This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Final Saga.
Key insights
- Zoro is stronger than most Yonko commanders, but still needs one final push to defeat Mihawk.
- Oda has touted Zoro's left eye as a potential key to unlocking his full power.
- Zoro's final strength could come when he opens his left eye and unleashes demonic powers to defeat Mihawk.
One piece has already entered the Elbaf arc in the Final Saga and from here on out, the Straw Hat Pirates will make great strides towards their respective goals. Their overall goal is to make Luffy the Pirate King, but at the same time each Straw Hat also has their own independent goals. For example, Sanji wants to find the All Blue, Nami wants to draw a map of the entire world, Robin wants to find out the true history of the world, Usopp wants to become a brave warrior of the sea, and just like her, Zoro also has his own dreams.

Related
One Piece's greatest swordsman is overrated
Mihawk is considered One Piece's greatest swordsman. Is it overrated?
In the case of Zoro, fans know that he wants to become the greatest swordsman in the world, but it isn't easy for him to accomplish that task. To become the greatest swordsman in the world, Zoro must defeat none other than Dracule Mihawk, the current greatest swordsman in the world. Having already fought Mihawk once and gotten a taste of what true strength feels like, Zoro knows he still has a long way to go. The good thing is that since then, Zoro has improved tremendously in combat and has developed a unique strength that allows him to hold his own against Mihawk. But he still needs that one final push, and that could come in the form of his left eye, which has been closed since the time jump.
Zoro's current level and the difference in performance compared to Mihawk
- Zoro is stronger than most Yonko commanders
- Zoro's strength will only improve
Currently, Zoro is certainly stronger than most Yonko first officers. In the Wano Country Arc, Zoro suffered severe blows and received several power-ups. His first power-up and story arc came through Enma, which took him a week to learn the basics of. It can be said that Zoro did not have perfect control over Enma at the beginning of the Onigashima War arc. But he used it well enough to say the least. It wasn't until the fight against King that Zoro finally managed to harness his true powers and use them to unleash his hidden Haki. Enma's ability to draw Ryuo from the user's body resulted in Zoro's latent Conqueror's Haki being tapped and eventually awakened. He could channel it through his blades.
Are you telling me that Oden could guide you like you were as light as a feather? – Zoro
Zoro finally gained access to the Conqueror's advanced Haki and was able to infuse it incredibly well, albeit for a very short period of time. In this battle, Zoro managed to quickly defeat King and save his strength for another day.
After the events of the Wano Country storyline, Zoro has likely strengthened his control over Enma even further. This is especially true because fans know that Zoro is always training and making sure he reaches the next level every day. In “Egghead”, Zoro fought against the likes of Lucci, and even though that fight was short-lived and didn't really end, Zoro definitely had the upper hand.
You can say that at this point One pieceZoro is easily one of the strongest characters, having already defeated the likes of King. The only characters above him are the Admirals, the Yonko, and of course a few people like Ben Beckman, Rayleigh, and Loki, among others. There are certainly many characters in One Piece who are even stronger than Zoro, meaning he still has a long way to go. Although Zoro has powerful abilities such as Conqueror's Haki Infusion and is a master swordsman, he is not yet at Mihawk's level. He still needs to improve in some way or form, and his next power-up could potentially come via his left eye.
Why Zoro's Eye will be the key to defeating Mihawk
Oda teased that Zoro's eye was his big power-up
The mystery surrounding Zoro's left eye has been absolutely massive since the post-timeskip. The strangest thing about it is that Oda didn't even address Zoro's eye injury when he came back from the typewriter, and that's pretty strange considering Oda always pays attention to details. This simply means that there is something bigger around Zoro's eye that fans don't know about. This is given even more credence when you consider that between 1997 and 1999, Oda planned for Zoro to close his left eye. For those who don't know, this is the same point in time One piece actually started serialization and was still in its early stages. At that time, Oda had already told Watsuki, his mentor, that Zoro would close his eyes. In 2021, Watsuki asked Oda about Zoro's Eye again, but Oda refused to give him the answer. This further suggests that there is a great secret lurking around Zoro's eye, which may be directly related to his strength.
Learn more about the world and become stronger, Roronoa Zoro. I will wait for you at the top of this throne. – Mihawk
Of course, fans would wonder how Zoro's eye could help him beat Mihawk. From today's perspective, Zoro needs two great powers. The first major skill Zoro must acquire is to improve his control of Conqueror's Haki. At the moment, Zoro can't maintain his Conqueror's Haki for long.
Related
One Piece: Luffy's Remaining Bounties, Explained
Luffy's bounty will only increase in the final saga. His next bounty in One Piece could be to Elbaf.
After a few minutes his body will run out of Haki and he will die. Zoro explicitly confirmed this himself in Wano. This essentially means that Zoro must dramatically improve his strength and learn to radiate Haki in just a few moments, or at least improve his Haki supply in order to survive in long battles.
That being said, Zoro would still need something that would bring him to the level of the Four Emperors and be strong enough to defeat the likes of Mihawk. This is where his left eye may come into play, and fans know that his left eye may be related to his demonic powers, which Zoro has manifested on multiple occasions, such as when he displayed Ashura in One Piece.
Zoro's final power-up might be enough to defeat Mihawk
Zoro vs Mihawk will happen soon
It's likely that Zoro's final power-up will be in One piece will come when he opens his left eye. This could happen in the fight against Mihawk, and after opening his eye, Zoro could unleash the true demonic powers within him. It's no surprise to know that Zoro has a demonic aura. There were people in the Enies Lobby Arc who could sense Zoro's demonic aura, and even Kaku could actually see Zoro manifest a demon-like being using his willpower alone. Fans know that Asura exists as an extension of Zoro's demonic willpower, and they have already seen her used in battle on many occasions, most recently against Kaido.
Perhaps Zoro's left eye and the full power of this form will only be released when he opens his left eye, which would potentially give him the chance to defeat Dracule Mihawk and declare himself the greatest swordsman in One Piece.
One Piece can be read via Viz Media. The series is officially available for fans to read for free on the Shonen Jump and Manga Plus apps. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1134, is December 22, 2024.

- studio
- Toei animation
- Number of episodes
- 1122