The New World has thus far offered Roronoa Zoro no proper challenges. The captain of the New Fishman Pirates, not some subordinate, was swiftly cut down by his blade, underwater. On Punk Hazard, Monet’s confidence wilted once the swordsman flashed his malicious potential, her shattered psyche left struggling to reassemble her body of snowflakes. A pirate capable of aggregating all of the bedrock in an entire nation was little more for Zoro than an exercise in dividing by two, rinse and repeat until there was no stone left unturned. He has walked away from each of his duels unscathed, the outcome never once in doubt, a fathomless gulf separating him and his closest rival.

What, then, is the ceiling of Zoro’s swordsmanship? This remains one of the most fascinating unanswered questions of any Straw Hat crewmate’s potential to me. Eiichiro Oda could be laying the groundwork for Luffy’s de facto first mate to make tremendous waves further into the New World. While I’m certainly not holding my breath, the potential for Zoro to surprise us all with his untapped limits only increases with each of his uncontested bouts. I will now propose two exciting outcomes of this that, although unlikely, cannot be ruled out at this point.

The extent of Zoro’s strength has piqued my interest since Punk Hazard. After being handed a suffocating defeat at the hands of Caesar Clown, Zoro had some choice words for his captain. “What were those two years for?” he scolds, “Stop messing around! From here on out this is the New World.” Zoro’s choice of words indicate that he may have given more thought to the dangers posed by the second half of the Grand Line than any other crew member. His improved skill is enough to impress members of the old generation including Don Chinjao, and he wields the confidence to cross blades with an admiral without hesitation.

I’m not going to get into the hypothetical measuring stick argument that Zoro is as strong as his captain, or even as strong as Trafalgar Law. Such jockeying relies on flimsy comparisons and unreliable assumptions. Moreover, as I have covered before, One Piece isn’t a story that is overly concerned with “power levels.” Time after time, Oda has demonstrated a penchant for navigating around this narrative-inhibiting shonen trope in favor having David beat Goliath by way of creativity or perseverance.

What Zoro can be, however, is an ace in the hole that we have assumed the Straw Hats to be missing until this point. Many have speculated that Luffy would need another great ally in order to progress through the Four Emperor’s storyline, perhaps even one of the emperors themselves. Luffy tag-teamed with Law in order to take down Donquixote Doflamingo, but perhaps the next time we see such a two-on-one, it will be Luffy and Zoro combining their fighting prowess. Yet more interesting, now that the crew has split up, is the possibility that Zoro could defeat a major antagonist on his own, in samurai territory at that. If Jack or some other Kaido-aligned pirate becomes the central figure of a pre-Wano primer arc, we could see Zoro dispose of the biggest threat facing his party in lieu of Luffy’s absence.

My favorite idea, however, is the possibility that Zoro has already achieved his dream. Brace yourself for the ludicrous sentence you are about to read: In his two years of training, Zoro became the world’s strongest swordsman. Unlikely as that may be, I think it would be a refreshing and unique plot twist.

In addition to the evidence bearing Zoro’s thus far unrivaled swordsmanship, we have seen his mentor and current world’s greatest, Dracule Mihawk, imparting his technique for infusing blades with haki via flashback. I propose that this could be the first of several similar flashbacks peppered into several New World arcs in which Mihawk passes down his techniques, all culminating in a scene in which Zoro finally outduels his hawkish teacher. Further evidence is that Mihawk seems to be enjoying something akin to retirement, taken from a scene in the decks of the world series. Not exactly the look of the finest in the world honing their craft, is it?

Another factor is simply diversity of storytelling. Point of fact, the Straw Hat crew has grown substantially, and Oda has a lot of big dreams to fulfill by the end of One Piece. Having one of these dreams achieved in a flashback would be an inspired way to pull one over on us, rather than Oda simply knocking down dream domino after domino in succession at story’s end. At the same time, this could represent a potential boon of combative power that Zoro can spring to turn the tide on an otherwise dire situation. Although I concede that to some extent having such a monumental scene take place in the past may be anticlimatic, what better way can you think to turn the tables than to reveal that the world’s strongest swordsman is on your side?

Suffice it to say, I am hoping that Oda has been building Zoro up for something special to come as the stakes continue to be raised in the New World. Perhaps I am overthinking Zoro’s potential, and the reason the former pirate hunter never loses is simply because he promised his captain he never would back on Baratie. That would be fitting, but it wouldn’t be as thrilling. Whatever the case, I eagerly await the first real challenge Zoro will have faced (future, or past!).

Thanks for the read! Give me your take on Zoro’s limits and your big plans for him either in the comments or on twitter @renfield89.