One Piece Zoro novel reveals everything the swordsman did before meeting Luffy

The highly anticipated One Piece Zoro novel is set to be released on June 4, 2024, as part of the upcoming One Piece Magazine. Titled One Piece Novel ZORO: Josho Sasakaze, the tale will focus on the green-haired swordsman’s life before starting his pirate adventure on Monkey D. Luffy's side.

Courtesy of the reliable leaker @pewpiece, fans can already enjoy a brief synopsis of the One Piece Zoro novel. However, at the moment, it is unconfirmed whether the spoilers concern the whole novel or just its first chapter. Therefore, readers should look forward to the upcoming One Piece Magazine for more information.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece Zoro novel.

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The spoiler summary for the One Piece Zoro novel unveil a brutal episode from the green-haired swordsman’s past

It is a well-known fact that Roronoa Zoro vowed to become the World’s Strongest Swordsman to honor his promise to his late friend Shimotsuki Kuina. Zoro set out to challenge the holder of the title, the formidable “Hawk Eyes” Mihawk, but got lost along the way. Which was why he began working as a bounty hunter.

Exploiting his remarkable combat prowess, Zoro quickly gained fame, and was even feared in the entire East Blue as the “Pirate Hunter.” Upon learning about Zoro’s reputation for strength, Monkey D. Luffy, who had just begun his journey, decided to recruit him as the first member of his crew.

While this unforgettable occurrence marked the start of the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates, the One Piece Zoro novel depicts an event that took place sometime before.

Roronoa Zoro before the beginning of the One Piece story (Image via Toei Animation)

One day, Zoro was told to watch out for “Hawk Eyes” Mihawk, a fearsome individual who had earned the title of “Dojo Destroyer.” He was given the title for having easily slaughtered the strongest fighters in each dojo.

Dracule Mihawk was the man that Zoro wished to challenge more than anyone else. Therefore, Zoro waited at the Shimotsuki Village’s dojo for the alleged World’s Strongest Swordsman to come. When the two began their duel, however, Zoro immediately realized that his opponent was an imposter.

When exposed, the fake Mihawk replied that even though he wasn’t the real “Hawk Eyes," he was still powerful enough to defeat 2000 swordsmen. Unconcerned, Zoro beat the fake Mihawk with a single blow and revealed that he was the real “Dojo Destroyer,” who had achieved 2000 victories.

This win brought Zoro’s total number of victories to 2001, the same number of losses he had suffered against Kuina in the past. Shortly after, Zoro left the Shimotsuki Dojo and set off to look for Dracule Mihawk, the World’s Strongest Swordsman.

Zoro as a bounty hunter (Image via Toei Animation)

The events narrated in the One Piece Zoro novel don’t seem to contradict the main plot of the series. However, while it was originally stated that the novel would be fully supervised by Eiichiro Oda, this statement was recently revoked.

Hence, it’s possible that the mangaka wasn’t very involved in the project. For the record, the One Piece Zoro novel was written by Jun Esaka and illustrated by Nakamaru.

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