Summary
As the Final War ofOne Pieceinches closer with every passing chapter, the roles that each of the main characters will play become increasingly clear. Out of all the heroes who will side with Luffy when this time comes, none are more important than Zoro and Koby, one as the first official member of his crew and closest confidant, and the other as the first person he ever met as a pirate who is essentially his Navy counterpart.
However, despite these two being valuable allies and close friends of the main character, fans can’t help but wonder which of them is stronger.This debate has persisted for quite a whilenow since both are at the forefront of their respective organizations and are some of the most important characters inOne Piece, so let’s see how strong each of them is and go over why there really isn’t much of a competition between them.
Zoro’s First Appearance
One Piece, Chapter 3, “Introducing Pirate Hunter Zoro”
There are very few characters who are as important to the overall story ofOne Pieceas Zoro and Koby. The former was the very first member of the Straw Hats and is completely and utterly loyal to Luffy, always siding with his captain no matter what and sometimes even acting as the one to make the tough decisions for the crew when Luffy can’t.On the other hand there is Koby, who started his entire journey of becoming a Marine because of Luffy’s influence, showing how his fate is interlinked with that of the protagonist.
Although both Zoro and Koby are seen as heroic characters, it’s only natural for fans and power scalers to pit them against one another. However, there isn’t really much of a competition here, since the feats that Zoro has shown throughout the story are far superior to anything Koby has done, mostly due to the fact that most of Koby’s development and many of his feats have happened off-screen.
When the world shoves you around, you just gotta stand up and shove back!
Koby gained fame across the world due to the Rocky Port Incident, which saw the uneasy alliance between himself, Blackbeard, and Trafalgar Law. Here, he showed incredible bravery by saving all the innocents on Hachinosu, although his greatest feat was one of the best showings of Armament Haki in the entire series, where, during the raid on Pirate Island, he managed to destroy Avalo Pizzaro’s entire body which was fused with the island itself. This was apower akin to Garp’s Galaxy Impact, as it destroyed something almost as big as an island.
However, this is where the comparison stops, since the feats that Zoro has shown over the course of the series are objectively far superior. For example, a similar feat to Koby’s Honesty Impact was shown back in the Dressrosa arc, where Zoro managed to cut down Pica in his largest form, which was of relative size to Pizzaro’s island transformation. Here, Zoro cut cleanly through the towering Pica’s body.
This is arguably more impressive since both enemies were of relative size, but Zoro was far weaker in Dressrosa and didn’t have nearly the same mastery of Haki as he does now. At the current moment, Zoro has shown exceptional control over Ryou and Observation Haki as well as showing the early stages of Advanced Conqueror’s Haki, which Koby simply doesn’t have.Moreover, he wields Enma, which is one of the strongest weapons in the series, capable of cutting off an entire cliffside with the most basic of attacks.
Of course, this may not be the best comparison to make considering how all of Koby’s development has taken place off-screen, but as far as things stand right now, Zoro outclasses him convincingly. Even the level of their opponents can’t be compared since Koby’s greatest foe whom he defeated was Avalo Pizzaro, who, while quite powerful, is not at all at the level of foes like King or Rob Lucci, both of whom are masters with their Devil Fruits and Haki. While Koby is undoubtedly strong, he still has a long way to go.
Why This May Not Always Remain The Case For Koby
He Will Have Tremendous Growth
Conversely, there are a few who believe that, before the story is over, Koby will at least be around the same level of strength as Luffy and Zoro. There are many reasons to believe this, mostly because he has often been described asa prodigy within the Marineswho has been able to grow an astronomical amount in the span of only two years, which is made even more potent due to his work ethic. The cover stories about him have portrayed him as one of the most driven characters in the entire story.
Moreover, he is Garp’s treasured disciple, which shows that he has learned a lot under one of the strongest and greatest Marines in the history of the Navy.One Pieceis all about the concept of Inherited Will, which is on full display with Luffy and Koby, who are portrayed as the second-comings of Roger and Garp respectively. If this is the case, there may be a team-up of them against Blackbeard in the future, since he is the inheritor of Rocks D. Xebec’s will.
