ZOROBIN: ZORO VS AOKIJI
(previous Zorobin story arc: Davy Back Fight)

After Skypiea, it is clear that Zoro and Robin are no longer strangers. Now, in the following scene after the Davy Back Fight, Rufy's crew must face Admiral Aokiji, who has designs on Robin (arrest or kill her). Aokiji's appearance immediately shocks Robin and infuriates the others, when the Admiral says that Robin will betray them. Zoro remains calm: but he is the person behind the group and follows Robin, not too closely because she doesn't think Zoro doesn't believe her, or because he doesn't want to be explicit. The fact is that Zoro is clearly after Robin, and that means he's worried about her, even if he doesn't want to show it. And he is already combat-ready.

As soon as Aokiji is about to hit Robin, Zoro immediately blocks him, without hesitation regarding the Admiral's nods about her probable "betrayal". Clearly, for Zoro, Robin is not a traitor and Aokiji's words have little value for him. It's a very strong Zorobin moment. Rufy didn't order Zoro to attack; not to mention that Zoro was the furthest from the others. Yet, he was still the first to stop Aokiji, even getting ahead of Sanji, who is often the first to protect a woman. Also, Oda showed Zoro in a whole panel, where you can see his expression of fighting fury: so he used that panel to show Zoro's feelings, which is very significant. Furthermore, in the next panel, we see Aokiji's surprise, albeit contained, in seeing Zoro's recoil: a sign that that was no small action (we're talking about an admiral...). And it's the second time that Zoro defends Robin from someone stronger than him (the first time was against Ener in Skypiea).

It could be my impression, but here Robin is in front of Zoro as if she was there to protect him, with one hand turned towards him... who knows. The fact remains that Robin remains in that position in front of Aokiji.

Here Aokiji transforms Robin into a piece of ice. Rufy shouts to Robin to get away from him (but now the damage is done); Sanji shouts "Robin!", the others are off stage. And Zoro? He doesn't say anything, but his expression says it all, with the balloon containing only ellipses and exclamation points. It's a Japanese way to indicate extreme tension, so much so that you don't even know what to say. So Zoro here is the most worried and scared of the three.

When the battle is over and the whole crew is sleeping from exhaustion, and Robin is also resting, trying to recover from her wounds, Zoro sleeps too. But he does so in his guard position, right behind Robin, clutching his swords. It's a gesture of protection. A rather marked Zorobin. In this clash we have seen the fury of Zoro, his determination, his fear of losing someone he cares about.

This is a small trace of Zorobin: when Zoro is about to go to sleep, Robin wakes up and tries to fully recover with a coffee. It seems there is a complementarity between Zoro and Robin: when one sleeps, the other stays awake.

Robin: Um...could I have some coffee? Sanji: SURE!!! Nami: Umm...delicious! Sanji: NOW I CAN DIE HAPPY!!! Zoro: Shut up, idiot cook! I'm trying to sleep!

(Continues here)

HERE ARE ALL THE ZOROBIN LINKS

Edited by joe 7 - 15/9/2023, 16:56