Past, present, or future, one kind of fighter has stood the test of time, the swordsman. And today's combatants are two of the most skilled warriors to ever wield a blade.
Roronoa Zoro, the feared swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates. And Erza Scarlet, the battle mage of the Fairy Tail guild.
The thirteenth episode of season three calls to its fore two battle-tested swordfighters of Japanese origin. The hosts will compare a natural practitioner against one tempered by hardship, a soul turned weapon and warning against magic that fuels a virtually infinite arsenal, for though Roronoa Zoro and Erza Scarlet have seen countless battles and conflicts over many years and lands, to secure victory in a Death Battle.
To start the episode, Wiz and Boomstick cover the origins of Roronoa Zoro, whose life path would unfurl from his childhood desire to be the world's greatest swordsman, a good start given his first experience in the way of the sword saw him taking on the Isshin dojo in Shimotsuki Village and, through his training, honed his already natural proficiency with the sword. Though unable to best Kuina, daughter of the dojo's sensei Koshiro, losing to her in over two thousand matches, he took her blade as his own and strove to uphold their shared dream of being the greatest swordfighter in the world when Kuina's life was ended accidentally falling down a flight of stairs. Leaving Isshin, Zoro went on to search for the current best swordsman, Dracule "Hawk Eyes" Mihawk, but his poor sense of direction ended up leaving him lost in his quest, and unable to return to the dojo, took up the life of a bounty hunter for income. The East Blue ocean Zoro called home saw the beginning of his reputation as a pirate hunter spread across the land, to the point where Monkey D. Luffy, having set off on a journey at the time himself, sought to hire Zoro for his services; Zoro would accept and become Luffy's first mate in what would eventually become the Straw Hat Pirates.
Luffy made a smart decision in welcoming Zoro aboard; in conjunction with his natural skill and training from Isshin, he practices a unique manner of swordplay known as Santoryu or the Three Sword Style. This style allows Zoro to fight with three swords, two occupying his hands, and the last, Kuina's former Wado Ichimonji, being carried in his mouth. The usage of this style permits Zoro access to several techniques, such as the Oni Giri, whereupon he strikes a target with all three blades; firing compressed blasts of air using the 1080-pound Cannon; the Tatsu Maki, with which Zoro creates a dragon-shaped tornado; and even channel his spirit into an illusion that triples both Zoro's blades and his swordsman skill, known as the Kyutoryu. Compounding his way with the sword is Zoro's usage of Haki, a mystic energy surrounding every living thing and can be channeled into three sets of abilities; while Zoro is unable to use the Haoshoku, he still remains capable of using Kenbunshoku and Busoshoku forms of Haki. Specifically, the Kenbunshoku Haki allows him to sense the presence of others and mentally visualize a foe's next moves; the more killing intent put behind a move, the easier it is to detect and evade. Busoshoku, in comparison, has the user direct their spiritual energy around themselves to create an invisible barrier, which can then be projected as a brute force attack, or channeled into the user or their weapons to increase their effectiveness, the latter being a means Zoro uses his Haki on his swords.
With his swords and Haki in tow, Zoro has proven his worth to the Straw Hats, being one of their most prominent physical hitters; so great is his strength, in fact, that his Santoryu techniques have seen the defeat of Pica, a pirate who can absorb stone to become a mountain-sized man, in a single strike comparable to an 11-megaton hydrogen bomb. His speed and durability are on par with his strength as well, demonstrated by his willingness to absorb the shock of injuries sustained by both himself and Luffy at the brink of death. While he may be an accomplished swordsman, Zoro is not unfortunately a perfect one. He still remains a swordsman first and foremost, and as such, close combat is his preferred forte. In addition, his sense of direction still remains as terrible as ever, and would never survive without the aid of his fellow Straw Hats. But beyond their navigational skills, they remain the reason Zoro continues to take on all comers whom they may face.
- Roronoa Zoro: I set sail for only one reason; to meet you. (undoes a bandana tied to his left arm)
Dracule "Hawk Eyes" Mihawk: And what is your goal?
Roronoa Zoro: (ties the bandana around his head) To beat you!
From there, the hosts move on from Zoro to his newest opponent, one Erza Scarlet, whom enjoyed a complacent childhood in the rural Rosemary Village, but that peace would come to an end by cultists serving the malevolent archmage Zeref Dragneel, whom burned the village to the ground and enslaved the child populace, Erza included, to build a tower for Zeref's resurrection. Some solace could be found in the fact that Erza befriended several of her fellow child laborers, such as one Jellal Fernandes, whom gave Erza her surname courtesy of her hair color. After being tortured to the brink of death and losing her right eye in the process, Erza led a revolt alongside Jellal and the other slaves, and while seeing her friends mutilated, killed, or in Jellal's case, possessed, tapped into her own magic powers, sending weapons at the tower guards, setting out on her own in her escape to the Fairy Tail guild to protect the innocent from tragedies like what her life had become.
The revolt only gave Erza a small taste of her magic powers, specifically her re-equip magic, with which she may use, reuse, and exchange her array of weapons and armor at a moment's notice; her collection of pieces of equipment, rumored to be hundreds strong, would otherwise be of no use to her. Amongst her assortment of armors are her standard Heart Kreuz, but also other standbys such as the pyrokinetic Flame Empress, the defensive Adamantine armor, the Black Wing armor for flight, and an array of skimpy outfits to distract and arouse her foes. Her most prominent armors, however, are her Armadura Fairy, which greatly increases her offensive capabilities to the point where Erza herself claims it to be her strongest armor, and the Clear Heart clothing, which technically is no armor at all, sacrificing defense for gains of attack and speed. With her collection of weapons and armor, Erza can swap pieces of them out on the fly, imbuing them with magic to suit her needs. Erza is thus skilled in a great number of weapons, especially so for swords, and even hand-to-hand combat.
Erza has earned her status in the Fairy Tail guild as one of its most reputable members courtesy of these traits. Her training alone, without any supporting boosts from her armor, has lent itself to a number of accomplishments; punching straight through a cube of over a hundred million cubic miles in volume, deflecting flintlock pistol rounds at point black, surviving a island busting explosion, and in fact becoming the youngest member of the guild to pass the arduous S-Class Mage Promotion Test are just some of the feats Erza has to her name. Even still, the very powers that have brought her to these points of their own; namely, the fact that using and exchanging her armors and weapons runs on a finite supply of magic, which can be worn down with reckless swapping. Regardless of the situation, though, there remains yet to be a scenario in which her skillset cannot see her through.
- Erza Scarlet: I will withstand any physical pain... to protect the ones that I love!
The pair have had every detail covered, every aspect acknowledged, and as such, nothing remains. It's time for a death battle!
A village sitting at the foot of a mountain range is where the battle-to-come opens. Traversing the land are a pair of figures, one clad almost purely in green, another sporting a armored torso and skirt. As the two bump into one another, the individual in green, Roronoa Zoro, master swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates, inquires for directions to a local shipyard, attracting the full attention of the armor-clad Erza Scarlet, Fairy Tail's S-Class Mage. Looking over a paper on her person, Erza comes to find her current bounty is none other than Zoro himself, forcing her to use magic to summon a sword from seeming nothingness and demand Zoro come with her to face justice. Once Zoro displays a lack of interest in the mage's request, the pirate draws his own blade to fend his harasser away.
FIGHT!
Not a moment after the battle starts, Erza aims her sword in an overhead swing to Zoro's head, which the former bounty hunter can barely block, resigning himself to the matter at hand. A series of twirling slices later, and Zoro can bat the swordswoman away. An opening arises as Erza regains an even footing, Zoro lunging towards her with heated thrusts and slashes his foe nimbly evades. As she darts backwards, the Straw Hat takes another sword and places a third in his mouth to enable usage of his Santoryu style. He leaps forward with an Oni Giri at the ready, but Erza's own vaulting means the only thing Zoro has slain is a chunk of building, slamming into the earth below. The midair Erza shifts into her Black Wing armor to Zoro's surprise, barreling into the swordsman and dragging him skyward, a somersaulting kick knocking her foe into another building in the first clean hit of the battle. Luckily for Zoro, he skids to a stop on the building's rooftop, but the situation becomes problematic as Erza carries on the attack, charging towards him as he vaults between roofs, barely a step ahead.
Erza switches strategies, shifting to the Flame Empress in midair and driving a new crimson blade into the building, culminating in an explosion which Zoro is barely caught in. Zoro draws a katana and readies himself to continue the fight until he notices his haramaki set aflame from Erza's attack; his horrified screaming elicit an amused reaction from Erza, watching the pirate flail across the ground until he puts the flame out and sends a 1080-pound cannon at her, sending her careening off the rooftop. As Zoro charges forward to finish the job, he finds his katanas blocked by the enormous spiked gauntlets of the Adamantine armor Erza immediately shifts out of once it serves its purpose.
Erza then takes it upon herself to up her offensive, swapping her myriad swords out on a whim as she and Zoro close the distance, parrying the other's strikes without fail. Zoro eventually levels all three of his blades parallel for a simultaneous blow from all three, but the Gazami Dori technique is foiled by the guild member leaping backwards once again. Using her magic to channel the Giant armor, the redhead hurls its corresponding lance at her fellow swordsman; the polearm is effortlessly batted away and launched back towards her, which would spell her end if not for the Armadura Fairy's twin swords cutting the spear to pieces. She imbues one of her swords with magic, bursting in a green aura as she barrels towards Zoro, who throws off another 1080-pound cannon, the entire village getting caught in the blast.
The dust settles as several buildings have been destroyed in the collision's wake, Zoro laying in the middle, bleeding and unmoving. Ezra's armor falls apart, leaving her in her Clear Heart clothing. Assuming the worst has come to pass, the S-Class mage laments the loss of the pirate, whose voice reveals he has survived the strongest of Erza's armor, seemingly none the worse for wear; indeed, even with Kuina's former Wado Ichimonji gripped between his teeth, the master swordsman calls Erza out on her supposed true strength. The shock faced by the once guild master quickly wears off by the time she dons her Heaven's Wheel armor, ascending into the sky and calling upon a horde of dozens of her blades, espousing her determination in the face of Zoro donning his bandana, ready to carry on the fight. The swords rain down upon Zoro, but he twirls about in place, knocking them all aside, eager to stare down a second wave, which, using the Kyutoryu, he once again knocks aside, leaping upon a third onslaught of swords to confront his opponent as she sheds the armor to take up the Clear Heart. Erza jumps from sword to sword as well before the two lunge at one another with final strikes. All is quiet for a moment before the mountain in the distance cracks, and with it, Erza bursts in half, her corpse dropping to earth, spewing with blood. Zoro reaches solid ground far more gracefully and sheaths his swords dripping with blood, resuming his quest for the shipyard.
K.O.!
Too late to assist their master, the swords of Heaven's Wheel drop point first around the bifurcated carcass of Erza, while Zoro's search has led him to a metalworking plant, much to his confusion. Admittedly, the hosts state, Erza's showing of reacting to flintlock rounds demonstrates she can react to objects moving at 500 miles per hour, though the facts prove that Zoro can still move to fast for her to register; a well-trained human eye can react to an image in about 4.5 milliseconds, and within that timeframe, Zoro himself has been shown evading the sight of a small army of pirates by traveling roughly 47 feet in that timeframe. To put it another way, Zoro can reach speeds over five times faster than a modern-day bullet, and none of Erza's armors have been shown to buff her speed to that much of an extent. Additionally, Erza's greatest feats of destructive capability are likewise dwarfed by what Zoro has proved himself as capable of; slicing Pica in mountain form alone puts his cutting prowess at 11.5 megatons, several thousands times greater than Erza's destroying of an island. While the artificial eye Erza acquired to make up for the one she lost as a slave would enable her to see through the illusion of the Kyutoryu, it would still retain its full potency; further compounding this problem is her repeated tendency to adopt the Clear Heart clothing, which in this case, would be detrimental to her, as she would have less to defend herself with in a sword fight against Zoro, his specialty. Lastly, Erza's expertise with swordplay has been only self-taught; in comparison, Zoro has trained with swords from a young age, and with several experts, including the greatest swordsman of his world. Both swordfighters are among the most accomplished in their series, but Erza is consistently dwarfed to the point of being outmatched entirely.
- Boomstick: Guess she won't be getting a fairy tail ending.
Wizard: The winner is Roronoa Zoro!
Zoro vs. Erza has examples of:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Three of them, given the final blow also sliced a mountain in the distance.
- Book Ends: Zoro's first and last lines.(before the fight) Sorry, lady. Could you point me in the way of the shipyard? I've been looking around for hours.
(after the fight) Now, where the hell is that shipyard... - Double Take: Erza looks from Zoro to the wanted poster in her hand of Zoro three times before realizing her bounty is right in front of him.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Erza ends the fight being carved in two.
- Glass Cannon: Erza is basically this especially when she strips off her armor. Her strength increases in favor of losing defense. Not that it matters to Zoro who is still physically stronger.
- Lightning Bruiser: Zoro is fast and very, very strong. Much more than Erza even after removing her armor in favor of power.
- Made of Iron: One of the reasons why Zoro won is that he can take much more punishment than Erza. He provides the trope page's image for a reason.
- Noodle Incident: Somehow Boomstick has engaged in a fight while fully erect.
- Walking Arsenal: Erza carries several different armors and weapons that she can swap out at a moment's notice.
