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Was Zoro Stronger Than Luffy Post Timeskip In One Piece?

The two-year time skip was very literally the turning point for the Strawhat Pirates. Luffy and his nakamas came back to the seas with a significant boost in their power and prowess. While some displayed their new powers, others were content to sit back and observe. Of them all, we haven’t seen Zoro taking on a battle seriously or taking on a battle at all.

So, just how powerful is he now? has he grown stronger than his captain? Well, how about we find out?

To be fair, there was never a mountainous difference in strength between Luffy and Zoro. If we take Luffy to be the strongest in his crew then Zoro comes to a close second. But it could be that the swordsman has surpassed Luffy in terms of strength.

There are a few lines of reasoning that hint that Zoro might have grown-past his captain, at least till the Raid on Onigashima began.

Zoro hasn’t Shown his True Potential (Yet)

That’s the most solid hunk of the reason we have to support the claim. In Fishman Island Arc and Punk Hazard Arc, we didn’t see much of Zoro. Then came the story of Dressrosa. It was there Zoro received his first challenge or so we thought. We had our swordsman face off against the manly Pica with the voice of Pikachu (you know who that is).

He ate the Ishi Ishi no Mi that allowed him to merge and assimilate with any kind of rock or stone. Cut to the end – he went down to a single attack from Zoro. Oh, and did we mention that Zoro wasn’t using his complete strength?

That’s the only “real” action we have seen coming from Zoro. Apart from that, we see him walking around, enjoying his drink, walking around and getting lost, and enjoying his drink with some company. That pretty much sums up his majority of screen time.

The Fight Against Kaido

Zoro vs Kaido

Let’s talk about the latest chapter in Wano Arc. In chapter 1002, we finally get to see Zoro swinging into action against Kaido. Zoro launched a powerful slash against the Yonko that chopped an entire horn of the skull dome. Kaido barely dodged his attack while thinking if he is eligible for health insurance.

Our persistent swordsman sent off another attack that again missed the Yonko and the latter couldn’t be happier or luckier for that matter. But how does this proves that Zoro was stronger than Luffy post timeskip?

Remember the first time Luffy faced off against Kaido? He was taken down in a single hit. Of course, Luffy trained in the Udon prison and came out much stronger. We never saw Zoro indulging in any special training after the timeskip. Yet he was strong enough to take on the Yonkos.

Of course, he has some help from Enma, the sword waifu. But he was able to wield Enma without much trouble and that probably says a lot about his power levels.

The Power of Enma

Enma Zoro One Piece

We have come down to our final piece of reasoning. With Enma by his side, Zoro is like a monster in Kimono. It was nothing less than amazing to see how quickly Zoro was able to tame the blade. Now, it is shown that even the Scabbards were wary of Enma as it drained too much of the user’s strength.

It could possibly be the reason as to why none of them tried to utilize the strength of Enma. For Zoro, it wasn’t much of a hassle to control its power. Well, we saw a slight glimpse of the newfound power of Zoro against the Emperors of the Sea.

However, Zoro is yet to master Enma. So, there is much room for him to grow. Plus, we still haven’t seen Zoro using his special techniques such as Asura. Our sowrdsman still has many tricks up his sleeves.

It is true that Luffy has grown much stronger now as he smashing Kaido left and right in his fourth gear. It is a given that Luffy surpassed Zoro, after the whole Udon training and mastering of new Haki. And being the protagonist of the series, it is only natural that he continues to surpass everyone. But Zoro isn’t using his all like Luffy and so it becomes difficult to determine his actual power.

So, what do you think? Has Zoro truly surpassed Luffy or is it just an overexaggerated assumption? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.

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1 thought on “Was Zoro Stronger Than Luffy Post Timeskip In One Piece?”

  1. Before the 2 years they spent training, realistically Zoro should have been stronger because he trained with skilled fighters and was as motivated as Luffy to be the strongest. However, in 2 episodes it was established that they were equal because they fought each other and neither got the upper hand. But as you said, Zoro is never placed in a position where he actually maximizes his abilities. He says that he won’t hold back, but then he seems weaker than in previous episodes. So, what is that other than holding back?

    Post time skip, I agree with you, they never showcase Zoro’s full capabilities, at least not by the end of the Doflamingo arc.

    It’s like they intentionally keep Zoro out of fights by making him sleep, get lost, or be dealing a low level enemy or other non-fighting thing. Then he deals with an enemy partially, him and Luffy get about the same progress, and then it’s defeated by somebody else or it’s a swordsman and Zoro fights him again.

    I think they’re afraid to make Zoro stronger than Luffy because Luffy’s the main character, but at the same time it doesn’t really make sense that Luffy would be stronger since Zoro is more disciplined and trains all of the time.

    Zoro’s my clear favorite, (next favorite is Usopp) so it’s kind of annoying that they don’t have him taking care of business more often. I liked the way they did Zoro in the beginning of the show. He was less silly, more focused, and more often taking care of business. It’s annoying watching him run around or sleeping doing nothing 3/4 of the arc only to barely assist with one or two things, and then finally showcase his skill once in the whole arc because he defeats the enemy swordsman.

    Realistically, Zoro is much stronger than Luffy, but because Ochiro writes the Manga, it’s ultimately whatever he decides. I think it would speak to the type of person Zoro is if he was shown to be stronger than Luffy because it would demonstrate his deep sense of honor, which is traditional for swordsmen in anime, because he chooses to submit himself to a leader who is weaker because that is what he decided he would do, that he would make Luffy become king of the pirates so that he could become the greatest swordsman along the way.

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