Roronoa Zoro is undoubtedly one of the most well-known One Piece characters. Like Luffy, Zoro wants to be the best in his class, that is, he wants to become the best swordsman in the world, surpassing his idol and rival, Dracule Mihawk, who is considered the best swordsman in the world. People have speculated about Zoro's powers for years, especially since he has never eaten a Devil Fruit, and there is a common theory that he might be so good with his swords because he is a descendant of the legendary swordsman Ryūma Shimotsuki of Wano Country. In this article, we will tell you whether this is true or not.

As far as we know, Zoro is not related to Ryūma Shimotsuki. The two share several traits—they look very similar, they're both excellent swordsmen, and Zoro grew up in Shimotsuki Village—but Zoro has a completely different last name and isn't from Wano Country, as far as we know. Therefore, this is just an unconfirmed fan theory.

The rest of this article will focus on Zoro and his relationship with Ryūma Shimotsuki of Wano Country in One Piece. We'll tell you if Zoro is indeed related to Ryūma Shimotsuki, that is, if he is his descendant, as some fans speculate. This article may contain a smaller number of spoilers, so be careful while reading.

What do we know about Zoro's family?

Born in East Blue, Zoro spent his childhood in the village of Shimotsuki, where he studied at the local dojo. He specialized in nitōryū and was already strong enough to defeat adults. However, he could never defeat Kuina, the master's daughter. He fought her 2,001 times but never managed to gain the upper hand. One day, he challenged her one last time, this time with real weapons, but was defeated again, as real swords were heavier than wooden ones. Zoro cried in frustration at not being able to become the best swordsman in the world.

Kuina also shared the same dream, but as a woman, she knew that as she grew up, she would never have the physical strength to achieve it. Zoro was even more mortified, because if he ever won against Kuina, he would never know if it was truly his own strength. They promised that one of them would become the greatest swordsman in the world.

The next day, Kuina fell to her death down the stairs. Zoro vowed to keep his promise and asked his master for Kuina's sword, Wado Ichimonji, and developed a new fighting style he called Santoryu, which involves holding a katana in each hand and a third in the mouth (in this case, Kuina's). Zoro left the dojo and went in search of Mihawk.

But due to his poor sense of direction, he got lost along the way and began working as a bounty hunter to keep himself fed, watered, and his swords sharpened. He became very famous and was nicknamed "Zoro the Pirate Hunter" (Kaizoku-Gari). Around this time, he received an offer from Baroque Works to come and work for them. He refused this last option, refusing to work for an organization unless he was appointed its leader, and killed the emissary.

Zoro, as you can see, has no direct connection to the Shimotsuki family. He trained with Kuina, who was a member of the Shimotsuki family, but the two had such a close relationship that it would seem odd to retroactively alter it like this, as it was already firmly established. Still, we don't know anything about Zoro's parents, so some options are still open, but for now, Zoro's family has no connection to the Shimotsuki family.

What do we know about Ryūma' Shimotsuki's family?

Ryūma was born in the Ringo region of Wano Country to the Shimotsuki family. In real life, Ryūma was a samurai from Wano Country in the New World who lived approximately four hundred years ago, famous for slaying a dragon in the Flower Capital and stopping the island's constant foreign invasions. His exploits against the beast were recounted in Oda's previous work, Monsters, in which he is the main protagonist. The events of this story took place long ago, in an unspecified location, in an unspecified part of history.

The Shimotsuki family was one of the most famous and prominent families in Wano Country, which is why it's important for us to tell you as much as possible about them. First, the known members of the family include an anonymous daimyo of the Shimotsuki family, Shimotsuki Ryuma, Shimotsuki Ushimaru, Shimotsuki Yasuie, Toko, Koushirou, Kuina, and Shimotsuki Kozaburo. As you can see, Zoro is not on this list. Now let's discuss some of the main points of the family's history.

Shimotsuki Kozaburo forged Enma and Wado Ichimonji, illegally leaving Wano Country 55 years ago. His journey ends in East Blue, where he eventually settles and founds Shimotsuki Village. During the Kozuki era, the Shimotsuki family controlled, as far as is known, the government of two regions of Wano Country, Ringo and Hakumai, led by Shimotsuki Ushimaru and Shimotsuki Yasuie respectively.

Over twenty years ago, Kurozumi Orochi became shogun and executed the daimyo of Kuri, Kozuki Oden. Afterward, he offered the remaining daimyos the opportunity to subjugate him, including Ushimaru and Yasuie, who rejected the offer and rebelled against him, resulting in Ushimaru's death and the family's loss of power.

Yasuie, for his part, moved to the city of Ebisu and adopted the identity of "Tonoyasu," having a daughter named Toko and acting as a taikomochi for the next twenty years. Due to the poverty of the area, Yasuie was forced to send his daughter to the capital's red-light district for some money, before working as a kamuro. Yasuie met a swordsman named Zoro, whom he befriended and invited into his home in Ebisu City.

After that, he met Shinobu and Kanjuro again after twenty years, who did not recognize him due to the passage of time. On the other hand, Toko attended the Orochi banquet in commemoration of the Fire Festival, where she angered the shogun, who attempted to assassinate her. However, she eventually managed to escape to the Ringo region with the help of Kozuki Hiyori. There, she discovered that her father had been captured and was going to be executed in the Flower Capital, so Toko hurried away. The next day, Yasuie was crucified, awaiting his execution later that day.

After speaking to the entire capital and the shogun himself, he was riddled with bullets by both him and several of his subordinates, falling lifeless to the ground. Toko witnessed this scene, bursting into tears and desperately trying to revive him. Fleeing the chaos of the capital, Ella Toko cried herself to sleep and hid under Brook's robes. Toko eventually fell asleep from crying, carried by Usopp, Robin, and Brook, who boarded a boat to leave the capital. After her father's funeral, Toko went with Robin to visit his grave.

As you can see, there is absolutely no mention of Zoro in the history of the Shimotsuki family and now we will give you our answer to the main question of this article.

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Are Zoro and Ryūma Shimotsuki related?

Most theories based on Zoro being a descendant of Ryūma Shimotsuki are, in fact, Zoro fanboys and fangirls who want to give Zoro a deeper storyline and meaning beyond the fact that he is a powerful and talented character with a clear purpose. Oda himself hasn't really hinted at anything similar, and while it's not impossible for it to happen, now that the Wano Country Arc is over, it doesn't seem likely that Oda will revisit the entire story just to make him a dead character. Zoro's descendant.

People note that they looked a lot alike when they were the same age, which is somewhat true, that they have similar skills, and that Zoro grew up in Shimotsuki Village, which some fans consider an Oda hint. Now, other than that, there's nothing to support a relationship between Zoro and Ryūma Shimotsuki, including the fact that Zoro isn't from Wano Country and there's no indication that he might be from there. Also, he had a very close relationship with Kuina, who was a descendant of the Shimotsuki family, so changing that relationship would be a bit too difficult right now, if you ask us.

Officially, Zoro and Ryūma Shimotsuki are not related. There are some theories that could be more or less true, so we can't completely rule anything out, but officially, there is no connection between them, and from what we know of the story so far, it's unlikely that Oda will change this fact anytime soon.