I think this could possibly be the angle Oda takes with Nusjuro vs Zoro
Mihawk is part of Cross Guild, meaning Zoro needs to beat him so that Luffy can become PK. Only after that will Luffy take on the WG.
So what will Zoro vs Nusjuro decide then?
There are many avenues Oda could take on them and I have explored those in other threads. But this is one.
Nusjuro is an immortal. He has likely lived hundreds of years. Yet not many people seem to know about the gorosei. Them being immortal doesn’t seem to be public knowledge. Apart from Lucci, nobody on egghead was even able to recognize the gorosei in their transformed state.
What if Nusjuro was the WSSM of the void century? Then the WG was established, Nusjuro ascended to godhood, and in that moment he basically left his title behind.
Time moved on and his feats were forgotten. Few people knew of Nusjuro or his strength, for Nusjuro rarely descended to the surface to fight.
As such new WSSM came and went. People like Ryuma, Xebec, Roger, and Mihawk. But none actually fought Nusjuro.
Basically I think Zoro vs Nusjuro will be a test to establish where Zoro ranks amongst the different WSSM. Is he just the strongest of his time period? Like Xebec or Roger were? Or is he the strongest of all time? That latter question can only be answered by defeating someone like Nusjuro. An immortal who has lived through many lifetimes.
Does this make Mihawk a fraud? In a way. Similar to how Zoro was a frog in a small pond when he was in East blue, so too was Mihawk. He was the strongest on the surface world, but ultimately he never fought Nusjuro.
Defeating Mihawk cannot be a greater feat than beating Nusjuro. Mihawk is a middle aged man, Nusjuro is an immortal. Hence beating Mihawk can only scale Zoro as the strongest swordsman of his time period.
It can never scale Zoro beyond the great swordsmen of the past. Men like Roger, Xebec, and Ryuma. Only by defeating one like Nusjuro, who watched as those greats came and went and remained undefeated throughout these years, can Zoro establish himself as the greatest swordsman in history.
Mihawk is part of Cross Guild, meaning Zoro needs to beat him so that Luffy can become PK. Only after that will Luffy take on the WG.
So what will Zoro vs Nusjuro decide then?
There are many avenues Oda could take on them and I have explored those in other threads. But this is one.
Nusjuro is an immortal. He has likely lived hundreds of years. Yet not many people seem to know about the gorosei. Them being immortal doesn’t seem to be public knowledge. Apart from Lucci, nobody on egghead was even able to recognize the gorosei in their transformed state.
What if Nusjuro was the WSSM of the void century? Then the WG was established, Nusjuro ascended to godhood, and in that moment he basically left his title behind.
Time moved on and his feats were forgotten. Few people knew of Nusjuro or his strength, for Nusjuro rarely descended to the surface to fight.
As such new WSSM came and went. People like Ryuma, Xebec, Roger, and Mihawk. But none actually fought Nusjuro.
Basically I think Zoro vs Nusjuro will be a test to establish where Zoro ranks amongst the different WSSM. Is he just the strongest of his time period? Like Xebec or Roger were? Or is he the strongest of all time? That latter question can only be answered by defeating someone like Nusjuro. An immortal who has lived through many lifetimes.
Does this make Mihawk a fraud? In a way. Similar to how Zoro was a frog in a small pond when he was in East blue, so too was Mihawk. He was the strongest on the surface world, but ultimately he never fought Nusjuro.
Defeating Mihawk cannot be a greater feat than beating Nusjuro. Mihawk is a middle aged man, Nusjuro is an immortal. Hence beating Mihawk can only scale Zoro as the strongest swordsman of his time period.
It can never scale Zoro beyond the great swordsmen of the past. Men like Roger, Xebec, and Ryuma. Only by defeating one like Nusjuro, who watched as those greats came and went and remained undefeated throughout these years, can Zoro establish himself as the greatest swordsman in history.
