Zoro/Nami

Moments:

Below is a list of all the important/cute moments between Zoro and Nami. Beware of detailed spoilers for the first 206 episodes of the anime and all that’s been released in English of the manga.

1.) When Zoro and Nami first meet, they don’t really get the chance to do a lot of talking. They are, after all, right in the middle of Buggy’s pirate crew, and are focused on getting themselves (and Luffy) out of trouble. But one thing to note is how quick Zoro is to zip into action, helping Nami out in the process. Later, Nami expresses plenty of concern over Zoro’s wounds.

2.) When the fight with Buggy begins, Nami runs off to steal Buggy’s treasure, claiming that the fight is none of her concern. But she is concerned for both Zoro and Luffy, and returns to help.

3.) After all of this, Zoro has no questions or qualms regarding Nami joining the crew. Didn’t anyone else half-expect him to say he didn’t want a woman in the crew? Or that it would be too dangerous for her? But he doesn’t say anything. He accepts her as eagerly as Luffy does. Maybe he, like Luffy, can sense when someone is a good person.

4.) During the Kuro arc, there is a humorous scene where Nami is slipping down a slope that had been covered in oil (it was a trap set for the enemies that didn’t work). She grabs onto Zoro for help, and ends up dragging him down into the oil and uses him to climb back to her feet, running off and leaving him behind. While Zoro appears furious at her, he makes no attempt to retaliate or even mentions it after his initial appearance on the scene a little later. In the same story arc, Nami takes a pretty nasty injury in order to get Zoro’s swords to him, something he appreciates.

5.) When the Arlong Saga begins, there are numerous Zoro/Nami moments. Zoro is the first to see Nami after she took off with the ship, and she coldly commands him to leave, showing him her tattoo that symbolizes her affiliation with Arlong. We all know that she wanted him to leave so that he could escape danger, but his reaction is somewhat surprising. He doesn’t really seem too shocked to find out she’s part of Arlong’s crew, and remains on the island, still believing that she’s not gone bad.

6.) In the same sequence, Nami attacks him. She notices that his chest/torso is bandaged, and quietly asks him about it. When he indicates that it’s nothing serious, she kicks him, unaware that the wound under the bandages was a very serious one. This illustrates Nami’s concern for him. First of all, the main reason she attacked him was to make him leave the island. She didn’t want him there, in danger. She didn’t want Arlong to know she cared about him. She didn’t want his help, because she had seen what horrible things had happened to those who tried to help her. When she saw his bandages, she was no doubt concerned about him even more. So she asked him about it. He lied to her, perhaps to spare her feelings or ease any concern she had. When she thought it wasn’t a serious wound, she kicked him.

7.) Later, Zoro is seen imprisoned by Arlong’s pirates. Nami walks into the cell and frees him. She again commands him to leave, desperate to get him out of danger. Zoro does not leave, and instead stays and battles Arlong’s pirates.

8.) Later still, Nami commands Zoro (along with the rest of the crew) to leave again. And again, this doesn’t work. Nami runs off in frustration, and her sister appears to explain Nami’s story to the others. Zoro sits down by a tree to nap, but before this, agreed to hear the story. So why did he fall asleep then? I don’t think he really was asleep, but merely resting his eyes. I think Zoro may absorb things easier this way. We’ve already seen in the Whiskey Peak arc that he’s good at pretending to be asleep. He also doesn’t seem to be big on emotional expression. Perhaps pretending to be asleep was a good way to avoid displaying an emotional reaction to the Nami’s story in front of the others. After hearing the story, Zoro is more than eager to go fight Arlong to free Nami.

9.) During the fight against Arlong and his pirates, Zoro fights very hard and goes through a lot of physical punishment, including having the bandages ripped from his fresh (and severe) wound, exposing it to infection and risk of reopening. His friends Johnny and Yosaku explain to the villagers during the fight that Zoro and the others are fighting because of Nami’s tears. Basically, all of them, including Zoro, were beating the hell out of Arlong’s pirates because they made Nami cry. Isn’t that sweet?

10.) In Whiskey Peak, it’s interesting that Zoro and Nami have a drinking contest with each other and some of the villagers. Nami out-drinks him, but it turns out that both of them faked passing out, so I guess we’ll never know who can truly out-drink the other. It’s also interesting that the two of them are the only ones smart enough to be suspicious of the residents of Whiskey Peak (Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp were all sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of what was going on).

11.) Also in Whiskey Peak, Nami makes a deal with Mister Eight, and then Vivi, to take Vivi to Alabasta in return for a large sum of money. But after the deal is struck, Nami tells Zoro that the job is his. When he protests, she reminds him that he owes her money, and he quickly surrenders to her will. Also of interest here is that after the fight between Zoro and Luffy (the result of a terrible misunderstanding), it’s Nami who breaks it up by punching them both out. Now who else would Zoro let get away with that?

12.) Not long after this is when Nami gets sick. A cute moment is when she gathers her strength and steps outside to check the direction. Zoro had been watching the direction, and she makes a comment about feeling bad. Zoro says something like “So go lay down and rest! I’ll take care of it!” Although Zoro knows nothing about navigation, he was doing his best because he knew Nami needed to be resting. However, it turns out he wasn’t doing a good enough job and Nami had to turn them around. XD Still yet, he did make an effort to lighten some of the responsibility she has to carry. Later, Nami wakes up to find all the other crew members (except Sanji, who had watch duty), laying across her floor by her bed, including Zoro. This surprised me a little, since Zoro typically sticks to himself on the ship. But here he slept by Nami’s bed. :D A little after that is when Zoro takes over Luffy’s duty of watching over Nami so that Luffy could go see the new island they were approaching.

13.) In Alabasta, it is Zoro and Nami who end up teamed together when they all storm into the capital as decoys for Vivi. Mr. One and Miss Double Finger are the enemies who pursue them, and Zoro repeatedly commands Nami to quickly and quietly run and hide. He obviously intends to fight both of the enemies himself, and didn't want Nami to be in danger. However, Nami, confident that Zoro can take them, cheers him on loudly. The two enemies surprise both Zoro and Nami by walking right by Zoro and going after Nami, whom they deem to be the weakest. Nami flees, and they pursue. Along the way, Zoro catches up to them and tries to detour their attention to him (another attempt to protect Nami). In fact, he literally leaps into the path of Mr. One's bladed arms when he attacked Nami, saving her life. When Miss Double Finger continues to pursue Nami, Zoro worried whirls around to warn Nami, but is relieved to find that she has already taken off. Though Nami does fight Miss Double Finger (and win!!), Zoro isn't aware of this during his fight and repeatedly expresses concern for her safety. It's just a neat little sequence that show just how protective Zoro is of Nami.

14.) Throughout the first part of the Skypeia arc, Nami, Zoro, Robin, and Chopper are separated from the others. Nami, Zoro, and Robin then branch off, leaving Chopper to care for the ship while they explore the island. On many occasions, a monster or some of that sort would attack Nami, and Zoro repeatedly leaped into action to save her. Then later, Zoro witnesses Nami being swallowed by a giant snake. Horrified, he turns his attentions from his enemy to the snake, in an attempt to get Nami out. He is genuinely worried about her, and has many internal debates on what to do, wondering how long she could last in the stomach before being digested and how he could get her out. Zoro usually doesn't display so much concern for anyone, so it was sweet that he was so worried.

And I know there will be many more moments! But this is all I’ve seen so far. If you have any moments to add to this list, send them to me here with “Zoro/Nami” in the subject line!