The author of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda, has a fun way of interacting with his fans through the official manga series. After every chapter in the tankōbon volume (physical volume) of One Piece, he answers the spiciest questions of his fans, which are sent through fan letters. The main goal of this section is to answer the most obvious questions and keep future spoilers entirely out of the questions. This section is called SBS (Shitsumon o Boshuu Suru), which translates to “I am taking questions!”. But the SBS section of the latest volume was something else, as Oda has revealed some detail about a fan-favourite character.
In the SBS section of Volume 105 of One Piece, Oda revealed a brief family lineage of Roronoa Zoro, and we see how Zoro and his childhood friend, Kuina, connect in their lineage.
The SBS started with Oda stating how he has received a lot of questions about Zoro’s family background from fans. He said he would not reveal that in the main storyline, so he gave us a summary. Here, we shall break down the characters of each lineage in detail. Here is the picture of the lineage:
Fifty-Five Years Ago
Here, we learn about Shimotsuki Kozaburo, a resident of Wano. He was the grandfather of Kuina and was a master swords smith responsible for crafting swords like Wado Ichimonji (which was the personal possession of Kuina before Zoro took it after the death of Kuina) and Enma (which Shimotsuki Kozaburo gifted Kozuki Oden, who was four years old at that time. Oden then passed this sword to his daughter, Kozuki Hiyori, who gifted it to Roronoa Zoro).
Shimotsuki Kozaburo then decided to set sail, and he had twenty-five people accompany him on his journey. Of these twenty-five, people were, Furiko, the older sister of Ushimaru (who was present in the prison of Kaido in Episode 1048) and the carpenter Minatomo (a carpenter who appeared a lot in the anime and manga as a background character like Pandaman).
Fifty-Two Years Ago
Shimotuski Kozaburo and his twenty-five companions arrived at East Blue. Here, they saved a village from bandits and ten companions, alongside Shimotsuki Kozaburo, decided to settle down in this village. Thus, the Shimotsuki Village was established.
Now, two rows are established during this period in the family.
The First Row of the Family Lineage
The first row is started with Shimotsuki Kozaburo, who married a girl from the Shimotsuki Village. The row then descends to Shimotsuki Koushiro (the father of Kuina, who has made many appearances in One Piece at the start), who marries an unknown woman. The last member of the row is Shimotsuki Kuina, Zoro’s childhood friend, who died in an accident.
The arrow that follows from Shimotsuki Kozaburo to Shimotsuki Koushiro to Kuina shows the passing of the sword, Wado Ichimonji.
The Second Row of the Family Lineage
The second row starts with Shimotsuki Furiko (a villager of Shimotsuki Village) and Roronoa Pinzoro (a village swordsman who is Zoro’s grandfather). The row then descends to Roronoa Arashi (the biological father of Zoro), who married Tera, the daughter of a criminal. Oda also added that Arashi died while fighting pirates, and his wife, Tera, died of an unknown illness. The last member of the second row is Roronoa Zoro, the first member of the Straw Hats.
The arrow that follows from Roronoa Pinzoro to Roronoa Arashi to Roronoa Zoro is the passing of the phrase “Sunnachi!” roughly translates to “Throw Away Your Wits and Names“, and this phrase was learned from Kozaburo.
Additional Information
Oda also provided us with some shocking information. He added that the younger brother of Shimotsuki Furiko, Zoro’s grandmother, is the person Yamato encountered in her childhood and was also part of the twenty-five people who set sail from Wano with Shimotsuki Kozaburo. This younger brother was also the former Diamyo of Ringo (a snowy region located north of Wano).
And this younger brother was also a descendant of Ryuma, the mysterious samurai of Wano, who Zoro fought during the Thriller Bark Arc of One Piece. It is interesting to note that Zoro got his sword, “Shisui“, from Ryuma after Zoro defeated Ryuma.
So, this means that Zoro is a descendant of Ryuma and part of the lineage of a master swords smith. Oda continued by saying that this lineage is something not even Zoro is aware of, which is why Oda was not planning to explain all of this in the main storyline of One Piece. Since most of the manga is already and heading down to the final showdown, fans can expect more of Zoro and his background in the upcoming chapters.
What are your thoughts on this? Did you anticipate Ryuma being linked to Zoro in such a way in his family lineage? Let us know in the comments down below. We here at Anime Senpai would love to know what you think.
