“Zoro Was Stronger Than Luffy at This Point”: Eiichiro Oda Nerfing an One Piece Villian Who Was Once a Threat to Luffy Sparks a Fascinating Debate

Hody Jones was the main antagonist of the Fish-Man Island Arc and the only other Fish-Man villain after Arlong. His portrayal and motives in One Piece convinced fans he would be a much bigger threat to the Straw Hat Pirates and the citizens of Fish-Man Island but the arc proved otherwise.

With the island submerged underwater, the Fish-Men had an obvious advantage. However, this didn’t stop Roronoa Zoro from absolutely demolishing Hody Jones in his own territory. This caused a huge debate on whether the swordsman was stronger than his captain, Monkey D. Luffy.

Despite Luffy dealing the final blow to a drugged-up Hody, Zoro held his own and easily kept up with the villain underwater. Anything he threw at him, the swordsman didn’t even seem bothered by the Fishman. It seemed like he was never a huge threat at all.

The Fish-Man Island Arc was a forgettable one but it’s also the first major arc after the two-year time skip. The Straw Hats are meant to look good and that’s the biggest defense in Luffy’s case but some fans agree that Zoro is possibly his equal.

Zoro’s fight against Hody Jones causes fans to debate if he’s stronger than Luffy

One Piece is Luffy’s story which means he will always get the last hit. He’s built up to be the strongest pirate and all of his efforts will result in him becoming the King of the Pirates. However, his crewmates are also the reason why he’s made it so far, particularly his first-ever companion, Roronoa Zoro.

Since the start, Zoro’s strength has been monstrous and terrifying. His reputation before joining the Straw Hats was already enough for even the Baroque Works to seek him out. However, we’ve seen that it wasn’t enough, especially against Mihawk, the Strongest Swordsman in the World, and not even against a Warlord, Bartholomew Kuma.

In the two-year time skip, however, he’s learned a lot from his biggest rival. He’s at his prime at the moment, even achieving Conqueror’s Haki. However, in a territory perfect for the Fish-Man, it’s surprising even Zoro managed to beat him. Hody Jones had lost any respect from fans after this.

Hody lost all of his aura as a villain when oda let zoro body dude underwater like were we supposed to expect him to be a threat to luffy? 😭 https://t.co/X7bWeLvxDB

— Geo (@Geo_AW) January 5, 2025

Unpopular opinion but I have always seen Zoro's portrayal as almost as strong as Luffy. So him holding his own against anyone Luffy can beat seems alright to me.
SHs were supposed to look good this arc after 2 yr training.

— rosalavender (@bbd66570) January 5, 2025

I always felt like zoro was stronger than Luffy at this point in the time skip

— JOY BOY (@Keemdakxng) January 6, 2025

To be fair here, Zoro can swim. Luffy cannot.

— Andrew knows Victoria's Secret (@ABellcroft) January 6, 2025

If Zoro could fight and win against Hody, how was Luffy even supposed to struggle? One Piece fans, however, acknowledge that Zoro can be his equal in terms of strength. More than that, Devil Fruit users can’t swim so the swordman did have that advantage.

Luffy might have Gear 5 but Zoro has his legendary swords

While we can agree Hody Jones was never a threat, it doesn’t discount the fact that Zoro’s swordsmanship was excellent in uncharted waters. If anything, he was at least stronger than Sanji’s embarrassing Fish-Man Island moment.

So while Luffy might have Gear 5 in the Wano Arc the green-haired pirate is on his way to becoming the next Strongest Swordsman in the World.

One Piece fans also often forget that Zoro doesn’t just have random swords. He has three legendary swords, two of which are part of the 21 Great Grade Blades: Sandai Kitetsu, Wado Ichimonji, and Enma.

So while Luffy has his Mythical-Zoan Devil Fruit, Zoro has his own strengths that would rival his captain. Hody Jones can be argued as a fluke but his own feats cannot be forgotten, especially when he did do considerable damage to Kaidou.

One Piece is available on Crunchyroll.

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