One Piece’sRoronoa Zoro is one of the strongest members of the Straw Hat Pirates, second only to the Captain, Monkey D. Luffy. In the Wano Country arc, Zoro ended up playing quite an important role and, as always, took on a huge responsibility on his shoulders when it came to fighting opposition forces.
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Amidst all the chaos inOne Piece’sWano, a very popular idea surrounding Zoro killing Kaido surfaced and had been widely popular until the recent conclusion of the war. While the idea itself sounded cool, Zoro killing Kaido had very little substance to it and made no sense in more ways than one.
9Not On Yonko Level
To begin with, Zoro certainly isn’t someone on Yonko level. Before awakening his Conqueror’s Haki, Zoro wasn’t even as strong as a top Yonko Commander, let alone a Yonko. Although he did fight Kaido and even managed to earn his praise, which is quite impressive, it was pretty clear that Zoro wasn’t anywhere close to him in terms of either power or skill.
That in itself is a big reason why Zoro would never have killed Kaido. For now, Zoro is levels below his Captain, Monkey D. Luffy, who can actually go head-to-head against a Yonko and pull off a victory.
8His Best Wasn’t Enough
When Zoro fought Kaido on the rooftop of Onigashima, he already attacked him with the best technique that he has. With his Asura,Zoro summoned every drop of powerfrom his body and channeled it throughout his blades. With Enma, Zoro even managed to coat his swords in Conqueror’s Haki unconsciously, meaning he had nothing more left up his sleeve and, as he claimed, this was him at his very peak.
Zoro impressively managed to extend Odens’s scar on Kaido’s chest, however, he wasn’t even able to bring the Yonko to his knees. While it is true that Zoro was already injured at this point, the fact remains that Asura has only been accessible to him when he’s injured.
7Thrown Around By King
Shortly after fighting Kaido and getting defeated, Zoro was given a super recovery drug from Zou and he was back at his very best. Instead of fighting Kaido again, Zoro took on King the Wildfire, the second-strongest member of the Beasts Pirates. He then went on to get absolutely overwhelmed by him in both speed and power and was pushed to a near-death state.
The fight saw Zoro struggle immensely, however, once he tapped into his Conqueror’s Haki and figured out King’s weakness, the playfield was leveled.Zoro then went on to defeat Kingin a very convincing manner.
6Paralleled To Ryuma Against King
A very popular idea to back “Zoro killing Kaido” was the parallel with Ryuma, a famous samurai from Wano who slew a dragon over the Flower Capital in the past. Since Kaido is a dragon, some fans expected Zoro to slay Kaido when Onigashima reached the Flower Capital and draw a parallel to Ryuma.
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However, Oda instead drew a parallel to him slaying King when the two fought. King’s strongest attack, called Karyudon, resembled a giant dragon, andZoro ended up using the same technique as Ryumato cut through the dragon to defeat him, fulfilling the parallel.
5Not The Main Character
While Zoro is certainly powerful, he isn’t the main character ofOne Pieceand for him, taking on the main villain is never the goal. With every major arc, Zoro takes on the second-strongest member of the opposition force in his main battle and this has been true for arcs like Alabasta, and Enies Lobby, among others.
There is absolutely no reason for Oda to change the formula here or anywhere else in the future of the story. Luffy, being the main character, will always fight the main villains.
4Glorified Executioner
Another popular idea among certain fans is that after being defeated by Luffy, Kaido could then be executed by Zoro and this would fulfill the theory. However, this idea has very little substance to it. Not only would it take the spotlight from Luffy, but it would also reduce Zoro’s character itself and make him nothing more than a glorified executioner.
Zoro believes in a code of honor and for him, to take the head of someone who has already fallen to someone else wouldn’t seem right.
3Nearly Dead
After fighting King, Zoro passed out as the effects of the super regeneration drug that he took wore off. This put him in a near-death state as not only did he already have broken bones from fighting against Kaido and Big Mom but King as well.
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All the damage that Zoro sustained is simply way too much for him to fight anyone who is a capable fighter. For him to fight someone as strong as Kaido anduse his blades to channel all the Hakirequired to kill him is simply not possible.
2Not The Man Kaido Waited For
Throughout the Onigashima Raid, Kaido has, time and again, mentioned that he’s waiting for someone who would live up to the standards that Oden set. While Zoro certainly does carry Oden’s blade, he isn’t the man Kaido was waiting for. Oda has, on more than one occasion, shown the fans that it is Luffy who Kaido awaited for so long.
To be more precise, Kaido was in Wano for Joyboy. Zoro, having no connection to Joyboy, was certainly not going to be the one to defeat him.
1Zoro Believes In Luffy
At the end of the day, Zoro himself believed that Luffy would be the one to win against Kaido and free Wano Country. Zoro trusts his Captain and knows that his abilities are way better than his own and, thus, he stands a better chance against the Yonko.
WhileZoro killing Kaido would certainly have been very cool, it doesn’t have much of a basis to stand on, especially now that Kaido has already been defeated for good and has been sent crashing into the ground.
