Zoro's final villain in One Piece may be Shiryu, not Nusjuro, and this theory explains why

One Piece chapter 1113 is set to be released on April 29, 2024. The spoilers for the chapter made the shocking reveal of Sanji fighting Saint Nusjuro, who fans speculated to be the opponent of Roronoa Zoro as he recently defeated Rob Lucci.

Although this reveal doesn't mean that there are zero chances of Roronoa Zoro going against Saint Nusjuro, there could be a chance that there is another opponent whose talent could be unpolished right now and he could be a better opponent for the swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates.

That opponent could be one of the Commanders of the Blackbeard's ships, Shiryu. Since he was freed from Impel Down, he hasn't revealed much of his swordsmanship. Moreover, his first words after being released from jail could foreshadow him as the final villain of Zoro, whom the Straw Hat could willingly take care of.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the One Piece manga series

One Piece: Exploring why Shiryu could be Zoro's final opponent, rather than Saint Nusjuro

Saint Nusjuro as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

According to the spoilers of One Piece chapter 1113, the chapter started with Saint Marus being lured toward Punk Records as he was fooled into thinking that Vegapunk's message was streaming from this place. The other Gorosei had also given up hope on finding Vegapunk and were thinking of blowing up Egghead with the Mother Flame.

On Nami's side, Saint Saturn tried to kill Robin but her crewmates saved her and fled. Vegapunk had started revealing his message and revealed that the world would sink under water, without giving any details.

Sanji, on the other hand, was carrying a dead Vegapunk, chasing the voice of a girl. When he reached it, it was Bonney screaming as Saint Nusjuro had cornered her. Sanji kicked him but the Saint fought back and tried to chew the Straw Hat. Oimo and Kashii made a surprise entry and saved Sanji, which gave Bonney enough time to become a giant and stomp into Nusjuro.

While Sanji facing Saint Nusjuro doesn't eliminate the chances of Zoro facing the Saint, there could be another opponent waiting for him at the end of his journey and that could be the swordsman of the Blackbeard Pirates, Shiryu.

Shiryu as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Shiryu was the ex-head jailer of Impel Down. He was imprisoned due to the excessive murdering of the prisoners and was released temporarily when Monkey D Luffy invaded Impel Down. He took this chance to betray the World Government and killed the officers who released him from jail using his sword.

To link him to Zoro let's first explore his origins which haven't been revealed yet in the story. Shiryu's attire consists of a uniform and a hat with a skull wearing a crown. This could link him to one of New World's kingdoms, the Doerana Kingdom, whose flag is a crown.

This kingdom was involved in the weapon trafficking incident during the Dressrosa arc, which could make his origins as a criminal true. Moreover, at Beehive Island during the Egghead arc of One Piece, Garp's reaction after seeing Shiryu indicated that these two knew each other from the past, but nothing could be deducted from this relationship.

Shiryu after cutting the officers who released him (Image via Toei Animation)

So, to establish his link with Zoro, let's look at the moment he was released from his prison during the Impel Down arc. As soon as he was released and handed his sword, he cut down the officers who released him and said Kirisuke gomen, which closely translates to 'my apologies for cutting you down.'

Coincidently, this phrase has had a cultural history for the samurai of Japan as it was used when a samurai slashed someone who compromised their beliefs/honor. This could make him closely related to the samurai and the only samurai kingdom in the series is Wano Kingdom. This could make his connections to Zoro, whose ancestors were from Wano, pretty close.

Ironically, Shiryu is the last person using this phrase as he killed these people without any reason. So, why would a person, who was taught to be a samurai, disrespect this phrase, as samurai were pretty strict? In One Piece chapter 1033, a brief flashback of Zoro was revealed which consisted of his meeting with Shimotsuki Kozaburo.

While Kozaburo did give Zoro his two blades, he also explained to him that a swordsman must bend the natural will of a sword into their own will. Shiryu's sword is Raiu, a meito blade whose abilities are unknown. There could be a chance that Shiryu couldn't bend his blade's will and was taken over by its will whenever he wielded it.

This could be the reason why as soon as he was handed the blade, his bloodthirst was activated and he slashed soldiers on the spot. This could make Raiu a cursed blade, making it hard to control as indicated by Zoro still having a hard time controlling Enma, another cursed sword.

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So, Shiryu could just be a samurai who still holds his training but lost against the will of his sword. Zoro, on the other hand, is a strict person who holds his beliefs and samurai with utmost regard, as indicated when he stopped Usopp from returning to the Straw Hats unless he apologized.

So, Shiryu could be the last person Zoro had to eliminate because he is a disgrace to the name of the samurai. This kind of relationship hasn't been revealed between Zoro and Saint Nusjuro, which could be why Shiryu would be the last person Zoro would face.

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