I’m going to attempt to outline the narrative reasoning that I believe will result in Zoro awakening Supreme King’s Haki.
TL;DR Zoro will OFFICIALLY become Vice Captain of the Crew while he Awakens Supreme King’s haki
If you’ve read the TL;DR, you’re probably wondering what Vice Captain has to do with this. Well lets get into it.
ZORO’S ROLES ON THE CREW
Zoro occupies the interesting space of having an official and unofficial role on the crew. He’s officially the Swordsman/Combatant but unofficially he’s the Vice Captain, as stated both in universe and out of universe. Other strawhats have had two or more roles as well at certain times but the difference is that Vice Captain is a role that Luffy isnt actively looking to fill and isnt a role that comes with a specific criteria to fill. The main reason this Vice captain position isnt filled is because Luffy hasnt decided on it. This is a position that is so nebulous that I believe Luffy has to actively decide to appoint it or else no one can just “fit into it” hence why Zoro just remains “unofficial”.
WHY ISNT THERE A CRITERIA?
I just said there isnt a criteria for this position but thats not entirely true. There’s things you can point to like leadership and strength as things that are required of Vice Captain but then the question is what type of leadership and strength are required. Nami is often leading on the Sea, Sanji led on his own missions, Jimbei leads in cases of plans, Chopper leads when its medical emergencies etc. In terms of strength, only Usopp could defeat Perona, Sanji and Zoro will NEVER actually fight to prove who is stronger, Nami was the one who could beat Kalifa instead of Sanji etc. Strength is highly situational to the point that the “weaker strawhats” were entrusted by Luffy to make it out of WCI and they did.
So this is why i believe it ultimately just comes down to who Luffy picks for the position because at any given time, one strawhat can have the specific strength and leadership ability to be better than another.
WHY HASN’T THE POSITION BEEN FILLED YET?
As Captain you are permanently designated as the Leader and expected to be the strongest so giving someone else a permanent station of strength and leadership such as Vice captain is a big deal.
This is in fact such a big deal that i believe it will be one of the best Captain moments for Luffy to decide on who can become Vice Captain. These moment of Luffy as a captain are so rare and thats why this very big one has been staved off until now. The arc where Luffy should officially be Emperor caliber by the end
WHY ZORO AS VICE CAPTAIN THEN?
Like i said, there’s no specific criteria i can give for Zoro being better suited, so what I will say is that this is simply the outcome that has been most foreshadowed. Aside from obvious things like characters in-universe mistaking Zoro for captain or vice captain, there’s a bigger and more deliberate Narative choice that foreshadows this.
That is the fact that Luffy is completely made unaware of Zoro’s actual vice captain moments. By this i mean those things i said are sort of criteria for Vice captain such as leadership and strength and which are too situational to specific strawhats in specific situations, whenever Zoro gets his own specific situation Luffy never knows he’s had his situation.
I mean we can point to the “Nothing happened” situation but there’s little things as well like Zoro beating Hody which Luffy never learns happens.
In fact there’s two situations that are interesting. Against Axe hand morgan, Luffy beats him up and then Zoro finishes him but its not the usual combos we see with Luffy and Zoro or anyone else, Luffy turns around and has his back to Zoro when he finishes Morgan. Its back to back and Luffy doesnt actually see what happens. I think this is intentional symbolism that Luffy won’t actually see Zoro do such things for a long time.
The other situation is Whiskey Peak where Zoro essentially saved everyone and had his big vice captain moment down to peoole again mistaking him for captain but Luffy misunderstood and tried to beat him up instead. Its not even clear whether Luffy ever learned the truth of what happened there. Its jusy interesting that Oda writes this stark misunderstanding in what would be the only time Luffy ever acknowledged Zoro’s capability as Vice captain.
Whenever Zoro is leading people like in Ennies Lobby or Dressrosa, its always when Luffy is indisposed and never learns of it.
I believe all this is deliberate. The “Nothing happened” moment is cool but i also think its part of a set up of Zoro only steps up when its out of view of Luffy.
WHY IS THIS CHANGING NOW IN WANO?
A lot of people are wondering why Zoro is invested in fighting Kaido and i think the more unique thing happening here is that Zoro is telling Luffy he’s going to fight kaido.
We know Zoro has fought arc villains or villains Luffy fights exclusively but whats unique here is that Zoro is doing this in front of Luffy. Some people think its insubordination but again, Zoro has dealt with final bosses before, the difference here is that hes doing it in front of Luffy.
I believe the reason this is happening is first of all the stakes of two Emperors but also Zoro is changing as a character.
He’s not changing by much of course, he’s simply learning to step up BEFORE Luffy gets incapacitated or out of view of Luffy. This time Luffy will see the “Nothing happened” type situation of Zoro showing those vice captain qualities. (I don’t mean Zoro will be near death again, I mean Zoro will do something to show Great leadership, strength and loyalty)
By having Zoro slightly more invested in the drama of the arc, Oda can have Zoro shift in character a bit and this will cause Luffy to actually acknowledge what Zoro’s about for the first time
ZORO’S CHARACTER PROGRESSION TO SUPREME KING
When Luffy has his big Captain moment of officially declaring Zoro Vice captain, this will push Zoro’s subtle character shift to an actual character arc where he has to acknowledge a position of leadership permanently. This here will begin the awakening of Supreme King’s Haki.
Its not a coincidence that Luffy starts awakening this haki after Ennies Lobby which was the arc that most tested Luffy’s ability as a captain most since the series started. But at the same time, Kaido still believes Luffy to be playing “Pirate games” so i think Luffy is due for big captain moments this arc. One of which would be actually appointing a vice captain.
And similarly Zoro will start to awaken Supreme King haki after he starts to fill the role of official vice captain.
WHERE WILL ALL THIS GO?
Zoro becomimg the official Vice captain and acquiring CoC will of course go a long way in legitimising Luffy as no longer playing pirate games. However much Luffy doeent actively seek structures of power in his crew, the story always finds a roundabout way of creating them to make sure Luffy is a legit organised threat. For example the Grand fleet’s creation. Luffy hasnt gotten a Vice captain in 1000 chapters so i think thats whacky enough that Luffy just springs it on Zoro who doesnt directly want the position but accepts it anyway.
Zoro awakening Supreme King haki could result into the narrative transitioning into exploration of Advanced Supreme king haki since of course Luffy will still have to be distingushably better at it.
Zoro stepping up more regularly than just in Wano simply because he randomly cares more could result into more involvement in plots by Zoro and such. This will also lead to fast tracking Zoro’s growth rate in strength since stepping up more means getting into more and more challenging situations such as now with Zoro getting into a fight with two Emperors.
CONCLUSION
Supreme King Haki is the most tied to people’s characters than any other power in the series so it follows that acquiring it comes with a character change of some sort. But similar to Luffy who doesnt change drastically from Ennies Lobby to Sabaody, Zoro doesnt also change drastically in order to awaken the haki. He just has to change his outlook on responsibilities a bit and this will be most prompted by being given the position of Vice captain. We already see the change happening with Zoro’s proactiveness this arc and it will most likely come home with a culmination of a subtle narrative thread that started all the way from the meeting between Luffy and Zoro.
TL;DR Zoro will OFFICIALLY become Vice Captain of the Crew while he Awakens Supreme King’s haki
If you’ve read the TL;DR, you’re probably wondering what Vice Captain has to do with this. Well lets get into it.
ZORO’S ROLES ON THE CREW
Zoro occupies the interesting space of having an official and unofficial role on the crew. He’s officially the Swordsman/Combatant but unofficially he’s the Vice Captain, as stated both in universe and out of universe. Other strawhats have had two or more roles as well at certain times but the difference is that Vice Captain is a role that Luffy isnt actively looking to fill and isnt a role that comes with a specific criteria to fill. The main reason this Vice captain position isnt filled is because Luffy hasnt decided on it. This is a position that is so nebulous that I believe Luffy has to actively decide to appoint it or else no one can just “fit into it” hence why Zoro just remains “unofficial”.
WHY ISNT THERE A CRITERIA?
I just said there isnt a criteria for this position but thats not entirely true. There’s things you can point to like leadership and strength as things that are required of Vice Captain but then the question is what type of leadership and strength are required. Nami is often leading on the Sea, Sanji led on his own missions, Jimbei leads in cases of plans, Chopper leads when its medical emergencies etc. In terms of strength, only Usopp could defeat Perona, Sanji and Zoro will NEVER actually fight to prove who is stronger, Nami was the one who could beat Kalifa instead of Sanji etc. Strength is highly situational to the point that the “weaker strawhats” were entrusted by Luffy to make it out of WCI and they did.
So this is why i believe it ultimately just comes down to who Luffy picks for the position because at any given time, one strawhat can have the specific strength and leadership ability to be better than another.
WHY HASN’T THE POSITION BEEN FILLED YET?
As Captain you are permanently designated as the Leader and expected to be the strongest so giving someone else a permanent station of strength and leadership such as Vice captain is a big deal.
This is in fact such a big deal that i believe it will be one of the best Captain moments for Luffy to decide on who can become Vice Captain. These moment of Luffy as a captain are so rare and thats why this very big one has been staved off until now. The arc where Luffy should officially be Emperor caliber by the end
WHY ZORO AS VICE CAPTAIN THEN?
Like i said, there’s no specific criteria i can give for Zoro being better suited, so what I will say is that this is simply the outcome that has been most foreshadowed. Aside from obvious things like characters in-universe mistaking Zoro for captain or vice captain, there’s a bigger and more deliberate Narative choice that foreshadows this.
That is the fact that Luffy is completely made unaware of Zoro’s actual vice captain moments. By this i mean those things i said are sort of criteria for Vice captain such as leadership and strength and which are too situational to specific strawhats in specific situations, whenever Zoro gets his own specific situation Luffy never knows he’s had his situation.
I mean we can point to the “Nothing happened” situation but there’s little things as well like Zoro beating Hody which Luffy never learns happens.
In fact there’s two situations that are interesting. Against Axe hand morgan, Luffy beats him up and then Zoro finishes him but its not the usual combos we see with Luffy and Zoro or anyone else, Luffy turns around and has his back to Zoro when he finishes Morgan. Its back to back and Luffy doesnt actually see what happens. I think this is intentional symbolism that Luffy won’t actually see Zoro do such things for a long time.
The other situation is Whiskey Peak where Zoro essentially saved everyone and had his big vice captain moment down to peoole again mistaking him for captain but Luffy misunderstood and tried to beat him up instead. Its not even clear whether Luffy ever learned the truth of what happened there. Its jusy interesting that Oda writes this stark misunderstanding in what would be the only time Luffy ever acknowledged Zoro’s capability as Vice captain.
Whenever Zoro is leading people like in Ennies Lobby or Dressrosa, its always when Luffy is indisposed and never learns of it.
I believe all this is deliberate. The “Nothing happened” moment is cool but i also think its part of a set up of Zoro only steps up when its out of view of Luffy.
WHY IS THIS CHANGING NOW IN WANO?
A lot of people are wondering why Zoro is invested in fighting Kaido and i think the more unique thing happening here is that Zoro is telling Luffy he’s going to fight kaido.
We know Zoro has fought arc villains or villains Luffy fights exclusively but whats unique here is that Zoro is doing this in front of Luffy. Some people think its insubordination but again, Zoro has dealt with final bosses before, the difference here is that hes doing it in front of Luffy.
I believe the reason this is happening is first of all the stakes of two Emperors but also Zoro is changing as a character.
He’s not changing by much of course, he’s simply learning to step up BEFORE Luffy gets incapacitated or out of view of Luffy. This time Luffy will see the “Nothing happened” type situation of Zoro showing those vice captain qualities. (I don’t mean Zoro will be near death again, I mean Zoro will do something to show Great leadership, strength and loyalty)
By having Zoro slightly more invested in the drama of the arc, Oda can have Zoro shift in character a bit and this will cause Luffy to actually acknowledge what Zoro’s about for the first time
ZORO’S CHARACTER PROGRESSION TO SUPREME KING
When Luffy has his big Captain moment of officially declaring Zoro Vice captain, this will push Zoro’s subtle character shift to an actual character arc where he has to acknowledge a position of leadership permanently. This here will begin the awakening of Supreme King’s Haki.
Its not a coincidence that Luffy starts awakening this haki after Ennies Lobby which was the arc that most tested Luffy’s ability as a captain most since the series started. But at the same time, Kaido still believes Luffy to be playing “Pirate games” so i think Luffy is due for big captain moments this arc. One of which would be actually appointing a vice captain.
And similarly Zoro will start to awaken Supreme King haki after he starts to fill the role of official vice captain.
WHERE WILL ALL THIS GO?
Zoro becomimg the official Vice captain and acquiring CoC will of course go a long way in legitimising Luffy as no longer playing pirate games. However much Luffy doeent actively seek structures of power in his crew, the story always finds a roundabout way of creating them to make sure Luffy is a legit organised threat. For example the Grand fleet’s creation. Luffy hasnt gotten a Vice captain in 1000 chapters so i think thats whacky enough that Luffy just springs it on Zoro who doesnt directly want the position but accepts it anyway.
Zoro awakening Supreme King haki could result into the narrative transitioning into exploration of Advanced Supreme king haki since of course Luffy will still have to be distingushably better at it.
Zoro stepping up more regularly than just in Wano simply because he randomly cares more could result into more involvement in plots by Zoro and such. This will also lead to fast tracking Zoro’s growth rate in strength since stepping up more means getting into more and more challenging situations such as now with Zoro getting into a fight with two Emperors.
CONCLUSION
Supreme King Haki is the most tied to people’s characters than any other power in the series so it follows that acquiring it comes with a character change of some sort. But similar to Luffy who doesnt change drastically from Ennies Lobby to Sabaody, Zoro doesnt also change drastically in order to awaken the haki. He just has to change his outlook on responsibilities a bit and this will be most prompted by being given the position of Vice captain. We already see the change happening with Zoro’s proactiveness this arc and it will most likely come home with a culmination of a subtle narrative thread that started all the way from the meeting between Luffy and Zoro.
