Kaizoku Gari no Roronoa Zoro

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Japanese Name: ロロノア・ゾロ
Romanized Name: Roronoa Zoro
Affiliations: Straw Hat Pirates
Occupations: Swordsman; Pirate; Bounty Hunter (former)
Epithet: "Pirate Hunter Zoro" (海賊狩りのゾロ Kaizoku Gari no Zoro)
Age: 19 (debut) ; 21 (after timeskip)
Birthday: November 11th
Height: 178 cm (5'10")
Bounty: 120,000,000 Beli


Introduction-

Roronoa Zoro is a pirate, former bounty hunter, and one of the main protagonists of One Piece. He was the first member to join the Straw Hat Pirates, and to date is considered the largest threat and most dangerous member in the crew after Luffy. He is famed as a master swordsman, user of the Santoryu style, and his great strength (and the actions of his captain) sometimes leads others to believe he must be the true captain. He's one of the top three fighters in the crew. His dream is to become the greatest swordsman in the world. Zoro was labeled as one of "The Eleven Supernovas", the eleven rookie pirates with bounties over 100,000,000 Beli to have reached the Red Line. Zoro's current bounty is 120,000,000 Beli.


Personality-

Zoro usually maintains a stern, serious and distanced personality, but often loses his temper in a goofy and exaggerated comical style. He can also be extremely intimidating, easily frightening weaker opponents with just his glare. It has been stated that he has a monstrous killing intent evident from the fact where he almost drew his sword on one of the Tenryubito. Furthermore, it has also been stated that Zoro is a born killer capable of showing no mercy during combat, it has been mentioned that Zoro has killed before. Zoro is also very apathetic, rarely showing emotion and usually expressing coldheartedness and indifference. Despite this, Zoro has a kind heart, shown as he was willing to risk death for the sake of a little girl he did not know shortly after his introduction. When fighting weaker innocent people, he does try to hold back when fighting and use the dull side of his swords in order to not seriously injure them (ironically, because of his strength, he still seriously hurts them).

He has a strong sense of leadership and reasoning. While technically not a samurai, Zoro maintains Bushido to a certain degree (e.g. he consistently refuses to attack an adversary whose back is turned, the only exception being when his friends are in imminent danger of losing their lives in which Zoro would strike the attacker from behind, and Zoro himself considers a scar on the back to be a swordsman's greatest shame). Whether he agrees with them or not, he will stand by Luffy's decisions, stepping in only to point out the seriousness of a situation where it has been overlooked by his crewmates (most notable when they wanted to bring Usopp back into the crew after Usopp challenged Luffy to a duel over the Going Merry and lost).

A running gag throughout the series is that while he is very perceptive during battle (as well as out), his sense of direction is extremely poor, to the point of getting lost on a straight path. This is often the result of Zoro not understanding directions. He is unaware of his lack of direction. Every time he gets lost, he mutters "the others are lost again". Another running gag of the series is Zoro's ability to effortlessly deliver perfectly timed lines in passing or even during battle that are deemed "cool" by other characters, leading him to be borderline worshiped and idolized especially by crewmates Usopp, Chopper and Brook. Another running gag is how Zoro keeps untying bandages when he isn't fully healed, claiming that they make it hard to move, only to be scolded by Chopper, who tells him that they are there so that he doesn't move.

Zoro is very proud of the reputation he has built for himself both as a swordsman and as "The Pirate Hunter", starting with his 60,000,000 Beli bounty which has doubled since then. He also enjoys the fact that he has a higher bounty than Sanji. However, in spite of his personal pride and self-respect, Zoro has shown to be willing to lower himself to the ground in complete humility for the sake of his friends, as was seen when he begged Kuma to spare Luffy's life in exchange of his own. And then again when he shamelessly bowed before Mihawk, begging the Shichibukai who is his enemy, to train him in the ways of the sword. While the crew sails from one island to another, he normally spends time on lifting weights or naps (sometimes both at the same time), only to be regularly awakened in a rather violent way by Nami, Sanji or (accidentally) Luffy. He also likes to drink sake, almost to the degree that Luffy likes meat, and, Nami likes money. Also like Nami, he has an inhumanly-high tolerance for alcohol. He also regularly reverts to drastic measures to solve simple problems, suggesting solutions that others would normally consider to be their last possible, worst-case-scenario choices.

Zoro can also be very vigorous when he is determined to achieve a goal or defeat an enemy. The risks that he will often take to pursue his dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman often leave others wondering if he is crazy. As far as Zoro is concerned though, only he has the right to call himself "crazy." When Zoro has the intention to fight seriously, he ties his black bandanna (normally kept knotted around his left arm) around his head. Zoro lives for the thrill of combat; Scratchmen Apoo commented on his "insane killing intent", acknowledging that Zoro was a "real beast". He also has a habit of smiling joyfully whenever he faces a particularly skilled opponent, which often unnerves both friend and foe alike. Even when not in combat, he often displays a manic smirk that gives the impression of him being a monster.

Zoro is also very perceptive, something he demonstarates by providing important and logical decisions at critical times and by evaluating the situation from an objective point of view. However, while on some occasions he can be the voice of reason, most of the time Zoro rushes into things and leaves it to fate to decide the details, much to the horror of crew members as he fails to see his own fault. He seems to have a very strong belief in fate and destiny in general. Unlike some of the members of the crew, Zoro does not shrink from the idea of using deadly force against dangerous enemies. Though not as much with strangers, Zoro is always ready to protect and save his comrades whenever they are in danger, even at the cost of his own life.




Abilities & Powers-


Unarguably an extremely powerful and strong young fighter with immense potential, Zoro is one of the Straw Hat Crew's top three fighters. After the two years of intense training with Mihawk, Zoro has grown much more powerful than before. It is shown during his first appearance after the timeskip that he can cut through extremely large objects with incredible ease, speed, and precision with only one swing of his sword. Even without his swords, Zoro has monstrous physical strength. At a very young age he was able to lift boulders over his head, and is now able to lift and toss an entire building. He can use some sword techniques without his swords. He has also been shown to pack powerful punches, being skilled even with hand-to-hand combat, and even developed the ability to pump up his arms with pure muscle.

Zoro's agility, speed, and overall reflexes are also extraordinary. Zoro can also move at nearly inconceivable speeds and jump at astonishing heights. He can even dodge bullets with ease. On numerous occasions, Zoro has shown being able to evade (or block) high-speed attacks and projectiles. These high-speed attacks and projectiles move so fast that it would normally be impossible for an average human to even notice them, much less evade them. Thus, Zoro was able to dodge simultaneous pressure shots, which travel at the speed of light. To match his strength, Zoro has an incredible tolerance of pain and astonishing amounts of stamina and endurance, evidenced by numerous situations he has thus far endured.

Finally, Zoro managed to absorb all of the damage and fatigue Luffy had accumulated, besides the damage inflicted on him during fights with Oars and Ryuma. This is especially impressive as Kuma had stated to Zoro that, since he was already close to death (due to his fight with Oars and Ryuma), taking in Luffy's pain and fatigue in addition to his would definitely kill him. Zoro, however, managed to survive and later only remarked afterward that "nothing happened" when questioned by Sanji. It is notable to mention that while Luffy fell unconscious after he defeated Moria due to his agony and exhaustion, Zoro, on the other hand, not only managed to survive but remained conscious even after accumulating all of the pain and fatigue he and Luffy had sustained.



Swordsmanship-

Zoro is an extremely powerful master swordsman, being able to use one, two, and three swords in varying attack styles, going from melee-type all the way to artillery. He is able to use some sword techniques that utilize the air itself to strike the enemy from a distance. Although he is most comfortable with his Santoryu (literally: three sword style), his skills with a single sword are still quite exceptional. Since no one else has been seen using anything similar to his Santoryu style, it can be assumed that Zoro invented not only Santoryu but most, if not all, of his sword techniques. A long standing problem with Zoro was his inability to cut steel. The anime incorrectly shows him instinctively cutting steel during some of his encounters before learning how to control and master this ability during his battle with Daz Bones. After the two years of training Zoro is now able to easily cut materials even much stronger than steel. While he is able to use both hands as well as his mouth in sword combat, Zoro seems to be predominantly left-handed. He keeps all three of his swords sheathed next to his right hip, an indication of being left-handed as it would be easier to pull a sword out from that side with a left hand. Also, when using one sword in combat, Zoro is usually seen using his left hand to wield the sword.

Zoro has shown a new ability called "Asura" which gives him the appearance of having six arms and three heads, like the deity of the same name. He is also surrounded by a dark aura while in this state. This ability allows Zoro to utilize nine swords in combat, as well as giving him seemingly god-like powers which were powerful enough to shake and make numerous holes in the ground.What this ability was, how Zoro attained it, and the exact nature of this attack are currently unclear, but Kaku suggested it was an illusion created by Zoro's spirit.

During his adventures, Zoro has acquired many swords. The three he currently uses are:

Meito; Wado Ichimonji (formerly belonged to Kuina)
Sandai Kitetsu (formerly belonged to Ippon-Matsu)
Meito; Shusui (formerly belonged to Ryuma)


History - The Beginning Of A Promise

As a child, Zoro trained at a dojo in Shimotsuki village. Zoro states in the Baratie, that, "Once he decided that he would become an invincible Swordsman, he left his life behind".


Even as a child, Zoro was strong enough to defeat most adults, but could not defeat Kuina, the Dojo master's daughter. After their 2000th fight (and Kuina's 2000th victory) Zoro challenged her in private for one more match - with real swords. Although he had improved tremendously since their first match, he still lost and cried with frustration, telling Kuina his dream of being the world's greatest swordsman. Hearing this, Kuina confided in Zoro, telling him that she shared the same dream but knew she could never attain it - her father had told her that girls could never be true sword masters, and that her fighting potential would decrease as her body matured. Zoro, annoyed by her defeatist attitude in spite of repeatedly winning against him, told her that one day he would beat her because he was more skilled, not just because she was a girl. The two make a promise - that either of them must become the world's best swordsman.

The next day, Kuina suffered a fatal fall down the stairs of her dojo (to get a sharpening stone for her sword, something she wouldn't have needed if she and Zoro hadn't fought with real swords), much to Zoro's anger and disappointment. Realizing that she would never have a chance to fulfill her dream, Zoro took it upon himself, asking his sensei, Koshiro, for her sword, Wado Ichimonji, and began working to develop his signature Santoryu, holding his own two swords in each hand, and Kuina's clenched between his teeth.