Roronoa Zoro is a swordsman with big ambitions. He joined Luffy in Shells Town, and since then he has remained an ever-present figure. From a young age, Zoro dreamed of becoming the greatest swordsman in the world. It’s obvious that in order to accomplish such a massive goal, Zoro would have to work extremely hard.
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During his journey with the Straw Hats, Zoro has fought some of the powerfulOne Piececharacters and successfully defeated most of them. But there have been a few instances where he has been bested by them. Zoro’s defeats have served as a humbling experience for him and reminded him that there is still a long way to go before he becomes the best swordsman inOne Piece.
8Vs. Kaido
Many fans firmly believedthat the Wano Country arcwould be Zoro’s arc in the sense that he would be at the crux of things and would take down Kaido. However, it was fairly obvious that Zoro would never be able to defeat someone like Kaido in a million years.
Nevertheless, Zoro went to the rooftop with the other Supernovas to face Kaido and Big Mom. The two Emperors gave the young generation a chance to show off their powers, but when things got serious, most of them were overwhelmed by the two behemoths. Zoro used his strongest attack to put a small scar on Kaido, and the latter was barely affected by it. In fact, he demonstrated his strength by taking out Zoro with a Raimei Hakkei.
7Vs. Buggy
Zoro fought Buggy while they were in Orange Town. The swordsman chopped Buggy effortlessly into multiple parts. He believed that he had secured victory over Buggy, but he was unaware of the latter’s Devil Fruit powers.
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Zoro’s overconfidence came to bite him as he left himself open for an attack. Buggy used this opportunity to stab Zoro, leaving him heavily wounded. If the fight had continued, Buggy could have easily killed him.
6Vs. Arlong
The Arlong Park arc is filled with many emotional moments. The Straw Hats traveled to Nami’s hometown after learning about her sudden departure. When they realized that Arlong had made Nami’s life miserable, they immediately went to Arlong Park to face the villain.
As always, Luffy charged in, but this time he accidentally trapped himself. So someone had to step in and keep Arlong busy until Luffy freed himself. The responsibility fell on Zoro’s shoulders, who put up a decent fight against the Fish-Man. However, Zoro could not continue fighting for long due to his injuries and was defeated by Arlong.
5Vs. Mihawk
Zoro’s dream of becomingthe best swordsman in the worldis by no means easy. to stand at the top, Zoro needs to defeat the person who holds the title, and currently, it belongs to Dracule Mihawk. Zoro faced Mohawk in the Baratie arc, and he got a taste of what it truly meant to be the best.
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Zoro tried every trick in the book against Mihawk, but the latter stopped everything with a tiny blade. However, Mihawk was impressed by Zoro’s spirit, so he spared him after giving him a massive wound across his chest.
4Vs. Bartholomew Kuma
The Straw Hats were in dire straits during the Thriller Bark arc when Gecko Moria used his Devil Fruit power to take control of the body of Oats Jr. The Straw Hats had to fight as a unit to take down the ancient giant and Moria. After successfully beating them, most of the crew members were exhausted.
It was around thistime that Bartholomew Kuma appeared. Zoro was one of the two Straw Hats who still had consciousness, so he tried to cut Kuma, but it did not work. With no other option left, Zoro offered Kuma his own life for Luffy’s sake.
3Vs. Enel
The Skypiea arc was absolutely stunning, and it contained many revelations that were later tied in with the rest of the story. Like everyOne Piecearc, it had a main villain, and in this case,it was Enel, the megalomaniac. Enel wiped the floor with almost all the characters, including the Straw Hat Pirates.
With things looking glum, Zoro decided to challenge him but ended up being humiliated by the god of Skypiea. However, Zoro did not let the loss get to his head, and in fact, he took down Ohm later in the arc.
2Vs. Kizaru
After Luffy punched a Celestial Dragon, the Marinesimmediately dispatched Admiral Kizaruto Sabaody Archipelago. None of the Straw Hats were ready to fight an Admiral at that point, and Zoro was no exception. To make matters worse, Kizaru was being accompanied by the Pacifista and Sentomarou.
The Straw Hats could do absolutely nothing against Kizaru. The swordsman was completely defenseless and would have been killed if Kuma and Rayleigh had not saved him.
1Vs. Yeti Cool Brothers
The Straw Hats were aware of the fact that their opponents in the New World were going to be stronger than anything they had previously faced and that they would need to be at their best. The Punk Hazard arc was the first real test of their strength as they faced Caesar, Vergo, and the G-5, among many others.
Zoro was impressive throughout the arc, but he did lose his consciousness to a stealth attack by the Yeti Cool Brothers. They took advantage of the small chink in Zoro’s armor and took him out. Although it was not a humiliating defeat, it did show that even a momentary lapse in concentration could be fatal.
