Eiichiro Oda has finally provided an answer to one of One Piece’s biggest questions, giving fans a brief rundown of Roronoa Zoro’s ancestry.
One of the most intriguing and longstanding mysteries in One Piece is the identity of Roronoa Zoro’s parents. Zoro was the first member to join Luffy in his quest to become the Pirate King, and it can be argued that he is the closest Straw Hat to Luffy. But despite how much screen time he’s had, Zoro’s lineage has remained a mystery. That is until recently, as creator Eiichiro Oda has finally revealed the swordsman’s family.
The One Piece manga currently has 105 tankobon volumes in circulation and, ever since Volume 4, Oda has been running an “SBS” column to answer various fan queries. Reasonably, he also uses it to provide further explanation on One Piece characters, lore or Devil Fruit powers. Oda finally revealed Zoro’s ancestry in Volume 105’s SBS — and it contains many familiar names.
Zoro Is Related to the Samurai of Wano Country
According to Oda, there have been numerous inquiries about Zoro’s lineage over the years — especially whether the Straw Hat hails from the land of Wano. The moment the land of the Samurai was introduced in One Piece, fans were quick to assume Zoro’s backstory would be further fleshed out. That ultimately didn’t happen, but this didn’t mean Zoro and Wano were unrelated; Oda simply didn’t find it necessary to flesh out the swordsman’s lineage in the story.
As revealed in Volume 105’s SBS, a bunch of Samurai left the isolated Wano Country and set sail on the seas. There were 25 people on board, including Shimotsuki Kozaburo and Furiko. Furiko is the sister of the former daimyo of Ringo, Shimotsuki Ushimaru. One Piece Fans may remember him as one of the samurai Yamato met when Kaido locked her up (he’s the one who describes himself as “So-and-so”). Meanwhile, Furiko eventually married a village swordsman and gave birth to Roronoa Arashi, Zoro’s father. Unfortunately, both of Zoro’s parents have already gone to the great beyond. Arashi lost his life in a battle with pirates, while his mother succumbed to illness.
Zoro Is Related to Other Renowned One Piece Characters
Along with Zoro’s parents being revealed, it turns out he is also related to other renowned One Piece characters. The previously mentioned Ushimaru is a descendant of the legendary swordsman of Wano, Shimotsuki Ryuma — and Furiko and Zoro are also of Ryuma’s lineage. If the latter name rings a bell, it’s likely because Zoro faced a samurai with the same name in Thriller Bark. He’s the zombie who received Brook’s shadow.
The leader of the group that sailed out of Wano is none other than Shimotsuki Kozaburo, Koshiro’s father the blacksmith who forged Enma. When their group eventually lands on East Blue, they end up saving the village from bandits. Ten of them, including Kozaburo, decided to settle on that island and establish Shimotsuki Village. Koshiro eventually established his dojo, married a still-unnamed villager and bore Kuina. It’s official — Zoro is a distant relative of his childhood friend and very first rival in One Piece.
