Zoro’s Connection To Shimotsuki Clan!
Zoro’s real origin has been a mystery for such a long time and it seems like Oda is finally unfolding Zoro’s family origin secrets to us bit by bit in pieces. It’s up to us, the readers to just connect the dots that are being shared from time to time. There is just so much going on in the Wano arc that it can be hard to keep up with all the events and the information which is getting passed on in each chapter.
Today, we will explore and connect all the dots possible to make a connection between Zoro and the infamous Shimotsuki Clan of Wano. This post will contain some spoilers from the latest manga chapters so please turn back right now if you don’t want to get spoiled. If you still want to continue, let’s get started!
Zoro’s hometown is called the Shimotsuki village which was named after Shimotsuki Kozaburo, a member of the Shimotsuki Family from Wano Country. Kozaburo is the wordsmith who crafted Wado Ichimonji and Enma that are currently with Zoro. If you remember, Koushiro was Zoro’s master & Kuina’s father. Now, it’s also revealed that Kozaburo was Koushiro’s father.
Then on their adventure, Zoro got to meet Shimotsuki Ryuma and inherited Shusui till he returned it back to Wano in return for Enma. Now, if we analyze Zoro’s adventure in Wano, the one prominent figure from Wano who was with Zoro for most of the time was Yasuie. Yasuie’s full name is Shimotsuki Yasuie. Not a coincidence, just another dot to connect. Well, still people might think it is just some big coincidence but after seeing the latest chapters, it seems like it is not far away when Oda fully reveals Zoro’s origin.
In Chapter 1023, Kawamatsu and Hyogoro discuss how they hesitated and could not speak up when Zoro was given Enma just because of his similarities to the former Daimyo of Ringo, Shimotsuki Ushimaru. Ushimaru is also the direct descendant of Shimotsuku Ryuma, the God of the Blade! As you can see, Ushimaru just looks like Zoro as well. They also mention that it must be fate as Zoro was the one through which Shusui was returned back to Wano and just like Ryuma, Zoro is also currently a ‘one-eyed’ samurai.
One small tidbit though, Ushimaru, after being imprisoned by Kaidou, wore bandages around his head that covered his left eye. So, basically, he also became a one-eyed samurai with his left eye closed just like Zoro!? In the latest chapters, they showed the last moments of Ushimaru as well where he and his fellow samurai met their end trying to fight Kaido one last time.
Also, Ushimaru’s partner was a fox named Onimaru. It’s already revealed that it was Onimaru who posed as a human named ‘Gyukimaru’ that was collecting weapons for the raid for so many years. Also, who is the Straw Hat member who kept clashing with Onimaru in Wano? Yes, it was Zoro. All this cannot be a coincidence, I hope it is a big unfolding of Zoro’s real origin instead. I think it’s very likely now that Roronoa Zoro is actually Shimotsuki Zoro and Roronoa could be his mother’s family name. Well, now we just need to wait and see when will Oda completely tell us about Zoro’s real origin which for now are only pointing toward the Shimotsuki Clan!
