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Since One Piece began, Monkey D. Luffy, the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, and Roronoa Zoro, his loyal first mate and right-hand man, have had an amazing bond. They make a formidable duo, similar to the one previously formed by Gol D. Roger and Silvers Rayleigh.
Aiming to become the Pirate King and, respectively, the World's Strongest Swordsman, Luffy and Zoro are the Straw Hats' mightiest fighters. The only two crewmembers to be natural-born Conqueror's Haki users, they can even use the advanced version of this power, which is an outstanding feat in itself.
As the only Straw Hat who is, to a certain extent, comparable in power to Luffy, Zoro is the only one who has ever been able to fight valiantly against his captain's foes. Since Luffy and Zoro also battled shoulder-to-shoulder many times, this thread will list all the adversaries the two shared in the One Piece story.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1092.
All One Piece characters that only Luffy and Zoro fought, listed in chronological order
1) "Ax Hand" Morgan
Seeking a powerful comrade to become his first mate, Luffy went in search of Zoro, who was already famous as a mighty bounty hunter. Locked up in Shell Town's Marine Base, Zoro accepted Luffy's proposal after learning that Captain Morgan wouldn't respect the deal they had made.
While Zoro easily handled the Marines, Luffy had the upper hand against Morgan. As the latter's son, Helmeppo, took Koby hostage at gunpoint, Morgan exploited the situation to strike Luffy with his ax.
However, Zoro beat Morgan at speed and struck him with his Three Sword Style: Oni Giri, immediately knocking him down. Having freed Shell Town from Morgan's tyranny, Luffy and Zoro greeted Koby and set sail towards their adventures.
2) Themselves
Among the Straw Hats, only Zoro was ever able to match Luffy in a real battle. During the fight, which took place shortly before the Arabasta Arc, Luffy and Zoro, despite their bond, were dead serious as they challenged each other to see who was the strongest between them.
Luffy had the same eyes he had when he meant business, while Zoro specifically donned the bandana he wears when he stops playing around. They used some of their strongest attacks, the Gum-Gum Bazooka and the Three Sword Syle: Onigiri, clashing on par.
As a testament to the effort they put in, Luffy and Zoro angrily wiped out the Baroque Works agents who tried to interfere with their showdown. The result of the fight was purposely left ambiguous, as One Piece author Eiichiro Oda used Nami as a plot device to interrupt the clash just at its climax. Clearly, at the time, Luffy and Zoro had the same level of overall strength.
3) Wyper
As the Straw Hat crew split up to explore Skypiea, Luffy, before, and Zoro, later, were challenged to a fight by Wyper. Impressively, the Shandia warrior clashed equally with each of them. While Luffy and Zoro couldn't overwhelm him, Wyper also couldn't gain the upper hand on them.
Eventually, Wyper decided to put aside his battle with Zoro and side with him and the others against Enel. Wyper and Zoro combined their strength to destroy an immense beanstalk called Giant Jack, providing pivotal support for Luffy, who was exploiting his rubber body to fight Enel.
4) Aqua Laguna
During their trip from Water Seven to Enies Lobby, the Franky Family and some of the Straw Hat Pirates were cornered by the incoming Aqua Laguna, an insanely huge wave of water. Thus, Luffy and Zoro joined forces against the gigantic tide.
Luffy performed his Gum-Gum Cannon, while Zoro simultaneously unleashed his 108 Pound Cannon. Their combined move, which they named "Gum-Gum 300 Pound Cannon", overcame the Aqua Laguna, breaking through it.
5) Dracule Mihawk
Two of the strongest One Piece characters, "Red Hair" Shanks and "Hawk Eyes" Mihawk, share a world-renowned rivalry. Shanks and Mihawk are the main benchmarks for Luffy and Zoro, serving as both mentors and rivals for the two main members of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Since the story began, Mihawk has been set up as Zoro's final and strongest opponent. Despite easily beating Zoro, Mihawk acknowledged the young pirate's potential and decided to hold on until he fulfilled it, waiting for him at the top of the world.
Left with a crippling wound, Zoro was forced to become stronger, overcoming it. During the time skip, Mihawk taught Zoro how to use Haki. Gradually, the young swordsman approached the level required to confront "Hawk Eyes" and his unparalleled Black Blade.
Upon recognizing the potential of the two strongest Straw Hats, Mihawk actively put them to the test. In Marineford, he tested Luffy, keeping pressure on him to see how he would fight back. Forced to bring out his best, Luffy temporarily awakened his Observation Haki.
6) Hody Jones
Merciless and violent, Hody Jones wanted to carry on Arlong's hatred for humans. After taking a huge quantity of Energy Steroids, which enhanced his might severalfold, Hody tried to challenge Zoro. The fight took place underwater, which would clearly benefit a Fish-Man.
Despite having doped himself and being in a favorable environment, Hody didn't stand a chance against Zoro, who, even while holding himself back, beat him in a flash. Terribly injured, Hody was only revived as his henchmen fed him further Energy Steroids, which caused him a physical transformation.
With his body completely changed, Hody challenged Luffy. The latter totally dominated him, although Hody withstood some of his attacks, including the Gum-Gum Red Hawk, before succumbing to the Gum-Gum Elephant Gun.
Hody also managed to pierce through Luffy's Armament Haki, critically injuring the young pirate. Still, it must be noted that Luffy was holding himself back. He could have used his Gear 4 form to beat Hody even more easily.
7) Hyouzou
To increase the military might of his group, Hody Jones had hired another powerful Fish-Man, Hyouzou. A mercenary assassin, Hyouzou showed impressive skills as he was able to block a punch from Gear 2 Luffy without any injury.
Hyouzou even counterattacked Luffy, swiftly poisoning him. As such, Luffy himself acknowledged the Fish-Man as a strong fighter. Later, Hyouzou further empowered himself by taking so many Energy Steroids that he underwent a physical transformation like Hody.
Still, Hyouzou was no match for Zoro, who destroyed his swords without even paying attention to the Fish-Man's attacks. Angered at not being taken seriously, Hyouzou tried to sneak attack Zoro, but the latter effortlessly cut him down.
8) Dragon Number Thirteen
Upon arriving on Punk Hazard, some of the Straw Hats started exploring the island, where they came across Dragon Number Thirteen, a ferocious beast artificially created by Dr Vegapunk to guard the place.
Able to fly and breathe large streams of fire, the dragon was a rather tough foe. Its durable skin withstood Luffy's punches, while its teeth were strong enough to clash with Zoro's swords. Eventually, however, Zoro used his One Sword Style: Death Lion Song to strike the monster, beheading it.
9) Monet
Sent to Punk Hazard by Doflamingo to oversee Caesar Clown's activities, Monet was a cunning fighter. Despite being far weaker than Luffy, she exploited her Devil Fruit powers to hold her own against the "super rookie". It must be noted, however, that Luffy wasn't going all-out on her.
After subduing Nami and Nico Robin, Monet was stopped by Zoro before she could kill Tashigi. Even though Zoro just exerted a mere bit of his strength, it was enough to intimidate Monet, leaving her paralyzed in fear. This scene clearly foreshadowed Zoro's talent for Conqueror's Haki.
10) Pica
Alongside Vergo, Pica was one of Doflamingo's two strongest subordinates. Via his Devil Fruit, Pica could merge his body with stone, allowing him to move at high speeds within it, swimming through solid rock as if it were water.
Pica's Stone-Stone Fruit granted him control over all the rocks on Dressrosa. Morphing with the island's stone, he created a mountain-sized golem, which he could freely manipulate. Luffy used his Gear 3 to shatter the head of Pica's golem, but the stone monster just reformed it.
Later, Pica's giant golem was destroyed by Zoro, who used his Armament Haki-enhanced Three Sword Style to cut it into pieces. As such, Pica tried to retaliate by covering his entire body with Armament Haki, as Vergo did against Law. However, Zoro easily cut through Pica's Haki, brutally defeating him.
11) Issho "Fujitora"
Among all the Straw Hats, only Luffy and Zoro clashed with Fujitora. As Zoro was about to attack Doflamingo, the Marine Admiral stepped in and blocked his strike. He then used his Press-Press Fruit to attack Zoro with a gravitational force.
Impressively, Zoro was able to defend himself from Fujitora, even performing a counterattack that pushed the Admiral back. Fujitora wasn't going all-out, but so was Zoro, who never used his Haki or his best techniques. Sometime later, the two clashed again.
Sent to capture Luffy, Fujitora started trading blows with him. Wanting to give the blind admiral a fair shot, Luffy started declaring his moves in advance. Moved, Fujitora admitted that he should not have blinded himself, as that stopped him from seeing the faces of people like Luffy.
12) Kaido and Big Mom
In Wano, the five strongest rookie pirates, Luffy, Zoro, Law, Kid, and Killer, teamed up to fight Kaido and Big Mom. During the battle against the two Emperors, Luffy and Zoro proved themselves to be notably stronger than the other Supernovas of the Worst Generation.
The only moves that really threatened Kaido's safety were Zoro's Flying Dragon Blaze and Luffy's Gum-Gum Kong Gatling. Zoro even blocked Kaido and Big Mom's destructive combined attack, protecting the others, although at the cost of grievous injuries.
As Kaido knocked out Luffy, Zoro gathered the last of his strength to fight the Emperor head-on. In the ensuing clash, Zoro inflicted Kaido with a large cut, deep enough to leave him with a scar. Still, the Emperor endured the damage, while the green-haired swordsman collapsed shortly after.
Eventually, Luffy unlocked the Advanced Conqueror's Haki and a new form called Gear 5, which he combined to perform the ravaging Gum-Gum Bajrang Gun. With this move, Luffy overpowered Kaido's Rising Dragon: Flame Bagua, and finally defeated the Emperor.
13) Rob Lucci
Two years before One Piece's current narration, Lucci fought on par with Luffy, pushing the latter to his limits and beyond. After the time skip, Lucci returned much stronger than before, having developed a powerful Armament Haki and achieved the Awakening of his Zoan Devil Fruit.
In Egghead, Luffy and Lucci, now, respectively, an Emperor and the strongest agent of CP0, had a rematch. They clashed on par, with Lucci's physical strength and Armament Haki equally matching Gear 5 Luffy's, which is a notable feat.
However, as soon as Luffy started using more force, he knocked out Lucci. Besides, while Luffy used his Gear 5 form, he held back his Advanced Conqueror's Haki and his strongest finishing moves. Had he used these abilities, his superiority would have been clearer.
One day later, Zoro and Lucci started fighting, with the former blowing the latter through a wall. Pending further developments in the next One Piece chapters, the fight promises to be an amazing showdown, in which Zoro should emerge victorious due to his superior Haki.
Be sure to keep up with One Piece's manga, anime, and live-action, as 2023 progresses
