We all know that Roronoa Zoro is one of the most powerful One Piece characters. As one of the series' protagonists, Zoro has demonstrated fascinating skills over the years and has fought (and defeated) some of the most powerful villains. In this respect, Zoro is a character who seems to rank high among the One Piece characters. But how strong is Zoro really? And who can he defeat? In this article, we will answer this question.

The article will be divided into three main sections. The first will be an overview of Zoro's abilities without his swords; the second will detail his powers and abilities after the time skip, while the third will be a brief comparison of Zoro's powers and abilities with those of other characters, divided into several subsections. These will not be detailed analyses, just brief comments so that you can understand Zoro's position in the history of One Piece.

How strong is Zoro without his swords?

Zoro is one of the physically strongest characters in the series. He demonstrated his strength while fighting Daz Bones. He easily lifted a building despite his injuries. He is seen training on the Thousand Sunny with one-ton dumbbells. His strength is likely equal to or greater than that of a giant, as he was able to parry a direct blow from Oars with his sword.

Zoro has also been shown to be very agile and fast. An example of this is that in the Whiskey Peak arc, he faced a large number of Baroque Works agents, slipping into their ranks so quickly that they ignored him until he spoke. This is not one of the most highly regarded qualities in characters of this style, but Zoro shows great resilience on several occasions, such as when he fights Hatchan (Arlong Park) after previously taking Mihawk's blow in the Baratie.

But without a doubt, the greatest demonstration of resistance from this swordsman occurs after the Thriller Bark saga, when Kuma appears to take Luffy, and Zoro asks him to take him instead, to which Kuma, thanks to the ability With his Devil Fruit, he removes all the pain from Luffy's body and offers it to Zoro to show that he is even willing to die for his captain. Obviously, Zoro ends up destroyed, which means that Sanji, Brook and Robin are the only ones who manage to discover what happened.

Zoro is capable of using all three types of Haki. Zoro specialized in Busoshoku Haki, with which he demonstrated great proficiency. Zoro has shown that he can use the basics of this type of Haki to detect the presence of others. When Luffy, while on Fish-Man Island, asked him if he had sensed anything, he and Sanji stated that they could discern Caribou's presence in the Ryuugu Palace, an indication of this type of Haki. In the anime, Zoro also used Kenbunshoku Haki to discern Pica's position within his stone colossus.

Zoro has specialized in terms of Haki. After two years of training, Zoro is able to use this type of Haki. We already know that in Punk Hazard, during the battle against Monet in the "cookie room" of Caesar Clown's laboratory, Zoro shouts to Nami, Chopper, and Robin that they take care of the children (referring to the children that Clown had kidnapped for his experiments), since he himself would be fighting Monet, whose Devil Fruit is of the Logia type.

Zoro demonstrates a high level of Busoshoku Haki by slashing Pica, a member of the Donquixote family, and having a higher level since he had no problem slashing Pica, who fought with his entire body covered in this Haki. During his time as a ronin in Wano, Zoro demonstrated the ability to imbue weapons other than his usual swords with Busoshoku Haki, such as a tanto and a scythe. Zoro's control over this type of Haki also allowed him to overpower Enma, whose ability absorbs its user's Haki to release it in excess during attacks.

When Enma tried to absorb all of his Haki, Zoro quickly managed to recover it, which Hitetsu said if he had been a normal swordsman, he would have stood no chance and collapsed instantly. In his fight against Kaidou, he decided to use all of his remaining strength to try to defeat the Emperor with his Asura Bakkei attack: Mojano Tawamure. An attack that Kaidou detected through the swordsman's Haoshoku Haki. Zoro seemed to be using it subconsciously since he didn't know what he meant.

During his match with King and attempting to stabilize Enma's use, Zoro decided to unleash as much Haki as possible, thus provoking it to activate, eliminating the core members of the Beast Pirates and covering their katanas with it in the process. In the anime, Zoro unconsciously uses it when he becomes angry with several members of the Beast Pirates after learning that they stole Okobore Town's sake, leaving several of them unconscious. These events were anime-only, so they are not necessarily part of One Piece canon.

How strong is Zoro in Wano Country?

Regarding Zoro's power in Wano Country, this is actually the level of power he reached after the timeskip; namely, Zoro did not receive any specific upgrades in Wano Country, which is why his post-timeskip upgrades can be considered here. Therefore, we will tell you what happened to Zoro after the timeskip. After the timeskip, Zoro's strength increased considerably. This is evidenced by the fact that he was able to defeat a Pacifista with a single attack, whereas before the passage of time, he and all his companions joined forces to defeat one. He was able to slice through a pirate ship with a single blow. He was also able to defeat and seriously injure Hody Jones, a fishman with above-average physical strength for his race, while underwater and with several energy steroids consumed.

One of his greatest feats was defeating Pica in his gigantic form without a scratch, despite having to rely on Orlumbus for mobility and momentum. But the best testament to his increased strength is being able to injure Kaidou to the point where he would congratulate him himself, as the injury would leave a scar, a feat only Kozuki Oden has managed to accomplish.

After the time skip, Zoro's stamina also increased. In his fight against the New Fishman Pirates, he easily defeated thousands of fishmen, including Hyouzou, one of the crew's officers, and remained unharmed without showing any signs of exhaustion. At Dressrosa, he withstood Fujitora's gravity, remained conscious, and managed to launch a long-range attack. After defeating Pica, he showed no fatigue and had enough energy to attempt to stop the Torikago.

How powerful is Roronoa Zoro compared to other One Piece characters?

In this section, we will compare Roronoa Zoro to some prominent characters from One Piece. These will be brief comparisons whose main purpose is to give you a general idea of ​​his powers and abilities.

Zoro vs. Monkey D. Luffy

We've already made many of these comparisons, but as promised, we'll give you a brief overview of some of the most interesting ones. Of course, the duel between Luffy and Zoro would be one of the most interesting, but Zoro wouldn't stand a chance here. He was unable to defeat Luffy even though the latter was significantly weaker. Now that Luffy has unlocked the true potential of his Devil Fruit and Gear 5, there's absolutely no way Zoro can defeat him in a duel.

Zoro vs. Sanji

This is an interesting question because Sanji and Zoro are both close friends and occasional enemies, as they tend to argue a lot, but it's never serious. Still, regardless of Sanji's extraordinary powers and abilities, he would lose in a fight against Zoro. Zoro is one of the most powerful characters in the entire series—and all without any specific superhuman abilities—and Sanji simply can't match that. Zoro wouldn't have an easy task, but ultimately, he would be able to defeat Sanji if the two ever fought.

Zoro vs. the other Straw Hat Pirates

As for the other members of Luffy's crew, Zoro would have a great chance against Usopp, Tony Tony Chopper, and Nami, as he could easily defeat them. Nico Robin would be a tougher opponent, and from that perspective, a winner couldn't really be determined, especially since Nico Robin is quite powerful. As for Franky and Brook, the situation is quite similar, but we think Zoro might be able to prevail in these duels. Jinbe, on the other hand, is quite tough, and we think this match would end in a stalemate.

Zoro vs. the Seven Warlords of the Sea

Now, this is a very diverse group, and before we say anything, we must immediately rule out Jinbe, Buggy, Blackbeard, and Mihawk since they have been analyzed or will be analyzed in different sections. As for the others, Zoro has truly reached such a level that he would definitely be able to defeat Weevil, Kuma, and Moria. Donquixote Doflamingo remains a mystery, but we're leaning more towards a no here and in the case of Sir Crocodile. Boa Hancock remains a complete mystery due to her Devil Fruit powers, while we are certain that Law, with all his skills and powers, would be able to defeat Zoro in a direct confrontation.

Zoro vs. the Marines

While Zoro would certainly be able to defeat any regular Marine, the Vice Admirals and all the higher ranks could pose a problem for him. As for the current Vice Admirals, only Garp would pose a challenge for Zoro, but the swordsman might even be able to outmatch him in combat. The Admirals are a bit tougher, as is Fleet Admiral Akainu, and we suspect Zoro still hasn't reached their power level, though he's pretty close, and any of these matchups would be very close.

Zoro vs. the Yonko

Excluding Luffy, who is a current Yonko, Zoro wouldn't have a good time with any of the current or former Yonko, except for – perhaps – Buggy the Clown, who is a very useless character but seems to have a lot of luck. As for Shanks, there's no denying that Shanks is much stronger than Zoro, and he's also, at this point, a better swordsman than him. Shanks is one of the most powerful characters in the entire franchise and would easily defeat Zoro.

The same goes for former Yonko Whitebeard, who would wipe the floor with Zoro, but also Blackbeard, who despite all his flaws, is still far stronger than Luffy's swordsman. As for Big Mom and Kaidou, Zoro came close to their levels but would still lose to them because he simply couldn't match their combined powers.

Zoro vs. Mihawk

We saved the biggest and most important rivalry for last since Dracule Mihawk is the character Zoro wants to surpass and defeat. But, at this point in the plot, Dracule Mihawk is still stronger than Zoro and would defeat him in a fight (as he did in the beginning). Even though Zoro has definitely improved since their first clash, Mihawk remains the best swordsman in the One Piece world, and no matter how much Zoro improves, Mihawk is still the stronger of the two.