Here’s what to expect when it comes to Zoro’s sword upgrades during One Piece’s final saga.

The phenomenal swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates, Zoro is an incredibly powerful character and one that fans hold very dear to their hearts. Zoro has been extremely important to Luffy’s journey, being the very first person that he recruits on his crew. Oda has illustrated some of the most incredible sword battles in One Piece and, at the same time, showcased many powerful fighters as well.

Zoro himself is a three-sword style swordsman, and fans have seen him wield some of the most amazing blades over the years. Zoro constantly builds up his strength with each passing arc, however, at the same time, sometimes, sword upgrades are needed for him to push himself to the next level. Zoro recently received Enma in Wano and there might be more swords coming his way in One Piece.

Zoro’s Sword Upgrades Over The Years

When Zoro started his journey as a swordsman after leaving from the dojo in the East Blue, he only had one named blade with him. This sword was an O Wazamono sword, called Wado Ichimonji. This is an incredible blade that Zoro holds very close to his heart. This sword belonged to Kuina once, his childhood best friend who made a promise with. Unfortunately, Kuina ended up dying and Zoro inherited her will, and, with that, aimed to become the greatest swordsman in the world to fulfill a promise to her. Zoro’s other two blades were unnamed regular swords.

In his fight against Mihawk in Baratie, Zoro ended up losing two of his unnamed swords, as was expected. Given that Zoro himself is a three-sword style swordsman, it was only a matter of time before Zoro got his hands on two more blades and it didn’t take him long to do that and pick some of the most incredible ones. As soon as the Straw Hat Pirates got to the final island in the east blue, Loguetown, Zoro decided to go buy some swords for himself and, his curious swordsman eye noticed an incredible blade with a very cursed history.

This sword was none other than the Sandai Kitetsu. Sandai Kitetsu belongs to the Kitetsu line of swords and it is a known fact that this sword cuts very deep. It is cursed because it is incredibly difficult for anyone to tame and, according to Ipponmatsu, it brings a terrible fate to whoever wields it, leading them to die in various ways. Zoro tested his luck against this sword the moment he got it and, thankfully, his luck won out. As a result, Zoro ended up buying the sword. Because he showcased an incredible display of bravery, Ipponmatsu ended up giving him another famed blade called Yubashiri. When compared to Sandai Kitetsu, Yubashiri was known to be a very light and sharp blade. This sword wasn’t disobedient and was rather easy to wield for Zoro.

Zoro carried these swords for quite a long time. Over time, his control over them increased and he brought the best out of them. However, in the Enies Lobby arc, Zoro lost one of these incredible swords to Shu, who used his rust powers to corrode Yubashiri. With the death of Yubashiri, Zoro was forced to get a new sword and he found it in the following arc in Thriller Bark. There, Zoro traded blows with the corpse of the samurai Ryuma, who wielded another O Wazamono grade sword, Shusui. Known to be a black blade with incredible durability, Shisui became Zoro’s go-to sword as soon as he received it and he carried this blade all the way up to Wano.

Zoro’s Current Swords

Zoro went into the timeskip with Wado Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, and Shusui, and came out of it with those three swords intact. In fact, he ended up carrying these swords all the way to Wano, which is where he changed his blades once again. It must be noted that Zoro will never in his entire life change Wado Ichimonji. This sword is the last memento he has of Kuina and this blade will be with him until he becomes the world’s greatest swordsman, and, perhaps, beyond that as well. As such, this blade is never changing.

However, every other blade that Zoro has can change. This was proven to the fans in Wano once again, where he ended up returning Shusui, which was the national treasure of the country, to the people and, in return, he was given another powerful sword, Enma. As fans know, Enma belonged to none other than Oden and was incredibly difficult to tame as well. This sword held the power of the underworld and was known to be sharp enough to cut through all the way down to hell itself. This sword also had a special power to drain the Haki of whoever wielded it, and Zoro also suggested that Enma was a problem child. It took Zoro quite a long time to wield and perfectly tame Enma, however, now, he has mastered this sword completely. Currently, Zoro wields Sandai Kitetsu, and Enma, and he would likely carry two of these swords right until the end of his journey.

Will Zoro Get New Swords?

The question of whether Zoro will get new swords or not is rather easy to answer. As mentioned earlier, Wado Ichimonji is never going to be replaced. As such, Zoro is going to carry this sword right until his last day. A similar case can be made for Enma as well. Zoro inherited Enma from Hiyori, and this blade is Oden’s lost legacy that he has. Zoro cannot give away Enma at any cost. A massive reason why Enma will stay with Zoro until he becomes the world’s greatest swordsman is the fact that this blade hasn’t blackened just yet. Kozuki Sukiyaki mentioned to Zoro that the sword has the potential to be blackened eventually and that under him, it will reach its full level. This is proof of the fact that Zoro will have to blacken Enma at some point, and this means that Zoro will not be giving up the sword anytime soon.

This leaves the door open for just one more sword for Zoro to replace and that is Sandai Kitetsu. By all means, Sandai Kitetsu doesn’t offer anything special to Zoro at the time. He has completely tamed this blade and it might be time for Zoro to upgrade his sword. As to where he would do it and with what blade, that is up to Oda to decide. It is also very likely that Zoro will replace this sword because both swords that Zoro has currently belong to the 21 Great Grade Swords. Sandai Kitetsu too is the only blade that belongs to the Wazamono grade swords. Fans Already know that Zoro will end up blackening all of his swords and, if that happens, they will all increase in rank by one grade. As such, Wado as well as Enma will join the Supreme Grade Swords, while Sandai Kitetsu will join the 50 Skillful Grade Swords.

This simply doesn’t sit right. It is highly likely that all three of Zoro’s swords will end up becoming Supreme Grade Swords and the total count will go from 12 to 15. As such, the idea is that Sandai Kitetsu will, at some point, be replaced is quite valid. Zoro could have replaced it with Nidai Kitetsu, however, the chance for that went away with Wano. As such, there has to be a completely new sword for Zoro to find and wield in the final saga of One Piece.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. Since One Piece is going to be on break, the release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1102, is set to be December 25, 2023.