In a recent SBS One Piece’s creator, Eiichiro Oda confirmed Zoro’s connection to the Wano country.
One Piece manga and anime have been on a roll since it was one of the most hyped and watched anime last year and its buzz is still going strong this year so far. The audience is particularly impressed by the writing and storytelling skills of the creator of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda. It is because of his storytelling skills that the audience of One Piece is pretty aware of the fact that its story only gets better every time there is a new arc in the story. This belief of the audience could be seen in the latest arc in the franchise called the Wano Country Arc which ended with Luffy becoming the newest Yonko (emperor of the sea) after defeating the former Yonko, Kaido, the former captain of the Beast Pirates.
The Wano Country Arc was special for One Piece fans for numerous reasons the biggest of them all being Zoro getting the limelight for once. Zoro got a decent amount of screen time and got to showcase his swordsmanship throughout the arc. Eiichiro Oda also teased fans with some information that possibly explored Zoro’s relation to the Wano country and gave some hints about his lineage. Even though the fans were able to grasp what little clues about Zoro’s lineage were thrown towards them by Oda, things could only get confirmed after the latest SBS with Oda.
Zoro’s Family History
In the latest SBS with Eiichiro Oda, Zoro’s lineage and family tree were revealed by Oda. Oda hinted at Zoro’s relation to Wano country on numerous occasions but kept these hints quite subtle. His swordsmanship skills and style were shown to be similar to that of the last daimyo of the Ringo region in the north of Wano, Shimotsuki Ushimaru. Apart from the sword-wielding style and skills his appearance was also very much similar to Zoro. Fans had been speculating Ushimaru to be Zoro’s father ever since his appearance in the anime, however, to their dismay this was not the case. Even though Ushimaru is not Zoro’s father he has been confirmed to be related to Zoro by Oda as disclosed in the SBS. Shimotsuki Ushimaru was known to be the last member of the Shimotsuki clan of Wano until Oda revealed that Zoro is a descendant of the Shimotsuki clan and perhaps even the last one.
It was revealed in the SBS that a legendary swordsmith from Wano, Shimotsuki Kozaburo, came to East Blue boarding a ship that illegally left Wano country approximately 50 years ago. As it turned out, he was not the only Shimotsuki clan member to have boarded that ship as Shimotsuki Furiko a female member of the clan and elder sister of Ushimaru also left Wano. They settled in East Blue, and Kozaburo established his village called Shimotsuki. Furiko went on to marry a swordsman who went by the name of Roronoa Pinzoro who is Zoro’s grandfather. They had a son whom they named Roronoa Arashi, and it would be feasible to speculate that he was also a strong swordsman like his father since the Oda revealed that he died in a battle with pirates in the East Blue however the timestamp of this event has not been disclosed yet. Sometime before his battle with the pirates, he got married to Terra about whom not much has been told by Oda. They eventually gave birth to a boy who is currently known as the Pirate Hunter Zoro and is considered one of the best swordsmen in the world of One Piece.
The Rightful Owner of Shusui
Since it has been confirmed that Zoro is Shimotsuki Ushimaru’s descendant it also confirms that he is also a legitimate descendant of the legendary samurai of Wano country who is also known as the God of Blade, Shimotsuki Ryuma. Even though Ryuma is speculated to have lived somewhat around the Void Century, he was first seen in the Thriller Bark Arc as Gecko Moria stole his corpse and reanimated him, and he even fought Zoro which is how Zoro ended up with Shusui. Shusui was wielded by Ryuma and is one of the 21 great-grade swords and a black blade which is considered to be the most powerful type of blade in One Piece. Zoro had Shusui until the Wano Country Arc as Hiyori requested him to return because it is believed to be a national treasure by the citizens of Wano in return he got one of Kozuki Oden’s two swords, Enma. After the revelations from the SBS, it turns out Zoro is the rightful owner of Shusui since he is Ryuma’s descendant.
Zoro’s Future
With Oda’s storytelling, it seems like it was Zoro’s fate to come to Wano the country of ancestors, and it is evident because of various factors. The way Zoro was exploring the cities in Wano seemed like he had already known the places even though it was his first time visiting Wano. Zoro was shown to be extremely powerful throughout the Wano Country Arc. It can just be a mere coincidence that it was in the Wano Country Arc that fans got to know that even Zoro can use conquerer’s haki. Zoro is currently on his way to becoming even more powerful to face and possibly defeat the number one swordsman in One Piece, Dracule Mihawk. It would be a treat for the fans if Zoro ended up in Wano country at the end of the franchise as his story would come full circle at the home of his ancestors.
