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Episode 1091 of the One Piece anime adapted one of Egghead Arc’s coolest moments. While nearly all the Straw Hat Pirates were left bewildered by the sudden appearance of Vegapunk Lilith and her Sea Beast Weapons, only two people didn’t falter in the slightest.
While the other crew members were totally dazed, Roronoa Zoro, soon followed by Nico Robin, forced the assailants to understand the foolishness of their attempt. The scene emphasizes Zoro and Robin’s devilish aura, as well as their status as deadly and highly-effective fighters.
One Piece episode 1091 highlights the two most lethal Straw Hat Pirates
A recap of what happened in One Piece episode 1091
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Just as the Thousand Sunny was about to sink, a gigantic mecha picked it up. As a young woman came out of the robot's cockpit and introduced herself as Dr. Vegapunk, Sanji began daydreaming about the woman’s gorgeousness, while Franky and Usopp were fascinated by the scientist’s unparalleled technology.
The woman revealed herself as Vegapunk Lilith, a different individual compared to the scientist’s main body, the “Stella.” Laughing nastily, Lilith demanded the Straw Hats to hand over their valuables.
To urge them to comply with her request, she had all the Sea Beast Weapons surround the Thousand Sunny. Between the panicking Brook, Nami, Usopp, the psyched Franky, and the entranced Sanji, it was clear why Lilith didn’t see the crew as a menace.
All of a sudden, however, Lilith received a call from Vegapunk Shaka, who told her to stop, and take a look at a certain individual, with a different behavior compared to the other crewmembers.
With a hand placed on one of his swords, the crew’s second-in-command, Roronoa Zoro, was calmly observing the situation. Well aware of the swordsman’s power and reputation for strength, Shaka talked some sense into Lilith, warning her that Zoro could literally cut her down in an instant, if he wanted.
Shaka added that Nico Robin was also ready to use her Devil Fruit and attack at any moment. Lilith understood that she underestimated the Straw Hats as, regardless of the others being sloppy, Zoro and Robin could quickly destroy her and the robots.
With a menacing glare, Zoro peremptorily told Lilith and Shaka to listen and fulfill the Straw Hat crew's requests. As such, Shaka told Lilith to lead the pirates to him.
Zoro and Robin saved the face of the Straw Hat Pirates
Unlike their companions, Zoro and Robin looked pretty competent. Before Shaka warned her about not messing with these two, Lilith was totally seeing the Straw Hats as a worthless bunch, to the point where she labeled Franky and Sanji as “talkative jokers.”
As for Brook, Nami, and Usopp, they didn’t fare any better. The contrast with Zoro and Robin was all the more striking in that, the two, instead, made Lilith realize the might of a Yonko crew, and how foolish she was to think she could plunder them.
Even before joining the Straw Hats, both Zoro and Robin were already accomplished individuals, which might have played a role in how they handled the situation.
Zoro's combat prowess made him feared in the entire East Blue as the “Pirate Hunter.” Regarding Robin, as a fugitive sought after by the World Government ever since she was a child, she had been part of several criminal organizations, including the Baroque Works.
One Piece episode 1091 emphasized Zoro and Robin’s ability to attack at astonishing speeds. Shaka remarked that, at the distance they were, the two would have been able to end Lilith and the Sea Beasts in an instant.
Whether by sending lightning quick slashes from afar, or using short bursts of speed to approach them, Zoro can cut his enemies in the blink of an eye. Sometimes, he unsheathes and re-sheathes his blade before the opponent can even react.
Most of Zoro’s attacks are not just strong enough to overpower the enemy, but also fast enough to not let him dodge. The green-haired swordsman typically performs his moves so fast that, after completing them, he appears behind the target, making it look as if he teleported.
This is very similar to how Nico Robin uses the Flower-Flower Fruit to sprout copies of her body parts on a target in order to restrain or injure them. The reproduced body parts don’t travel toward the mark, but literally appear right on it.
For instance, Zoro was able to hit King even though the Lunarian was using his speed-based mode to move faster than most One Piece characters ever could. Using her Flower-Flower Fruit, Robin easily intercepted Cavendish and turned into his special Hakuba form.
Throughout the series, Zoro and Robin are often referred to as demons, as well as juxtaposed with similar symbolism. It can be rightly said that each followed an understandably different pathway, but both managed to put their demonic side at the service of their companions.
“King of Hell” Zoro
Roronoa Zoro is the loyal right-hand man of Monkey D. Luffy, as well as the second strongest individual among the Straw Hat Pirates, only below the captain himself. Powerful, honorable, and fiercely determined, Zoro is typically surrounded by an intimidating aura.
Unlike most of the Straw Hats, Zoro doesn’t have a problem killing if need be. Due to Zoro’s overwhelming strength, menacing presence, and ferocious resolve, other characters often liken him to a demon in human form. Moreover, a pretty evident symbolism associates the green-haired swordsman with demonic imagery.
After unleashing his true Haki powers, Zoro started going by the name of “King of Hell”, which is an obvious parallel to Silvers Rayleigh’s strikingly similar moniker of “Dark King.” As each other's counterparts from different generations, Zoro and Rayleigh are alike in every respect, including roles, looks, fighting style, and more.
In Japanese, both Zoro and Rayleigh’s epithets mean “King of the Underworld.” According to the corresponding Greek and Roman legends, Hades and Pluto were the kings of the underworld, acting as shadow rulers for Zeus and, respectively, Jupiter.
This hints at Zoro and Rayleigh being particularly powerful characters who are comparable to their captains. As prominent Conqueror’s Haki users, the “King of Hell” and the “Dark King” had the potential to become legendary leaders on their own, but simply decided to put their trust in Luffy and, respectively, Roger.
Not only does Zoro's new moniker recall the “King of Hell” of ancient Greek-Roman mythology, but one of his swords, Enma, is linked to the same concept. Enma is the Japanese name for Yama, the deity who, according to Buddhists, judges dead souls as the king of the underworld. In other words, it refers to the “King of Hell."
Several of Zoro’s techniques evoke demonic imagery:
- Charming Demon Sleepless Night Oni Giri - A cloaked demon appears behind Zoro when he performs this move.
- Bull Demon Courageous Talons - When Zoro uses this attack, he unleashes the aura of a bull very similar to the ushi-oni, a fiendish, bovine-like creature of Japanese folklore.
- Demonic Raven - The technique’s Japanese name is based on the Buddhist devil Yaksha.
Exerting his Conqueror's Haki, Zoro can create the illusion of his body multiplying like a demon. Called Demon Aura Nine-Sword Style: Asura, this technique also generates the visible three-headed and six-armed silhouette of an “asura,” a class of power-seeking demon gods from Indic religions.
“Demon Child” Nico Robin
When she was just a child, Robin was entrusted to a foster family who frequently abused her. As Robin ate the Flower-Flower Fruit, the other children and their parents, scared by her powers, started calling her a demon.
Just as Robin met and befriended Professor Clover and the other scholars, as well as Jaguar D. Saul, the World Government decided to destroy Ohara. Robin survived, thanks to Saul’s sacrifice, but the World Government labeled her “Demon of Ohara”, and began hunting her.
Forced to experience terrible hardships one after another, Robin became cold-blooded. Interested in her ability to read Poneglyphs, Crocodile eventually recruited her into his Baroque Works organization.
After joining the Straw Hat Pirates, as a result of the time spent with them, Robin partially changed her mood, becoming much more playful and relaxed than before. Still, that doesn’t diminish Robin's evident macabre side and ruthless attitude.
During the fight with Black Maria, Robin embraced her moniker as “Devil Child,” bringing it to reality in the most terrifying and unexpected way, as she literally became the demon she had been told she was all her entire life.
Using the Flower-Flower Fruit to perform a technique called Demonio Fleur, Robin conjured a giant copy of herself. The huge doppelganger’s special features, such as darkened skin, bat-like wings, fangs, and devilish horns, truly made it look like a massive demon.
True to the technique’s fiendish appearance, Robin used enlarged and multiplied limbs to brutally beat Maria. Fully embracing her demonic side, Robin declared her readiness to become a devil to protect the precious people who count on her.
Be sure to keep up with all One Piece anime, manga, and live-action news as 2024 progresses.
