Shusui is one of the 21 O Wazamono grade swords and was once wielded by the legendary samurai Ryuma. It is considered the national treasure of the Wano Country.[2] After his death, the katana was buried with Ryuma, until his grave was robbed by Moriah'screw.[3]
Shusui's blade is black with a distinct red hamon and its tsuba hand-guard has flower-like edges, hence it is a "Black Sword" (黒刀,Kokutō?).[1] Its red hamon (hardening line) is Kanemoto style, having the appearance of a saw or sharp teeth. It has no accessories on the hilt, being wrapped with black silk. Kashira, tsuba and kojiri end cap are golden, and the sheath is black, decorated with dark red circles split in even thirds.
After the Thriller Bark arc, Zoro wrapped a sageo rope around the upper part of the sheath, although this wasn't shown in the anime until after the timeskip.[5]
Abilities
Shusui is designed to tremendously increase the damage potential and destructive power of the user. At one point, Zoro commented that Shusui's greatest attribute is its hardness, saying that even if a dinosaur were to step on it, the blade would not bend a millimeter. He clearly demonstrated it by blocking Oars' arm with the blade held horizontally.[6][7] Furthermore, the sheer power of the blade alone was enough to redirect one of Oars' punches.
While it is capable of dealing heavy blows and is extremely hard, Shusui has a few major problems of its own. Just as Sandai Kitetsu turned out to be a "problem child", Zoro describes Shusui as having a "temper" that makes it harder to wield.[7] Zoro also said Shusui is quite a bit heavier than Yubashiri, which was extremely light, so it could be anywhere from normal weight to a good deal heavier than normal swords.
While in the hands of Ryuma, this sword was used by him in both life and death. As a zombie who was imbued with Brook's shadow, Ryuma had acquired the Fencing Style. Coupled with his already powerful skills, the modifications made to the zombie body, and the powerful attributes of Shusui, the Fencing Style had been revamped to the point of being completely different from Brook's original version.
When transferred into the hands of Roronoa Zoro, he used this sword to replace Yubashiri, which had been rusted by the MarineCaptainShu, as part of his Santoryu. When first fighting against Oars, Zoro discovered that Shusui's weight was the reason it was considered quite powerful. This was demonstrated by the fact that it created a larger vacuum when the Hyaku Hachi Pound Ho was performed, and absorbed the vacuums from his two other swords, making its already great destructive power increase tremendously, as Zoro puts it.[7] This weight contributes to the decreased control Zoro has over some of his attacks. As time passed, Zoro began to master Shusui's negative attributes.
After his training with Dracule Mihawk, this sword seems to have become Zoro's favoured blade, as he has been using it frequently with his Ittoryuu techniques, when prior to the time-skip he mainly used the Wado Ichimonji, the sword he inherited from Kuina. To prove his mastery over Shusui after the time-skip, Zoro was seen easily cutting a ship in half with it shortly before reuniting with his crew. Furthermore, the majority of opponents that Zoro has faced since leaving Sabaody Archipelago, were dealt with Ittoryu techniques while using Shusui.
History
The sword originally belonged to Ryuma, and was buried with its original master in Wano Country upon his death, where it was regarded as a national treasure. Sometime after that, both the sword and Ryuma's body were stolen, and Wano Country were brought to its knees in shock.
Ryuma wielded Shusui once again when he was revived as a zombie, and later bequeathed it to Zoro upon his defeat.
Upon seeing it, Tashigi was awed, while Kin'emon became determined to challenge Zoro so the sword can be returned to Wano Country. While at a restaurant in Acacia, Shusui was stolen by a dwarf named Wicca. Zoro caught the dwarf and reclaimed his sword.
Trivia
In Chapter 599, Zoro's Shusui was shown with a different sheath strongly resembling that of Trafalgar Law's nodachi, Kikoku. Although Oda did not write anything about it, it could be taken as a mistake as Zoro is then seen holding Shusui with its traditional sheath with no comments about the change. This error is fixed in the anime episode that adapts this scene from the manga.
↑ 7.07.17.2One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 49Chapter 474 and Episode 369, Zoro uses a more powerful Hyaku Hachi Pound Ho and commented on Shusui's weight.
