*Spoilers For One Piece Manga Chapter 1074*
Despite One Piece's Roronoa Zoro ranking among the Straw Hat Crew's most powerful members, the fan-favorite hero hides layers of fear and anxiety that are subtly hinted at. Readers and viewers alike have been spoiled with the manga and anime series consistently hitting new heights in storytelling and animation. However, recent arcs suggest a more complex side of the Straw Hat's Swordsman that many fans may have missed.
There is no shortage of fans debating the power levels of One Piece characters, especially Zoro. But the series' outstanding world-building and carefully crafted characters help set One Piece apart from many traditional battle shonen manga. Tragic backgrounds are unfortunately commonplace among the series' main cast, and Zoro is no exception. Two dramatic losses in his life filled him with a fear and anxiety that he carries with him. These losses affected him so profoundly that Zoro has taken steps to ensure that something like it doesn't happen to anyone close to him again.
Zoro Has Never Been Great At Expressing His Feelings
One of Zoro's earliest battles in the series is when Luffy and his new crew encounter a character they were not prepared to face. It is a fight many One Piece fans have waited years to see a rematch of: Zoro Vs. Mihawk. The battle with the world's current greatest swordsman showed Zoro the level of strength he lacked and gave him a clear objective to strive for if he wished to protect himself and his allies in their adventures. Still, it was his relationship with his childhood rival Kuina that hurt him more than Dracule "Hawk Eyes" Mihawk ever did.
While Zoro was a child, he worked hard to upgrade his sword-fighting abilities. Still, there was always one person he could never best: his sensei's daughter, Kuina. After a night of sparing, Kuina reveals to Zoro that she is ashamed of being born a girl and believes she will never be able to become the One Piece world's strongest swordsman because of it. Hearing this from the only person he couldn't defeat, Zoro is outraged to hear that she believes such a thing would ever stop her from working towards her dream. They promised to compete against each other to become the world's strongest Sword-fighter, then she was gone.
Zoro's Backstory Episode is Still Among One Piece's Hardest Hitters
After her death, Zoro lost his closest companion and channeled his grief into training. He continued to train harder and harder until the town where he grew up had nothing left to teach him. With his Sensei's family katana entrusted to him, Zoro set out into the world to grow stronger, eventually putting him on a path to meeting Monkey D. Luffy. After several years of adventures filled with harrowing battles to find the One Piece, Zoro has learned powerful techniques and found a family in the Straw Hat Crew. While it is rare, there have been moments where the wounds of Kuina's loss left on Zoro reveal themselves and his greatest fear.
Zoro is often the most level-headed member of Luffy's crew, but in moments of great stress, his tough exterior cracks, especially when Sanji is involved. On the surface level, Sanji and Zoro consistently insult one another and even fight occasionally. However, the mutual respect they hold for one another has shined through several arcs in the series. That respect comes with side effects though. If Zoro sees Sanji struggling or hurt by an opponent, he realizes that there is a foe capable of killing a part of the new family he holds so dear, which scares him.
Zoro and Sanji share great moments throughout One Piece, like teaming up in the Davy Back Fight and Zoro knocking out Sanji to prevent the cook from sacrificing himself to Kuma. However, One Piece's author Eiichiro Oda slips in many details about Zoro that go unnoticed by viewers. Some examples include Zoro only sleeping when other crew members are awake so he can keep an eye on them, something he failed to do with Kuina. Another is how he trains especially hard after he faces an opponent who pushed him to his limits, inducing Zoro's fear that he is too weak to protect what he holds dear.
Zoro Takes It Upon Himself To Protect The Straw Hats
This anxiety reared its head in Chapter 1074 of the manga when Sanji attempted to form a search party with Stussy. The woman was recently revealed as Dr.Vegapunk's ultimate trump card in One Piece, a clone that Zoro witnessed betray CP0 and dispatch Lucci and Kaku single-handily. Knowing how dangerous she is combined with Sanji's weakness towards female opponents, Zoro attempted to join the search party, likely to protect Sanji if Stussy ends up being a threat to the crew. The anime recently covered the moment when the swordsman saved the cook during Wano's Raid arc, as he adjusted to his new powerup in the battle against the Beast Pirates Queen and King.
Many fearsome opponents have come face to face with the crew throughout the Straw Hats' travels. Until a confrontation proves it needs to be taken seriously, Zoro often responds with quotes fitting One Piece's next greatest swordsman, sending chills down enemies and the audience's spines. However, the reserved and calm demeanor the character typically exudes disappeared during Punk Hazard. Frustrated to hear that Luffy struggled in his first battle against Cesar Clown, Zoro yells to Luffy, "Get a grip! This is just the beginning of the New World!" Sanji then notes that Zoro is too hard on himself, insinuating that the words of his outburst are also being directed towards himself.
Without the help of using one of One Piece's devil fruits, Zoro has become one of the series' strongest characters, which is why the rare moments where his anxiety for his crewmate's safety feels so impactful when they do happen. With Oda teasing an end date for One Piece's story, there are sure to be many imposing enemies that will undoubtedly threaten the Straw Hat crew. Zoro's strength will indeed be tested again before One Piece ends. Zoro will do everything he can to ensure that Luffy, Sanji, and everyone else he holds close in One Piece doesn't get taken away from him like Kuina was.