King of Hell – Zoro’s New Epithet in One Piece

King of Hell - Zoro's New Epithet

Zoro vs King’s fight is finally over now with the former emerging victorious. This was by far the toughest fight in Zoro’s life (apart from Mihawk) and he did great to defeat probably the strongest right-hand man of a Yonko. Although the fight is over, Zoro has come up with the new title of King of Hell.

This could be interpreted in many ways. If we go back to a few chapters earlier, Sanji stated that if Luffy wanted, he would become a monster for him. We believe that Oda is trying to do the same with Zoro. However, where does this “King of Hell” come from? Let’s find out as we discuss Zoro’s association with the epithet.

King of Hell – Zoro’s New Epithet

King of Hell – Why is Zoro Calling Himself That?

This epithet didn’t directly come out of a thin air. Zoro has transformed his three sword style to a new level and now that he’s able to utilize the power of Enma to its full extent, he is framing himself as a King of Hell. Note that Enma is related to the underworld and hell fits the theme perfectly.

With this new style, Zoro can extract all of his haki and put it into Enma. As one of the ghost grades of swords in the world, Enma perfectly complements his fighting style. Both are fiery and unique and support each other in their way. With Enma, Zoro can put all of his haki into the weapon.

There could also be an assumption made based on King. Since King is known as “The Wildfire”, we can assume that being “King of Hell” means that Zoro now has command over the fire, hence he was able to defeat King. It could be just a Wordplay but knowing Oda, there has to be something more.

King of Hell – Zoro’s New Epithet

Why Zoro Being King of Hell Makes Sense

If you look back to Zoro’s journey, he has been a part of many instances where he experienced the hell-like condition. The first one was his fight against Mihawk where he was injured severely. Despite that, he still fought Hachi in Arlong Park and his injury woes only increased.

But these things never stopped Zoro since his ambition was above the rest. He picked up the sword and kept pushing his limits to surpass everyone that came in his path. Although he had a bit of a leisure post-time skip with slightly weaker opponents, his determination never faded away.

Zoro’s encounter with Kuma is also a prime example of why he deserves the epithet. He took all of Luffy’s pain which only multiplied the injuries he has received earlier. Despite soaking in all of Luffy’s pain and getting all bloodied, Zoro remained firm on his foot and never to this day ever told Luffy about the incident.

It just shows you how great Zoro’s character is. He would go to any length for the sake of his friends and loved ones and even if it comes to him becoming King of Hell, he would do it. He’s yet to reach his limits and possibly there won’t be an instant where he will give up his determination.

What’s Next for Zoro?

After his fight with King, there are now very few people who could rival Zoro. As for the swordsmen, only Shanks and Mihawk are possible candidates whoever is stronger than him. As for others, the emperors, admirals, and potentially Ben Backman are a match for him. He has now joined the elite list of the strongest people in One Piece.

His next fight could be either against Shiryu or Ben Beckman. Or if the government infiltrates Wano, he may even fight against one of the admirals. Though it’s highly unlikely since it’s too early, the possibility of him fighting Beckman next is high.

But we don’t know if he’s capable of defeating him. Red Hair Pirates are one of the most mysterious pirate groups in the world of One Piece. We know they’re strong but we don’t know their gauge of strength. Beckman is said to be pretty close in terms of strength to Shanks.

Knowing Shanks, we can assume that Beckman is strong enough to challenge one of the Emperors. So it’s going to take quite some effort for Zoro to defeat him. His final stop then is Mihawk. By the time he fights him, he may have already surpassed Mihawk. But who knows, maybe Oda would throw another one of his curveballs.

Why is Zoro called King of Hell? Let us know what you think in the comments. For more One Piece updates, make sure to follow us on social media. One Piece is available to read on Viz media.

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