One Piece is undoubtedly a series with its fair share of strong and powerful characters. Due to these characters’ powers and abilities, there are more than enough characters we can use for our comparisons. The protagonists of this comparison are going to be Zoro, a member of Luffy’s crew, and Yamato, the daughter of Kaidou, a former Emperor of the Sea in the world of One Piece. In this article, we are going to analyze the two, as we are going to pit Zoro against Yamato to finally determine who the stronger character is.
At this point, Yamato would be able to defeat Zoro. The difference between them is not that big, and Zoro’s skills are better than Yamato’s on paper, but Yamato is Kaidou’s child and is thus more powerful, more durable, and a more resilient fighter than Zoro. Still, despite this, it wouldn’t really take Zoro much to catch up to Yamato’s level of power.
The rest of this article will further elaborate on the above-given answer, as we are going to compare Yamato and Zoro in more detail. Through several categories, you are going to see who the stronger of the two is and why our answer is like it is, i.e., why Yamato would ultimately be able to defeat Zoro in a direct fight.
Physical powers
Yamato was shown to have enormous physical strength, as she was able to knock Ulti out with a single blow from his mace when she was transformed. Due to his large size, he was able to easily pick up Luffy and grab him with just one arm while he was running. Yamato is quite fast, being able to dash forward with blinding speed to attack her targets, as well as escape from pursuing Beasts Pirates members.
Yamato also possesses great stamina, withstanding explosions and direct slashes without much trouble, ending up with only superficial bruises and cuts. As a child, Yamato was able to withstand the beatings her father gave her and managed to go without eating for a while.
Zoro is one of the physically strongest characters in the series. He demonstrated his strength when he was fighting Daz Bones. He easily lifted a building despite the injuries he had. He is seen training on the Thousand Sunny with ton-weight dumbbells. His strength is surely equal to or greater than that of a giant, as he was able to parry a direct hit from Oars with his swords. After the time skip, Zoro greatly increased his strength.
Sure, you’ll argue that Zoro managed to cut Kaidou, but that didn’t do much in the end, did it? Yamato is Kaidou’s daughter, and in that aspect, her physical skills, including her endurance, are above Zoro’s level. Since Yamato is much more resilient, we definitely have to give Yamato the point here.
Points: Yamato 1, Zoro 0
Devil Fruit
Yamato ate the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Okuchi no Makami, a Mythic Zoan-type Fruit that her father Kaido had collected. She inadvertently ate it because she was hungry. This fruit allows her to transform into “Ōkuchi-no-Magami,” the deification of the Wolf of Honshū, an extinct subspecies of a wolf living in Japan, considered protective of humans. This Fruit allows him to generate a destructive breath and resembles a creature with fangs, a slender snout, and misty-looking hair.
Roronoa Zoro is a very powerful character. He is known as one of the most powerful characters in the series and one of the series’ best swordsmen; he is, by all means, probably going to surpass even Mihawk in the future. Now, Zoro’s powers and feats definitely merit a conclusion that he has consumed a Devil Fruit, but is that really true? It’s not – namely, Roronoa Zoro has never eaten a Devil Fruit.
This makes Zoro one of a very small number of characters (the most notable other one being Mihawk) who are extremely powerful but have not actually consumed a Devil Fruit; most of the other powerful characters have to thank their Devil Fruits for their individual reputations.
This one is also pretty clear, like the above-analyzed category. Zoro doesn’t have a Devil Fruit, whereas Yamato has one, and a very powerful one at that. In that aspect, Yamato clearly wins the points in this category.
Points: Yamato 2, Zoro 0
Haki
Yamato is able to use all three forms of Haki, like her father, which is a very rare feat in the world of One Piece. Yamato possesses the Conqueror’s Haki, a very rare form of Haki. Yamato instinctively activated this Haki when she was a child while running through Onigashima, accidentally knocking out many of his father’s subordinates. She will have mastered it by the time she becomes an adult, as he was seen imbuing her Kanabō with Conqueror’s Haki, which produces dark flashes while attacking Kaidou with the Raimei Hakke technique.
Yamato is also a highly skilled user of Armament Haki, imbuing her hand and Kanabō with it as she attacks Hatcha, causing a lightning-like effect. Yamato can use this Haki in its advanced stage, being able to throw it a great distance forward and strike distant opponents with tremendous force with a single Kanabō swing, which was enough to defeat Hatcha. Yamato can also use it to injure Logia users, such as in her first encounter with Ace, managing to injure him. Yamato is also able to use Observation Haki.
Zoro is one of the few people to possess all 3 forms of Haki. Zoro possesses the Royal Haki, the rarest Haki, whose users are said to possess the qualities of a King. He is first mentioned to hold this power by Kaido after Zoro’s nine-sword attack. During his fight against King, he uses the Royal Haki to coat his sabers, a very advanced form, and at the same time, members of the Hundred Beasts Crew are seen fainting around.
He didn’t use the Haki offensively against Monet but still managed to beat her as she thought he was going to use the Haki and, therefore, she was going to die. The fear that Monet felt at that moment completely destabilized her. He has learned to imbue his sabers with Haki to make them more effective against Haki or Devil Fruit users.
He also used the Armament Haki on Pica to slice him, which means his Haki is more advanced than Pica’s. Using the Haki also allows him to counter Devil Fruit powers, as he did to temporarily stop the Birdcage.
He first uses the Observation in his fight against Nuru, a Fishman capable of blinding his opponents thanks to the lantern on his forehead, even telling him that he only used his eyes to see and that was why he was weak; he made use of it again to find Caribou in the palace. He also uses it during the Arc Dressrosa to find where the one who stole his saber is but also to find Pica during his fight against him.
And while we might argue that Yamato’s Haki skills are more powerful than Zoro’s, the difference is not so significant that we couldn’t split the points in this category, seeing how both of these characters can use all three types of Haki.
Points: Yamato 3, Zoro 1
Weapons
Like her father, Yamato possesses a Kanabō, which suits his height; in conjunction with her immense strength, she was able to use it to defeat Ulti temporarily. This Kanabō is named Takeru; With the strength of Yamato, it can be used to perform flying strikes which can even look like energy blasts. Yamato’s skills with her Kanabō are truly amazing, as has been shown when she was able to move around quickly while effortlessly countering all of Luffy’s attacks.
At the beginning of his journey as a pirate, Zoro only mastered the Santoryu, his conventional fighting style. Still, over time he began to master techniques from other schools, such as Nitoryu, Ittoryu, or even Mutouryu. Currently, Zoro and the rest of the crew have improved their abilities to face the New World.
Zoro is known to be able to cut through a Pacifista the caliber of those found in the Sabaody Archipelago, so it follows that Zoro can relatively easily cut through materials even harder than steel without using any Shishi Sonson-like moves, very probably because he has learned to use busoshoku haki.
And while we definitely cannot ignore the fact that Yamato is one of the most skilled weapon users in the whole series, Zoro is regarded as one of the best swordsmen in the series and is close to the level of Shanks and Mihawk, which is why we have to acknowledge that and award him the point in this category.
Points: Yamato 3, Zoro 2
Yamato vs. Zoro: Who wins?
This comparison was an interesting one but also a fairly easy one, as the results were more or less clear. Before we analyze the results, we have to confirm that both Yamato and Zoro are amazing fighters and are considered to be among Luffy’s strongest allies. This is why this comparison was so intriguing, as we had two characters that were so intriguing themselves. Plus, both of them rely heavily on their physical powers and skills, although Yamato does have a very powerful Devil Fruit. But let us see what the numbers said.
Yamato is Kaidou’s daughter, and that gives her an amazing advantage. She is physically superior to most other characters, a trait she inherited from her monstrous-looking father, and Zoro is definitely one such character; sure, Zoro is incredibly strong, but not Kaidou’s kid-level strong. Yamato’s heritage also gives her exceptional durability and speed, with the former surpassing Zoro’s and the latter being on Zoro’s level. This is why Yamato is physically stronger than Zoro.
On top of that, her Devil Fruit gives her an obvious advantage over Zoro, who is not a Devil Fruit user himself. However, Zoro can cope with a lot of Devil Fruit users. Nevertheless, Yamato’s Devil Fruit is quite powerful, and when combined with her physical powers, it gives her an important advantage over Zoro.
The Haki was a category where we decided to split the points, but interestingly enough, we still think that Yamato’s Haki is more powerful than Zoro’s. Sure, we’ve acknowledged the fact that Zoro can use all three types of Haki, but we honestly think that if it would come down to whose Haki is stronger, Yamato would come out on top.
And that brings us to the last category, the only category where Zoro actually surpasses Yamato – swordsmanship. Sure, Yamato is, like Kaidou, a skilled weapons user, and combined with her overall power, she would be able to defeat most enemies with her weapons. But Zoro is on a wholly different level in this aspect, and he is one of the best swordsmen in the world, striving to become the best. This is why we’re certain that his skills in this aspect are superior to Yamato’s, but that is not enough in the end.
Our analysis thus brings us to the inevitable conclusion that, at this moment, Yamato would be able to defeat Zoro. It would be an intense and close fight, but Kaidou’s daughter simply has more strength and stamina than the skilled swordsman, and that would be enough, in our opinion. For now. Namely, Zoro is a very quick learner and he is certainly going to surpass Yamato at one point, which is when we might edit this article, but that moment is still somewhere in the future and is mere speculation. This article is, of course, based on the current state of things, and that is why our conclusion is as it is.
