Zoro Vs Lucci Begins

Lucci versus Zoro certainly did have quite a lot of buildup behind it. When the Straw Hat Pirates met the CP0 agents on Egghead, it was clear for the fans to see that Lucci would not be able to pose any kind of threat to Luffy at all. Luffy had now ascended to the level of a Yonko and, for him, taking down someone like Lucci was easy work. This was demonstrated when Lucci fought against Luffy, refusing to acknowledge his level of strength. However, he was soon given a Reality check by Luffy when he used the power of Gear 5 against him. Even though Luffy did not rely on the power of Conqueror’s Haki infusion, he was able to deal with Lucci effortlessly.

His attacks were strong enough to almost make him lose consciousness and he would have lost a battle in just a handful of blows had the fight continued. Even without Luffy going all out, Lucci was largely struggling against him and wasn’t even able to land a single hit on him, which just goes to show his inferiority.

Lucci was better suited to fight against Zoro, the number two of the crew and someone who was significantly weaker than Luffy as well. Even though CP0 collaborated with the Straw Hat Pirates for quite a while, when the Marines launched their offensive against the pirates, Lucci decided to go for the kill against Vegapunk, in order to finish his job as smoothly as possible. Unfortunately for him, Stussy was the one who stood in his path and then, Zoro decided to take him on in combat. The two quickly engaged in combat in the Labophase, outside the laboratory. Ever since then, they have been fighting, and fans are incredibly excited to see the battle continue.

How Strong Is Zoro?

Both Zoro and Lucci are powerful fighters, and when it comes to the Straw Hat Swordsman, fans already know that he is easily among the strongest characters in the entire series at the moment. Zoro has taken his swordsmanship to the next level already. He accomplished this during the Wano Country arc, when he was given access to Enma, a powerful sword that drains Haki. Thanks to Enma, Zoro ended up awakening both his advanced grade Armament Haki, and of course, the ability to infuse Conqueror’s Haki. This ended up becoming a major power-up for Zoro and he utilized it in the battle against King properly. When he learned how to manifest this power completely, Zoro completely overwhelmed King after he figured out his weakness as well.

His destructive power was quite great when using his King of Hell three sword style, but there was also the time limit that he was suffering with. Zoro’s power does not last for too long and if he is in an extended battle, then he could even end up losing his life without his enemies doing anything. So, while Zoro is strong, he is not on the same level as the strongest people in the One Piece world at the moment.

How Strong Is Lucci?

Lucci was always known to be a genius when it came to fighting. Even as a kid, his skill was tremendous. During The Buster Call on Enies Lobby, even the Vice Admirals of the Marines had enough faith in Lucci in his battle against Luffy. Of course, this faith did not pay off as Luffy proved to be far superior to what they had expected. Lucci ended up losing the battle, however, he did not lose his willpower to grow stronger.

He has consistently trained ever since, and grown tremendously powerful. He has mastered the ability to utilize at least two forms of Haki and currently, he possesses the ability to utilize both Observation and Armament Haki to a great degree.

He has mastered the Rokushiki completely, and he’s the only one capable of using the Rokuogan, which suggests that he has a complete mastery of this skill. Lucci is easily one of the greatest martial artists in the world of One Piece and he has taken this skill to the utmost extreme over the years. Even without using his Devil Fruit form, he was able to block Zoro’s Haki-infused strikes with just his leg, which goes to show how durable and powerful he is.

To take things a step further, Lucci even has access to his Devil Fruit, which allows him to transform into a leopard at will. Before the timeskip, this ability gave him a great boost, especially when he combined it with Life Return, using which he could manipulate the muscle mass at will. Now, he has taken things even a step beyond as he has managed to Awaken this Devil Fruit. This Awakening gives him tremendous power and enough skill to compete with Zoro while he is using his King of Hell form, utilizing both Armament and Conqueror’s Haki.

Why Is Zoro Struggling Vs Lucci?

Zoro isn’t necessarily struggling in his fight against Lucci. However, fans overestimated how strong Zoro really was. Zoro is strong, however, he is not on the same level as the Yonko or even anywhere close. He’s someone who barely managed to defeat a Yonko Commander recently and while he is certainly above them in terms of strength, he isn’t even close to the Admirals, let alone the Yonko. Zoro is somewhere between the Yonko First Mate and an Admiral in terms of strength. He still needs to refine his Haki further and, above all, his stamina is not good enough to put him on the same level as the likes of the Admirals. When taking all that into consideration, it is clear for the fans to see why he is still fighting against Lucci. Lucci himself is very powerful and certainly stronger than a Yonko First Mate.

He might or might not be on the same level as the Admirals, however, his showing against a Gear 5 proved him to be slightly inferior to the Admirals. This puts him on the same level as Zoro himself. These two are likely evenly matched in combat and even though Lucci does not have access to Conqueror’s Haki, he has other abilities up his sleeve that can make up for it. Conqueror’s Haki has never been the end-all and be-all in One Piece, and fans need to realize that. It is highly likely that Zoro will end up defeating Lucci, however, this battle will not be easy for him in the slightest.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1107, is set to be February 18, 2024.