Zoro isn't One Piece's true King of Hell yet, but can become that by defeating Nusjuro

Modified Oct 02, 2024 00:30 GMT

One Piece could be setting up a Zoro vs. Nusjuro (Image via Toei Animation). — One Piece could be setting up a Zoro vs. Nusjuro (Image via Toei Animation)

One Piece fans have always hyped Zoro's King of Hell moment from the Wano arc, but a recent theory on X by a user named @writingpanini suggests that the title actually belongs to one of the Elders of the Gorosei, Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro. From the moment that this member of the Gorosei was confirmed to be a powerful swordsman, there has been this expectation from the fandom that he is going to be a monumental mountain for Zoro to climb and this theory could set it up.

Nusjuro and Zoro already had a small clash in the most recent One Piece arc in the manga, Egghead, which, according to the theory, was meant to reflect that they are going to face each other at some point. It could be argued that Nusjuro represents the absolute peak of swordsmanship and for Zoro to reach the top, he has to defeat the true King of Hell.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a whole.

One Piece theory suggests that Nusjuro is the true King of Hell and Zoro has to defeat him to get the title

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As mentioned earlier, the theory suggests that Zoro and Nusjuro already had a clash during the Egghead arc as a start for their rivalry. On the other hand, it was already shown that Zoro uses hell-based attacks known as "Hahava Hunt", the name of a cold hell, and Nusjuro uses attacks with a similar look, to the point that this X user draws a comparison to the Marvel Comics character, Ghost Rider.

It is represented that V. Nusjuro is the top swordsman in the series, perhaps even surpassing the likes of Dracule Mihawk, and could be a case of him being the true King of Hell. Therefore, it would make a lot of sense for Zoro's character to start a rivalry with this member of the Gorosei and want to defeat him to reach the best position as the greatest swordsman in the world.

Moreover, it could be argued that Nusjuro represents the absolute peak of what Zoro's teacher, Shimotsuki Koushirou, was saying about cutting what wishes to be cut.

That is shown by the way the Elder of the Gorosei cut Egghead in half without causing massive destruction or chaos, which makes him stand out as a swordsman.

Zoro's conclusion in the story

Zoro fighting Mihawk in the anime (Image via Toei Animation).

While Zoro was widely regarded as one of the most compelling characters of the One Piece series before the two-year time skip, his return has been a lot more divisive. A lot of people feel that his characterization has been watered down, not having the same range that he used to have and mostly contributing to the story through action sequences.

However, Zoro has a very clear path to follow and that is fulfilling his dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman, which is defined by his rivalry with Dracule Mihawk.

And now that Nusjuro has been introduced, it seems that author Eiichiro Oda is setting up these confrontations so Zoro can become the swordsman he has always aspired to be by the time the story reaches its conclusion.

Final thoughts

There is a very good chance that Oda is setting up a confrontation between Zoro and Nusjuro in One Piece and the King of Hell motif could be the right metaphor for said clash. However, this is mere fan speculation at the moment and has to be taken with a grain of salt.

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Edited by Prem Deshpande