Luffy is leagues above Zoro in One Piece, and here’s why.

HIGHLIGHTS

 Luffy and Zoro are loved for their power and portrayal in One Piece, but the series implies Luffy is stronger.

 Zoro acknowledges Luffy’s strength by taking on slightly weaker enemies, highlighting the power gap between them.
 Luffy aims to be Pirate King, while Zoro aims to be the World’s Strongest Swordsman, showing their differing goals and power levels.

Luffy and Zoro are two of the most important characters in One Piece and fans have come to love them over the years for various reasons. These characters are incredible in more ways than one, and one of the reasons why they are loved so dearly by fans is because they are very powerful.

These are characters that usually excite the fans the most when they battle and, more often than not, they take on many dangerous enemies and emerge victorious in their many clashes. Of course, Luffy and Zoro are often compared with each other by the fans. There are many who believe them to be on the same level, however, the story seems to be implying otherwise. While Luffy and Zoro are both strong and capable fighters, they are not equal and there are many things that point towards it in the series.

Luffy And Zoro’s Portrayal

One of the main reasons why Luffy and Zoro are likely never going to be equal in the series is because of their very portrayal. Zoro is Luffy’s underling who chose to follow him wherever he goes. According to Zoro, if Luffy cannot live by the standards that he has set, then he will not follow him at all. This is to say that Zoro wants Luffy to be above him so he can justify being his captain in the first place. Zoro has certain expectations from Luffy and if he cannot fulfill them, then Zoro will simply choose to not follow him and he has made this clear on Fishman Island. At the same time, Zoro and Luffy often take on the number one and number two of the enemy crews. This is a clear portrayal by Oda himself that these two characters, while both very strong, are not equal.

Usually, Zoro fights the second strongest member of the crew, while Luffy fights the strongest member of the opposition. This means Luffy is stronger than Zoro. For instance, in the Enies Lobby arc, where the concept of Douriki was properly fleshed out by Oda, Zoro fought against Kaku, who had a Douriki of 2200, which was very impressive. However, Luffy fought against Lucci, who had a doyriki of 4000 and almost twice as much as Kaku. Despite that, Zoro struggled to defeat Kaku while Luffy struggled to defeat Lucci. This battle tested both of them to their limits and forced them to evolve in the face of danger and, as a result, it was clear for the fans to see that Luffy was much stronger.

At the same time, Zoro himself acknowledged the fact that only Luffy could deal with Lucci in the Enies Lobby Arc. Furthermore, Zoro’s opponent, Kaku, who had a Douriki of 2200, was closer to Jabra, who had a Douriki of 2180, than to Lucci. This very well establishes the fact that the gap between Zoro and Sanji is much, much smaller than the gap between Zoro and Luffy. This is a portrayal that has been constantly maintained throughout the series, and even in Wano, where Zoro actually went to the rooftop to fight against Kaido, his biggest fight in the arc later came against King, side by side with Sanji, who fought against Queen.

Luffy And Zoro’s Level Of Strength

When it comes to the level of strength, there have been instances in One Piece where these two individuals have been close, however, whenever they have fought their strongest enemies, Luffy has always been fighting against the overwhelmingly stronger ones. For instance, in the Arabasta Saga, Luffy fought against Crocodile, while Zoro fought against Mr 1. Crocodile and Mr. 1 weren’t even remotely close to each other in terms of strength, yet Zoro struggled a lot against Mr. 1, while Luffy ended up conquering the battle against Crocodile, although with quite a lot of difficulty.

Similarly, in Enies Lobby, when they thought their major fights, Luffy, once again, proved to be way too strong as he defeated Lucci, who was twice as strong as Kaku, if not more. When these characters returned from the timeskip, once again, Luffy went on to beat much stronger opponents.

In Dressrosa, Zoro himself confirmed the fact that Pica was only powerful enough to fight against the number two of the crew, which was Zoro, and not strong enough to bother the captain. Once again, this implies that Zoro himself believes that Luffy is stronger than him in every aspect, even though he’s very strong himself.

In the final fights in Wano, this difference in strength is more apparent than ever before. Zoro was paired to fight against King, while Luffy defeated Kaido, the Yonko of the Sea. Luffy emerged out of Wano as overwhelmingly stronger than Zoro and that is evident for every fan of the series to see.

Luffy And Zoro’s Goals

When looking at the goals that Luffy and Zoro have, it is no surprise for the fans to see that one is stronger than the other. Luffy wants to become the Pirate King, well Zoro wants to become the World’s Strongest Swordsman. While the goal of the latter is incredibly difficult, as it requires him to take down Dracule Mihawk, who should be in the range of the Yonko himself, it is not on the same level as becoming the Pirate King. In fact, in the very beginning phase of One Piece, Mihawk himself confirms the fact that Luffy treads an even more perilous path than Zoro, and that surpassing Mihawk is much easier when compared to becoming the Pirate King.

To add to this, Don Chinjao, in Dressrosa, confirmed that the only person who can become the Pirate King is the one who conquers and defeats everyone. The one who beats the Yonko and defeats the Marines will stand on top as the Pirate King. Regardless of whether Luffy wants to conquer anything or not, he can only accomplish this feat by beating everyone else and this requires him to be the strongest, essentially. At the end of the story, Luffy will be the strongest person, even if he does not have the title of the strongest. Zoro, who will be incredibly powerful as well, likely in the same range as the Yonko, however, he will still be weaker than Luffy and very close to Sanji in terms of power, as these are the dynamics that Oda has himself set up in One Piece, and highlighted time and again, especially in the major battles.

As Luffy and Zoro continue their journey in the Final Saga, fans will most definitely see these incredibly powerful characters take on even more powerless threats and, eventually, push beyond all their limits. When it comes to hitting their true peak, it will certainly be joyful for the fans to witness as the story continues.