One Piece has become one of the most popular media franchises worldwide since its launch in 1997. With the recent success of its anime and live-action adaptations, the franchise shows no signs of slowing down. again. Its manga, authored by Eiichiro Oda, is currently the best-selling manga of all time by a significant margin.
Monkey D. Luffy, the main character, is now closer than ever to his ambition of becoming Pirate King, but each member of his crew must show their full potential if they want to make it to the end. Dai Tuyen. This includes Roronoa Zoro, his unofficial first mate.
Roronoa Zoro is the most famous bounty hunter in East Blue at the start of One Piece. He became even more infamous after joining the Straw Hat Pirates, earning his place as one of the Eleven Supernovas before the two-year time gap in the series.
However, without his connection to Shimotsuki Kuina, a distinct character, Zoro could never have begun his journey to become the World's Strongest Swordsman, even if his relationship with Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates are essential to him. personality.
The two established one of One Piece's most important relationships as childhood friends, but in unexpected and perhaps mysterious circumstances, Kuina died before Roronoa Zoro could begin his adventure. save yours. Her passing is one of the most important things to happen before the start of the series' plot as it sets the framework for Zoro's entire story.
Who is Shimotsuki Kuina?
It's important to first step back and examine the events leading up to Kuina's childhood in East Blue to understand her role in the One Piece universe. As the series demonstrates, the residents of Wano Country are severely cut off from the outside world, and they almost never leave their New World home.
However, Kuina's family, the Shimotsuki Clan, is a notable exception to this pattern. Shimotsuki Village, where Kuina and Roronoa Zoro trained as children, was founded by several Shimotsuki Clan members who moved to East Blue years before the events of One Piece.
Roronoa Zoro shares Kuina's ancestry with the Shimotsuki Clan. His rival from childhood is distantly related to his ancestor, Shimotsuki Ryuma, who may be the most famous member ever of the Shimotsuki Clan.
However, Shimotsuki Kozaburo, Kuina's grandfather, is probably the best swordsmith in One Piece history because he personally created Wado Ichimonji and Enma. She is one of the most promising young swordsmen in the world thanks to her relationships with these characters and with the help of her father, Koushirou, she even gains the strength to easily defeat the greedy ones. like Roronoa Zoro. Sadly, an unfortunate accident ended her journey too soon and changed Zoro's life forever.
Zoro's oath to Kuina sparks a new swordsman confrontation
At the very least, Shimotsuki Kuina and Roronoa Zoro have been training together in Shimotsuki Village for several months, however One Piece has never stated how long they have known each other. When she was 11 years old, Kuina had a 2000-0 record against Zoro, proving her natural skill with a sword.
However, one day after she used Wado Ichimonji for the first time to defeat her opponent in a duel, she died in a strange accident. According to her father, Koushirou, a very promising character has a sudden and unexpected ending when Kuina falls down the stairs and dies.
As expected, young Zoro is devastated by this news and immediately begs Koushirou if he can use Wado Ichimonji in her honor.
Roronoa Zoro promised to honor Kuina's memory by winning the prestigious title of World's Strongest Swordsman because she shared his aspirations. Before leaving Shimotsuki Village to settle down, it is unclear how long the future Straw Hat Pirate will stay there, but it can be certain that he never forgets the promise he made to his childhood friend.
Throughout One Piece, Kuina is mentioned a few more times, which supports the notion that Zoro was largely motivated to become proficient with his blade because of her loss. But because of her importance and the strange way she passed away, many fans think that Kuina's sudden death has more meaning than what Zoro told her, which could lead to a spoiler. shocking revelation in One Piece's climactic story.
Is Kuina's death related to something else?
One Piece is the most famous of the oldest series in terms of narrative coherence and foreshadowing. Eiichiro Oda's popular manga series rarely presents an important story element for no reason, and often seemingly small details allude to important plot points in the series.
Given this, it seems strange that Kuina, the most important figure in Roronoa Zoro's past and a member of the Shimotsuki Clan, would die so casually. To be fair, characters like Chopper's father, Dr. Hiriluk, and Usopp's mother, Banchina, all passed away before One Piece began.
On the contrary, Kuina's death is somewhat of an exception as these characters either (1) have a much smaller role than Kuina or (2) die in circumstances that are much more relevant to their storylines.
One Piece doesn't go any further into Kuina's death after the first flashback depicting her and Zoro's early years. However, there are some strange facts that support the idea that Shimotsuki Kuina's death was not an accident. First of all, it's a bit strange that Kuina died right after using Wado Ichimonji for the first time against Roronoa Zoro.
Even if this could just be a coincidence, given the timing, it seems odd that a character strong enough to survive a real sword fight would die after falling down the steps . Furthermore, there is a reasonable possibility that Kuina's father may have told Zoro that she fell down the stairs to conceal the real cause of her death.
Since the future Straw Hat Pirates were only ten years old when his best friend died, it would make more sense for Shimotsuki Koushirou to keep Zoro safe by lying to him about what happened if there were any trouble. more sinister motive for her death.
Do you want to discover more about Zoro's mission and delve deeper into the mysteries of One Piece? For the latest information, theories and updates on your favorite characters and storylines, visit AnimeZ. Don't miss the undiscovered mysteries of the Grand Line!
