In the latest “SBS” with Eiichiro Oda, he revealed one of the most fascinating and abiding mysteries in One Piece about Zoro.
Roronoa Zoro is the first member to join Straw Hat Luffy’s crew. Undoubtedly, he is very popular among anime fans since his first appearance in the series. Zoro got a decent amount of screen time and got to showcase his swordsmanship throughout the arc.
But despite how much screen time he had, Zoro’s lineage has remained a mystery. Until the recent SBS revealed by creator Eiichiro Oda in which he disclosed the swordsman’s ancestry and it contains many familiar names.
Zoro’s Family Backstory
The author of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda has an interesting way to interact with his fans. After every chapter in the tankobon volume (physical volume) of One Piece, he answers the spiciest questions of his fans, which anyone can send through fan letters.
The main objective of this section is to answer the most obvious questions and keep future spoilers out of the questions. This section is called SBS (Shitsumon o Boshuu Suru), which translates to “I am taking questions!”.
But this time, the SBS section of the latest volume was different, as Oda has revealed some detail about a fan-favourite character. Through the SBS volume #105 of One Piece, Oda showed away that Zoro is really a descendant of the Samurai of Wano and yes, it does confirm Zoro is a distant relative of Shimotsuki Ryuma.
Fans always suspected that Zoro could have a connection to the land of Samurai. And after Yamato’s flashback revealed the aspect of Shimotsuki Ushimaru, who looks identical to Zoro. Then another flashback revealed that Kouzaburo lived in the village where Zoro lives and gave him his first swords, unleashing all sorts of theories and speculations.
Oda reveals Zoro's entire family tree in the new SBS! #OnePiece #SBS105 pic.twitter.com/E3Pj0nTKXo
— Artur – Library of Ohara (@newworldartur) March 1, 2023
The SBS makes the character more interesting than before. It shows that Zoro is not only the great-nephew of Ushimaru, one of the last Daimyo of Wano, and a direct descendant of the legendary Ryuma, but he also has some relation with Kuina, his childhood friend whose tragic death inspired him to become the strongest swordsman in the world.
However, according to Oda, Ushimaru is not the father of Zoro. He explained that both characters look very similar. Whether this will be explored further is currently unknown. Oda may or may not draw a lineage tree of the Shimotsuki clan. He ends the discussion by stating he doesn’t know.
Also Read: One Piece: 7 Most Despicable Villains Who Must Be Defeated by Luffy Before Saga Conclusion
Oda Finds it Unnecessary to Flesh Out the Zoro’s Lineage in the Story
It is totally explicit why Eiichiro Oda decided to leave Zoro’s family backstory out in the manga. One Piece is presently in its final saga, and there is already an immense number of storylines, mysteries to unravel, and characters participating in the action.
Considering Zoro’s personality, and the fact that his parents passed away when he was young, he must be completely oblivious to his lineage.
However, destiny is a powerful force in One Piece, and thus Zoro got an opportunity to meet his legendary ancestor and also free his country of origin from Kaido’s despotism, carrying out his responsibilities as a descendant of the Shimotsuki clan.
Source: ScreenRant
