Zoro Handicaps: What's next?

pwnobi

As we all know, Zoro has had a lot of fights throughout the series, well over half of which he had a handicap.

Examples include:

! Zoro Vs. Cabaji
• Stab wound inflicted by Buggy
! Zoro Vs. Sham / Buchi
• Usopp interference / One Sword
! Zoro Vs. Hachi
• Slash inflicted by Mihawk
! Zoro Vs. Tashigi
• Looks like Kuina
! Zoro Vs. Kaku / Jayubura
• Usopp attached to wrist
! Zoro Vs. Ryuma
• Only having two swords
! Zoro Vs. Kuma
• Damage from Oars
! Zoro Vs. Pascifista
• Damage from Kuma
Some of these being more serious than others; It's just fun to see all the positions Oda throws Zoro in as they relate to his battles. This thread was made to make up your own wacky Zoro scenarios!

Example:
Zoro having to fight someone in a maze or other terrain involving navigation.

Johnny B. Decent

No, he got Ryuuma' sword when he went up against Kuma, pwn.

NANLIT

The Sham/Buchi one was more due to him fighting with 1 sword for most of that fight because they took them until Nami gave them back.

7 leaf clover

I really hate myself some times… I have one but it would probably incite a frenzy that I would have to kill tomorrow.

pwnobi

@S.C.:

No, he got Ryuuma' sword when he went up against Kuma, pwn.

Thanks, my error.

@NANLIT:

The Sham/Buchi one was more due to him fighting with 1 sword for most of that fight because they took them until Nami gave them back.

Good point, I'll add that!

@7:

I really hate myself some times… I have one but it would probably incite a frenzy that I would have to kill tomorrow.

I'm intrigued lol

7 leaf clover

Perona… I can see them using this as a reason for her tagging along with him. She will be his handy cap on the way back to the ship.

Zik

Zoro's next fight after the crew reunites will involve him winning the fight with a tree branch as his main weapon.

It'll be the bloodiest battle to date.

7 leaf clover

@Zik:

Zoro's next fight after the crew reunites will involve him winning the fight with a tree branch as his main weapon.

It'll be the bloodiest battle to date.

So he will be fighting Akainu? Man its not looking good for Zoro. I hope that branch is magma proof.

Rubber Fist Luffy

I think he's going to need to be in full health to beat shiryu.

zachri

Zoro vs Mihawk
Handicap: Perona stole his swords and now he has to use Pandaman who actually works like Excalibur.
Hmm…

Airflow

He could get raped before his next fight.

Kishido

Zoro is not the only one who had handycaps in past fights^^

Mugiwara_no_Ice

4 letters, R A P E

Renegadesoul

Zoro will always have the ~~advantage~~ handicap of BAD SENSE OF DIRECTION.

MagiciteKefka

I like that maze idea. His disorientation needs to be used in his battles me thinks.

Chimcham

Room Shambles Sanjis Head switches with Zoros.

vorlianis

handicap? How bout tashigi vs zoro if that fight ever reappears zoro wont like it.

Kishido

Maybe he will lose all his teeth and won't be able to use his 3rd sword .

Bucephalus

Yeah, I sure hope Zoro doesn't get raped.

Kishido

@Bucephalus:

Yeah, I sure hope Zoro doesn't get raped.

We all know he is weaker without his 3rd sword^^

Just joking

silvers

Zoro will lose his bandana. That's his handicap.

Herackles

a future opponent would be a rapist so Zoro would have to cover his ass with two hands thus he'd only be able to use the one mouth sword for the fight

GJardim

Poor Zoro. He had enough handicaps and you guys are thinking about more? One day, without handicaps, he'll hunt everyone here. And probably get lost in the way… :ninja:

chaosceptor

Zoro is really such a wonderful character Oda took him outta Buggy's crew and threw him into being Luffy's first nakama

In this manga Zoro's true strength and maximum potential has always been a mystery if one stops to think about it
1- yea the guys badly damaged almost everytime hes pitted against an opponent considered a worthy adversary for the arc you could say

2-Being a 3 sword kinda man i recall twice fighting while he does not have all three of his swords: against Ryuma with only two swords, but also against Hachi in AP
Johnny & Yosaku's swords were pretty big pieces of crap if u ask me though Zoro got the job done

My theory on this Zoro is that Oda is deliberately keeping him horribly damaged in many arcs for the specific purpose of him staying at #2 in the crew (obv below the captain), not only in terms of position but also in terms of fighting potential. We had a glimpse of Luffy vs Zoro in a quick few punches being thrown at Whiskey Peak, which showed us that they both seem to be on par with one another

There during the fight where Zoro decided to punch a woman and take out all the bounty hunters, Igaram or whats his face commented on that Zoro looks like the real one with the 30mil on his head instead of Luffy.
Theres was also an anime filler where they kinda duked it out, not canon for sure but still a good viewpoint on the 1st mate being pretty equal in potential to the captain.

If Luffy does not remain the top dog of the entire crew, and the number 2 is shown to be stronger or equal to number 1, that throws the story off balance and makes ppl go WTF
Another view could be that Oda has a purpose for cuttin up Zoro all the time due his swordsman status. The samaurai cliche Oda keeps retelling for the part of Zoro looks like probable cause. Establishing such a well inclined character as a guy who remains as second best doesnt seem all that appropriate for someone of Zoro's potential but for good storytelling it must be done

In conclusion, I believe that Luffy and Zoro are men who fighting wise are both equally on par with each other but Zoro must remain at a handicapped position in order to make the readers feel for the guy and establish him as second in command though he can match 1st

flandrian15

in what dimension does zoro come from buggy's crew? I seem to remember quite differently. Like him being a pirate hunter that was arrested by axe hand morgan and his son helmeppo and Luffy got him out of this mess but correct me if I am wrong

Herackles

the original plan. It woulda been too tough to pull it off creatively

pwnobi

@flandrian15:

in what dimension does zoro come from buggy's crew? I seem to remember quite differently. Like him being a pirate hunter that was arrested by axe hand morgan and his son helmeppo and Luffy got him out of this mess but correct me if I am wrong

Oda originally planned for Zoro to be in Buggy's crew.

Warfare

yep, Zoro was suppose to be Buggy's bodyguard or something.

Edit: ops, out of time.

Herackles

theres no way to make a good storyline out of that

sephbot

@flandrian15:

in what dimension does zoro come from buggy's crew? I seem to remember quite differently. Like him being a pirate hunter that was arrested by axe hand morgan and his son helmeppo and Luffy got him out of this mess but correct me if I am wrong

Oda mentioned it briefly way back in the addendums to chapters 23 and 24
http://www.onemanga.com/One_Piece/23/20/
http://www.onemanga.com/One_Piece/24/20/

Kaze

@Rubber:

I think he's going to need to be in full health to beat shiryu.

Well you don't say.

ponyjc

maybe he'll be injured from Mihawk's fight when he fights shiryu hmmm

Keo2309

I think he was still meant to be in Luffy's crew eventually. At least, that's what I interpreted from the sentence. He was just going to start off in Buggy's first. Which wouldn't be as cool as it is now, but it probably wouldn't be too bad.

pyromonki

@chaosceptor:

Zoro is really such a wonderful character Oda took him outta Buggy's crew and threw him into being Luffy's first nakama

:sick:

That word…

Since Mihawk was kind of dwarfed during the war, it's confusing to where Mihawk even stands in the world in terms of strength.

So that makes it even harder to dictate just how far Zoro has to go before he becomes "near this level."

Mihawk didn't want to spar with Shanks when he lost his arm, since he wouldn't be a formidable opponent.

HOWEVER, Shanks is a Yonkou, and a dangerously powerful one at that. Yet Mihawk said, "I want to see how far I am away from that man." While referring to Whitebeard.

Since Shanks had no fear of challenging Whitebeard, it's safe to say that he's somewhere near Whitebeard's (in his sick state) strength.

Yet Mihawk said Whitebeard is stronger than him…. so

Whitebeard >= Mihawk> Shanks with one arm (Mihawk calls him not spar worthy)?

:wassat:

Anyone care to clear this up?

Redspear

I don't think Mihalk wants to spare shanks because he's a friend and he wouldn't feel right winning with such an advantage.

Keo2309

I also don't think Shanks believes himself to be near WB's level, nor that he actually is. I think it's kind of one of those "I'll beat some sense into you," moments. Even if he knows he's going to lose, fighting Newgate would've in a way showed his conviction and whatnot.

Redspear

to be honest we have no idea how fucking scary Shanks is. He and his crew stopped a war that even WB couldn't just by fuckin being there. He is definitely more powerful.

juju14

If shanks is powerful then Mihawk is too. Zoro is being handicapped because he trains way more then luffy. While Luffy is eating Zoro trains. Zoro days consist of sleeping and training. LOL at people who think Luffy is superior.

Insider2000

Wow, Zoro getting raped was mentioned and it wasn't by me. I feel classy.

Zoro will have his final battle on a set of stairs. Zoro will win, but fall down the stairs after victory. He'll survive of course.

Making BS theories is fun!

@juju14:

LOL at people who think Luffy is superior.

I'd respond to this, but after a previous comment you've made that seriously bothered me, I've lost all hope.

Sorry.

Badass SnoCone

Juju. Do you really believe that Zoro is stronger than the main character of One Piece? This isn't Naruto, y'know.

Could Zoro have defeated all the people that Luffy has? No.

Mr. Habaneroo

@juju14:

If shanks is powerful then Mihawk is too. Zoro is being handicapped because he trains way more then luffy. While Luffy is eating Zoro trains. Zoro days consist of sleeping and training. LOL at people who think Luffy is superior.

I don't see how Zoro training makes him handicapped. In retrospect shouldn't him make him stronger? Him getting wounds from battles or losing his swords aren't handicaps from his training.

Big_Bad_Lith

forced to use only one sword

because his hands are cut off

Neomaster121

@Badass:

Juju. Do you really believe that Zoro is stronger than the main character of One Piece? This isn't Naruto, y'know.

Could Zoro have defeated all the people that Luffy has? No.

you could say the same the other way mr 1 vs luffy would have been one easy battle for mr 1 but if Zoro used the breath on croc who knows what may have happened

any whoo

i predict there will be a fight where if Zoro moves he will die so he will have to create some high speed invisible techniques

Kishido

Aren't we way off topic?

Talking about handicaps. Sanji had in most of his fights handicaps as well. Dunno why Oda is doing it for both of them.

Maybe because the foes both of them were fighting were weaker than the foe Luffy is fighting. Maybe he wants to show that Zoro and a bit less Sanji are near Luffy in terms of strenght

Sanji even in his first appearance was handicaped… vs Gin he was heavily injured cuz of Pearl

But let us look at the arcs and compare all three of them

Arlong Park

Sanji - Handicaped cuz of Luffy and had to swim under water and give a free owning for Kurobi

Zoro - Major handicap from th MIhawk fight

Luffy - Completely fine

Ennies Lobby

Zoro - Handicaped by Usopp at the beginning

Sanji - Was owned by Kalifa and handicaped against Jabura

Luffy - More or less completely fine

Thriller Bark

Sanji - Against Absalom he had to save Nami all the time: Against Kuma heavily damged by Oars before

Zoro - Against Ryuuma just 2 swords. Against Kuma heavily damaged by Oars before

Luffy - Completely fine^^

I hope you see what I mean.

Jazzy Jinx

And if you want to go all out then Oda also does something for Luffy each arc. In each arc, Luffy is not so much handicapped but hindered in some way that forces him to not participate for a while. Examples:

Buggy Arc: Locked in a Cage
Kuro Arc: Hypnotized to Sleep
Arlong Arc: Thrown Underwater
Little Garden Arc: Stuck Under Mountain
Alabasta Arc: Taken Out by Crocodile
Jaya Arc: Not Allowed to Fight
Skypeia Arc: Golden Ball Attached to Arm
Enies Lobby: Engaging Rob Lucci
Thriller Bark Arc: Chasing a Fake Moria

I probably missed a few but the one that particularly interested me was the one where he fought against Rob Lucci. It was stated in the arc itself (more than once I might add) that had Luffy not fought against Lucci, he would have killed the rest of his crewmates and is further strengthened by Nami when she says, "Luffy always knows exactly who to fight, huh?"

I find this interesting because that's what truly puts it over for me that Luffy is just a tad higher than all the others and rightfully so because he's the captain. I say that Rob Lucci was the "hinderance" of that arc because he was fighting against him for most of it as the others began their own fights, lost or what have you, re-engaged, and finished them, then secured a boat all in the time it took Luffy to battle it out with Lucci. That guy was a pretty powerful mofo.

Kishido

@Uncle:

And if you want to go all out then Oda also does something for Luffy each arc. In each arc, Luffy is not so much handicapped but hindered in some way that forces him to not participate for a while. Examples:

Buggy Arc: Locked in a Cage

Kuro Arc: Hypnotized to Sleep

Arlong Arc: Thrown Underwater

Little Garden Arc: Stuck Under Mountain

Alabasta Arc: Taken Out by Crocodile

Jaya Arc: Not Allowed to Fight

Skypeia Arc: Golden Ball Attached to Arm

Enies Lobby: Engaging Rob Lucci

Thriller Bark Arc: Chasing a Fake Moria

I probably missed a few but the one that particularly interested me was the one where he fought against Rob Lucci. It was stated in the arc itself (more than once I might add) that had Luffy not fought against Lucci, he would have killed the rest of his crewmates and is further strengthened by Nami when she says, "Luffy always knows exactly who to fight, huh?"

I find this interesting because that's what truly puts it over for me that Luffy is just a tad higher than all the others and rightfully so because he's the captain. I say that Rob Lucci was the "hinderance" of that arc because he was fighting against him for most of it as the others began their own fights, lost or what have you, re-engaged, and finished them, then secured a boat all in the time it took Luffy to battle it out with Lucci. That guy was a pretty powerful mofo.

Well true that as well. But for most of the things Luffy wasn't injured or handicapped and still had to fight.

Only Croc and Ener (even if he beat him with the golden ball xD) in my eyes would be a heavily handicap in one of the major fights.

But the truth is… All of the top 3 had a lot of handicaps or were taken out/were somewhere else in the fights.

I really want to see them going full out from the very beginning and without any kind of handicap.

Jazzy Jinx

Every enemy of Luffy's always ends up getting some kind of sharp weapon to fight him with as well so, natural weakness if you want to throw that out there. Not that that is much of a handicap, it's just plain fighting. At least we know Luffy is used to fighting bladed warriors by now.

Kishido

@Uncle:

Every enemy of Luffy's always ends up getting some kind of sharp weapon to fight him with as well so, natural weakness if you want to throw that out there. Not that that is much of a handicap, it's just plain fighting. At least we know Luffy is used to fighting bladed warriors by now.

Well they are doing the same as Luffy… Discovering the weaknesses and use it against him

flandrian15

zoro's next handicap will be him being severely injured because he was laughing at a picture of Okama Sanji. In this instant we see Sanji's real strength!

Badass SnoCone

@Neomaster121:

you could say the same the other way mr 1 vs luffy would have been one easy battle for mr 1 but if Zoro used the breath on croc who knows what may have happened

Come on, you can't seriously think that Luffy wouldn't have found a way to defeat Mr. 1 just like he found ways to defeat Crocodile, Eneru, and Rob Lucci- all of which were stronger than Mr. 1.