One Piece: Is Zoro a Ryūma Clone? Theory Explained!

Roronoa Zoro is undoubtedly one of the best-known One Piece characters. Like Luffy, Zoro wants to be the best in his own category, i.e., he wants to become the best swordsman in the world, surpassing his idol and rival, Dracule Mihawk, who is said to be the best swordsman in the world. People have speculated about Zoro’s powers for years, especially since he never ate a Devil Fruit. There is a running theory that he might be so good with his swords because he is a clone of the legendary swordsman, Ryūma Shimotsuki of Wano Country. In this article, we will tell you whether that is true or not.

Roronoa Zoro is not a clone of Ryūma . This is just a theory that appeared on Reddit, but the thread that elaborated on it mentioned that it was one of “the most plausible craziest theories the One Piece fandom has to offer.” Such theories appear from time to time, and while there are some interpretations that could make them true, it is simply not correct, as Zoro is not a clone of Ryūma.

The rest of this article is going to be focused on the character of Zoro and his relation to Ryūma Shimotsuki of Wano Country in One Piece. We will tell you whether Zoro is, indeed, a clone of Ryūma Shimotsuki, i.e., whether the wild and crazy theory about him is true or not. This article might contain a smaller number of spoilers, so do be careful while you’re reading.

Is Zoro a clone of Ryūma?

Born in East Blue, during his childhood, Zoro was in the village of Shimotsuki, where he studied at the local dojo. He majored in nitōryū and was already strong enough to beat adults, after which he promised to become the best swordsman in the world. On the other hand, Ryūma was born in the Ringo region of Wano Country into the Shimotsuki family. In life, Ryūma was a samurai from Wano Country in the New World who lived around four hundred years ago; famous for slaying a dragon in the Flower Capital and stopping the constant foreign invasions of the island. He is today considered to be one of the best swordsmen in the history of One Piece.

Earlier, we discussed some of the theories stating that Zoro is actually a descendant of Ryūma Shimotsuki. But these theories are, as we have said, wrong and are, in most cases, the result of Zoro fanboys and fangirls wanting to give Zoro a deeper storyline and a sense of meaning beyond that, he is a skilled powerhouse character with a clear goal. Oda himself hasn’t really hinted at anything similar. While it is not impossible for this to happen, now that the Wano Country Arc is over, it doesn’t seem likely that Oda will revisit the whole story just to make a dead character Zoro’s descendant.

But, Reddit, being what it is, has provided us with yet another, even crazier theory! Tin Foil Hat Theories has provided us with a theory that Roronoa Zoro is actually a clone of Ryūma Shimotsuki, created by Vegapunk while he was in the East Blue. The complete elaboration can be read if you follow this link, and we are going to bring you a short version of the theory that we are going to explain:

Zoro is a clone of Ryūma created by Vegapunk while the scientist was in the East Blue.

• In the same vein that people theorized that Momo’s fruit was a failure because it produced a pink dragon instead of a blue one, Zoro was regarded as a failure because he had green hair instead of Ryuma’s dark hair.
• It would explain why similarities were noted by other characters between Zoro and Ryūma and Ushimaru during Wano, but no complete explanation was given–Oda was waiting to explain it during the Vegapunk arc.
• Zoro is the only Straw Hat that wasn’t given an introduction box when he first appeared. “Roronoa Zoro” isn’t his real name and he’s likely unaware of it. Possible real name? “Ryūma Zero” and the young clone couldn’t pronounce it.
• Zoro’s backstory is nearly a complete blank slate. We don’t know his parents, why he was so interested in being a swordsman, what drove him to want to be the World’s Greatest Swordsman (he wanted this before the promise to Kuina.)
• The timelines for when Ryūma’s body was taken from Wano and when Vegapunk and Judge started experimenting on Lineage Factor line up to be a few years before Zoro was born. It’s also worth noting that Sanji–part of Judge’s experiment with Lineage Factor–and Zoro–potentially Vegapunk’s foray into the same subject– are close in age. Having Luffy’s two wings both be failed science experiments seems a bit poetic somehow.

This is the whole theory but in short. The full argumentation has been presented in the link we have provided above, and… really, there isn’t much to argue. Reddit user Mirai_no_Beederu elaborated on his theory in a brilliant matter. All the facts from the canon manga have been collected, presented, and summed up in a brilliant way, and there is really nothing we have to contradict the theory. Everything adds up perfectly, and there is really no flaw in the theory. Save for the fact that it probably isn’t true and that it probably won’t turn out like that. Still, it could. But it probably won’t.

The theory does make sense, and it explains a lot. It would explain why we’ve never gotten a detailed background for Zoro, it would explain how and why Zoro is such a naturally gifted swordsman, and it would explain the physical similarities between him and Ryūma. It would also fit in perfectly with the now-established chronology of the series and would explain a lot of background experiments done behind the scenes by some of the characters. But, the main problem with this theory is that it is simply an interpretation of all these facts.

Namely, when we look at the theory, we see that it makes sense because the facts have been put together well and interpreted from the standpoint of someone wanting to create such a theory. These facts make sense from such a point of view, but honestly, they would also make sense from any other point of view without many issues. Namely, if we consider the fact that Oda has kept Zoro’s story a secret because he has some epic story to tell us before the manga is over, all of these facts would also make perfect sense.

This would mean that this would remain a wild and crazy theory, although one of the better ones we’ve seen, to be honest. We have to praise Mirai_no_Beederu for the effort put into compiling the facts and elaborating on them, but it simply wouldn’t make sense. Knowing how Oda’s mind works – and he is as unpredictable as they get – giving Zoro such a background after so many chapters would completely destroy him as a character. It would completely ruin all the character development Oda himself worked on all these years. That is why we don’t think it will turn out like this – despite the great theory – but knowing Oda, we also have to add that we hope we’re right.