Zoro is a fan-favorite character in One Piece for a reason. The scale of his ambition is second only to Luffy’s and, as first mate of the Straw Hats, Zoro’s place on the crew is more important than any other member. He serves as the one crew member who has the power to be pirate king all on his own, let alone captain of the crew, but instead he chooses to follow Luffy and keep the Straw Hats on track when the need arises.

Zoro’s importance as first mate, vice-captain, and best friend to the future pirate king is paramount to the Straw Hats’ success. Unlike other crew members, Zoro is the one who, no matter what, will always have Luffy’s back and is willing to do whatever it takes for their shared dream to flourish.

11Zoro Protected the Crew in Whiskey Peak

Zoro saw through Barque Work’s Trap

As a pirate hunter himself, Zoro was able to sniff out the bounty hunters of Barque Work’s and their scheme of killing the Straw Hats in their sleep. He singlehandedly fought off over a hundred agents without disturbing the rest of the Straw Hats, all while testing out his new swords. Zoro establishes himself as the second most powerful Straw Hat behind Luffy, and this dynamic between the two is the one constant every time new bounties are drawn up for the crew.

It’s only natural for the first mate to be the most powerful in the crew after the captain. And Zoro is no exception. But power is only one of many attributes needed to be the future pirate king’s right hand. Trust is arguably more important and the trust between Luffy and Zoro is unlike anything else in One Piece.

10Zoro was the First to Return to Sabaody.

Despite his Lack of Direction, Zoro Arrived First.

In One Piece, the only certainty is Zoro will get lost. It’s gotten pretty bad. But, he eventually always finds his way. Zoro’s infamous lack of direction was no match for his quest to return to the crew. Despite all the islands between him and Sabaody, Zoro arrives back on the Island on the same day as every other Straw Hat, which is quite the achievement for him! He was the first to arrive at the bar and find Silvers Rayleigh, thanks to Perona’s help.

It’s likely that luck played a big part in Zoro’s navigation on the island itself. Perhaps Mihawk’s training helped or Zoro’s motivation to return to the Straw Hats. Either way, he defied all expectations and found his way back after two years of separation.

9Zoro Advised Chopper About Teamwork

Zoro Understood the Core of What Made the Straw Hats

Zoro’s emotional intelligence is much deeper than anyone ever gives him credit for, considering how he eloquently explained the core dynamics of how the Straw Hats work together. His speech to Chopper about teamwork and how each member must do whatever they can before passing it to the next guy is a core, fundamental trait of the Straw Hat’s success.

Unlike other pirate crews, not only are the Straw Hats one of the smallest crews, there isn’t a clear hierarchy between any of the Straw Hats. Even as captain, Luffy is constantly beaten up and ridiculed by the rest of the Straw Hat gang for all of his shenanigans. Zoro understands that the dynamics of the crew aren’t normal, but it isn’t a bad thing as Chopper initially believes. At the end of the day, Zoro will always bat for Luffy.

8Zoro Almost cut off his Legs to Save the Crew

Zoro Would Cut Down his Ambition for the Straw Hats

During the Little Garden arc, Zoro, Nami and Vivi are trapped in wax from Mr. 3’s Wax-Wax Fruit. When all hope seemed lost, Zoro was ready to cut off his own legs to free himself from the trap to save Nami and Vivi from being incased in wax. His willingness to sever his legs to defeat Mr. 3 showed just how serious Zoro is when it comes to the lives of his friends. He would rather lose his legs and attack, then die quietly and fail his friends.

One of Zoro’s main arguments for always throwing himself into extreme danger is that if he can’t protect his crew or captain, he has no business becoming the strongest swordsman. Luckily for Zoro, Luffy interrupted his big moment. Had Zoro gone through with it, there’s no doubt that he could’ve saved Nami and Vivi, but the cost of losing his legs meant his dream would certainly be finished.

7Zoro was the First Person to Acknowledge Luffy as Pirate King

Zoro’s Dream was Reborn

After his first climactic fight with Mihawk, Zoro’s ultimate goal, he promised Luffy he’d never lose again. To Zoro, a promise means everything. Even after such a crippling defeat, Zoro’s fire only burned brighter. Before his battle with Mihawk, he wished to become the strongest swordsman because of a promise between himself and Kuina, but after his defeat, Zoro’s dream changed. Not the goal itself, but the meaning behind it. If he were to be part of the future pirate king’s crew, he would have to be the strongest swordman. And to promise to never lose again, he made sure Luffy knew it.

But, his ambition to never lose a fight, doesn’t mean he wouldn’t lay down his life for the crew and especially Luffy. In Zoro’s view, being the strongest means never losing, sure, but failing to protect his captain and crew means he isn’t worthy of becoming the strongest.

6Zoro Threw Away his Pride for Luffy

Zoro Humbled Himself Before his Greatest Rival

After the Straw Hats were separated in Sabaody Archipelago, Zoro found himself before his greatest enemy and target, Dracule Mihawk. Instead of challenging him to another duel, Zoro did the unthinkable: he begged. He humbled himself before Mihawk to get stronger. Not to defeat him, but to become strong enough to protect his crew. Zoro had no intention of fighting Mihawk, he only wanted to be trained by his enemy.

Zoro’s pride as a swordsman is one of his defining character traits. And to throw his pride aside for the sake of the Straw Hat crew, he sees them as more precious than even his convictions. For someone like Zoro, begging is something he would never do, even if his life depended on it. But, for the sake of his friends, he would do anything.

5Zoro Backed up Luffy on Onigashima

Zoro Fought Alongside his Captain Against two Emperors.

During the climactic battle on the rooftop of Onigashima, Luffy and Zoro fight alongside each other to defeat Kaido and Big Mom. They worked together with Eustass Kid, Killer, and Trafalger D. Law to defeat two Emperors of the Sea. During the fight, Zoro worked together with Luffy, utilizing everything he had learned to keep pace with Luffy and do damage against the two emperors.

Zoro stood by Luffy during the fight and risked his life to stop Kaido and Big Mom’s combined attack. Zoro’s first thought was to protect Luffy and his allies, even against two forces of nature. Blocking a combined attack from two Emperors of the Sea is quite the feat, especially going toe to toe with King shortly after the rooftop battle.

4Zoro Didn’t Fight back in Jaya

Zoro Followed Luffy’s Orders Without Hesitation

To laugh at someone’s dream is one of the greatest sins in One Piece. To do nothing as someone laughs at a dream can only mean the dream itself isn’t worth fighting for, but for Zoro and Luffy, sometimes a fight isn’t worth the dream. As Bellamy and the bar ridicules their dream of Sky Island, Luffy tells Zoro not to fight back. Not because the dream wasn’t worth the fight, but because the people who were laughing at them weren’t worth the dream.

Zoro knows when to pick a fight, and while Nami did want them to defend themselves, ultimately fighting back wasn’t worth it to men who were far below them. Men who gave up on their dreams of being pirates and instead chose to laugh at others weren’t worth Luffy and Zoro’s attention.

3Zoro was Ready to Trade his Life for Luffy’s

Zoro was Willing to Throw Away his Dream

At the end of Thriller Bark, Kuma appears before an exhausted Luffy, and Zoro offered his own life to the warlord in exchange for Luffy’s safety. Kuma accepted on the condition that Zoro would bear all the damage and pain inflicted on Luffy during his fight with Gecko Moria and expelled all of Luffy’s pain using the Paw-Paw Fruit. Kuma gave Zora a glimpse of the pain he would endure, which brought Zoro to his knees.

Instead of backing down, Zoro fully accepts all of Luffy’s pain, knowing full well that doing so could kill him and end his dream. To Zoro, defeating Mihawk and becoming the strongest swordsman means everything to him. But, everything is worth Luffy’s life. Returning to Zoro’s key trait of being worthy of the title, to him, nothing happened.

2Zoro Couldn’t Forgive Usopp

Zoro Made Sure the Crew Respected Luffy

During Water 7, Usopp had a falling out with the crew over what to do with the damaged Going Merry. His disrespect towards Luffy ultimately made him temporarily leave the crew. When Luffy found out that Usopp wanted to rejoin, he jumped at the chance, but Zoro stopped him and made it clear that as captain, Luffy shouldn’t be the one to ask Usopp to rejoin.

More so than any other instance, Zoro stepped up as first mate and made it clear to Luffy that if Usopp wasn’t the one to apologize, he shouldn’t be allowed to rejoin the crew. Zoro reinforced to everyone that Luffy is their captain and should be respected when things get dire. If the crew can’t respect their captain, ultimately they will fall apart.