After nearly three decades of adventures, pirates, and plenty of odd characters and plots, One Piece has finally reached its last saga. Created and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, the series’ first volume dates back to 1997, when the beloved characters Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp were all introduced as the Straw Hats. As of 2023, the famous pirate crew is gracing fans on screen through its 1999 anime adaptation by Toei Animation, and soon, via its live-action counterpart created by Netflix.
As One Piece keeps exploring its main characters, some of the information kept in the dark is slowly unveiled by its creator — after 26 years of publishing. Since its release, Oda has been keeping up with fans’ requests, questions, and comments via the SBS section at the end of the volumes, where the author takes time to answer some of the fans’ biggest questions about the mysteries of One Piece. Most recently, the author explored the series’ beloved swordsman’s past, admitting that he did not wish to cover Zoro’s family tree in the manga. Despite fans’ disappointment, Oda has at least unveiled some details, thus ending the mystery. Here is what Oda had to say about Zoro’s parents.
Is Ryuma really Zoro’s descent?
Zoro’s mysterious past and unknown ancestry have been the target of speculation since the introduction of the legendary samurai Shimotsuki Ryuma. Hailing from the world-famous Shimotsuki Family of samurai from the Country of Wano, Ryuma was introduced in Thriller Bark as the wielder of the “Shusui” sword, which would then belong to Zoro until Wano. Ryuma ‘The Sword God’ was a master of swordsmanship from ancient times, and his similarities to Zoro were immediately noted by fans, who quickly found the similarities behind their fighting styles and physical appearances — even if Ryuma was ultimately, a zombie.
Not long after, in the Wano arc, another member of the legendary samurai family Shimotsuki is introduced. Yamato, while placed in a cave by his father as a punishment, meets three samurai from Wano — one of them being Shimotsuki Ushimaru. From his very first appearance, the similarities to Ryuma are downright obvious. Much like his ancient descendant, Ushimaru sports his hair in a “chonmage” bun, old attire, and curiously, he also had bandages on his head and chest. The similarities between these two family members, despite being from completely different eras, are crystal clear. As fans would quickly note, both Ryuma and Ushimaru are also physically similar to Zoro, as the latter has even been described as an older Zoro with blue hair.
Until the most recent SBS present in the 1077 chapter, nothing regarding Zoro’s family tree was ever confirmed. Despite the obviously similar physical traits between Zoro, Ryuma, and Ushimaru, all that was known was the connection between the former two samurai. Upon being translated by fans, in the SBS question portion, Oda says that there is no “need to elaborate” on Zoro’s bloodline any further in the manga, announcing all his known ancestry, and finally confirming that Zoro is indeed a descendant from the Shimotsuki family.
According to Oda, Zoro’s ancestry dates back to when Shimotsuki Kozaburo, the swordsmith who created Enma, sailed from Wano. The blacksmith, alongside 25 others, settled in a village that they called “Shimotsuki Village.” There, a swordsman called Roronoa Pinzoro married Shimotsuki Furiko, Ushimaru’s sister. It is then revealed that Zoro’s samurai ancestry derives from his grandmother’s side of the family.
Furiko and Pinzoro gave birth to Roronoa Arashi, who married a criminal’s daughter named Tera. They would later have Zoro, but eventually, Arashi would die battling pirates, and Tera would perish from an unknown illness. At the end of the SBS, Oda stresses that Ushimaru was Zoro’s great-uncle, thus making him a direct descendant of the legendary samurai Ryuma and the youngest known member of the Shimotsuki family.
Albeit confusing, it is particularly interesting how Zoro himself does not know about his ancestry, despite growing up in the Shimotsuki village. This complex ancestry shows that in this game of fate, Zoro has met and fought against his own ancestor, Shimotsuki Ryuma, back in Thriller Bark. Despite not having ever met his great-uncle or parents, they all pose as much of a necessary presence in history, as Zoro certainly will.
One Piece can be read through Viz on a weekly basis and streamed on Crunchyroll.