One Piece has released the first trailer for the upcoming Roronoa Zoro prequel, revealing his early life as a Pirate Hunter before Monkey D. Luffy.

In late April, it was announced that Roronoa Zoro of the Straw Hat Pirates would be receiving a prequel dedicated to his early history as a Pirate Hunter. Now, the One Piece series has released a trailer for the upcoming spinoff.

The official One Piece magazine account uploaded the first promotional teaser for ZORO – Josho Sasakaze on X (formerly Twitter). X user @/pewpiece provided a translation of the trailer: “The resolute swordsman Roronoa Zoro, who aims to become the world’s greatest swordsman, makes his mark in Shimotsuki Village. The reason Zoro decided to set sail is…” The One Piece light novel takes place before Zoro’s chance encounter with Monkey D. Luffy that turned him from a Pirate Hunter to the trusty second-in-command of the Straw Hat Pirates.

While discussing One Piece’s upcoming Elbaf arc, Eiichiro Oda revealed that he was partially inspired by a certain childhood anime starring Vikings.

As previously mentioned, ZORO – Josho Sasakaze will be written by Jun Esaka. Esaka is credited as the writer for the One Piece novel HEROINES, which featured the leading ladies of the One Piece series, such as Nami, Uta and Boa Hancock. Esaka is also the writer of several Naruto light novels and the writer of the original sci-fi thriller She Is Beautiful. Nakamaru is the artist for ZORO – Josho Sasakaze, who previously worked with Esaka on the light novel adaptation of One Piece Odyssey.

The One Piece Franchise Has Now Reached an Impressive Sales Milestone

Although the One Piece manga is currently in its final saga, the franchise in general is still as hot as ever. Bandai Namco Entertainment recently revealed that One Piece reached a new sales milestone of 100 billion yen. One Piece also outpaced Dragon Ball in Toei Animation’s 2023 fiscal report. However, the global popularity of One Piece and other anime series has worried fans over the possibility of Japanese creators censoring themselves for Western tastes. In an exclusive interview with CBR, One Piece Film: Red director Goro Taniguchi pushed back against those fears.

Toei Animation’s 2023 fiscal report confirms that One Piece has officially dethroned Dragon Ball as the company’s top-earning anime franchise.

One Piece’s Next Story Arc Will Take Place at Elbaf

While an official announcement has yet to be made, a Shonen Jump official website ‘leak’ has revealed that the “Egghead” storyline in the One Piece manga will soon come to an end, with the next adventure taking place at Elbaf. The One Piece manga is currently available via Viz Media and the Manga Plus app. The TV anime series and movies are available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix.