Zoro is one of the best swordsmen in the whole world of One Piece and he constantly keeps improving to become the very best. During the two-year time skip, Zoro returned not only stronger but with a big scare on his left eye.
It is currently unknown how Zoro lost his left eye in One Piece. After the two-year time skip which saw the Straw Hat Gang disbanded and ultimately reunited, Zoro returned with a large scar on his left eye, which was also completely closed. The scar seems to indicate that Zoro lost his eye and that the injury was really big. Still, we don’t know (yet) how he got the scar.
Taking everything into account, we are going to give you all the known information about Zoro and his left eye, ultimately revealing what is known about the circumstances in which he lost it. You’re going to find out when it happened and what is know about how it happened.
When Did Zoro Lose His Eye?
The exact moment when Zoro lost his left eye happened sometime during the two-year time skip, although the exact moment when it happened was not revealed. We first saw Zoro after the time skip in episode 517 of the anime, which was the first episode of season 15, titled “A New Chapter Begins – The Straw Hat Crew Reunites!”.
No further details about Zoro’s eye have been revealed so we don’t know exactly when the loss happened.
How Did Zoro Lose His Eye?
As we’ve stated, the exact circumstances under which Zoro lost his left eye are a mystery and there are some fans who think that it should remain a mystery, although Oda will probably address it at one point, even if it ends up being just a Twitter reply. Now, as for the reasons, there are several (more or less) plausible theories about Zoro’s left eye.
The first and most intuitive theory is that he sort of injured himself while training with Mihawk, somehow. This actually makes sense given what is known of Mihawk’s rough training style, his immense strength, and Zoro’s own stubbornness. This is a simple theory and those who don’t like to complicate should adhere to it.
The weirdest among the theories is that a demon actually lives inside Zoro’s closed left eye, which doesn’t really look like Oda’s style at all. It doesn’t even look like a One Piece thing and there is absolutely no basis for it aside from the Asura illusion, but that was more of a sword technique than a demonic power.
If it were a demonic power, it would make a lot more sense to connect it with the Kitetsu and not Zoro. Zoro is not a magician and has the same kitetsu, the same swords, and he made no suggestion that he still needed to master the sandai kitetsu. So there would be no need for him to close his eyes to use Asura.
The theory about the demonic eye is really far-fetched and it doesn’t really make sense; it would look like pure fanservice on Oda’s side, and he is now known for using such means. This theory creates more confusion and raises more questions than answers.
Also, we don’t really think that Zoro would need a cursed sword to perform the Asura, seeing how skilled he is. It just wouldn’t make much sense, really. For him, it would be much worse if he could use any technique with any sword.
We saw that the swords in One Piece are nothing like the Zanpakuto in Kubo’s Bleach. The swords are regular weapons and their usage depends on the uses, which means that the Asura is related to Zoro’s “manifestation” of his sword skills and nothing else.
Zoro also doesn’t have a Devil Fruit, which could be the source of some superhuman or supernatural power. Another obvious example is “Vista of the Flower Swords”, which uses a technique that creates a slice of rose petals, but that doesn’t mean he contains some kind of fairy or forest spirit. It is simply a sword technique and nothing else.
Another example is Kinemon. He has a fruit that is only suitable for clothing, but he can actually cut through fires and explosions without any special skills (which is something no one else can). It’s a pure sword technique, and nothing else, like everything we’ve talked about here.
Another theory suggests that Zoro could simply have practiced using only one eye to develop better depth perception and visual acuity. After all, the guy actually trained with “Hawk Eyes” Mihawk. It makes sense for Zoro to learn techniques that boost his visual acuity.
All of these theories could account for Zoro losing his eye but they’re unconfirmed and we’ll just have to see whether Eiichiro Oda answers this question at all.
Does Zoro Open His Left Eye?
The running theory is that Zoro never opened his left eye. And he never did it directly. Although, there is a suggestion that Zoro’s eye ended up being opened at the end of the manga chapter 1009, which was published on April 5, 2021, under the title “Naraku”.
In the chapter, Zoro and Luffy fight Kaidou and Big Mom, among other things, and Zoro takes a powerful attack after which he ends up coughing up blood. Okay, the scene itself isn’t anything strange or new for Zoro, but a panel from the manga (see above), seems to suggest that Zoro also opened his eye while coughing up the blood.
This wasn’t referenced later and it could be just a misinterpretation, as the panel is not completely clear, but it exists and it remains to see how Oda will develop the story of Zoro’s eye.
