Roronoa Zoro

"It was fate. You should blame your own destiny. It brought a curse upon your ship."

- Zoro after slicing up a Pirate Ship Roronoa Zoro is the swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates and first mate, also known as "Pirate Hunter Zoro" is a pirate, former bounty hunter and the deuteragonist of ''One Piece. ''He is one of the most versatile fighters in the series and one of the strongest three fighters in the Straw Hat Pirates beside Monkey D. Luffy and Sanji and considered the biggest threat by the world government in the crew after his captain.

After the Timeskip
After the two-year timeskip, Zoro gains a new scar running down his left eye, which is now implied to be blind as it is always closed. His neck appears much thicker and more muscular and his hair became a little longer, now slightly slicked back. Zoro now wears a long, open dark-green coat, closed on his waist by a red sash, in which his swords are now tucked, and his black bandanna tied around the left sleeve. He has no shirt underneath, and his green haramaki is visible under the coat. He also appears to have gotten taller, as he seems to be as tall as Robin now when standing next to her.

During the Punk Hazard Arc, he wore a white furry coat for protection against the cold weather on the frozen side of Punk Hazard, which he took from Brownbeard's Centaur Patrol Unit.

Zoro and Kuina
Zoro and Kuina making their promise to become the world's greatest swordsmen.As a child, Zoro trained at a dojo in Shimotsuki Village. Zoro stated in the Baratie, that, "Once he decided that he would become an invincible swordsman, he left his life behind".

Even as a child, Zoro was strong enough to defeat most adults, but could not defeat Kuina, the Dojo master's daughter. After their 2000th fight (and Kuina's 2000th victory) Zoro challenged her in private for one more match - with real swords. Although he had improved tremendously since their first match, he still lost and cried with frustration, telling Kuina about his dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman. Hearing this, Kuina confided in Zoro, telling him that she shared the same dream but knew she could never attain it - her father had told her that girls could never be true sword masters, and that her fighting potential would decrease as her body matured. Zoro, annoyed by her defeatist attitude in spite of repeatedly winning against him, told her that one day he would beat her because he was more skilled, not just because she was a girl. The two made a promise - that either of them had to become the world's best swordsman.

The next day, Kuina suffered a fatal fall down the stairs of her dojo (to get a sharpening stone for her sword, something she would not have needed if she and Zoro had not fought with real swords), much to Zoro's anger and disappointment. Realizing that she would never have a chance to fulfill her dream, Zoro took it upon himself, asking his sensei, Koshiro, for her sword, Wado Ichimonji, and began working to develop his signature Santoryu, holding his own two swords in each hand, and Kuina's clenched between his teeth.

The World's Best
Eventually, Zoro learned of Dracule "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk, who currently holds the title of the Greatest Swordsman in the world. He set off to sea, searching for him in order to challenge him to a duel. However, he lost his way, and could not find his way back home. In order to survive on his own, he took on bounties to pay for living expenses. He quickly built a famous reputation for himself as a "Pirate Hunter" in East Blue and even in Grand Line as Baroque Works had heard about him; he was even considered the greatest swordsman of East Blue, after which he met the two bounty hunters, Johnny and Yosaku.

Because of his reputation as a bounty hunter, Zoro was offered a position as a numbered agent within the Baroque Works.He replied with that he would accept only on the condition that he would lead the organization (which they refused). He then killed Mr. 7, the agent who offered him the position, to defend himself

Abilities and Powers
Unarguably an extremely powerful and strong young fighter with immense potential, Zoro is one of the Straw Hat Crew's top three fighters, and his strength is considered so great that, when taking his stern personality into account, people occasionally mistake him as the captain of the Straw Hat Crew after witnessing his skills in battle. While Luffy always fights the strongest enemy, Zoro usually fights the second strongest enemy.

Physical Abilities
After two years of intense training with Dracule Mihawk, Zoro has grown much more powerful than before. It is shown during his first appearance after the timeskip that he can cut through extremely large objects with incredible ease, speed, and precision (also considering without the use of his left eye). Zoro was even able to cut a Pacifista in half with just one slash from his swords, where as two years prior he barely managed to only slightly damage one.

Zoro's newly-found strength is further demonstrated when he averts the previously mentioned formula of fighting the arc's second strongest foe when he easily defeats Hody Jones, the man in the role of the strongest adversary of the arc that typically does combat with Luffy. He accomplishes this with just a single, one-sword strike, despite being at a disadvantage at fighting a fishman underwater. He has also grown strong enough to be able to effortlessly kill a Logia user of inferior fighting ability, as he demonstrated to Monet by cutting her vertically in half without Haki, proving that she would have died if he were serious

Even without his swords, Zoro has monstrous physical strength. At a very young age he was able to lift boulders over his head, and is now able to lift and toss an entire building. He can use some sword techniques without his swords, and has also been shown to pack powerful punches. He was even strong enough to deflect a punch from Oars before the timeskip, and has developed the ability to pump his arms up with pure muscle.

However, Zoro seemed unable to control his strength prior to the timeskip. This is shown when he tries to hold back while fighting the shipwrights of Galley-La using the dull edge of his swords, and yet still causes serious damage.

After the two year timeskip, it seems that Zoro has exponentially increased in physical strength as he was able to block an attack from the huge King Neptune's equally massive trident with ease.

Expert Hand to Hand: When not armed with his swords Zoro has shown to be skilled in hand to hand combat. He has been known to effectively knock out much larger creatures with unarmed strikes. Also he has been able to defeat opponents with massive punches and kicks. Zoro has also been shown to fight on par with Sanji during their arguments, even without his swords at times.

Enhanced Reflexes: Zoro's agility, speed, and overall reflexes are also extraordinary. He has shown that he is quick enough to keep up with Sanji, who is a master of his own leg-based style, as well as two Soru users simultaneously (Kaku and Jabra). He can move at nearly imperceptible speeds, jump to astonishing heights, and dodge bullets with ease.

Immense Speed: On numerous occasions, Zoro has shown being able to evade (or block) high-speed attacks and projectiles that move so fast that it would normally be impossible for an average human to even notice them, much less evade them. Thus, Zoro was able to dodge simultaneous pressure shots as well as a laser blast from Bartholomew Kuma, both of which travel at extremely high speed, even after being heavily injured from his previous fights with Oars and fatigued from his fight with Ryuma.

Speed Swimming: After the two years timeskip, Zoro can even move underwater at a speed faster than a fishman. This was mentioned by a member of the New Fishman Pirates, who exclaimed that it was inconceivable for the swordsman to be faster than a fishman (referring to the aforementioned battle with Hody Jones) underwater.

Immense Pain Resistance: To match his incredible strength, Zoro also has an amazing tolerance to pain and astonishing amounts of stamina and endurance, evidenced by numerous situations he has thus far endured. Several examples are: How can he still be standing after taking a hit from the giant? I don't even know who the real zombie is anymore!
 * Dracule Mihawk's black sword slashing his chest.
 * Arlong's saw-like nose stabbing into his chest.
 * Cutting into his own legs to try and free himself from Mr. 3's wax creation.
 * Mr. 1's two buzz saws jamming into his chest.
 * Enel's massively powerful lightning based attacks.
 * CP9's Kaku's many Rankyaku attacks.
 * Receiving a direct kick from the giant Oars.
 * Kuma's explosive Ursus Shock attack.

Finally, Zoro managed to absorb all of the damage and fatigue Luffy had accumulated, besides the damage inflicted on him during fights with Oars and Ryuma. This is especially impressive as Kuma had stated to Zoro that, since he was already close to death, taking in Luffy's pain and fatigue in addition to his would definitely kill him. Zoro, however, managed to survive and later only remarked afterward that "nothing happened" when questioned by Sanji.

It is notable to mention that while Luffy fell unconscious after he defeated Moria due to his agony and exhaustion, Zoro, on the other hand, not only managed to survive but remained conscious even after accumulating all of the pain and fatigue he and Luffy had sustained, purely by sheer force of will and pride, although even he dropped into a coma shortly thereafter.

Zoro has survived numerous wounds that would easily kill normal people, showcasing his unbelievable endurance and durability, and the majority of his battles lead to him being drenched in blood and sustaining lethal injuries. Even while in an almost death-like state, he is still able to battle against very strong enemies and even fight with improved skill, tenacity and a clear head. All this demonstrates some of the greatest feats of endurance seen in the entire One Piece series, especially for one without Devil Fruit powers, proving he arguably has the highest endurance out of all the Straw Hat Pirates, who already seem inhuman themselves.

Swordsmanship
Zoro is an extremely powerful master swordsman, being able to use one, two, and three swords in varying attack styles, going from melee-type all the way to artillery. He is even able to use some sword techniques that utilize the very air itself to strike the enemy from a distance. Brook classifies Zoro as a user of the "Power of Destruction" (破壊力 Hakairyoku?).

Although he is most comfortable with his Santoryu (literally: three sword style), his skills with a single sword are still quite exceptional, being able to hold off the Nyaban brothers, having bested several of the lower-ranked members of Arlong's crew, defeating Mr. 1, and the zombie, Ryuma. After his two years under Mihawk's tutelage, his skills have grown so powerful that he was able to defeat the fishman Hody Jones while underwater with just one slash from a single sword, and effortlessly defeated the best swordsman of Fishman Island, considering him to be too weak to even kill his boredom, despite the latter having went through a transformation due to the Energy Steroids.

Since no one else has been seen using anything similar to his Santoryu style (except for Jigoro while he possessed Zoro's shadow), it can be assumed that Zoro invented not only Santoryu but most, if not all, of his sword techniques. He is even seen perfecting a new technique in his fight with Braham.

If he is fighting weaker enemies (or innocent bystanders that he has no desire to injure in the first place), like the Galley-La employees in Water 7, he uses only the blunt sides of his swords. Although, as Nami and Chopper pointed out, due to his strength, even that could cause fatal injuries.

A long standing problem with Zoro was his inability to cut steel. The anime incorrectly shows him instinctively cutting steel during some of his encounters before learning how to control and master this ability during his battle with Daz Bones. After his two years of training Zoro is now able to easily cut through materials even stronger than steel. After the timeskip, he has shown the ability to slice through steel "like fruit", and is now strong enough to decapitate a legendary beast like a Dragon with ease.

While he is able to use both hands as well as his mouth in sword combat, Zoro seems to be predominantly left-handed. He keeps all three of his swords sheathed next to his right hip, an indication of being left-handed as it would be easier to pull a sword out from that side with a left hand. Also, when using one sword in combat, Zoro is usually seen using his left hand to wield the sword. His Ittoryu techniques have nearly always been executed with his left hand.

Kyutoryu
Zoro manages to unlock a new swordstyle known as "Kyutoryu", which gives him the appearance of having six arms and three heads, like the actually deity "Asura", when activating the technique "Kiki Kyutoryu: Asura". He also becomes surrounded by a dark aura while in this state and the first time he achieved it, the very ground shook and numerous holes appeared in it.

This ability also allows Zoro to utilize nine swords in combat and effectively triples his potential as a swordsman, and it is usually used as a very powerful finishing move. But what this ability is, how Zoro attained it, and the exact nature of this style is currently unknown, but Kaku suggested that it was an illusion created by Zoro's spirit.

Haki
It was stated by Luffy that Zoro possesses Haki, when discussing it in the context of members of his crew who could fight Caesar Clown, a Logia user.Law was referring to the ability to coat themselves in armor it confirms Zoro as a Busoshoku Haki user. However, Zoro did not actively display any of these abilities until the Punk Hazard Arc when he cut Monet on the cheek using Busoshoku Haki.

Although it is unknown if he can use it, Zoro does know about Haoshoku Haki, something he (along with the rest of the crew) had not shown any knowledge of during the first half of the series. But he, along with Sanji, has commented on Luffy's ability to passively knock out half of Hody's men, stating that if Luffy could not at least do that much then he would have had to have stepped down from being captain. It was also hinted at that both he and Sanji possess Kenbunshoku Haki when asked by Luffy if the pair could sense a "wild animal" in the Ryugu Palace, which they both answered that they could.

Busoshoku Haki
While fighting Monet, a Logia user, on Punk Hazard, Zoro was able to slash her on the cheek, displaying the use of Busoshoku Haki, after saving Tashigi.Zoro particularly specializes in Busoshoku Haki.

Later on Zoro engulfs his hands and his sword entirely in Haki while fighting Pica and successfully cuts the giant in half. He then proves his Haki's superiority by cutting Pica when the latter engulfed his entire body in Busoshoku Haki.

Note: on the anime episode 159 zoro is possibly revealed to be an athiest.