Kouzuki Oden
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| Japanese Name |
光月おでん |
| Romanized Name |
Kōzuki Oden |
| Official English Name |
Kozuki Oden;Kouzuki Oden (OPCG) |
| Debut |
Chapter 920; Episode 910 |
| Affiliations |
Kouzuki Family; Roger Pirates (former); Whitebeard Pirates (former) |
| Occupations |
Samurai; Daimyo; Pirate (former); 2nd Division Commander (former) |
| Origin |
Grand Line (Wano Country) |
| Residence |
Wano Country (Kuri); (Flower Capital) (former) |
| Epithet |
"Idiot Lord" (バカ殿, Bakatono?, VIZ: "Fool of a Lord") |
| Status |
Deceased |
| Age At Death |
39 |
| Birthday |
February 22nd |
| Height |
382 cm (12'6") |
| Blood Type |
F |
| Bounty |
Unknown |
| Japanese Voice |
Hiroya Ishimaru |
| English Voice |
Funimation:Robbie Daymond |
Introduction
Kouzuki Oden was the daimyo of Kuri in Wano Country and the son of the former shogun Kouzuki Sukiyaki, being a member of the Kouzuki Family. He was the husband of Kouzuki Toki and the father of Momonosuke and Hiyori. Additionally, he was the leader of a group of legendary and powerful samurai known as the Nine Red Scabbards, with all of them serving as his retainers and most trusted allies. For 5 years of his life, Oden set out to sea and became a pirate, serving as the 2nd division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and later becoming a member of the Roger Pirates. After finding Joy Boy's treasure on Laugh Tale, Oden journeyed home and made it his goal to open Wano's borders to the world by finally taking his father's place as shogun.
However, he met opposition from his usurper Kurozumi Orochi and the pirate Kaidou, who executed him 20 years before the present, in an event known as the Legendary Hour. Oden's name was first mentioned during the Zou Arc. He is the posthumous overarching protagonist of the Wano Country Arc, being the protagonist of a series of events taking place in and outside Wano in the past.Kouzuki Oden was the daimyo of Kuri in Wano Country and the son of the former shogun Kouzuki Sukiyaki, being a member of the Kouzuki Family. He was the husband of Kouzuki Toki and the father of Momonosuke and Hiyori. Additionally, he was the leader of a group of legendary and powerful samurai known as the Nine Red Scabbards, with all of them serving as his retainers and most trusted allies. For 5 years of his life, Oden set out to sea and became a pirate, serving as the 2nd division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and later becoming a member of the Roger Pirates. After finding Joy Boy's treasure on Laugh Tale, Oden journeyed home and made it his goal to open Wano's borders to the world by finally taking his father's place as shogun. However, he met opposition from his usurper Kurozumi Orochi and the pirate Kaidou, who executed him 20 years before the present, in an event known as the Legendary Hour. Oden's name was first mentioned during the Zou Arc. He is the posthumous overarching protagonist of the Wano Country Arc, being the protagonist of a series of events taking place in and outside Wano in the past.
Appearance
Oden was a large and very muscular man of towering height, standing in at 382 cm. He had long, wild hair of black color that was notably gathered into a large, flat, circular plane at the top, and also included a prominent widow's peak and triangular sideburns. He had relatively sharp, black eyes whose inner and outer corners were marked by black jags going down and up respectively, and above a pair of prominent, highly arched eyebrows. He also wore red eyeliner around his eyes, making them look even sharper. He had a mid-sized, slightly hooked nose, a large, expressive mouth, and a broad chin.
Even during his late teen years, Oden looked just like a full-grown man. During his journey with the Roger Pirates, he received three scars, one on his leg, one on his arm, and one on his chest. During the five years before his demise, he grew a short goatee. For clothes, Oden typically wore an orange kimono, leaving most of his legs exposed; the kimono had two yellow crescent moon designs on it. Oden also wore a large purple and white nio-dasuki tied around his shoulders that ran down his back. He would often alternate between this and a similar longer kimono, with his nio-dasuki worn as a belt and tied in the front. Oden also wore his swords, Enma and Ame no Habakiri, across his left waist tucked inside an obi belt. While partying with the Whitebeard Pirates, he wore a light-colored shirt, dark colored pants, and a crown on his head.
Gallery
Main
Video Games
Other
Personality
Oden was an extremely brash, confident, carefree, and self-willed man. This motivated him to commit outrageous and violent actions for his own benefit during his youth and adolescence, such as fighting gamblers in a drunken rage, burning down the yakuza casino after being banned from it, and kidnapping women at night to form a harem in the mountains. Similar to his son Momonosuke, Oden was a pervert as a kid as he was regularly roaming the Red Light District at age 6 and spent the castle's money at the pleasure halls, not to mention forming a harem at the age of 15. However, that toned down over the years as he already grew out of that phase by the time, he became an adult. Overall, Oden was known for getting into a significant number of violent fights, and he cared little for the consequences of his actions, as he gladly stood his ground against the yakuza and the loved ones of the women when fighting broke out as a result of the two aforementioned incidents, making Oden a thrill-seeker, as he always loved getting into fights.
Although most men were appalled by his actions, his attitude made him very attractive to women, including the ones he kidnapped for his harem, as they stayed with him willingly, even though they were always free to leave. After being sentenced to work in the quarries, Oden became less selfish and started acting to improve the lives of the Flower Capital citizens around him. However, these actions were just as outrageous and ill-thought-out as the ones Oden committed to benefit himself. The most notable example is when he attempted to help out the citizens during a drought by diverting a river into the city, which caused the city to become flooded. Additionally, when a Mountain God attacked the Flower Capital, Oden quickly went to action to try to deal with it and even took responsibility for causing the crisis in order to shift blame from Kin'emon, who caused the incident on accident.
Oden seemed to often mean well but acted in ways that were reckless and potentially alienating to those around him. For example, to honor a deceased man he once knew, Oden cooked a pot of oden soup over his cremated remains to "share one last drink" with his former friend, much to the dismay of his mourning family members, although Oden then apologized to them for the disturbance. Unlike the other people in Wano, Oden didn't follow its strict rules and always did things to help others in his own way. He didn't care what others thought about him and also never wanted to be thanked whenever he helped others. Although many men blamed Oden for the Mountain God Incident, they secretly envied Oden for his carefree attitude because he's not bound by Wano's strict rules.
After being exiled by Sukiyaki, Oden seemed to have found an outlet for his unconventional attempts at heroism, as he was able to bring peace to Kuri and rebuild its infrastructure in only two years. Oden was also extremely adventurous and wanted to illegally set sail away from Wano Country, viewing it as too cramped. In his youth, he viewed this dream as more important than preparing to succeed his father as shogun. In fact, Oden's determination to set sail was so great that he kept trying to do so 38 times by the time he was only 18. When Whitebeard constantly refused and tried to secretly set sail without notifying him, Oden jumped straight into the sea holding onto the Moby Dick by a chain, shocking the Whitebeard Pirates.
Thus, Whitebeard imposed him an extremely difficult challenge which Oden readily agreed to accept it as Oden could brave through the harshest weathers and obstacles without flinching. After he officially joined the Whitebeard Pirates, Oden became immensely excited and curious when they arrived at every new island, learning new discoveries which were unknown to Wano, to the point he ended up recklessly throwing himself into danger. After sailing with the Roger Pirates, Oden became more mature and responsible, and decided that he wanted to succeed his father as shogun and open Wano's borders, to prepare for the return of Joy Boy, and because he wanted to change the entire world. Despite having a first bad impression of Orochi, who Oden considered nothing more than a "creepy weirdo", when Oden became a daimyo and Orochi frequently came to him and asked to borrow money from him, Oden always obliged despite never being paid back, doing so because he felt sorry for Orochi and out of respect for his relationship with Yasuie; something Denjiro constantly scolded him for. This makes Oden also a rather naive man as he was easily used by Orochi who approached him humbly and used Crocodile tears, which led Kaidou to call him a foolish lord later on, saying that Oden is mighty, but soft, like Gol D.
Roger and Edward Newgate. Because Oden was a honorable man who always kept his word, he believed that Orochi would do the same and honor the agreement that Orochi and Kaidou would leave Wano if he humiliated himself for five years to save the hundreds of hostages and stop the kidnappings and killings of the citizens of Wano. Oden was always someone who would take all the burden on his shoulders as he was afraid that his family and the people, he cares about would get hurt if they get involved, especially after he learned that Momonosuke was attacked, and Toki hit by an arrow. Ultimately, that would indirectly allow Orochi to rise to power and turn Wano into a wasteland. Despite his rowdy behavior, Oden was an extremely compassionate man.
While at first annoyed by Kin'emon and Denjiro acting as his followers, he still cared for their well-being and took them in. He also took in other people like the orphaned Izou and Kikunojo, the persecuted Kanjuro, and the lonely Raizo. After subduing the criminals and outlaws of Kuri, Oden chose to reform them rather than execute them as criminals. Oden did not tolerate discrimination, considering it a symbol of ignorance. He saved Kawamatsu, Inuarashi, and Nekomamushi from being publicly humiliated and tortured, beating up the ones responsible for it.
He also saw the three as helpless children rather than monsters and was amazed by their uniqueness. Additionally, Oden willingly gave up on his trial to join the Whitebeard Pirates when he heard Amatsuki Toki calling out for help, choosing to save her even if it meant he could not join their crew, even though he held onto the chain attached to the Moby Dick for nearly 3 full days and was about to pass the test. When Toki got sick and was forced to return to Wano in the middle of their voyage with Roger, Oden wanted to abandon his dream of going to the last island and instead go back to Wano with Toki and their children, so Toki had to threaten to divorce Oden to force him to continue the journey to the last island. When Oden learned how Orochi abused his power and authority as the shogun by enslaving Wano citizens for his tyrannical greed, including executing an innocent man along with his family for defiance, Oden was outraged and did not blame his retainers for attacking Orochi for the injustice he caused, as he personally stormed into the Flower Capital to execute Orochi himself. When Oden learned from Orochi how his family was unjustly persecuted for his grandfather's crimes and Orochi showed Oden a room full of hundreds of hostages to blackmail him, Oden accepted his demands of dancing naked weekly in the Flower Capital as an apology to the Kurozumi Family in exchange for protecting the citizens from Orochi's vengeance, including saving the hundreds of kidnapped citizens that were meant as a tribute to Kaidou.
Oden was extraordinarily humble and impartial. Despite being the Daimyo of Kuri and son of the Shogun, as well as the strongest Samurai, Oden referred to everyone as his equal and despite the deeds and sacrifices he performed to help others, he didn't like getting any credit for them. When Ashura was grateful to Oden for showing him how peace looked like, Oden became annoyed, telling Ashura to stop being creepy. Oden cared greatly for his retainers and the citizens of Wano. He saved the Flower Capital and its citizens from the Mountain God despite the fact that the citizens threw stones at him and insulted him when he appeared.
When Yasuie informed Oden about the lawless region of Kuri which even Oden's father considers as the "cancer of Wano", Oden became interested, travelled there by himself, and defeated every bandit in there in the span of a night, as well as saving all the innocent people who were still living there. He then brought peace to the hellish wasteland that is Kuri, building a village for the citizens to live in, and a Paradise Farm to feed them. Oden also saved Kawamatsu, Inuarashi, and Nekomamushi from people who tried to set them on fire, took them in, and fed them, expecting no credit for it. When Oden and his retainers were short on food, Oden even refused to eat just so his retainers don't starve. When Oden was about to pass Whitebeard's test after holding onto a chain attached to the Moby Dick and having faced the many dangers and climates of the New World Ocean with no protection for three days, Oden heard a woman in trouble and let go to save her, willing to abandon his childhood dream for a stranger.
After saving her and waking up the next day, Oden was more thankful to her for treating his wounds, not wanting any credit from her for saving her life from a bunch of kidnappers. An ultimate act of loyalty and selflessness, Oden sacrificed his own pride, honor, and reputation for 5 years to protect and save hundreds of hostages, as well as the entire civilization of Wano from Kaidou and Orochi's tyranny. Oden never explained the motivations for his actions to anyone, not even his wife, children, and retainers, willing to take the truth that he did it to protect and save them all, to his grave. The citizens of Wano who treated Oden like scum for those 5 years learned the truth only thanks to Shinobu, who spied on the deal between Oden and Orochi. In the end, Oden sacrificed his own life for his retainers, willing to go through hellish pain by holding up all of 9 of them on a plank for an entire hour while he alone was getting boiled alive in the oil during the Legendary Hour. Oden's favorite food was oden soup, which he cooked to feed his retainers during his journey around Wano and also after becoming the daimyo of Kuri. Oden was even proud to be named after his favorite food, declaring he was born to be boiled like oden soup as he died in a pot of boiling oil. Oden also loved to drink sake, having started drinking alcohol when he was only 8 years old. Oden occasionally displayed an exaggerated disgusted reaction when annoyed, such as when Kin'emon and Denjiro wished to follow him or when Toki asked him to take her to Wano. Like many other people, Oden had a unique laugh: "Wahahahaha" (わはははは?)
Relationships
Family
Kouzuki Sukiyaki
Oden's relationship with his father was distant and strained in his youth due to his reckless and violent actions. By the time he was 18, Sukiyaki had enough of his behavior and disowned him, doing so impersonally by having a messenger send a written decree to him. Oden was not upset when he received the decree, viewing it as his father being unable to contain his greatness. He referred to Sukiyaki as "shogun" rather than by his name or familial title. However, their relationship changed when Oden restored order to Kuri two years later. Sukiyaki gained respect for his son as he revoked his disownment and made Oden a daimyo. The two of them saw each other for the final time nine years later, with Sukiyaki calling Oden a "fine man". Oden showed respect for his father by crediting him for his change while his father could not believe his maturity. After receiving the news of Sukiyaki's death, Oden was solemn and regretted being unable to be at his father's deathbed. However, Oden would never learn that his father had actually been alive the whole time.
Kouzuki Toki
Oden loved his wife Toki and cared for her greatly. Even before he knew her, he swam to an island to save her from slavers immediately after hearing her cry for help, even though he was forfeiting the opportunity to join the Whitebeard Pirates that he was on the cusp of achieving. Toki repaid him for saving her by treating his wounds, and although she had hoped that he would take her to Wano, she quickly grew content by just being with him, leading to them falling in love, getting married, and having children while sailing with the Whitebeard Pirates and Roger Pirates. When Toki became too sick to continue sailing, Oden intended on staying in Wano with her and their children, but she wished for him to fulfill his dream and so threatened to divorce him if he stayed. When Oden returned for good, he was outraged upon finding out that she had been attacked and injured, immediately setting out to take vengeance. Toki did not wish for Oden to put himself in danger and pleaded that he let it go, but could not stop him. When Oden started dancing naked in public, he wondered if Toki would divorce him, but she assured him that she had no intention of doing so.
Momonosuke And Hiyori
Like Toki, Oden loved his son and daughter dearly. While out at sea, Oden and Toki were very attentive to their young children and calmed them when perilous situations arose. After living in Wano for a year while Oden was still at sea, Momonosuke started addressing his father respectfully when they reunited. Oden's death was very hard on Momonosuke and makes him very emotional, and Momonosuke desires to take down Kaidou and Orochi to avenge him. Hiyori held immense respect for her father, having proudly declared her heritage as the daughter of a samurai. Oden also bequeathed his favorite swords to both Momonosuke and Hiyori as a memento after his death.
Allies
Retainers
Kin'emon and Denjiro were Oden's first followers, becoming immediately devoted to him after seeing him take down the Mountain God and arguing about which one of them would be his first follower. Oden did not wish for them to follow him but let them come inside his house when they stood outside in the rain guarding him. Izou, Kikunojo, Kanjuro, and Raizo were drawn to Oden because they were struggling in their lives, and Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and Kawamatsu were drawn to him after he saved them from persecution. As with Kin'emon and Denjiro, Oden did not want them following him, but had no intention of forcing them to leave. Oden decided to put the devotion of his followers to work by having them help him restore order to Kuri, and the criminal Ashura Doji, who had initially wanted to die after Oden defeated him, was swayed by Oden's efforts to restore Kuri and followed him as well, thanking Oden for allowing him to experience peace.
When Oden was appointed daimyo, he honored the devotion of his followers by making them his retainers. All of them consider Oden to have saved their lives and possessed unwavering devotion for him, which initially caused them to try stealing money to help him get by. When Yasuie ordered them to become proper and educated samurai to effectively serve Oden as the future shogun, they did so without issue despite their rough backgrounds, shocking Oden with their displays of respect. Although Oden's retainers were unwaveringly loyal to him, they were not yes men and attempted to advise him against making poorly thought-out decisions, though were usually unsuccessful. Denjiro repeatedly tried to prevent him from giving money to Orochi, and most of the retainers opposed Oden's dream of illegally leaving Wano and exploring the world.
Izou went as far as intercepting Oden trying to sail off with the Whitebeard Pirates, though he could not stop him. On the other hand, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi simply wanted to go with Oden wherever he went, and so accompanied him as stowaways with both the Whitebeard Pirates and Roger Pirates. When he was preparing to return to Wano, Oden recognized that Izou was content with the Whitebeard Pirates and so let him stay with them. The rest of Oden's retainers treated him coldly due to his departure, referring to him as "scoundrel", although they still remained loyal to him and warmed back up to him after he returned. Oden cared dearly for his retainers as he was willing to endure the hellish pain of being boiled alive in oil for an entire hour while holding up all of them in order to give them a chance to escape alive after having made a deal with Kaidou to let them go free which Oden already knew that Kaidou and Orochi would not honor that deal.
Thus, he opted to sacrifice himself to allow his retainers to escape as he quickly threw all of them a far distance away the moment Orochi commenced his subordinates to execute all of them by gunfire. All his nine retainers begrudgingly left Oden behind to his fate while crying non-stop reminiscing on how Oden had saved them as they rushed towards Kuri to save Oden's wife and children. Oden had utmost faith in his retainers' abilities, believing that they can realize his unfulfilled wish of opening Wano's borders to the world in his place. In his last breath, Oden warned Kaidou not to underestimate his samurais. After Oden was executed, his retainers swore to avenge him and achieve his dream of opening Wano's borders, and they are all actively working to overthrow Orochi and Kaidou.
Denjiro, took up an alias and acted as a Yakuza with feigned loyalty to Orochi. Denjiro also tended to Hiyori until the final battle. Ashura Doji initially lost faith in this plan due to the toll taken on him and his allies over 20 years, but eventually changed his mind after Yasuie sacrificed himself in Oden's memory. The retainers recruited allies to help them in their fight, but on their planned day of vengeance when it seemed that no one would be joining them, they elected to set sail for Onigashima by themselves and do their very best to avenge Oden. Although this was likely to be suicidal, they were content with doing it because serving Oden was their only purpose in life. Unknown to Oden, Kanjuro was actually a member of the Kurozumi Family, sent by Orochi from the very beginning to infiltrate and overthrow the Kouzuki Family. Although Kanjuro put on the perfect act of a loyal retainer and would actually die for the Kouzuki, it was more because he was actually seeking a place to die since losing his parents destroyed his will to live on. Whenever Orochi would ask Oden to loan him money, Kanjuro would secretly bring out double the requested amount, allowing Orochi to stockpile on funding at Oden's expense. Kanjuro also fed Orochi much information on the Kouzuki Family, thus contributing on Kaidou's raid against Oden to be so successful.
Whitebeard Pirates
When the Whitebeard Pirates came to Wano, Oden immediately wished to join them to fulfill his dream of sailing out of Wano. Although Whitebeard's subordinates quickly grew to like him despite their initial hostility towards him for attacking their captain, Whitebeard refused to let Oden join him because he did not believe the samurai would respond well to authority. Since Oden was persistent, Whitebeard attempted to sail away in the middle of the night, but Oden still managed to get to them and attach himself to the Moby Dick with a chain. Being surprised by the degree of Oden's persistence, Whitebeard decided to allow him to join the crew if he could hold onto that chain for three days. Oden took this challenge to heart and very nearly passed it, only forgoing it in order to save a nearby Toki.
However, his compassion for her impressed Whitebeard, and he welcomed Oden onto his crew. Oden immediately became part of the Whitebeard Pirates' family, with Whitebeard considering him to be a little brother. When Roger requested for Oden to join him on his voyage, Whitebeard adamantly refused to let him take one of his family. However, Oden wished to accompany Roger on his voyage around the globe, and so Whitebeard reluctantly agreed to let him go. Though Whitebeard was annoyed with Oden's decision, Oden did part with the Whitebeard Pirates on good terms. Ultimately, Oden never returned to the Whitebeard Pirates, deciding to return to Wano after reaching the end of the Grand Line with Roger though he did ask Roger to tell Izou to take care of Whitebeard for him. After Oden died, the Whitebeard Pirates eventually learned about Oden's demise by Kaidou's hands several years after it happened due to Wano's isolation. While they knew about Oden's death, they chose not to invade Wano to take revenge, as war against the Beasts Pirates would cause casualties amongst Wano's civilians. Out of respect for Oden, however, Marco and Izou would join Nekomamushi in the Kouzuki Revolution to fulfill Oden's dying wish.
Roger Pirates
Roger took an interest in Oden not long after he joined the Whitebeard Pirates, valuing him for his family's knowledge of the Poneglyphs. Four years later they would meet each other in person as enemies, engaging in a brief clash as their crews battled for each other's treasure. After the battle, Oden expressed his willingness to join Roger on his journey and help him decipher the Road Poneglyphs leading to the final island. The Roger Pirates initially were not welcoming toward Oden, considering him to be nothing more than an aide for Roger. However, they quickly warmed up to Oden and began treating him like family, and Oden loved them just as much as he did with the Whitebeard Pirates. Along with the rest of the crew, Oden sobbed uncontrollably when Roger disbanded the crew and departed. The Roger Pirates offered to help Oden in his quest to open Wano's borders, and although he declined, they took him back to Wano. When Oden learned of Roger's execution, his tears were mixed with joy at his former captain establishing himself as a legend.
Shimotsuki Yasuie
Oden was close with Yasuie, even in his delinquent days. He stayed with Yasuie after being exiled from the Flower Capital and addressed him quite casually. Although Yasuie tolerated Oden staying with him, he made it clear to Oden that he expected him to grow up and succeed his father as shogun. He was very disappointed when Oden said he would rather forgo that and break the law by sailing outside of Wano. Thus, Yasuie was quite satisfied when he heard that Oden had restored peace to Kuri. When Orochi succeeded Sukiyaki as shogun and made Oden humiliate himself in public, Yasuie made fun of Oden but still respected him. Even though most of Wano lost respect for Oden during the five years after his return, Yasuie remained on good terms with him. In fact, Oden trusted Yasuie to protect his family when he decided to fight Kaidou. Yasuie remained loyal to Oden even after he was executed and slandered by Orochi. 20 years after Oden's death, Yasuie ultimately gave up his life in order to help the plan to avenge him to succeed.
Hyougoro Family
Oden became close with the yakuza boss Hyougoro and his family during Orochi's reign as shogun. They respected Oden even as he humiliated himself in public for five years, with Taka even complimenting him on his dancing. Hyougoro was loyal to Oden and could not tolerate serving someone like Orochi, though Oden warned him to avoid getting into trouble. When Hyougoro was captured and his wife and men were killed, Oden was instantly enraged and set out to avenge them.
Wano Country Citizens
Oden frequently caused uproars with the citizens of Wano during his youth, particularly when he kidnapped women to form a harem in the mountains. Most of the men absolutely hated him, while the women were attracted to him and his charisma, and there was a considerable stir when he came to the Flower Capital at age 18. However, after he took down the Mountain God and was exiled from the Flower Capital, many of the men found themselves drawn to following Oden on his journey and were said to have taken a single step toward him before hesitating and ultimately staying, though wondering what could have been if they had followed him. Eleven years later, although Oden had become a daimyo, the Flower Capital citizens still generally viewed him and his followers as delinquents. However, they were pleasantly surprised when they arrived at the Flower Capital in a dignified procession.
Oden then became popular among the people, and when Orochi took over for Sukiyaki as shogun and started making oppressive actions, they became very excited at Oden's return and clamored for him to take his rightful spot as shogun. However, Orochi threatened to deliver hundreds of kidnapped citizens to Kaidou as a tribute, giving Oden an ultimatum provided that he humiliated himself in front of everyone every week to spare a hundred lives with each dance as per his reparations to the Kurozumi Family. With little choice, Oden started to follow Orochi's terms. Not knowing the truth, the citizens were shocked and disappointed, and their opinion of Oden started to degrade. During Oden's execution, the citizens initially mocked him until Shinobu revealed the reason for Oden's actions during the past five years. Afterwards, the spectators became remorseful for treating Oden poorly and cheered for Oden to survive, and then grieved when Oden was ultimately killed by Kaidou. Orochi's administration portrayed Oden as a threat to Wano who wanted to destroy the country by opening its borders. Ultimately, the majority of the people, including those in the Flower Capital, do not believe Orochi's propaganda as they use the Fire Festival to pray for the Kouzuki Family to end Kaidou and Orochi's tyranny.
Enemies
Kurozumi Orochi
Oden first met Orochi when he was 18 and Orochi was working for Yasuie. He did not think highly of Orochi, calling him a creep when he first saw him and frequently noting his pathetic disposition. When Oden became a daimyo, Orochi frequently asked to borrow money from him, and Oden always obliged despite never being paid back due to feeling sorry for Orochi and respecting his relationship with Yasuie. Orochi approached Oden humbly, but in reality, considered him to be an enemy, as he was actively working to overthrow the Kouzuki Family from the shogunate and rule in Oden's place and was spending the money Oden gave him to manufacture weapons. When Oden returned from his voyage and found out that Orochi had not only seized the throne, but had his allies attack Toki and Momonosuke, he instantly became enraged and attempted to slay Orochi. With Orochi's allies preventing Oden from killing him, Orochi put aside pretenses and treated Oden antagonistically, reveling in the trickery he had used to remove the Kouzuki Family from power. Desiring revenge for the crimes committed against the Kurozumi Family, he took full advantage of his power over Oden by forcing him to humiliate himself in public and to grovel in his presence, with Oden being forced to do so to prevent Orochi from offering innocent civilians as sacrifices to Kaidou. Although he and Kaidou offered Oden a chance to live if he were to survive in boiling oil for one hour, Orochi did not honor the promise as he had a firing squad prepared after the hour expired. After executing Oden, Orochi portrayed him to the public as a threat to Wano.
Kaidou
Oden became enemies with Kaidou upon hearing that the Emperor captured Hyougoro and slaughtered Taka and many of his men. This caused him to immediately take up arms and try to take him down. Before they fought, Kaidou mocked Oden for choosing to humiliate himself instead of pressing his rebellion, saying he had none of the Kouzuki Family's dignity. His words did not affect Oden, as he was at peace with his choice. Kaidou heavily respected Oden's strength, and so used trickery and deception to overcome him, first by having him follow a deal with Orochi that would not be honored, then striking him from behind during their battle while he was distracted. Although Kaidou did promise Oden he would let anyone who can survive in the boiling oil for one hour to live, he did not honor the promise as Orochi prepared a firing squad, in which Kaidou did not object. Before killing Oden, Kaidou apologized to the samurai about Kurozumi Higurashi's actions while mentioning that he had killed her.
World Government And Marines
As a former member of both the Whitebeard Pirates and Roger Pirates, Oden became a wanted criminal and earned an unknown bounty. He was infamous enough for Sengoku and Sakazuki, the former and current Fleet Admiral, to still remember him 20 years after his death.
Abilities And Powers
As daimyo of Kuri, Oden had a large amount of power and influence over the region before his death. Being a former member of both the Whitebeard Pirates, as a former division commander, and the Roger Pirates, Oden was a tremendously powerful pirate with great influence on both crews. For several years after Oden's death, Whitebeard kept Oden's spot as the 2nd division commander vacant and noted to Portgas D. Ace, the new 2nd division commander, about the importance and significance of his predecessor, calling Ace arrogant for thinking he could take down Kaidou, a man that not even Oden could defeat. In truth, the only reason why Oden lost to Kaidou was because Kurozumi Higurashi distracted him before he could finish Kaidou off.
Oden's strength left a great impression on Kaidou who, even 20 years after his death, regards Oden as one of the few people, such as the Emperors Whitebeard and Shanks, the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, and his former captain, capable of fighting him. His influence even extended toward the members of the Mink Tribe on Zou, with the leaders Inuarashi and Nekomamushi being members of the Nine Red Scabbards. The combination of Oden's tremendous combat skills and charisma earned him a significant reputation with his allies and associates, even post-mortem. The Mink Tribe was so loyal toward the Kouzuki Family that all of them were willing to die rather than allow even one of Oden's retainers to be captured. Despite his many conflicts with the yakuza of Wano Country over the years, Oden's death greatly impacted its leaders, causing them to stage an unsuccessful rebellion against his killers. His combat prowess was seen at an early age, when he got into massive battles and altercations with powerful samurai and yakuza and survived, causing a high number of casualties over the years. Despite being frequently pursued by authorities in his youth, he was only captured once and eluded capture many times afterwards. One of his most notable feats was his restoration of peace to the formerly lawless Kuri, where he defeated the powerful Ashura Doji and the dangerous criminals who worked under him single-handedly, rounded them up and got them to work under him, including Ashura. Prior to this, he demonstrated vast skill during his time as a laborer by quickly rising to the rank of a chief stonemason in a quarry. As Oden admitted himself, he had no talent in sailing and navigation.
Voice Of All Things
Like Roger and Luffy, Oden had the ability to hear the "Voice of All Things", which his son also inherited. On the trip to Fish-Man Island, he could hear the voices of the Sea Kings alongside Roger and could also hear a voice while nearing Zou.
Philology
As a member of the Kouzuki Family, Oden inherited from his father the knowledge and skill to read Poneglyphs and write the ancient script associated with them. He was a capable philologist, able to inscribe Roger's message on the Shandorian Golden Belfry Bell in the same ancient script, as well as decipher all the Poneglyphs the Roger Pirates had found, particularly the Road Poneglyphs, which proved vital in the Roger Pirates' success in locating and sailing to Laugh Tale.
Culinary Skills
Oden was an expert in cooking his favorite Oden hotpot, having frequently cooked it to feed his retainers during his journey around Wano and also during his journey with the Roger Pirates. Oden even managed to use Katsuzo's cremation for cooking a pot of oden.
Physical Abilities
Oden had immense physical strength since infancy, during which he flung his wet nurse across the room. At age four, he obliterated a bear by hurling a boulder at it. By adulthood, Oden could carry a giant carp that he caught at sea by himself and exerted enough physical power in his swordsmanship to clash with Whitebeard's Meito Murakumogiri. To match his tremendous strength, Oden also had an astounding tolerance to pain, as he could hold a hot pot with his bare hands. Oden was extremely agile and quick, as even at the age of 2, he could catch rabbits with his bare hands.
As an adult, he could travel across the regions of Wano Country in no time and leap across a huge bridge. Oden had immense stamina, durability, and endurance, as he was able to fight against the criminals and ronin of Kuri joined led by Ashura Doji for an entire night alone with multiple wounds such as arrows sticking out of his body yet still came out victorious. In his fight with Whitebeard, Oden took a point-blank quake punch from Whitebeard straight to the face and was fine afterwards. Additionally, he held onto a chain pulled by the Moby Dick and faced the many dangers and climates of the New World ocean with no protection for three days before eventually letting go, more because he went to rescue Toki than due to exhaustion. When he washed ashore on an island afterward, he received slight treatment from Toki and slept for one night before getting up with exuberant energy, leaving Toki surprised about his tremendous recovery speed. Prior to his prime, when he met Roger and got hit by his Divine Departure (imbued with Armament Haki and coated with Supreme King Haki), Oden got back up immediately with only minor injuries. In his fight against Kaidou, Oden was hit by his Blast Breath not just once, but twice, and powered through them both times. As a testament to his monstrous strength and endurance, Oden was able to hold up all nine of his retainers, who are all very large, on a thick wooden plank while his lower half was submerged in a large pot of boiling oil for over an hour, which killed an average man in seconds despite getting out, an unprecedented feat that even impressed Kaidou. Oden survived the boiling even after the temperature had increased to over 700 degrees and continued to rise. Despite being near death, Oden could still muster the strength to throw all nine of his retainers far away from the execution site. However, it appeared that Oden reached his limit from this as Kaidou noted that his body was dead.
Swordsmanship
Oden was an immensely skilled and powerful swordsman, having developed his variation of Two Sword Style, which Oden himself called "Oden Two Sword Style" (おでん二刀流, Oden Nitōryū?, literally meaning "Oden Two Sword/Blade Style", VIZ: "Oden Two-Sword Style"). He had immense prowess and ambidexterity in dual wielding the legendary swords, Enma and Ame no Habakiri. According to Oden, Oden Two Sword Style is the greatest sword style. Even at age 9, Oden was already such a skilled swordsman that he waged war against the entire yakuza and was able to fight against them all by himself in the Flower Capital until the age of 10, when he was arrested for almost killing someone. At age 18, he could strike down the massive boar hailed as the Mountain God with a single attack.
Although the Mountain God was cut in half by Oden's attack, Oden's attack did not kill the Mountain God nor the citizens that it devoured because the cut was so clean and precise that the severed parts of the Mountain God were able to be put back together. Oden defeated all of the outlaws and ronin of Kuri, including the region's most dangerous criminal, Ashura Doji (someone noted to be worth 100 men in battle), within a single night. In his fight with Edward Newgate, Oden was able to clash and trade blows with him and matched the force of Whitebeard's quake punch by using Tougen Shirataki. During his adventures with the Whitebeard Pirates, Oden easily sank a large pirate ship by cutting it in half. Due to his adventures with the Whitebeard and Roger Pirates, he was stated to have grown many times stronger compared to before, returning to Wano "invincible and triumphant". In his first encounter with Kaidou, Oden managed to clash with him on equal terms by using only one sword. In his final fight with Kaidou, Oden became the first to wound the nigh-invulnerable Pirate, whose durability was greatly enhanced by his transforming into a giant Dragon, permanently scarring him and sending him crashing into the ground. 20 years, after his death, Kaidou still acknowledged Oden as the Strongest Samurai, declaring that there would never be another Samurai who could match Oden. During the Raid on Onigashima, though four of his subordinates inflicted a simultaneous wound on him in the exact same spot Oden scarred him, he stated that it was still shallow. The closest person who came close to matching Oden was Zoro, who despite suffering severe injuries still managed to give Kaidou a second scar, in his Human-Beast form using his strongest technique; though he intended on knocking the Emperor off his feet, still earning his respects for the feat alone nonetheless. However, the swordsman was still lacking compared to Oden in terms of strength, because he still couldn't control Enma, who Oden could wield as if it were as light as a feather.
Haki
Oden was among the very small number of people in the world, who could use all three types of Haki. In Wano, he, in particular, was stronger among their Samurai, as he could easily wield Enma, a Meito that drains its user's Haki to a near-fatal level from childhood. His father, Kouzuki Sukiyaki complimented that no one other than Oden could tame Enma, leaving Zoro in awe, who wondered how he could wield it, despite how much Haki was drained from him, treating it as if it were as light as a feather.
Supreme King Haki
Oden possessed the ability to use Supreme King Haki, a rare form of Haki that only one in several million people in the world can use. He has mastered Supreme King Haki to the extent that he can render his targets completely unconscious. In his initial encounter with Edward Newgate 30 years ago, the sudden clash between them created a notable effect similar to lightning, as well as released a shockwave. This was also shown during his clash against Kaidou. While not shown in the manga, Oden used Supreme King's more common effect in the anime once, making a bunch of Kaidou's subordinates faint. After an unconscious Luffy knocked out a bunch of Kaidou's henchmen with his Supreme King Haki, Ashura Doji noted that Luffy used "Oden's special trick", indicating that Oden has used the more common effect of Supreme King Haki at least once, though it is unknown when.
Armament Haki
Oden was an immensely powerful master of Armament Haki, known as "Ryuo" in Wano. He is noted as being the sole samurai to tame the Meito, Enma, infamous for its gluttonous Haki draining properties, which even Kin'emon, the Nine Red Scabbards' fearless leader was afraid of wielding it. As a testament to this, Oden's mastery was superior to that of Roronoa Zoro, a powerful Swordsman and Armament Haki user, who had his entire arm emaciated the first time, but managed to regain the absorbed Haki. It was such that during Enma testing Zoro, he couldn't satiate it without going all out, acknowledging that he was lacking compared to Oden. Even at age 18, Oden was masterful in using Ryuo, as he imbued both of his swords, hardening them and letting him cleanly bisect the enormous Mountain God with one slash. At age 29, Oden hardened his swords and then clashed against one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords, Murakumogiri, which belonged to Edward Newgate, an immensely powerful Armament Haki master in his prime. As a true testament to his prowess, Oden, at age 39, using Advanced Ryuo was able to severely injure and leave a massive permanent scar on the nigh-indestructible Kaidou, while in his dragon form, whereas Luffy using Boundman did not faze him in human form. In the anime, Oden showcased the advanced application of emitting Armament Haki out from his blades during his battle against Ashura Doji. Within the anime when Oden uses advanced Armament Haki, it is shown as a red-colored flowing aura.
Observation Haki
Oden possessed the ability to use Observation Haki.
Weapons
Oden wielded two Great Grade-ranked Meito: Ame no Habakiri (the sword said to be able to cut "heaven" itself) and its sister sword Enma (the sword said to be able to cut to the "bottom of hell"), respective masterpieces of Wano's greatest swordsmiths Kouzuki Sukiyaki and Shimotsuki Kouzaburou.
History
Biography
Chaotic Youth
Oden was born in the Flower Capital of Wano Country to the shogun Kouzuki Sukiyaki 59 years before the present day, and he began committing outrageous acts as soon as infancy. When he was less than a year old, he threw his wet nurse across the room. When he was 2, he caught two rabbits with his bare hands, and at age 4, he obliterated a bear by hurling a boulder at it. Starting at age 6, he started roaming the Red-Light District and spent the castle's money at the pleasure halls. By the time he was 8, he started drinking booze and began picking fights with gamblers.
At age 9, even the yakuza had banned him from their casino. This resulted in Oden setting their casino on fire and starting a conflict with them, culminating in his capture a year later after he almost killed someone. As punishment and for rehabilitation as a prisoner, Oden was sentenced to hard labor in the quarries where his talent blossomed, with him working well enough there to gain significant prestige, rising to the rank of Chief Stonemason. He then left prison and reformed his ways. When he was 14, he attempted to help the Flower Capital citizens during a terrible drought as he was unable to bear the sight of people suffering from dried-out wells.
He curved the river itself to run through the capital, however, this resulted in the Capital becoming flooded, and the authorities attempted to capture Oden again. To escape, Oden set out to sea for the very first time but was quickly forced to return to land. When he was 15 and still in hiding, he threatened the priest of a secluded mountain into sheltering him. He then kidnapped many women from the Capital at night and formed his own personal harem. Said women were free to leave but preferred to stay with Oden.
This however didn't stop the women's loved ones, as well as many powerful samurai, to go after Oden to stop him, but Oden stood his ground, resulting in the massive Harem Revolt, where the Hyougoro Family was also involved. For the next three years, Oden attempted to set out to sea 38 times. He quickly failed every time, though he managed to survive. At age 18, he went into the Flower Capital and proceeded to cook and eat a pot of Oden soup, heated by using the fire of the burned corpse of a man called Katsuzo, much to the initial dismay of his mourning family members. Turns out that the man called Katsuzo was a friend of Oden and it was Oden's way of honoring him, sharing one last drink with his deceased friend.
After apologizing to the family members for the disturbance and leaving the crematorium, he saw that a Mountain God was attacking the Flower Capital and overheard Kin'emon and Denjiro talking about the Mountain God's offspring being in their possession. Oden then told them to give him the giant boar's offspring. Oden then took the white boar when Kin'emon tried attacking the Mountain God. After Kin'emon was overpowered, Oden used the white boar to get the Mountain God's attention. As the giant beast charged at him, Oden struck it down with a single strike. When Kin'emon was going to take responsibility for the Mountain God's attack, Oden knocked him out and took the blame himself. His father's aide then delivered a message to him, saying that he was disowned and exiled from the Flower Capital. Oden was not upset when he received the decree, viewing it as his father and the Flower Capital being unable to contain his greatness. Out of gratitude and awe, Kin'emon and Denjiro began following him.
Reforming Kuri
After leaving the capital, Oden moved to Shimotsuki Yasuie's residence at Hakumai, where he also met Kurozumi Orochi, who was working as a servant there. Yasuie later got mad at Oden for living as a vagabond instead of rising to his father's challenge. Oden told Yasuie how he wanted to set out to sea, and Yasuie replied that he had to become a competent samurai before he could be so selfish. After hearing about Ashura Doji, Oden decided to journey to Kuri, which was Wano's most lawless region. During the journey, he was followed by Kin'emon and Denjiro.
Along the way, the group was joined by Kikunojo and Izou at Ringo, Kanjuro at Kibi, and Raizo at Udon. Oden entered Kuri alone and fought all the bandits there, including Ashura, Kuri's most dangerous criminal. By the time his companions arrived, Oden had defeated all of his enemies in the span of a single night. He then rounded up the lawless ruffians of Kuri and with his considerable strength, he turned the hellish wasteland, into a place worthy of being called home, bringing peace to Kuri. He had the residents work to build a village to live in, and he built the Paradise Farm to feed them.
Oden was then granted the title of daimyo of Kuri at the age of 20 after Sukiyaki heard about his deeds. In addition, Oden chose the companions he made on his journey as well as the reformed Ashura to be his retainers. After Orochi quit being Yasuie's servant, Oden lent him money to support him. 33 years before the present, while fishing at Kuri Beach, Oden discovered Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and Kawamatsu being tormented by humans who persecuted them. Oden rescued the three and lectured the people who tried to set them on fire. The three then followed him back to Kuri and became his retainers. Three years later, Oden paid the Mountain God and its child, who had grown much taller, a visit and proceeds to use the latter to carry his palanquin while traveling through the Flower Capital along with his retainers to pay his father a visit after hearing that he had fallen ill. As Oden paid him a visit, he was relieved seeing his father invigorated. Sukiyaki is proud that his son became a great man and had a turn-around, but Oden answered that he has been only made great and not changed a bit. Unknown to Oden, this was the last time he and his father exchanged words.
Journey With Pirates
Later that year, Oden learned that a pirate ship had arrived at Itachi Port, prompting him to go there. Charging towards the Whitebeard Pirates, he clashed with their captain while informing Whitebeard that he wanted to join his crew. Afterwards, Oden and his retainers had a feast with the crew. Oden kept asking to join only to be turned down by Whitebeard himself because he correctly sensed that Oden had no experience in subordinating himself to another person up to that point and Whitebeard knew how catastrophic that could be, having served aboard a ship full of such individuals. This caused Oden's enthusiasm to balk, aware that he could not argue against the pirate's reasoning.
Two weeks later, the Whitebeard Pirates tried to leave Oden behind, but he caught up to them and held onto a chain he attached to the ship. Izou also held onto Oden and got dragged away with him. After pulling Izou up onto the ship, Whitebeard gave Oden a test. If he could hold onto the chain for three days, he would be allowed into the crew. Just when Oden only had ten minutes left, he heard a woman in trouble and let go.
He drifted to an island and scared away some kidnappers who mistook him for a sea monster, saving the woman in the process. On the next day, he got acquainted with the woman, who was named Toki. They were then confronted by Karma and his crew, but Whitebeard came and defeated Karma. Understanding that Oden let go because of his desire to help, Whitebeard allowed him on board, telling Oden that they're going on a grand adventure beyond anything he can imagine. After boarding and being welcomed by the crew, Oden discovered that Inuarashi and Nekomamushi had stowed away on the ship, waiting for Oden.
Afterwards, Oden went on adventures with the Whitebeard Pirates. On his journey, Oden wrote his adventures in a journey log and explored multiple islands and places around the entire world, being absolutely in awe of the things that he has never seen before. He also became a notorious outlaw with a bounty. He found the geography of the world astounding and the government overseeing it as unbelievable. Having grown closer with Toki and marrying her at some point, the couple became parents on their second year aboard the Moby Dick and named their son Kouzuki Momonosuke.
Later, as the crew was growing in numbers, Whitebeard split its members into five divisions, and Oden was appointed as the commander of the second division. Two years later, he and Toki would have a daughter whom they named Kouzuki Hiyori. Docking at an island, the Whitebeard Pirates unexpectedly encountered the Roger Pirates, leading to Oden rushing towards the crew to take their treasure. Engaging the crew in battle, he drew the attention of Gol D. Roger and was knocked away by the pirate.
Running back to his opponent, Oden was left amazed at how his captain and Roger were fighting each other. Afterwards, the two crews began fighting for the next three days until a cease fire was made on the fourth day. A few days into it, Oden had a discussion with the two captains, during which he informed Roger that he could read the Poneglyphs. Revealing his intention to reach the rumored final island of the Grand Line and become Pirate King, Roger left Oden frozen from being impressed. Roger begged Oden to join him for a year in order to get to the island, and Whitebeard, despite being against it because he didn't want to lose someone, he considered a brother, ultimately honored Oden's choice to join Roger, leading to him parting ways with the Whitebeard Pirates.
Boarding the Oro Jackson with his wife and children, he discovered Inuarashi and Nekomamushi had followed him on board. The crew sailed to Mock Town and afterwards reached Skypiea, where Oden read a Poneglyph and engraved Roger's message on the Shandorian Golden Belfry Bell. After returning to the ocean, the crew sailed towards Water 7, during which Oden informed Roger that Wano had a Road Poneglyph. Docking at the island, Oden invited Cutty Flam to join the crew but the latter declined the offer. From there, the crew sailed to Fish-Man Island, where Oden read the island's two Poneglyphs and learned from Neptune that Poseidon is a mermaid.
Oden later read another Poneglyph after venturing to another island. Upon Toki becoming sick, the pirates dropped her and her children off at Wano alongside Nekomamushi and Inuarashi, during which Oden could tell his country had changed despite not looking at it. Afterwards, the crew learned the contents of Wano's Poneglyph. Arriving at Zou, Oden felt a different vibe from the island that did not sit well with him and Roger. Venturing into the country, the crew found the last Road Poneglyph, leading to Oden discovering his family's ties to the Mink Tribe after seeing his clan's seal above the stone. Having left Zou, the crew discovered the location of the final island of the New World and sailed there. There, the crew found Joy Boy's treasure and laughed when they saw it, leading to Roger naming the island Laugh Tale. Grateful he joined Roger, he declined offers from his crew members with assisting him in opening Wano's borders, and instead sought to make his vision a reality with the aid of his retainers and by becoming Shogun.
Homecoming And Death
Over 20 years before the present, Roger decided to disband the crew and Oden parted ways with him as the Pirate King left the ship. Afterwards, the rest of the crew returned Oden to Wano Country, and he bid farewell to them as well. Oden then reunited with his family and retainers. He heard about Orochi becoming Shogun and how he had been oppressing the citizens with the aid of Kaidou. He also heard about how his family was threatened and that Toki was injured while protecting Momonosuke.
Enraged, Oden ordered his retainers to guard his family before charging to the Flower Capital. He arrived at the castle, fought his way through the guards, kicked in the door to the throne room, and rushed directly at the panicking Orochi, ignoring his pleas that Kaidou won't take this attack lying down, attempting to kill Orochi. Oden's attack was stopped by Kurozumi Semimaru, who used a barrier to protect Orochi. Confronted by Kaidou, Oden proceeded to clash evenly with him and to stop them from destroying the castle, Orochi came up with a deal to blackmail Oden, while also showing him a room with hundreds of hostages. If Oden danced naked in the Flower Capital once a week, the hostages Orochi has taken, as well as the citizens of Wano, would be spared.
They also promised to leave Wano in five years. Holding onto the deal in the hopes of preventing Orochi from offering innocent people as tribute for the Beasts Pirates, and to avoid involving innocent lives in a battle between him and Kaidou, Oden left the castle and a few hours later, he started dancing naked in the streets of the Flower Capital. He did this once a week, causing the people of Wano to lose faith and respect for him. Fearing the worst when the ones he cares about are involved, Oden refused to explain his motivations to his retainers when they wanted to know the truth. One year later, Oden received a foreign newspaper and read about Roger's execution, to which he cried, then laughed, then cried again.
On the second year since his return, Oden asked Toki if she wants a divorce to which she asked if he's joking. Later that year, Oden paid Hyougoro and Taka a visit. Three years later, Oden heard that Hyougoro had been captured for his defiance and that Taka was killed. Grieving over the fate of Hyougoro and his wife, Oden finally decided to gather his retainers to take down Kaidou. Before leaving Kuri, Oden gave Toki a letter.
On the way to Onigashima, Oden and his retainers were confronted by Kaidou and his crew in the Udon region. Oden asked Kaidou why he and his men are so thoroughly prepared and how they knew that Oden and his Retainers were on their way, to which Kaidou replied that there may be a spy in Oden's castle. Kaidou mocks Oden for choosing the method where nobody gets hurt, saying how he's just like Newgate and Roger, mighty, but soft. Not regretting the choice, he made 5 years ago, Oden proceeded to blast through Kaidou's army. In the ensuing battle, Shinobu joined Oden's side and it was said that the battle lasted longer as expected as Oden's strength surpassed the enemy's imagination.
Kaidou hits Oden with Blast Breath but Oden gets back up and uses Togen Totsuka to severely injure and scar Kaidou. As Oden was about to deliver the finishing blow, he was distracted by Kurozumi Higurashi, who disguised herself as Momonosuke and pretended to be a hostage, so that Kaidou can strike him down. After his defeat, Oden claimed that Shinobu was not his ally to save her from the Beast Pirates and allow her to walk free. Oden and the Scabbards were then imprisoned in the Flower Capital and sentenced to be boiled alive in three days. Toki visited Oden at the prison, and Oden handed his swords—Ame no Habakiri and Enma—to her and asked her to pass them on to their children.
On the day of the execution, Oden made a deal with Kaidou to allow those who survive the execution to go free and Kaidou gave him an hour. Oden entered the pot, and before his retainers joined him, he lifted a plank upon his shoulders and ordered his retainers to stand on top of the plank, proceeding to hold them all up. As the citizens who watch the execution continued to mock Oden, Shinobu, who spied on Oden and Orochi's deal, called them fools and revealed the reason for Oden's actions during the past five years: Protecting and saving them. Orochi desired revenge for the crimes committed against the Kurozumi Family and he threatened to deliver hundreds of kidnapped citizens to Kaidou as a tribute, giving Oden an ultimatum provided that he humiliated himself in front of everyone every week to spare a hundred lives with each dance as per his reparations to the Kurozumi Family. To protect the citizens, prevent a fight against Orochi and Kaidou that would've endangered a lot of innocent lives, and being left with little choice, Oden started to follow Orochi's terms.
Oden also traveled from each region to region every week to make sure that nothing had changed. In the end, Shinobu points out that the true fools are the Wano people, who disrespected Oden while he was secretly saving them. After the citizens heard how Oden protected them all this time during the past five years, they started cheering for Oden's effort to survive and Oden appreciated that. As the boiling in the pot passed 700 degrees and continued to rise while Oden endured the hour, he explained to his retainers that it was the Kouzuki Clan that closed the country to the rest of the world, to protect them from a great external power. He also stated that the world awaits a certain figure, and that Wano must be prepared to welcome and work with them, when that figure appears after an 800-Year Span. Being certain that Orochi and Kaidou will kill him no matter what, Oden requested his retainers to open Wano's borders in his stead. Even though Orochi continued to raise the heat even more, Oden didn't die. Oden successfully survived the hour, but Orochi summoned a firing squad to execute Oden and his retainers. Oden once again told his retainers to open Wano's borders before throwing them far away from the pot. As the Scabbards fled, Oden told Kaidou to not underestimate his Samurai and how he's a story to accompany his drinks. Oden's last thoughts were of his family and as Kaidou shot Oden in the head, Oden died with a smile as his body sank fully into the pot.
Legacy
His death was deeply mourned by the rest of the country and his noble reputation was fully restored to the rest of the people of Wano, causing tons of people to take arms and ready to rebel against Orochi's regime and the Beasts Pirates in his name and the Kouzuki Family. Kaidou attacked the rest of Oden's family after Oden's death, but his children survived as Toki sent Momonosuke 20 years forward in time and Kawamatsu and later Denjiro kept Hiyori safe. Sometime after Oden's execution, Kaidou's son Yamato discovered his journal and kept it. Successfully getting rid of their biggest obstacle in taking over Wano, Kaido and Orochi turned it into a pirate country and subjected its people to tyranny for the next 20 years. Oden was vilified by Orochi's administration, who informed the populace that he had attempted to destroy Wano in his quest to open its borders.
Sympathizing with the Kouzuki Family became a high crime, one that even children were punished heavily for committing. Orochi was officially recognized as a hero for defeating Oden. However, in spite of Orochi's attempts to portray Oden in a negative light, thousands of Wano citizens remained loyal to him and his family due to Oden's selfless action. These included the other four daimyo and the yakuza bosses, and Orochi and Kaidou had to resort to killing or imprisoning them to silence them. In fact, the people, including those in the Flower Capital, would use the Fire Festival to pray for the Kouzuki Family and the rebels to end Kaidou and Orochi's reign of terror.
Before he died, Oden told his retainers to complete his quest to open Wano's borders. After being sent forward in time, Momonosuke, Kin'emon, Kanjuro, Raizo, and Kikunojo recruited all of the remaining Nine Red Scabbards aside from Denjiro and thousands of other Kouzuki Family sympathizers to rise up and bring down Orochi and Kaidou. Additionally, they went abroad and formed an alliance with the Straw Hat Pirates and Heart Pirates to increase their fighting power, and the mink citizens of Zou that Inuarashi and Nekomamushi ruled over were also recruited. Several years after his death, Whitebeard heard about Kaidou killing Oden. However, despite this, the Whitebeard Pirates did not storm Wano Country to attempt to take revenge, knowing there would be many casualties among the citizens there if they did.
Yamato, who admired Oden before his death, was devastated when he was killed and, upon finding his journal, held dearly to it like a bible. Yamato is so devoted to Oden, to the point of adopting a similar fashion style like him and intends on fulfilling his dream of reopening Wano's borders. His daughter Hiyori, chose to bequeath her heirloom Enma to Zoro partially due to seeing Oden's image in Zoro's potential as a swordsman, as Zoro became the second swordsman to scar Kaidou as Oden had done, it would also be crucial to the Kouzuki revolution as Zoro used Enma to defeat the All-Star King, cementing the defeat of the Beast Pirates. 20 years after Oden's execution, his retainer Kanjuro, who unbeknownst to him had been operating as a spy for the Kurozumi Family for their entire time together, used his Devil Fruit powers to draw a perfect replica of him and bring the drawing to life. Kanjuro used this Oden drawing to trick the other Scabbards and ambush them, with "Oden" claiming that he had survived due to Toki sending him into the future. The ruse fooled a good portion of the Scabbards, but Ashura Doji and Raizo, citing the nature of Toki's powers, immediately saw through it. Kanjuro had attached explosives to the Oden drawing and attempted to blow it up and kill all of his former comrades, but Ashura was able to drive it out and sacrificed himself in the explosion to protect the rest. Later, Kanjuro disguised himself as Oden when he directly confronted Momonosuke and the others. Although Kikunojo knew it was a ruse, she faltered in striking Oden, so Kanjuro stabbed her, seriously injuring her as repayment for the fatal wound she had previously given him. After Kanjuro removed the disguise, Kin'emon struck down Kanjuro. Oden's death would eventually be avenged when Kaidou was defeated by Luffy and cast out of Wano, and when Orochi was burned alive by Kanjuro's Kazenbo, with Oden's retainer Denjiro beheading Orochi, ending the Kurozumi legacy. To honor Oden, a shrine was erected in Ringo with a view of the Flower Capital and surrounded by graves for Yasuie, the other fallen daimyo, Izou, and Ashura.
Major Battles
Oden vs. Yakuza gangs (unseen) Oden vs. Mountain God Oden vs. Bandits of Kuri Oden vs. Ashura Doji (unseen in the manga, seen in the anime) Oden vs. Edward Newgate Oden vs. Gol D. Roger Oden vs. Kaidou (Flower Capital, unseen) Oden, the Nine Red Scabbards, and Shinobu vs. Beasts Pirates Oden vs. Kaidou (Udon)
Filler Battles
Oden vs. Karma Oden vs. Scopper Gaban
Anime And Manga Differences
Additional scenes are added to the glimpses of Oden's past in Episode 910 of the anime. The scenes showed that Oden fought the thugs of Kuri bare handed, defeated Ashura without sustaining any injuries, and during the time of his death, Oden was fighting a group of enemies until he was struck down, which at the time, the full details of his death were not revealed yet in the manga. Also, when Inuarashi first recalled Oden defending him and Nekomamushi at Kuri Beach, Oden did not attack the thugs but rather criticize them in a calm manner. Oden's design during these scenes is also heavily different from the manga, especially his face, clothes, and hair that is mistaken for a hat. After leaving the crematorium of Katsuzo, Oden was roaming around Wano with a piece of straw in his mouth and asked the man at the tower who is ringing the fire bell, if it is a big fire, to which the man responded that it's not the fire that's big. The anime removed Oden having a piece of straw in his mouth and his conversation with the man at the tower.
Other Appearances
Video Games
Playable Appearances Jumputi Heroes One Piece Treasure Cruise One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 (DLC) One Piece Bounty Rush One Piece Bon! Bon! Journey!! One Piece: Burning Will One Piece Thousand Storm One Piece: Set Sail One Piece: Fighting Path
Trivia
Oden's life heavily revolved around his food namesake, a traditional Japanese winter dish. In addition to it being his favorite food, his catchphrase "I am Oden, and I was born to boil" refers to the boiling required to cook Oden, as did his execution by being boiled alive. His deal with Kaidou of being boiled for an hour refers to the time it takes to fully cook oden. Oden bears a resemblance to Susanoo-No-Mikoto, the Japanese Shinto god of the sea and storms. Both were violently impulsive and committed outrageous acts against their peers out of bravado and recklessness, causing them to be banished from their homes as punishment.
Both their signature swords are named Ame no Habakiri. Both went on paths of redemption to atone for their deeds by committing great acts of heroism in defense of others. Both came into violent enmity with a malevolent entity that went by the moniker of Yamata no Orochi, alluding to Oden's personal vendetta against Kurozumi Orochi. However, while the mythical Susanoo made his name by slaying the Yamata no Orochi, Oden and his country fell completely to Orochi (and Kaidou's) treachery and had to be avenged by outsiders teaming up with his fellow retainers. The execution of Oden is similar to the execution of Ishikawa Goemon, a semi-legendary Japanese outlaw hero who lived in the 16th century. One version of Goemon's execution is when Goemon tried to assassinate Hideyoshi to avenge the death of his wife Otaki and the capture of his son, Gobei. He sneaked into Fushimi Castle and entered Hideyoshi's room but was caught and captured. He was sentenced to death by being boiled alive in an iron cauldron along with his very young son but was able to save his son by holding him above his head, similar to how Oden saved his retainers. Oden is similar to Miyamoto Musashi, who was considered as the greatest (and the most feared) samurai of all time, in the style of two swords.
Sbsbased Trivia
Oden's birthday, February 22, in Japan is known as 'National Oden Day' (ナショナルおでんの日, Nashonaru Oden no Hi?), a reference to his name. Additionally, the chapter where Oden was killed, Chapter 972, was released on February 22. Oden's favorite food is all kinds of oden.
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