In chapter 980, we first learn of Zoro’s intentions of fighting Kaido in this arc.
In chapter 989, Zoro again reiterates his ambition to go to Kaido. He tells Luffy he’ll go with him to the rooftop. Luffy doesn’t tell Zoro to focus on Queen, who is standing right next to him. In fact, they both completely ignore Queen and try to get to the rooftop. The chapter ends with Luffy saying he’ll go take out Kaido and ordering everyone else to watch his back. This was one of the original reasons why people doubted Zoro even going to the rooftop at all; in the end, we all saw what happened.
From there, did Luffy and Zoro get to Kaido immediately? No, they were prevented from getting there because the enemies blocked the path. It took an additional 10 chapters for them to face Kaido alongside the other Supernovas. What happened during that span of 10 chapters? Luffy is escorted floor by floor by Sanji and Jinbe. And in the end, he is protected by the Minks, while Zoro gets into a fight with Apoo and makes retrieving the antidote his temporary objective.
In chapter 995, Queen notices the name Vinsmoke in the bounties he’s holding. A connection is now established between Queen and Sanji. A connection that doesn’t exist between Zoro and any subordinate. This may seem off-topic for now, but keep it in mind for later.
In chapter 997, Zoro sees Kiku’s arm fall off the rooftop and realises that there is no time to waste; he immediately accomplishes his secondary objective of getting the antidote from Apoo. When Queen is going to waste more time by shooting out plague bullets, Zoro sends a slash to him and tells him he did not come here to waste time on a bunch of nonsense. We see a sense of urgency from Zoro.
Zoro reveals to us what his true objective of the arc is. It’s to slice Kaido into pieces. Now, many people misinterpret this part for some reason. In some scans, Zoro says, “I came here to cut down Kaido”. People see the word “cut” in “cut down” and think it means the same thing. They believe that Zoro’s objective was to give Kaido a cut. So, in their minds, he’s clearly achieved his arc goal since he cut Kaido hard in Chapter 1010. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Cut down is something employed in One Piece to imply defeat or death. It is not meant to signify just a “cut”. The Viz makes this even clearer. Zoro came here to slice Kaido into pieces. In a literal sense, it means to kill someone, while figuratively, it means to defeat someone. Zoro has done neither. Therefore, he hasn’t achieved his goal of the arc.
Zoro now realises the dangers of wasting time on subordinates. He understands that he and Luffy have to get to Kaido immediately. Otherwise, Kaido will hurt the members of the alliance. Even here, Zoro sees King and isn’t interested in him at all. He doesn’t want to waste time fighting him; he wants to get to Kaido immediately.
Here comes Marco, who allows Zoro to get past King and Queen so that he doesn’t waste time and instead goes to Kaido immediately. He is the solution to Zoro’s problem. Zoro finally gets to Kaido, where he always wanted to be.
Fast forward to chapter 1003, Zoro finally cuts Kaido. If Zoro’s goal was to give Kaido a cut, he could have left right here. Or after Luffy got back to normal health. He would have “accomplished” his goal with that cut. In chapter 1008, Zoro is actively thinking of a way to defeat Kaido. Clearly, his goal is more than just cutting him.
In chapters 1009 and 1010, Zoro’s own goals change. As a result of the brutal attack he took, he himself doesn’t expect to fight till the end. Instead, he wants to give Kaido a massive hit so that Law and/or Luffy can finish the fight instead. He uses Asura, which gives Kaido a deep wound that will eventually scar him. Unfortunately for Zoro, this attack doesn’t even knock Kaido off his feet and seems mostly ineffective. Zoro fans want to hype up Asura since it resulted in a scar, but they forget that moment is pretty much a failure for Zoro. He couldn’t even do what he wished for.
