of Elbaf arc a piece Straw Hat Pirates has a lot of focus on Roronoa Zoro's swordsman. Zoro is one of Luffy's two wings and an incredibly powerful fighter in his own right. He seeks out Dracul Mihawk to become the strongest swordsman in the world.
for that, a piece The Elbaf arc, specifically Chapters 1187 and 1188, which were released on July 5 and July 12, 2026 respectively, lined up a major hockey upgrade for the Straw Hat Swordsman. With this new Haki upgrade, Zoro is going to be one step closer to reaching the same level as Mihawk and rivaling him. At the same time, he is set to surpass the likes of admirals and reach a power level similar to the Emperors of the One Piece World.
One Piece Chapter 1187 officially paved the way for Zoro's final Haki upgrade
in a piece Chapter 1187, which was officially released on July 5, 2026, in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump issue #32, focused on Eiichiro Oda Roronoa Zoro and Sanji, the wingman of the Pirate King. In this chapter, Zoro vs. Somers finally begins, as does the battle between Sanji and Killingham. In Zoro vs. Somers, the Straw-Hat Swordsman looked very confident despite receiving an omen directly from World King Saint Nerona Emu and his Akuma no Me powers. Using this omen, Sommers has transformed into Super Sommers, and he now wields incredible strength.
Somers also holds a pact of depth with Nerona Emu, which grants him immense powers and transforms him into a superhuman with immortality, enhanced physical strength, and eternal regeneration. The powers Somers uses cannot be overwhelmed by Zoro through normal means, and Oda has established only one way to defeat him – Supreme King Haki. Zoro first tapped Supreme King Haki in 2008 a piece Chapter 1010, which was released on April 12, 2021, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump issue #19, but since then, he has failed to learn how to control it. Although his King of Hell form sees the full use of Supreme King Haki, it is largely because of Enma draining this Haki from him. As confirmed in One Piece Chapter 1152 on June 23, 2026, Zoro himself has no control over this Haki. Yet in the same chapter, Scoper Gaban affirms that the true power of Haki can only be brought out when it is fully controlled.
Zoro: You are one of the three monsters. You're the one who ruined a party between good old friends. My friend is on the way to the village, so I don't think yours will come back because he will die.
Sommers: You seriously have no idea how strong we are right now!
— Beginning of Zoro vs. Sommers, One Piece Chapter #1187
In other words, Eiichiro Oda has officially lined up a major Haki upgrade for Roronoa Zoro by allowing him to fully learn how to manipulate Haki at will. In the battle against Somers, which has now begun, Zoro's conqueror's Haki will finally be controlled. As such, his overall power is sky high, giving him a potentially upgraded form of the King of Hell that he first used against the King. a piece Chapter 1035 on December 20, 2021.
Why Roronoa's new Haki will lead his masterful King of Hell to Elbaf
Zoro first allowed Enma to extract the Conqueror's Haki from him in One Piece chapter 1033. Then, in chapter 1035, his battle against the King ended, and in this battle, he unleashed his King of Hell: Three-Sword style. While the King of Hell is incredibly powerful, it is not being used to its full effect, and it is limited to what Scooper Gaban said in One Piece chapter 1152. Until Zoro can fully control his Haki, his true power cannot blossom, and only in the battle against Saint Somers will he finally learn how to control Haki.
“Absurd.. Haki is a power that needs to be controlled to be used properly. Your captain is one of the Four Emperors. How do you plan to help him without knowing?” — Scopper is disappointed in Gaban Zoro, One Piece Chapter #1152
Once Zoro does that, his Conqueror's Haki is going to be on a completely different level, and at the same time, his King of Hell form is going to be greatly upgraded. One of the biggest weaknesses of King of Hell is the limited time. Zoro can only tap the King of Hell for a few minutes, and then he runs the risk of dying in battle from exhaustion. However, once his Haki is fully under control, Zoro can use this form indefinitely as he will be in full control of his Haki. In other words, the King of Hell will stay in battle for a very long time. What's more, Zoro's overall output with King of Hell will also be greatly improved. While he was unable to scratch Emu in One Piece Chapter 1180, the new abilities that he would awaken with the Master King of Hell: The Three-Sword Style would be able to do much more damage. It's definitely an upgrade that we're eagerly waiting to see at the climax of the Elbaf arc.
“So how am I supposed to keep my hockey steady? If I keep putting it out at this level, it will kill me. But no, it's perfect! I want to keep my word to my captain and my best friend.” – Roronoa Zoro Awakens the Color of the Supreme King, One Piece Chapter #1033
After Elbaf, Zoro will be one step closer to Mihawk's level
With upgraded Haki and at the same time, overall greater firepower, Zoro will be one step closer to the world's strongest swordsman Dracul Mihawk. Right now, Zoro is still not as strong as Mihawk, but with each passing chapter, he is getting closer to reaching his level. After completing Elbaf, Zoro will officially stand on the same level as the admirals and Yonko of the world of One Piece. This means he will then be ready to face Dracul Mihawk as well. In other words, following the events of Elbaf, Zoro Vs. Mihawk is looming over our heads, and it's a confrontation we're eagerly waiting to see in One Piece's future.
“The sword is honest and direct, not evil. Yes, it's true. It's my power that was lacking. Does this mean that despite shedding so much Haki, Odin was able to wield you as light as a feather, Enma?” – Zoro confirms that he is not yet on Odin's level, One Piece Chapter #1033
As is usually the case, Mihawk's level will likely be higher than anything Zoro has faced, meaning the world's strongest swordsman is definitely going to be stronger than the omen-enhanced version of Sommers, which is to be expected. At the end of the day, Mihawk must be Zoro's true test in one piece before he can call himself the strongest swordsman in the world. But before he can reach this level, Zoro still has to upgrade his Haki even more, and One Piece is slowly building towards that.
All new manga chapters of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece are available to read through Manga Plus and Viz Media.
