Wondering what life was like on Whitebeard’s ship and Gol D. Roger’s ship? Well, look for no one else to tell you about it other than Kozuki Oden. A Samurai yet a pirate, and one of the few people who know what the One Piece is. One would wonder what happened to such an amazing character and how he met his end. In the Wano arc, we get to learn a lot about Oden. How he lived his life, how he gave Kaido an unhealing scar and so much more. Stick with us as we give you a rundown of the legendary Pirate Samurai.
Who is Kozuki Oden?
Kozuki Oden is the son of the Kozuki Sukiyaki and was once the rightful heir to the throne of the Shogun of Wano Kingdom. For a Samurai, he was quite tall, wore black eyeliner and an orange kimono, and he loved eating Oden. Oden was a confident, energetic, and self-willed man. During his teenage years, he did crazy things like fight gamblers and sometimes kidnap women at night to form a harem. Don’t be surprised, he’s been a pervert since he was a kid. He usually takes money from the palace and lavishes it at the pleasure hall at the tender age of six. Although he was popularly known for getting into violent fights, he was just a thrill-seeker who cared less about the consequences of his actions.
Fed up with his misdemeanors, Oden’s Father sentenced him to work in the quarries. You may think his father was too harsh on him, but it was for his own good. Fortunately, this made Oden develop a sense of responsibility toward helping the people of the Flower Capital. One of the things he did for the Capital was to divert water into it when there was a drought. He ended up flooding the land and worsening the situation, but that’s not the point. He did it for the good of the people and not for himself or for an ulterior motive. At another point, Kin’emon accidentally made a Mountain God attack the Flower Capital, and Oden saved the day, slicing up the raging Mountain God. Heroically, he took all the blame and left Kin’emon out of it, which later inspired him to join Oden’s cause.
Formation of The Nine Red Scabbards
With Oden’s righteous acts, he began amassing followers, who would later become the legendary Nine Scabbards. It all started with Kin’emon, who admired Oden after he took the blame for him. Then Denjiro, who was Kin’emon’s partner, followed suit. Although Oden was first annoyed that they saw him as their leader, he still took care of them and cared about their well-being. During his journey after being exiled, he also took in two orphans, Izou and Kikunojo. Later on, he took in the persecuted Kanjuro and the lonely Raizou. When Oden got to the Kuri region, it was labeled “the badlands of the Wano kingdom.” There were no rulers there, and the strong ones survived while the weak ones perished.
To earn respect in Kuri, he took on Ashura Doji, the present strongest in Kuri, and he won the fight. Based on the rules of Kuri, Oden was to kill Ashura Doji, but he let him live. After losing to Oden, Ashura Doji decided to become Oden’s follower as a sign of respect and admiration. One would call Oden an amazing character, as he turned a foe into a friend. Furthermore, Oden doesn’t discriminate, as he saved Nekomamushi, Kawamatsu, and Inuarashi from the people who found them wandering around the shores and had planned to execute them because they weren’t humans. The three of them ended up becoming Oden’s trained retainers after he saved them, and they were loyal to him. That adds up to 10 people, but you’d later learn why they’re known as the Nine Red Scabbards.
The First Samurai Pirate
It has always been Oden’s dream to leave the Wano Kingdom and go on adventures on the sea. However, the Wano Kingdom has closed its borders for centuries; no one comes in, and no one goes out. As you can guess from Oden’s stubbornness, he has tried to escape 38 times, but he fails every single time. So, he gave up on this dream. Not so long after, a random pirate ship crashed on the shores of Wano. This ship belonged to the great pirate Whitebeard. It’s safe to say he welcomes them in Oden style, charging at Whitebeard without thinking twice. Sadly for Oden, he was no match for Whitebeard. After this, he becomes friends with the Whitebeard pirates and helps them fix their ship, among other things. He also saw this as an opportunity to fulfill his adventure dreams by leaving Wano on Whitebeard’s Ship.
But his retainers didn’t want him to go because they knew he had responsibilities as a Daimiyo and as the next Shogun of Wano. Despite all these, Oden didn’t care, as the only thing on his mind was to fulfill his dreams. He asked Whitebeard to let him on his Ship multiple times, but Whitebeard refused because he thought Oden might not respond well to authority. The day the Whitebeard pirates were leaving, they planned to sail away at night so Oden wouldn’t know, but this didn’t stop Oden from following them. He grabbed a chain connected to the Moby Dick (Whitebeard’s ship), and it dragged him along. Whitebeard, stunned by his persistence, then proposed a deal that if he managed to survive the pull of the sea while hanging on to the chain for three days, he would be allowed to join the crew.
The Moby Dick and Whitebeard Pirates
Surprisingly, Oden took the challenge to heart and was on the verge of completing it when he heard a woman crying for help on an island. After thinking deeply, he forfeits his challenge to join the crew and opts to save the woman even though he is so close to completing the trial. This woman’s name was Toki, and she later marries Oden. After Oden saves the woman, she heals his wounds and hopes he will take her back to Wano at first, but later on, she just wants to be with him and follow him anywhere instead. Fortunately for Oden, Whitebeard lets Oden join the crew because he is impressed by Oden’s compassion for Toki. On the Moby Dick, Oden had thrilling adventures, and Toki gave birth to Kozuki Momonosuke and Kozuki Hiyori.
Journey to Laugh Tale or Raftel
While Oden enjoyed exploring with the Whitebeard Pirates, Gol d. Roger was interested in him because of his knowledge of the Poneglyphs. Four years later, he met Oden on an island. They had a clash, but Oden didn’t seem to be a match for Roger, as he sent him flying with just one hit. In the same vein, Roger asks Whitebeard to let Oden join the Roger Pirates, as he would play a crucial role in helping them find the One Piece. Whitebeard agrees, and Oden joins the Roger Pirates.
Before commencing the journey to the last island, Laugh Tale, Kozuki Oden’s wife, took ill, and he had no choice but to return to Wano and drop her and the kids off. Nekomamushi and Inuarashi also decided to stay behind and foresee the affairs of Wano with the other retainers while Oden continued his journey. A year later, they found the One Piece after finally reaching Laughtale. Oden went back to the Wano Kingdom after discovering the legendary “treasure,” which would later be referred to as the One Piece.
Return to The Kingdom of Wano
After returning from Laughtale, Oden came back to the Wano Kingdom permanently, intending to take his place as shogun and open the borders of the Wano Kingdom. Upon getting there, he realized the Wano kingdom was in a bad state and that his father was dead. When his retainers told him all about everything going on in the country and all that Kurozumi Orochi did to the Wano Kingdom with his authority, Oden went straight to the palace angrily to confront Orochi.
Let’s talk briefly about Oden and Orochi’s history. Oden first encountered Orochi at Yasuie’s place when he was working for the Daimiyo. His first impression of him was that he was “a creepy weirdo,” and Oden didn’t think so highly of him. When Oden became the Daimyo of Kuri, Orochi asked Oden to borrow money every time, but he never paid it back. Oden never stopped borrowing from him because he always felt sorry for him and always thought about his relationship with Yasuie. Yasuie was one of the Daimiyo of the Wano Kingdom and was like an uncle to Oden. Orochi always appeared to be humble when it came to Oden, but in reality, he saw him as an enemy and wanted to take the title of Shogun away from the Kozuki family. Additionally, he spends the money Oden borrows him on manufacturing weapons.
Orochi’s Revenge
Kurozumi Orochi, who had used cunning ways to become an acting Shogun, had destroyed the Wano country because he wanted to take revenge on the people of Wano for killing his clan members for something the former head of his clan did. The former head of the Kurozumi clan poisoned the previous Daimiyos and the head of the Kozuki clan because he wanted to secure his spot as the next Shogun. This is the reason the Wano citizens hated the Kurozumi family and sought to kill them all. Even though it was based on their sense of justice. He was forced to commit suicide afterward, and the Kurozumi clan was stripped of their title as one of the governing bodies of the Wano kingdom. Orochi might have gone too far, but if it were you in this position, what would you do?
When Oden finally got to the palace to confront Orochi, he encountered Kaidou and realized Orochi was allied with him. Orochi threatened to kill civilians if Oden didn’t do as he said, and Oden struck a deal with him. Their deal was that Oden had to dance naked in the flower capital once every week for the next five years as long as Orochi didn’t harm the people of the Wano Kingdom. Of course, the people didn’t know this, and they started losing faith in him as their savior. They also started disliking him and calling him names when, in reality, he was protecting them. When it was finally Orochi’s turn to fulfill his side of the bargain, he didn’t do it. This angered Oden, and he had no choice but to fight.
Kanjuro’s Betrayal
Oden decided to ambush Orochi for not keeping his promise, and he told his retainers to get ready to ambush. During their attempt to ambush Orochi, Oden and his nine scabbards were ambushed instead. Hundreds of the beast pirates and their captain, Kaidou, were waiting for them; this confused Oden and his retainers. How? This was the only question on their minds, as they couldn’t understand how their plan leaked.
Orochi knew about this ambush thanks to Kanjuro, who was also a Kurozumi. Orochi sent him to act as one of Oden’s retainers for years, and Kanjuro did this perfectly for years and wasn’t found out until years later. Kanjuro fought alongside them, suffered alongside them, and even almost died alongside them. Do you need a good actor and spy? Get yourself a Kurozumi Kanjuro.
The Battle for The Kingdom of Wano
Despite being caught off guard, Oden and the Nine Scabbards choose to fight and not surrender. Oden was fighting Kaidou while his retainers fought the rest of the Beast pirates. He uses just two swords, which are Enma and Ame-no-Habakiri. In the heat of the battle, Oden used his two-sword style “Paradise Totsuka” technique to give Kaido an X-shaped scar, which Kaido said still stung even after 20 years! During the fight, Kaidou couldn’t believe Oden was that strong. The Beast Pirates Captain, who was a man of unparalleled strength, was delighted to fight someone that strong.
Unfortunately, their fight was interrupted as Kurozumi Higurashi shapeshifted into a kidnapped Momonosuke. This distracted Oden and opened him up, and Kaidou attacked him, which made him pass out. Kaidou wouldn’t accept a dishonorable victory, so he killed Higurashi for interrupting the fight. Kurozumi Higurashi is one of the two members of the Kurozumi clan who saved Orochi from being killed by the people of Wano and successfully made Orochi the illegitimate shogun of Wano. Upon defeat, Oden and the Nine Red Scabbards are arrested for Treason and sentenced to execution.
“Oden Wouldn’t Be Oden If It Wasn’t Boiled”
During the moments of his public execution in the Flower Capital, Oden’s sacrifice for the people of Wano was revealed. They felt bad for mocking him, so they decided to cheer him up and hope for his survival. Oden and his retainers were sentenced to being boiled alive for a whole hour. Oden made a deal with Kaidou that if they survived, Kaidou will let his retainers go. Knowing Kaido and Orochi wouldn’t honor this deal, he decided to stay in the hot oil alone and carry his nine retainers on his head while they sat on a large wood, big enough for nine people. Oden’s death was inevitable, not even he could survive being boiled in oil for an hour, knowing this, he told his retainers to carry on his will to open the borders of Wano.
After being boiled for an hour, as predicted by Oden, Kaidou and Orochi didn’t honor the deal after one hour. Oden quickly tossed his Nine Red Scabbards a little bit far from the execution ground because Orochi had ordered his soldiers to shoot them. Oden told them to leave him behind and focus on opening the borders no matter what. You are probably wondering: “What happened to Oden?” Well, he was shot by Kaidou. His last words were his favorite phrase, “Oden wouldn’t be Oden if it wasn’t boiled,” because he loved eating Oden so much, especially while it was being boiled. This is crazy because Oden was also being boiled at that moment, what a pun from Eichiro Oda.
