the best/one of the best blades in history.
Many people claim outrageous things like "Zoro will only surpass Oden when he fully masters Enma".
First of all.
Zoro already surpassed Oden as a fighter so this has nothing to do with the power level. Zoro already fought a stronger, more experienced version of Kaido which already makes his feats better than Oden's. If you all still want to argue about current Kaido being the same level he was 20 years ago, then go back to the hour of legends where Oden literally tells Kaido to become stronger LMAO.
The only "advantage" Oden had over current Zoro is "tamed" Enma but even then, as I mentioned above. He had years for it. To understand Enma and tame it properly so he doesn't have any drawbacks while using it and remember an important dialogue from the last chapter when Zoro says:
He consciously held back on his conqueror's will. Whereas Enma wants you to go all out with it and that's how you can truly tame it. Equal exchange between the sword and the user. You let Enma feel all of your power, if Enma is satisfied it allows the user to swing it as he pleases without holding him back like shrinking his arm or something because it felt like the user didn't allow enough gas out of the tank. Oden never really had to hold back on his conqueror's will and even when he joined WB and later Roger he wasn't their servant but more of a ride-along raw muscle addition to the crew. He was doing what he wanted to do. He never put Whitebeard or Roger over his own ambitions.
Second of all.
Oden never mastered Enma.
Enma wasn't forged into a Black Blade during Oden's time with it, and mind you, he got Enma for years. He only tamed the sword so he could use it without holding back but didn't master it aKa forging it into a Black Blade. Oden had more time than Zoro to get acquainted with Enma so it's obvious he tamed it. Zoro only has had this sword for 2 weeks+ and he is becoming better and better at taming Enma for such a short period of time he got with it.
Zoro taming and maybe later mastering Enma will be all about understanding that he doesn't have to hold back for Luffy's sake. He can go all out and that would help Luffy's dream even more.
Enma as a sword has its own malice, its own will that must be fulfilled by someone. Oden wasn't the one, he could not achieve it even after experiencing so much in his life.
Will Zoro be the one? Will he finally fulfill Enma's will and malice and forge it into a Black Blade? We will have to wait and experience it with our own eyes.
tl;dr Oden was decent but overrated both by Oda's inconsistent writing and the fandom itself. Enma has yet to become a Black Blade aKa being mastered by someone.
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