Roronoa Zoro/Abilities and Powers

Abilities and Powers
Within this very battle, he transcended himself...

Unarguably an extremely powerful fighter, Zoro is one of the Straw Hat Crew's top three fighters, and his strength is considered so great that people occasionally mistake him as the captain of the Straw Hat Crew after witnessing his fighting skills in battle.

Physical Strength
Even without his swords, Zoro has monstrous strength. At a very young age he was able to lift boulders over his head, and is now able to toss an entire building. He can use some sword techniques without his swords. He has also been shown to pack powerful punches, and was even strong enough to deflect a punch from Oars. He even developed the ability to pump his arms up with pure muscle.

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

After the two year time-skip, Zoro was able to block an attack from the huge King Neptune's trident with ease.

Hand to Hand Combat
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.

Speed & Agility
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. His speed was also on par with CP9's Kaku's Soru movements.

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 as well as a laser blast from Bartholomew Kuma, both of which travel at the speed of light. Zoro was able to evade these attacks even after being heavily injured from his previous fights with Ryuma and Oars.

Endurance
Zoro has an incredible tolerance of pain, 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, CP9's Kaku's many Rankyaku attacks, Oars' kick and Kuma's Ursus Shock.

Zoro also managed to absorb the tremendous amount of punishment Luffy had taken, besides the damage inflicted on him during fights with Oars and Ryuma. Kuma had stated to Zoro that, since he was already close to death (due to his fights with Ryuma and Oars), taking in Luffy's pain in addition to his would definitely kill him. Zoro, however, managed to survive and later only remarked afterwards that "nothing happened" when questioned by Sanji. It is notable to mention that while Luffy was rendered unconscious and was on the verge of death due to his own state of agony, Zoro, on the other hand, not only managed to survive but remained conscious even after accumulating all of the life-threatening damages he and Luffy had sustained.

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

Lack of Orientation
Outside of battles, Zoro also has another 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. 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 may have been 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.

Although he is most comfortable with his Santōryū (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. He is able to use some sword techniques that utilize the air itself to strike the enemy from a distance.

Since no one else has been seen using anything similar to his Santōryū style, it can be assumed that Zoro invented not only Santōryū 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 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 at his right side, 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.

It is shown during his first appearance after the time skip that he can cut through extremely large objects with incredible ease, speed and precision 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.

Asura
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.

The exact nature of this attack is currently unclear, but Kaku suggested it was an illusion created by Zoro's spirit.

While it is currently unknown as to how Zoro gained this new ability, he may just be using super-human speed making him look like he has six hands and three heads. Another possibility is that Zoro's frustation and anger manifest themselves in this form. Others believe that this power may be due to Zoro's demonic nature, and another theory involves Haki.

Zoro's Swords
During his adventures, Zoro has acquired many swords. The three he currently uses are:
 * 1) Meitou; Wadō Ichimonji (formerly belonged to Kuina)
 * 2) Sandai Kitetsu (formerly belonged to Ippon-Matsu)
 * 3) Meitou; Shuusui (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 (destroyed by Dracule Mihawk)
 * 2) Johnny's and Yosaku's swords (returned to them after battle)
 * 3) Meitou; Hana Arashi (Sogeking handcuffed to Zoro holding on to Yubashiri. Stopped using when Sogeking was unlocked from Zoro)
 * 4) Meitou; Yubashiri (formerly belonged to Ippon-Matsu, destroyed on Enies Lobby by Shuu, now resting on Thriller Bark)
 * 5) Marine cutlass (left behind after immediate battle)