Roronoa Zoro/Abilities and Powers

Abilities and Powers
Unarguably an extremely powerful and strong young fighter with immense potential, Zoro is one of the Straw Hat Crew's top three fighters, and his strength is considered so great that, when taking his stern personality into account, people occasionally mistake him as the captain of the Straw Hat Crew after witnessing his skills in battle. While Luffy always fights the strongest enemy, Zoro usually fights the second strongest enemy.

After the two years of intense training with Dracule 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 (also considering without the use of his left eye) with only one swing of his sword. Zoro was even able to cut a Pacifista in half with just one slash from his swords, whereas two years prior he barely managed to only slightly damage one.

Zoro's newly-found strength is further demonstrated when he averts the previously mentioned formula of fighting the arc's second strongest foe when he easily defeats Hody Jones, the man in the role of the strongest adversary of the arc that typically does combat with Luffy. He accomplishes this with just a single strike and in his single sword style, despite having a disadvantage at fighting a fishman underwater.

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, and has also been shown to pack powerful punches. He was even strong enough to deflect a punch from Oars, and has developed the ability to pump his arms up with pure muscle.

However, Zoro seemed unable to control his strength prior to the timeskip. This is shown when he tries to hold back while fighting the shipwrights of Galley-La using the dull edge of his swords, and yet still causes serious damage.

After the two year timeskip, it seems that Zoro has exponentially increased in physical strength as he was able to block an attack from the huge King Neptune's equally massive trident with ease.

When not armed with his swords Zoro has shown to be skilled in hand to hand combat. He has been known to effectively knock out much larger creatures with unarmed strikes. Also he has been able to defeat opponents with massive punches and kicks. Zoro has also been shown to fight on par with Sanji even without his swords.

Zoro's agility, speed, and overall reflexes are also extraordinary. He has shown that he is quick enough to keep up with Sanji, who is a master of his own leg-based style, and with CP9's Kaku's Soru movements, and he himself can move at nearly inconceivable speeds and jump at astonishing heights, even dodge bullets with ease. On numerous occasions, Zoro has shown being able to evade (or block) high-speed attacks and projectiles that 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 as well as a laser blast from Bartholomew Kuma, both of which travel at extremely high speed, even after being heavily injured from his previous fights with Oars and fatigued from his fight with Ryuma.

After the two years timeskip, Zoro can even move underwater at a speed faster than a fishman. This was mentioned by a member of the New Fishman Pirates, who exclaimed that it was inconceivable for the swordsman to be faster than a fishman (referring to the aforementioned battle with Hody Jones) underwater.

Although is yet to be seen if he can use it or not, Zoro knows about Haki, something he (with the rest of the crew) had not shown any knowledge of in the first half of the series. He, alongside with Sanji, has commented on Luffy's ability to passively knock out half of Hody's men, stating that if Luffy couldn't at least do that much they surely would have to find another captain. It was hinted that both he and Sanji have Kenbunshoku Haki when Luffy asked the pair if they could sense a "wild animal" in the Ryugu Palace.

To match his strength, Zoro has an incredible tolerance to pain and astonishing amounts of stamina and endurance, evidenced by numerous situations he has thus far endured, such as Mihawk's black sword slashing his chest, Arlong's saw-like nose stabbing into his chest, cutting into his legs to try to free himself from Mr. 3's wax creation, Mr. 1's two buzz saws jamming into his chest, Enel's massively powerful lightning based attacks, CP9's Kaku's many Rankyaku attacks, Oars' kick, and Kuma's Ursus Shock. It should also be noted that Zoro was the only one who was not incapacitated at all from the last mentioned attack as well as being the only person who managed to stay conscious the whole time.

How can he still be standing after taking a hit from the giant? I don't even know who the real zombie is anymore!



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, 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, purely by sheer force of will and pride, although even he dropped into a coma shortly thereafter.

Zoro has survived from numerous wounds that would easily kill normal people, showcasing his unbelievable endurance, and the majority of his battles lead to him being drenched in blood and sustaining lethal injuries. Even while in an almost death-like state, he is still able to battle against very strong enemies and even fight with improved skill, tenacity and a clear head. All this demonstrates some of the greatest feats of endurance seen in the entire One Piece series, especially for one without Devil Fruit powers, proving he arguably has the highest endurance out of all the Straw Hat Pirates, who already seem inhuman themselves.

Lack of Orientation
Outside of battles, Zoro has one obvious weakness: his complete lack of orientation. He often demonstrates that he can easily get lost everywhere and always walks in the wrong direction. He even walks the wrong way when being directly shown which way to go. Zoro also get confused by his own directions. Such as in the Skypiea Arc he intended to go right, but instead went to his left. Also, In Enies Lobby, Nami pointed forwards and told everyone to go this way but Zoro still walked in the wrong direction. These traits often worry the other Straw Hats and make them look out for Zoro and sometimes mock him for it (Luffy especially). However, Zoro is unaware of this and usually blames the other Straw Hats for being "lost". After the two year timeskip, Zoro was able to be the first member to arrive at Sabaody Archipelago, shocking Sanji. However, this was due to Perona's help.

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. Brook classifies Zoro as a user of the "Power of Destruction" (破壊力).

Although he is most comfortable with his Santoryu (literally: three sword style), his skills with a single sword are still quite exceptional, being able to hold off the Nyaban brothers, having bested several of the lower-ranked members of Arlong's crew, defeating Mr. 1, and the zombie, Ryuma. After his two years under Mihawk's tutelage, his skills have grown so powerful that he was able to defeat the fishman Hody Jones while underwater with just one slash from a single sword, and considered the best swordsman of Fishman Island to be too weak to even kill his boredom, despite the latter having went through a transformation due to the Energy Steroids.

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. He is even seen perfecting a new technique in his fight with Braham.

If he is fighting weaker enemies (or innocent bystanders that he has no desire injuring in the first place), like the Galley-La employees in Water 7, he uses only the blunt sides of his swords. Although, as Nami pointed out, due to his strength, even that could cause fatal wounds.

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. After the timeskip, he has shown the ability to slice through steel "like fruit".

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. His Ittoryu techniques have nearly always been executed with his left hand.

Asura
During his battle against Kaku, Zoro has shown a new technique 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 and the first time he achieved it, the ground shook and numerous holes appeared in it. This ability allows Zoro to utilize nine swords in combat, and is usually used for a very powerful final blow. What this ability is, how Zoro attains it, and the exact nature of this attack are currently unclear, but Kaku suggested it was an illusion created by Zoro's spirit.

Zoro's Swords
During his adventures, Zoro has acquired many swords. The three he currently uses are:
 * 1) Meito; Wado Ichimonji (formerly belonged to Kuina)
 * 2) Sandai Kitetsu (formerly belonged to Ippon-Matsu)
 * 3) Meito; Shusui (formerly belonged to Ryuma)

Former Swords
For one reason or another, maybe as a demonstration of his skill because he can use any sword he must at any time, Zoro has one or more of his swords destroyed, removed from his possession, or incapacitated in some way:
 * 1) Katana x2 (both were destroyed by Dracule Mihawk)
 * 2) Johnny and Yosaku's swords (returned to them after the battle)
 * 3) Meito; Hana Arashi (Sogeking handcuffed to Zoro holding on to Yubashiri. It stopped being used when Sogeking was unlocked from Zoro)
 * 4) Meito; Yubashiri (formerly belonged to Ippon-Matsu, destroyed at Enies Lobby by Shu, now resting on Thriller Bark)
 * 5) Marine cutlass x2 (the first one was destroyed by Shu, and the second one was consequently left behind after the immediate battle at Enies Lobby)

Haki
It was stated by Luffy that Zoro possess Haki, but it is currently unclear what type it is that he has.

Because Law was referring to the ability to coat themselves in armor which is an aspect of Busoshoku Haki but it hasn't been confirmed yet.

It is possible that Zoro also has Kenbunshoku Haki. It can be seen in Chapter 650, when Luffy is asking both of him and Sanji if they also felt animal presence in the castle which turn out to be Caribou.