Swordsmanship plays a central role in One Piece’s combat system. As a testament to this, nearly every organization or crew in the series has a powerful swordsman in a high-ranking position, and the story’s deuteragonist, Roronoa Zoro, aims to become the world’s strongest swordsman.
In One Piece, swordsmanship involves more than just slashing; it blends realistic techniques with superhuman abilities of various kinds. Katanas, sabers, and longswords are among the most common swords in the series. Some swords have unique characteristics that make them inherently stronger, but a sword’s combat effectiveness ultimately depends on the skill of the wielder. Of course, no sword can surpass the unmatched power of a Black Blade.
Swordsmen in One Piece can improve their basic skills through Haki, Devil Fruits, a combination of both, or other methods, creating a variety of fighting styles. Haki, in particular, is an integral part of swordsmanship, especially for the strongest fighters. This thread will explore all swordsmanship styles seen so far in One Piece, listed in no specific order and explained in detail.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1156.
All known swordsmanship types in One Piece as of chapter 1156, a complete list
Blasting swordsmanship
Blasting swordsmanship in One Piece (Image via Shueisha)
The infamous Rocks D. Xebec was a powerful swordsman whose Haki-enhanced attacks were famous for obliterating anything in their path, sending targets flying with a shockwave. His sword strikes unleashed an insane amount of brute force, akin to a giant hammer or a cannon blast.
Xebec’s blasting swordsmanship seems similar to Shanks and Gol D. Roger’s Divine Departure, as well as Roronoa Zoro’s Hawk Wave and Pound Cannon—all techniques capable of blasting away the target. In One Piece, the ability to cut only what one intends is a hallmark of advanced swordsmanship.
Circus swordsmanship
Cabaji’s swordsmanship as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
Cabaji’s swordsmanship involved a mix of acrobatic moves, circus tricks, and swordplay. This style used various techniques – including razor-sharp spinning tops and flame-breathing – to distract the enemy and set up a deadly sword strike.
Devil Fruit-enhanced swordsmanship
Brook, Law, Fujitora, and Smoothie in One Piece (Image via Shueisha)
Several One Piece characters combine their swordsmanship with Devil Fruit abilities, creating unconventional techniques. For instance, Brook’s sword style mixes fencing, freezing moves, and hypnotic music. Specifically, Brook can imbue his sword, Soul Solid, with the powers of the Revive-Revive Fruit, allowing him to summon the cold of the underworld to perform freezing attacks.
Trafalgar Law implements most of his attacks through a combination of swordsmanship and the Ope-Ope Fruit, which enables him to manipulate anything within a certain range. Law uses this Devil Fruit to perform surgical strikes with his sword Kikoku, bypassing the durability of his targets with spatial cuts or stabbing them as if giving an injection. He can even use a move that causes anything his sword pierces to implode.
Undoubtedly, the Ope-Ope Fruit’s versatile and unpredictable features make Law a dangerous swordsman. As for Admiral Issho “Fujitora,” this powerful Marine officer can use the Press-Press Fruit to create and manipulate gravitational forces, a fearsome ability he typically uses alongside his swordsmanship.
Charlotte Smoothie can extract liquid from people and objects via the Wring-Wring Fruit. This unusual ability complements her swordsmanship, as she can transfer the extracted liquid into her body to amplify her attacks. Diamante, on the other hand, uses the Flap-Flap Fruit to make his sword flexible and malleable like a whip, while still retaining the properties of a metal blade.
Shiryu, Hawkins, Spandam, and Shamrock in One Piece (Image via Shueisha)
The wicked Shiryu uses the Clear-Clear Fruit to attack while turning himself invisible. Shiryu’s raw skill with the blade alone is enough to make him a fighter as strong as Magellan, the wielder of the deadly Venom-Venom Fruit. So, this ability makes his already lethal swordsmanship even scarier.
The Straw-Straw Fruit grants Basil Hawkins a unique sword, made of straw and capable of transforming into a large scarecrow-like monster with special tarot-based abilities. Spandam’s sword, Funkfreed, ate the Elephant-Elephant Fruit, which allows it to transform into an elephant-sword hybrid and a full elephant. However, Spandam is too weak and inept to wield this weapon properly.
One of the most intimidating examples of Devil Fruit-enhanced swordsmanship in One Piece is seen with Saint Figarland Shamrock, who wields a saber remarkably similar to Shanks’ Gryphon. However, Shamrock’s sword is a fully sentient weapon with the power of an Awakened Mythical Zoan. At Shamrock’s command, the sword can transform into a full Cerberus or a Cerberus-sword hybrid.
Each of the three heads of Cerberus can sprout an additional blade for increased lethality. Furthermore, the three heads can detach from the main body to move independently, allowing Shamrock to perform unique techniques by striking a target with their blades.
Dial-enhanced swordsmanship
Ohm wielding Eisen Whip in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
Dials are mysterious devices with the unique ability to store and release energy and matter of all kinds. Ohm, the strongest subordinate of Enel on Skypiea, used a rare Eisen Dial to enhance his swordsmanship, making his weapon both deadlier and more versatile. This explains the 0% survival rate of his Ordeal of Iron.
The Eisen Dial allowed Ohm’s sword to emit Iron Cloud, a substance as durable and sharp as iron, yet as light and malleable as a cloud. This enabled Ohm to manipulate and reshape his sword’s blade, lengthening and widening it at will for both attack and defense.
Eight Sword Style
Hyouzou’s Eight Sword Style as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
Hyouzou, a merman mercenary hired by Hody Jones, could wield eight swords simultaneously. He used his octopus-like body to hold one sword with each limb, allowing him to perform eight simultaneous attacks across different areas. Specifically, he wielded one sword in each hand and one in each of his six tentacles.
All of Hyouzou’s blades were coated with venom, increasing the danger of his precise, coordinated strikes. His combat skills were also boosted when he overdosed on Energy Steroids, causing a white-haired physical transformation similar to Hody Jones.
Elbaph swordsmanship
Elbaph’s unique swordsmanship as seen in One Piece (Image via Shueisha)
Elbaph, the homeland of the Giants, is known for its formidable warrior culture, which includes swordsmanship. Dorry usually wields a gigantic longsword, which he uses to perform combined attacks with his partner Brogy, such as Sun Saw, Svalinn’s Sun Shield, and the ravaging Hakoku. This move, in particular, breaks through the target, likely thanks to an advanced form of Armament Haki.
Charlotte Linlin, the former Yonko known as “Big Mom,” can use her Devil Fruit ability to control her Homies, including Napoleon, a giant sword that can be reshaped into a cutlass, a gladius, or a longsword as needed. Big Mom wields Napoleon to perform Ikoku Sovereignty, a move she probably learned during her time in Elbaph. She can also swing Napoleon when teaming up with Kaido. In this case, their combined effort creates a devastating blast called Hakai.
Elbaph’s swordsmanship is highly destructive, and that’s when One Piece has yet to fully reveal the skills of King Harald, a Giant swordsman capable of evenly clashing with Rocks D. Xebec.
Elemental swordsmanship
Elemental swordsmanship in One Piece (Image via Shueisha)
Some One Piece characters can channel natural elements through their swords. Minks can do this with their innate ability to emit and direct electricity through their bodies, Electro. As seen with Inuarashi, Pedro, and other Mink swordsmen, they can extend this power to their weapons.
The pirate captain McGuy can also channel electricity through his sword, although the method behind this ability remains unknown. Fossa, a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, can ignite his sword, turning it into a flaming weapon. Allegedly, this is because Fossa’s sword is infused with flammable liquid that he sets ablaze with his cigar.
Four Sword Style
Kaku’s Four Sword Style as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
Kaku, a former CP9 agent now promoted to an elite masked operative of CP0, showcases one of the most unorthodox swordsmanship styles in One Piece. He dual-wields twin swords with his hands while executing razor-sharp Rankyayu techniques with his legs for an overwhelming combination known as Four Sword Style. This combat style blends offense and defense, allowing Kaku to attack and block strikes simultaneously.
The precision and sheer speed of the multi-directional attacks are bolstered by Kaku’s Zoan transformation, which grants a power boost, now further increased by the Devil Fruit Awakening form.
Foxfire Style
The Foxfire Style as seen in One Piece (Image via Shueisha)
The Foxfire Style is a versatile and highly effective form of swordsmanship that allows the user to create fiery attacks and cut through fire. In the One Piece world, where fire-based abilities are quite common, this style provides a significant tactical edge, letting those who master it neutralize fire attacks while staying unharmed.
Surprisingly, the Foxfire Style remains effective even in uneven battles, as seen when Kinemon used it to counter Kaido’s attack despite their clear power gap. Roronoa Zoro, quick to adapt, learned the Foxfire Style simply by observing Kinemon’s techniques. He then incorporated a new, useful skill into his combat repertoire, enhancing his already formidable arsenal.
Freezing swordsmanship
Nusjuro’s freezing swordsmanship as seen in One Piece (Image via Shueisha)
In addition to his standard sword attacks and powerful Haki, Saint V. Nusjuro from the Five Elders can make his swordsmanship even more intimidating by using freezing techniques. Perhaps as a result of his transformation into the Bakotsu, a fiendish horse, Nusjuro can release a freezing aura through his sword, the Shodai Kitetsu, one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades.
Nusjuro’s icy techniques vaguely resemble the cold underworld energy that Brook summons and imbues into his sword. Granted, there’s a big difference between Nusjuro and Brook, but the similarity is still interesting.
Gentle Blade
Finesse over brute force (Image via Shueisha)
While the “Strong Blade” style of swordsmanship emphasizes unleashing brute force, the “Gentle Blade” style relies on masterful and graceful precision to deflect attacks and deliver deadly strikes. However, the most powerful One Piece swordsmen can combine the best of both styles, blending them smoothly.
For example, Saint V. Nusjuro has enough raw power to split Egghead’s entire laboratory in half with a single basic slash, without even using a full-fledged technique. Yet, he is so graceful and precise that he can disable the internal circuits of an army of Pacifista cyborgs without damaging their exteriors.
Similarly, Dracule Mihawk excels in both finesse and strength. He can effortlessly deflect bullets with his blade and cut through icebergs as large as mountains with just the casual force of one of his most nonchalant attacks.
Kappa Style
Kawamatsu’s Kappa Style as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
Kawamatsu, one of the Red Scabbards, is a swordsman and sumo wrestler who uses the Kappa Style, leveraging his Fish-Man physical features. The Kappa Style focuses on unleashing brute force through circular motions, creating horizontal whirlwinds around the user.
As the only known user of this style in One Piece, Kawamatsu often employs it to execute spinning attacks and flying slashes that enlarge as they cut through the target.
King of Hell Style
Zoro’s King of Hell Style as seen in One Piece (Image via Shueisha)
During the Wano Arc, Roronoa Zoro fully unleashed his Haki to master his new sword, Enma. As a result, the Conqueror’s Haki lying dormant within Zoro surfaced with full force. Guided purely by instinct, Zoro quickly learned to use the Color of Conqueror to coat his techniques, giving him a significant power boost.
Still, Zoro didn’t stop there. At the exact moment, he developed a new swordsmanship style based entirely on Haki, known as the King of Hell Style. When using this special Haki mode, Zoro would activate both Advanced Conqueror’s Haki and Advanced Armament Haki at the same time.
The King of Hell Style not only greatly increases Zoro’s power, making his attacks more destructive, but also grants him new extraordinary techniques. For example, he can perform no-contact Haki slashes that damage enemies from a distance without direct physical contact.
Logia swordsmanship
Borsalino and Kuzan using their Logia swords in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
Borsalino “Kizaru” and Kuzan “Aokiji” received swordsmanship training as part of their Marine training. Nowadays, they never use normal swords, but they are occasionally seen using unique swords made from the natural elements they control with their Logia Devil Fruits.
As the user of the Glint-Glint Fruit, Borsalino uses a technique called Ama no Murakumo to form a sharp sword out of solidified light. Kuzan, on the other hand, uses the Ice-Ice Fruit to form a sword of solid ice.
Lunarian fire swordsmanship
King’s Lunarian swordsmanship as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
Alber, the only known survivor of the Lunarians—a race with the innate ability to ignite themselves—eventually became Kaido’s strongest subordinate under the name of King. Hailed as “The Wildfire” for his ability to unleash flames as powerful as magma, which is stronger than normal fire in the One Piece world, King often used his fiery abilities with his swordsmanship.
He demonstrated the ability to coat his blade in fire, making his strikes even deadlier. Furthermore, he could unleash massive, dragon-shaped fire blasts from the tip of his Armament Haki-imbued sword.
Nine Sword Style
Zoro’s Nine Sword Style as seen in One Piece (Image via Shueisha)
The Nine Sword Style harnesses Zoro’s sheer will— and thus his Conqueror’s Haki— to create a terrifying illusion of his body multiplying. Gripping his three swords, Zoro emanates a menacing aura. Then, to onlookers, Zoro appears to gain two additional bodies, each wielding copies of his swords, making three bodies with nine swords.
At the same time, the ominous silhouette of a six-armed, three-headed entity resembling an asura demon god appears behind Zoro as he prepares to attack. The Nine Sword Style effectively triples Zoro’s strength and speed, allowing him to leap at opponents quickly and strike with tremendous force.
One Sword Style
Most One Piece swordsmen wield a single sword (Image via Toei Animation)
In One Piece, most swordsmen typically wield a single sword, whether it’s a katana, saber, or longsword. Depending on their skill level, these fighters can unleash devastating attacks that are lethal to their targets and destructive to their surroundings.
They can also use their swords to strike opponents with flying slashes from a distance or to block incoming blows. Naturally, a sword imbued with Haki becomes exponentially stronger, boosting both offensive and defensive capabilities.
Observation Haki is essential for fighting effectively, while Armament Haki enables the user to cut through steel, making the blade harder and thereby enhancing its effectiveness. The strongest swordsmen can even coat their weapons with Conqueror’s Haki, raising their power to an entirely new level.
One Sword Style (Hyogoro)
Hyogoro’s One Sword Style as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
Once a powerful swordsman, worthy of Kaido’s acknowledgement and respect, Hyogoro lost much of his strength as he aged and became frail. However, he kept his mastery of the Color of Armament.
By combining his Armament Haki skills with his swordsmanship, Hyogoro used his personal One Sword Style, which allowed him to slash through enemies while emitting a fiery aura. The power of this style shone brightest when Hyogoro’s prime strength was briefly restored during the Onigashima Raid.
One Sword Style (Zoro)
Zoro’s One Sword Style as seen in One Piece (Image via Shueisha)
A shift from his signature Three Sword Style, Zoro’s One Sword Style reveals a variety of refined finishing techniques. Most notably, it features the Lion Song and the Death Lion Song, iaido-based attacks that enable Zoro to sense and cut down opponents in the blink of an eye, unsheathing and re-sheathing his sword before they can react.
Zoro’s One Sword Style also includes swift, razor-sharp close-combat strikes like the Bird Dance, as well as air-compressed projectiles launched at targets in the form of flying slashes or energy wave-like attacks, such as the Pound Phoenix. Another standout move, the Flying Dragon Blaze, unleashes a fiery slash packed with incredible cutting power.
Six Sword Style
Hatchan’s Six Sword Style as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
Taking advantage of his Fish-Man strength and six arms, Hatchan wielded six swords at once, each one extremely heavy. His most powerful move was the Waltz of the Six Swords, a technique in which Hatchan rotated all his swords to shred his target into pieces.
Despite the combined weight of the swords, each weighing more than 300 kilograms, Hatchan used them with great dexterity, allowing him to overpower most opponents. That is, until his battle against the Straw Hat Pirates, when he suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of Roronoa Zoro.
Strong Blade
Brute force over finesse (Image via Shueisha)
The “Strong Blade” swordsmanship style prioritizes brute force over finesse, allowing users to overpower their opponents with sheer strength. It features forceful strikes that incapacitate enemies and cause widespread destruction.
These attacks are often powerful enough to result in significant damage, even as unintended collateral. This was first shown when Shimotsuki Ryuma’s zombie and Roronoa Zoro tore large holes through stone walls with simple sword thrusts. As the One Piece story advanced, even more impressive acts of destruction reinforced this style’s fearsome reputation.
Three Sword Style
Zoro’s Three Sword Style as seen in One Piece (Image via Shueisha)
Following Kuina’s death, Roronoa Zoro developed the Three Sword Style, a unique form of swordsmanship where the user wields three katanas at once — one in each hand and the third in the mouth. Over time, Zoro continually improved his skills, refining his techniques and enhancing them with various types of Haki.
Today, the Three Sword Style is Zoro’s main fighting style, enabling him to attack from multiple angles with exceptional power, speed, and accuracy. This versatile and effective style includes a wide range of techniques, from quick sword cuts fueled by bursts of speed to long-range slashes.
It also features massive tornadoes that cut and blow away the target, as well as agility-based maneuvers to flank the opponent, and even non-cutting, strength-based throws, making it a formidable arsenal for any challenge.
Two Sword Style (Oden)
Oden’s Nitoryu as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
The mighty samurai and pirate Kozuki Oden developed this style after mastering two legendary swords, Enma and Ame no Habakiri. Oden’s Two Sword Style incorporates his superhuman physical strength and Advanced Armament Haki to deliver extremely powerful sword strikes, enough to seriously injure even someone as tough as Kaido.
During the Onigashima Raid, Oden’s loyal retainers, the Red Scabbards, tried to copy his personal fighting style. However, as Kaido pointed out, their attempt at performing Oden’s Two Sword Style was significantly less powerful than Oden’s original usage.
Two Sword Style (Zoro)
Zoro’s Two Sword Style as seen in One Piece (Image via Shueisha)
Before developing his trademark Three Sword Style, a young Roronoa Zoro used to fight with two swords. Today, Zoro’s Two Sword Style features a wide range of powerful techniques, from precise dual-wielding strikes to air-compressed projectile slashes.
Notable moves include the Rashomon, a dual-sword iaido-like technique that is fast and powerful, and the Hawk Wave, which unleashes a shockwave to knock out opponents. The Clear Lance is a peculiar move that lets Zoro move in midair by swinging his two swords to generate a gust of wind strong enough to propel him over great distances, similar to techniques like Geppo and Sky Walk.
Yoru
Swordsmanship based on Yoru as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
As the World’s Strongest Swordsman, Dracule Mihawk wields Yoru, an all-powerful Black Blade. To this day, “Hawk Eyes” Mihawk has only revealed a glimpse of his abilities, never exerting much effort in a fight. His style appears as a flawless blend of overwhelming power and masterful, lightning-fast precision.
Even Mihawk’s most casual attacks are powerful enough to cut in half mountain-sized icebergs, which hints at his true strength. S-Hawk, the Seraphim cyborg based on “Hawk Eyes,” carries Mihawk’s Lineage Factor, making him a formidable swordsman as well. This cyborg forced Marshall D. Teach “Blackbeard” onto the defensive, requiring him to cover himself with Armament Haki to avoid serious injuries.
The collateral damage of S-Hawk’s attack on Blackbeard split Amazon Lily’s biggest mountain in half, further highlighting his power. S-Hawk wields a huge cruciform sword resembling Mihawk’s Yoru, though it is not a Black Blade.
Carrying Mihawk’s genes, S-Shark brandishes his weapon in a similar style. However, after fighting both, Roronoa Zoro implied Mihawk’s superior prowess, noting that, despite being a murderous cyborg, S-Hawk seemed more human than “Hawk Eyes”.
