One Piece has already entered the Elbaf Arc in the Final Saga and from here onwards, the Straw Hat Pirates will be taking major strides towards their respective goals.

Their overarching goal is to make Luffy the Pirate King, but, at the same time, every Straw Hat has their own independent goals as well. For instance, Sanji wants to find the All Blue, Nami wants to draw a map of the whole 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 them, Zoro has his own dreams as well.

In the case of Zoro, fans know that he wants to become the world’s greatest swordsman, but it is not easy for him to accomplish this task. In order for him to become the world’s greatest swordsman, Zoro will have to defeat none other than Dracule Mihawk, the current greatest in the world. Having already fought Mihawk once and gotten a taste of what true strength feels like, Zoro knows that he has to go a long way. The good thing is that Zoro has, since then, improved tremendously in battle, and developed a unique strength that will see him hold his own against Mihawk. But, he still needs that one final push, and this could come in the form of his left eye which has been closed since the time skip.

Zoro’s Current Level And The Difference In Power Compared To Mihawk

Zoro Is Stronger Than Most Yonko Commanders

Zoro’s Strength Is Only Going To Improve

Currently, Zoro is certainly stronger than most Yonko first mates. In the Wano Country Arc, Zoro took major strikes and received multiple power-ups. His first power-up and the arc came through Enma, which he took a week to learn the basics of. It can be said that once the Onigashima War Arc began, Zoro did not have perfect control over Enma. But, he managed to use it well enough, to say the least. It was only in the battle against King that Zoro was finally able to tap into its true powers and use it to unleash his latent Haki. Enma’s power of drawing Ryuo from the body of the user meant that Zoro’s latent Conqueror’s Haki was tapped into and was finally awakened. He was able to channel it through his blades.

Are you telling me Oden could wield you as if you were as light as a feather? – Zoro

Zoro finally got access to advanced Conqueror’s Haki, and was able to infuse it incredibly well, although only for a very short period of time. In this battle, Zoro was able to make quick work of King, and then save his strength for another day.

After the events of the Wano Country arc, Zoro has likely strengthened his control over Enma even further. This is especially true because fans know that Zoro always trains and makes sure that he hits the next level with each passing day. In Egghead, Zoro was seen fighting against the likes of Lucci, and while this fight was short-lived and did not get to properly conclude, Zoro certainly did have the upper hand.

It can be said that at this point in One Piece, Zoro is easily among the strongest characters, having already beaten the likes of King. The only characters above him are the likes of the Admirals, the Yonko, and of course, select few individuals, such as Ben Beckman, Rayleigh, and Loki, among other characters. There are certainly many characters in One Piece that are still stronger than Zoro, which means that he still has some way to go. Despite Zoro wielding powerful abilities like Conqueror’s Haki Infusion, and being a master swordsman, he isn’t yet on Mihawk’s level. He still needs to improve in some way or form, and his next power-up could come potentially through his left eye.

Why Zoro’s Eye Will Be Key To Beating Mihawk

Oda Has Teased Zoro’s Eye Being His Big Power-Up

The mystery of Zoro’s left eye has been absolutely massive ever since the post-timeskip. The most bizarre part is that Oda didn’t even address Zoro’s eye injury once he returned from the typeskip and that is quite strange, given that Oda always pays attention to detail. This simply means that there is something larger surrounding Zoro’s eye that fans do not know. This gets even more credence when one takes into consideration that Oda had planned for Zoro to close his left eye around 1997 to 1999. For those who do not know, this is the same time when One Piece actually began serialization and was in its early stages. Back then, Oda had already told Watsuki, his mentor, that Zoro would go on to close his eyes. In 2021, Watsuki asked Oda about Zoro’s eye again, but Oda refused to give him the answer. This further goes on to imply that there is a big secret surrounding Zoro’s eye that could potentially directly correlate to his strength.

Learn more about the world and grow stronger, Roronoa Zoro. I shall wait on top of this throne for you. – Mihawk

Naturally, fans would wonder how Zoro’s eye could help him beat Mihawk. As things stand, Zoro needs two major powers. The first major ability that Zoro needs to gain is to be able to improve his control over Conqueror’s Haki. Right now, Zoro cannot maintain his Conqueror’s Haki for long.

After a few minutes, his body will run out of Haki and he will die. This is something that Zoro explicitly confirmed himself in Wano. This essentially means that Zoro will have to improve his strength dramatically and learn to exude Haki only in moments, or, at the very least, improve his Haki pool to be able to last in long battles.

Aside from that, Zoro would still need something to push him to the level of the Four Emperors, and be strong enough to defeat the likes of Mihawk. This is where his left eye could come into play, and fans know that his left eye might be tied to his demonic powers, which Zoro has already manifested on several occasions, such as when he displayed Ashura in One Piece.

Zoro’s Final Power-Up Could Be Enough To Beat Mihawk

Zoro vs Mihawk Is Going To Happen Soon

It is likely that Zoro’s final power-up in One Piece will come when he opens his left eye. This could be in the battle against Mihawk, and after opening his eye, Zoro could unleash the true demonic powers inside of him. It is 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 entity with his willpower alone. Fans know that Asura exists as an extension of Zoro’s demonic willpower, and they have already seen it being utilized in combat on many occasions, most recently against Kaido.

Perhaps, Zoro’s left eye and the full power of this form will only be unleashed when he opens his left eye, which would potentially give him the chance to beat Dracule Mihawk and declare himself the greatest swordsman in One Piece.