What Would Happen If Zoro Never Joined The Crew?

In chapter 5 of One Piece, Zoro officially accepted Luffy’s offer to join the crew. And in only two years, this partnership would lead them to become two of the strongest fighters in the entire world. But what if Zoro rejected Luffy’s offer and never joined the straw hat crew? Just how far would Luffy get on this journey? And before we jump into changes in the story, let’s actually take a look at the moment that inspired this whole video, when Luffy first invited Zoro to join the crew. At this p

oint, Zoro was tied to a post for saving this little girl from these bad doggos. Luffy then invited him to become the very first crew member. And you might not remember, but Zoro initially refused. However, when Luffy recovered his swords and then freed the green moss head from his ropes, he finally agreed to join the crew. But obviously for this video, le’ts assume that Zoro rejects Luffy a second time, slapping away his invitation like a follow request from a creepy stranger. And if this were

the case, Luffy could leave Zoro tied up which would lead to him actually being executed by the marines. But honestly, another much more likely scenario is that Luffy would still set Zoro free because he knows deep down that Zoro is a good person. So after defeating the marines, Zoro would thank Luffy, but then simply walk away and pursue his dream of becoming the world’s strongest swordsman on his own. And this will have massive consequences in almost every part of the story. Because as we see

all throughout the story and this video, when Luffy is on his own he usually finds a way to get himself almost killed. *Wow*. How is this guy going to become pirate king anyway? But now without Zoro, let's start with Wano Country. Wait… what? Why are we starting so late in the story? Well, since the point of this video is to see how far the Straw Hats would get without Zoro, it made sense to me to start at the end and work our way backwards. So we’ll be examining each of Zoro’s important moments

in the story and then seeing how things would be different without him. And because we are going in reverse order, there won’t be any major storyline changes like some of my previous what if videos. So before we look at all of Zoro’s legendary battles later on, let’s start early in the arc. He did have minor fights, like against this straw man and in the battle to stop this former daimyo's execution but in each of these conflicts there were other straw hat’s present who could’ve easily performe

d the same roles. And not even counting the battles, his history as a descendant of Wano literally never played a role in the story, so even if he wasn’t here the crew would’ve been just as motivated to fight Kaido. And this takes us to the climactic battles of Onigashima. Here Zoro was a major participant in the rooftop battle against Big Mom and Kaido. And his presence was definitely felt here. He got in a few attacks, and blocked one of the strongest attacks we have seen in the entire story.

But ultimately, this battle was never really decided either way, so did he really make that big of a difference??? **shrug** But next was his truly epic battle against Kaido’s right hand man, King. And while this was an incredibly hyped battle, there are other characters nearby who probably could’ve fought King as well. In particular, Marco the Phoenix was not doing much at all during this fight, so he could’ve been a perfect match to fight the flying dinosaur. Likewise, Luffy could have handled

King no problem once he was done with Kaido. So as disappointing as it may sound, the straw hats ultimately would have been fine in Wano even without Zoro. But I can promise you that will not be the case for some of the arcs later on in the story. But since Zoro wasn’t in Whole Cake Island at all, we’ll move ahead to Zou. And on the back of this giant elephant, Zoro’s fighting abilities weren’t really needed. However, he did demonstrate one of his other super important roles on the crew: his le

adership. When Sanji left to take care of his family problems, Zoro told the rest of the crew that Sanji better damn well apologize for his actions. He left the crew at a super important time in the story plus he was going to stir up trouble with a second emperor. And Zoro’s role here is important because he is the only one who will really step up and demand respect for the crew and its captain. And while this tense moment didn’t result in any major conflict, it was a good reminder for Luffy abo

ut the honor and respect needed on the crew. But even if Zoro wasn’t here to give that reminder, I don’t think it would have changed Luffy’s actions much in Whole Cake Island. However, that is definitely not the case for another important moment coming up for the crew later on. So three arcs down and the Straw Hats would’ve been just fine in each one. Interesting… Maybe one day if Zoro’s sense of direction really got him lost, the crew would be just fine. But this brings us to Dressrosa, where Z

oro fought and defeated this giant stone man. However, this is another enemy who isn’t really all that powerful – I mean how could he be with a voice like that – so someone like Law, Sabo, or Luffy could have defeated Pika almost instantly. Moving back even further, Zoro does have a moment in Punk Hazard when he yells at Luffy after his captain almost died at the hands of this gas man. He demands that Luffy take things more seriously and reminds them that they are in the most dangerous part of t

he world now. Of course, Luffy laughs it off so maybe it wouldn’t matter even if Zoro was here to remind his captain not to mess around. Zoro also defeated this snow bird lady but someone else could’ve easily taken her down as well. And this is going to bring us all the way back to the time skip. So as you can see, Zoro’s influence in the post-time skip was not as important as you might have previously thought. And that’s because even though Zoro has a fight in basically every arc, the crew is n

ot majorly challenged like they were in the pre-time skip. Plus everyone else is now super strong, so Zoro isn’t one of the only strong fighters in the crew. Buuuutt, things are going to be way different the further back we get in the story. However, Zoro doesn’t play any role in the events leading up to Marineford. And even though straw hats were defeated on Sabaody, Zoro’s absence wouldn’t really have a major effect on the outcome anyway. Now traveling back in time, let’s discuss the nightmare

-island, Thriller Bark, where Zoro has HIS MOST BADASS MOMENT in the entire story. In his first fight of the arc, Zoro defeats this zombie swordsman. But I definitely think that Nightmare Luffy could have also defeated the samurai. But the even greater conflict came at the end of the arc, when Zoro stood up to the warlord Kuma to save Luffy. In exchange for Luffy’s life, Zoro agreed to take on all of his captain’s pain from the previous battle. And this resulted in the famous “Nothing Happened”

scene, which is personally one of my favorites in the entire story. But with Zoro not on the crew, it would fall to Sanji to take on his captain’s pain. I mean, Sanji already wanted to do this anyway but Zoro knocked him aside. So in this case, Sanji takes on all of the pain, and we seriously have ask if he would be able to survive this ordeal. And Sanji stans don’t hate me, but I honestly think the answer is no. Zoro is shown all throughout the story to have crazy endurance and the ability to f

ight through pain. So even though we have recently learned more about Sanji's incredible body, I don’t think that he could survive this crazy amount of damage. So sorry, Sanji… Looks like you needed your moss head friend after all. But since we are now getting to the points in the story where Zoro is absolutely needed, I do want to add one major disclaimer. Even though there will be a bunch of points where Luffy would fail without Zoro, we can usually find a reason for the straw hats to continue

. For example, in this situation with Kuma, it is possible the warlord takes mercy on them because he is friends with Luffy’s father after all. So while we can usually find an excuse, there are some arcs that are just impossible to move on from without Zoro. And this brings us to the government’s judicial island, Enies Lobby. During this arc, we see one of the three major characteristics that Zoro brings to the crew. Two of these we will discuss coming up very soon, but the first characteristic

is that he is just a badass fighter. At this point in the story, he, Luffy, and Sanji are the only strong ones who can really fight – no offense Nami and Robin. And Chopper loses his mind when he goes berserk. So Zoro’s absence is a major problem when Luffy is somehow distracted or taken out because then there is no one left to protect the others. And this situation happens in basically every arc. But maybe that means that Luffy would take things more seriously, so he doesn’t put the rest of the

crew in danger. Buuut… I kinda doubt it. So let’s keep this in mind as we shift back to Zoro’s fight against this sword-wielding giraffe. Zoro eventually wins this battle and claims key number 5 which is the exact key needed to free Robin from her handcuffs, so without Zoro winning this fight, Robin would be trapped for good. However, I do think someone else like Luffy or Sanji could have defeated the giraffe man, so in the end Robin would still be free. However, moving back to Water 7, we get

another critical example of how without Zoro’s presence as the unofficial Vice-Captain, the crew would surely fall apart. So the crew reached Water 7 in need of a new ship. This of course sparks the fierce duel between Usopp and Luffy, which results in Usopp leaving the crew. And this is an incredibly important moment for the crew’s long term future. And that’s BECAUSE IF Luffy gave in to Usopp’s demands, it would have shown the crew that Luffy is not a strong captain and he is not worthy of the

ir faith. However, in chapter 333, Zoro will not let Luffy take the easy route and he reminds Luffy that making these difficult choices are the burden of being the captain. But without Zoro in this scene, Luffy may very well have chosen to keep Usopp’s friendship rather than do what was best for the crew. And if Luffy let Usopp rejoin the crew or agreed to keep using their ship, it could have disastrous consequences later on. For example, if they did keep using the Merry, it could have sunk in t

he middle of the ocean. Or if Luffy didn’t earn the respect of the crew in this scene, they may not always listen to his orders later on. And this lack of respect and leadership could eventually lead to a tragic breakup during some future conflict. So here we have our first true example of Zoro’s importance to the crew. Because I really don’t think that anyone else on the crew is as serious and devoted to respect to have the same kind of impact as Vice-Captain. Sanji is kinda wishy-washy. Usopp

has his moments, but is too weak. And Nami would rather avoid these kinds of serious issues within the crew. And besides his fighting and leadership qualities, there is even a third characteristic that no one else on the crew possesses. Out of all the straw hats, Zoro is the one most single-mindedly focused on his goal of becoming the world’s strongest swordsmen. It is pretty much the easiest goal to understand. It probably sounds a little bit like this in Zoro’s mind: Get stronger. Defeat enemi

es. Simple, right? But Zoro is also the only one we consistently see training to reach his goals. He is frequently lifting weights or practicing his sword skills, and I like to think that this has some effect on the crew as well. So we have to wonder if losing Zoro would make the crew less dedicated towards their goals. I think Luffy would still of course want to be pirate king, but as you’ll see in just a moment, Zoro’s was truly irreplaceable in the early parts of the story. Plus, if Zoro’s no

t there to butt heads with Sanji, then the cook’s pervertedness might reach even more ridiculous heights. Who knows Nami could even kill Sanji herself if he peeps in on her bath one too many times. But now onto Skypiea, where Zoro plays a key role in the outcome of the arc His first major action was when he defeated this winged puppy lover. And while there was no one else around to really take this guy out, I can imagine Luffy defeating him pretty easily once he got out of the snake. And after t

his, none of the surviving characters can defeat the lightning god Enel, so Zoro basically takes a nap until he helps cut down the giant beanstalk. So without Zoro it is possible the beanstalk never gets cut down, which means Luffy would have not reached Enel in time to deliver the final blow. But I think between this warrior’s dedication and Nami’s cleverness, they would have found some way to get Luffy to Enel. But this brings us to Alabasta and the juicy bits of this video. Zoro’s main role i

n the arc is to take down the warlord Crocodile’s right hand man, Mr. 1. And originally, this was a huge moment of growth for Zoro as he finally learned how to cut steel. Kinda crazy, actually that he couldn’t even do that up until this point in the story. But with Zoro out of the picture, someone else needs to stop this insane blade man from tearing through the crew. Certainly, I think Luffy could eventually figure out a way to beat Mr. 1, even though Luffy and sharp things don’t get along too

well. But Luffy already had his hands full with Crocodile, so someone else would need to take out Mr. 1 or distract Croc-man – or mom – while Luffy takes out Mr. Blades. And I think their best chance is a combination of Sanji and Nami, where Sanji could keep Mr. 1 busy while Nami figures out how to strike him with lightning. But that’s not the only critical role Zoro plays. He is also part of the team that helps Vivi reach the bomb, and without Zoro to fling Chopper and Vivi into the air, they w

ould have to come up with another plan to reach the top. Perhaps Usopp could quickly make a giant slingshot, or another option is the marine captain Smoker could help by using his Smoke logia powers to get them up to the bomb. And you might be asking why would Smoker help them out, but I certainly don’t think the marine captain would just stand around if he knew that millions could die from a giant bomb. Plus these are desperate times without our favorite swordsman, so we’ve gotta be a little cr

eative here. So after Luffy defeats Crocodile, the straw hats get their next major bounties. And without Zoro to take much of the credit, the rest of the straw hats get a pretty good bump in each of their bounties. Which is great for Sanji, Usopp, and maybe Chopper finally gets the respect he deserves, but Nami is certainly not pleased with this turn of events. So as punishment, she demands that you subscribe to the channel for more one piece content just like this. Let’s jump out of the desert

now, and continue moving backwards. Certainly, the straw hats would be just fine in Little Garden and Drum Island, since Zoro basically just got stuck in wax and then decided to have a little winter time workout in the snow. But this brings us to the booze-lovers favorite island, Whiskey Peak. Here the straw hats were tricked into passing out drunk and then the entire island tried to capture them to earn bounty money. However, Zoro was sober enough to fight them off until Luffy and the others wo

ke up. So while Zoro did a lot of work here, none of these enemies were super powerful, so I think Luffy and the others would have eventually gotten free no matter what. So as hard as it is to believe, over nine hundred chapters in reverse and we’ve only had one real moment where Zoro’s absence could have led to an eventual break up, and a few others that required creative solutions for the crew to advance. But no absolute crushing defeats. And next is the East Blue! The weakest Sea of all. It s

hould be a walk in the park for the straw hats… right? Right??? Well, let’s see if they can survive Arlong Park. Here the straw hats will again be missing Zoro’s fierce loyalty to the crew. Because in chapter 71, Zoro confronts Nami in front of this gang of Fishmen. And here Nami is still pretending that she doesn’t care about the crew, but Zoro does not believe her AT ALL. In fact, to prove that she still belongs with the crew, he throws himself into the water. This forces Nami to choose to let

him drown or save him herself. Of course Nami saves him, which proves to both Zoro AND Nami that she still cares about the crew. So without Zoro here, this entire arc could play out very differently. Nami may not be as convinced about her true feelings for the straw hats, or at least it may take her longer to finally break down and accept help. But beyond the emotional stakes, Zoro also played a significant role in the fights in Arlong Park. Because even though he was still seriously injured fr

om his early battles – more on that very soon – he fought off this sword-wielding octopus and even kept the fishman’s captain Arlong busy when Luffy was trapped underwater. So without Zoro, someone else like Sanji would need to step in to fight Arlong until Luffy was rescued. And this presents all kinds of major challenges, since Sanji was the one to fight who broke the rock Luffy was trapped in. So either someone else would have to keep Arlong busy – sorry Usopp – or someone else would need to

free Luffy, but I truly don’t know who else here is strong enough to do that. So again, this is our first clear example where Luffy could have very easily died without Zoro’s help. But let’s imagine that Sanji does fight off Arlong long enough for Luffy to be freed by Usopp, who heroically blasts the rock off of Luffy’s legs with a cannon. So with Luffy free, he can defeat Arlong and rescue Nami’s village for good. Another narrow escape, but the same cannot be said of the Baratie, where there is

literally nothing the straw hats can do on their own to survive. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, it is possible that they will never find Sanji’s floating restaurant at all. Because in chapter 42, the straw hat’s new ship is attacked by everyone’s favorite bounty hunters, Johnny and Yosaku. Luffy is ready to kick them off the ship, but then Zoro recognizes Johnny and they quickly become friends and get directions to the Baratie. However if Zoro was not on board, Luffy might’ve just

thrown them overboard. This could lead to them never finding the Baratie, which of course means no Sanji. However, there are some other possibilities that could still lead them to Sanji. First, Luffy might want to recruit these bounty hunting bros since he still needs a strong fighter. Or even if he doesn’t they could find out about the floating restaurant from someone else on another island. So let’s assume that they just find the Baratie somehow, where they are 100% going to be destroyed with

out Zoro. And after destroying part of the restaurant, Luffy is forced to work as a chore boy to pay off the damage. That is until this pirate commodore eventually shows up and starts shooting up the place. And Zoro’s role in this fight is basically zero. However, when the world’s strongest swordsman, Mihawk, makes his appearance things completely change. You see, originally, Mihawk came to the restaurant intent on taking down the very same pirates who were now attacking the restaurant. And afte

r Mihawk easily cuts their giant ship in half, Zoro steps up to challenge the warlord. And even though Zoro is utterly defeated, Mihawk is so impressed by Zoro’s honor as a swordsman and his loyalty to Luffy, that he decides to leave everyone else alone. And this scene perfectly shows off something only Zoro brings to the crew. He is fiercely honorable. While Luffy, Nami, and Usopp will use every trick in the book to defeat an enemy, Zoro will face an opponent head on in an honest duel. He is al

so intensely loyal to the crew, so much that he places Luffy’s dream’s ahead of his own. And it is these very traits that so inspire Mihawk to let everyone else live. But without Zoro on the crew, there is no telling what Mihawk would do to the Straw Hats. Would Mihawk be satisfied just taking this guy’s head? Maybe. Or would he want to continue to eliminate all of the pirates at the restaurant? And if Mihawk were to come after Luffy, then our rubber man has absolutely no chance against the worl

d’s strongest swordsman. So the straw hats’ fate would be entirely out of their hands. But let’s say that Mihawk is feeling generous. Or maybe the head chef Zeff convinces him to spare Luffy because he still needs to work off his debt. Or, come on let’s be honest, this introvert just wants to return to his dark castle. But without Zoro, this would definitely be a time the Straw Hats could’ve been wiped out. And that’s even more true in the arc before this, Syrup Village. So back up to chapter 23

, with Luffy, Zoro, and Nami sailing to Usopp’s home island. And now that Nami is steering the ship, the risk of death at sea is basically none. So the trio travel to Syrup village, where they meet the boy who cried wolf, Usopp. And Zoro’s role in this arc is minimal until the final battle, where he fights these feline brothers. And at this point in the fight, Luffy was hypnotized and asleep, so unless Nami woke him up, they would all be in serious trouble. So it is entirely possible that the cr

ew is taken out because Luffy was tricked into a situation where he cannot help himself of the crew. *looks down dejectedly* Wow, these guys really need Zoro. But of course, we could imagine that somehow they make it out alive. Maybe Luffy never gets put to sleep or that Nami is able to wake him up earlier. Or maybe Usopp shoots him with some smelling salts – speaking of which, wow those things are powerful. But with this one I really don’t think they would have been able to survive. I mean with

out Zoro, Luffy is literally the only strong fighter. So once again, the Straw Hats journey is at its end. But let’s take another step back to Orange Town, and see how Luffy would do in the first arc without Zoro. In this small village, Luffy first meets Nami. Since Zoro isn’t even on the island yet, Luffy is still captured by Buggy the Clown. So Luffy is locked in a cage. He is about to be blasted by Buggy’s special cannon balls. However, in chapter 11, he is saved when Zoro fights off Buggy an

d then flips the cannon away from Luffy. Zoro then carries Luffy’s cage away from Buggy and into the town. However, with no Zoro, Luffy is basically helpless. Nami already tried to save him, but she was no match against Buggy’s crew. So unless Luffy was able to somehow chew his way out of the cage, his pirate adventure is over after just a single island without Zoro. *Take a deep breath.* Damn, that’s actually kinda sad. But all that just proves what Luffy has said all along. He truly wouldn’t b

e able to do anything without his crew. But while Luffy’s journey without Zoro is basically over after just one island, that means the other straw hats never get to pursue their dreams as part of the crew. And this brings us to an even more interesting question. What would happen to everyone else in the story, if Luffy was never born? And if you want to watch that video, you can click right here. Shanks for watching.