Swordsman duels · Superhuman
Musashi Miyamoto (Baki) vs Roronoa Zoro
The legendary swordsman reborn in a modern body, against the man who will become the world’s greatest swordsman.
Tale of the tape
| Baki | Universe | One Piece |
|---|---|---|
| Superhuman | Tier | Superhuman |
| The legendary swordsman’s mind, revived with modern strength | Strength | Three-sword style backed by haki that can cut steel and stone |
| Arrogance after centuries of being a legend | Weakness | Hopeless sense of direction |
| 0–1 | Record on Versus | 3–0 |
The Arena
Miyamoto Musashi, cloned back to life in the modern world, had already cut his way through Baki’s arena. He was looking for something he had never found in either of his lives: a swordsman as strong as himself. When a green-haired man with three swords walked into the dojo, lost and looking for a bar, Musashi set down his tea.
Zoro felt it before Musashi moved: a pressure in the air, as if he had already been cut. He drew his swords. It was the first time in a long time he had felt that.
Round One
Musashi’s gift is his imagination of the blade. He can make an opponent feel a cut before it lands, even feel a sword that is not there. Zoro saw his own arm severed in a flash of imagined steel and stepped back out of pure instinct. His arm was fine.
He laughed around the sword in his teeth. “Nice trick.” Then he attacked with the full three-sword style, and Musashi, who had fought with two swords for four hundred years, met him with a pair of katanas. Steel rang off the dojo walls.
Musashi fought like water and like a mountain at the same time, every movement economical, every pause a threat. He did not waste a single step. Zoro, who usually charges, found himself circling, studying the legend in front of him, the way he had once studied the swordsman he swore to surpass.
The Turn
They were evenly matched as swordsmen. Musashi had the mind, the deception, the four centuries of killing. He landed a cut across Zoro’s chest, a real one this time. Zoro had the power and the haki, and his answering slash went past Musashi and through the dojo wall, cutting it in half from floor to ceiling.
Musashi stared at the wall. In his own era, nobody could cut stone with a sword. In Zoro’s world, it was normal.
The Finish
Musashi adapted fast, as legends do. He tried to make Zoro feel imaginary cuts and strike while he was distracted. It worked twice. But Zoro had fought men who could predict the future and men who could split islands. He closed his eyes and fought by feel.
Zoro coated all three blades in haki and attacked with a technique that cut through the air itself. Musashi crossed his swords to block. Both blades snapped. The flat of Zoro’s third sword stopped against his neck.
Musashi stood still, holding two broken hilts, and slowly smiled. “Four hundred years,” he said. “And I have finally lost.” Zoro sheathed his swords. “You’re the strongest swordsman I’ve fought here. Teach me the imaginary cut thing.” Musashi laughed out loud.
The verdict
Roronoa Zoro wins
Musashi’s swordsmanship and his imaginary blade make him one of the greatest technicians alive, but Zoro’s haki-powered cuts operate on a scale no swordsman in Baki’s world can match.
- HakiZoro’s blades cut stone and steel; Musashi’s swords break against them.
- Power scaleZoro’s world features attacks that split buildings and ships.
- InstinctZoro learns to ignore Musashi’s imaginary cuts and fight by feel.
How the rematch could go differently: Against a younger Zoro, before haki, Musashi’s technique, experience and imaginary blade could carry the duel.
Who do you think wins?
Who would win in a fight between Musashi Miyamoto (Baki) and Roronoa Zoro?
Roronoa Zoro wins. Musashi’s swordsmanship and his imaginary blade make him one of the greatest technicians alive, but Zoro’s haki-powered cuts operate on a scale no swordsman in Baki’s world can match.