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A One Piece prequel starring Zoro is coming, but not as a manga, an animated series, or a TV show... but as a novel

One Piece novel Zoro is bringing new material to the serialized novel One Piece fans have already gotten their hands on.

One Piece Novel Zoro Cover
Image credit: Shueisha

One Piece fans are never short on things to read, and yet, they’re always looking for more. As though 1100+ chapters of the manga and a whole universe of movies weren’t enough, we’re also getting a new One Piece novel about Zoro this summer. Because you can never have enough One Piece.

The new book, titled One Piece novel Zoro, follows the infamous swordsman in the time between when he set out on his journey to become the world’s greatest swordsman and his fateful meeting with Luffy. It compiles stories that were already published in One Piece Magazine between 2024 and 2025 in one place, along with a few newly written chapters to keep things fresh for fans. One Piece novel Zoro is due out in Japan on July 3, 2026. No announcement on whether it will get an official English translation has been made.

Starting a few years after his friend Kuina’s death, Zoro sets off to find a mysterious killer who could be Dracule Mihawk. While he doesn’t find the legendary swordsman, it does set him on the path of finding new, stronger opponents to test his strength against. The book is written by Jun Esaka. It is unclear how much input original One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda had in its plot, despite it focusing on one of his most iconic characters.

The serialized version of the One Piece novel Zoro had two chapters plus a prologue. The listing for the compiled version mentions that it has new material, but doesn’t specify how much of the book will be new. 

One Piece novel Zoro is out on July 3, 2026.


Trent Cannon

Trent Cannon: Trent is a freelance writer who has been covering anime, video games, and pop culture for a decade. (He/Him)

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