Kozuki Oden is a prominent character in One Piece, renowned as the strongest samurai of his era and a member of two formidable pirate crews: Whitebeard Pirates and Roger Pirates. I’ve always admired his character for his goofiness and his insatiable curiosity to explore and learn about the world.
Early Life and Exile
A delinquent from a young age, Oden committed several atrocious acts, such as starting what would be known as the Hero Board, clashing with other samurai, and stealing their women. When he turned 18, he was disavowed by his father. The future Nine Red Scabbards also stole to survive: Kin’emon attempted to steal a baby boar, and Denjiro swindled a merchant. However, the baby boar’s parent, a giant mountain god, rampaged through town in search of its child. Oden intervened, asking Kin’emon for the boar back. Upon hearing that the mountain god swallowed Tsuru, Kin’emon decided to battle it head-on. Despite stabbing the beast, Kin’emon was knocked to the ground and defeated. Oden then appeared and used his sword to slice the mountain god cleanly in half. Although there were no casualties, a quarter of the town was destroyed. Oden was blamed for the incident and received a notice of disavowal from his father, exiling him from the capital. Kin’emon decided to follow and serve him.
Journey in Hakumai and Meeting Yasuie
Oden stayed in Hakumai and met the region’s daimyo, Yasuie, and his servant Orochi. He ended up destroying the Hakumai casino, stealing money from the safe, and traveling around the country. He planned to end up in Kuri, the country’s lawless region, where he intended to restore order. During his journeys, he met young siblings Kikunojo and Izo, Kanjuro, Kin’emon, and the mountain bandit Raizo. In Kuri, Oden met Asura Doji, the bandit leader of the lawless part of town. They quickly got into a sword fight, which seemed to be at a stalemate. However, by the time Oden’s followers arrived to aid him, he had already emerged victorious and defeated Asura. Oden took him in as one of his followers.
Establishment of Kuri and Recognition
After liberating Kuri from Asura, Oden started building structures and accounts in the area, turning the once uncivilized rough terrain into an officially recognized province of Wano Country, with Oden as its first daimyo and his followers as his official retainers. Sukiyaki repealed his disavowal and accepted him as his son again. The Kozuki family also formed an alliance with the Mink Tribe. Inuarashi and Nekomamushi and his children were mistaken for monsters and were nearly burned at the stake. Oden arrived just in time to rescue them. After welcoming them into his palace and feeding them, they explained that their ship stopped, and they washed ashore. Oden accepted them into the country, and they became his loyal retainers.
Oden’s followers then raided Hakumai and attempted to steal money from Yasuie, but they were captured and brought to the daimyo. Surprisingly, Yasuie allowed them to keep the money they stole and gave his own savings. Oden and his followers used the money to pay for books and education, learn proper manners, and train to become strong warriors. Although they initially gained a reputation as ruffians, they eventually became respected high-class individuals.
Encounter with Whitebeard and Joining the Whitebeard Pirates
The God Valley Incident occurred, leading to the disbandment of the Rocks Pirates. Among the powerful pirates was Edward Newgate, known as Whitebeard. After their ship sank, they washed ashore onto the beaches of Wano Country. Oden went to the shore and instantly started a battle with Whitebeard but was defeated. Oden asked Whitebeard to let him join his group, but he refused, stating that Oden was not loyal and would not be good at serving someone else. Kin’emon was also opposed to Oden setting sail because he had his duties as a daimyo. Two weeks passed, and Whitebeard’s men finished preparing their ship, the Moby Dick. Whitebeard decided to set sail at night to prevent Oden from joining, but Oden snuck out and attempted to board the ship. He held onto a chain tied to the ship’s mast and was carried along with the ship. Izo pursued Oden and held onto him, trying to prevent him from setting sail. Marco rescued Izo from the water and carried him on board, but Oden was not rescued and was dragged through the rough waters, crashing into rocks along the way. Whitebeard promised that Oden would be allowed into the crew if he held onto the chain for three days. Oden accepted the challenge, enduring the harsh conditions. After three days and with one hour remaining, Oden heard the screams of a woman being harassed on a nearby island. He let go of the chain, swam to the island, and scared off the miscreants. Toki took care of Oden as he recovered. Toki explained that she dreamed of going to Wano Country. The next day, they were confronted by the Takatobas Pirates, led by their captain Karma. However, Whitebeard appeared and knocked out Karma with a single hit. The other thugs were scared off at the sight of an Emperor. Since Oden gave up his ambition to save a woman, Whitebeard allowed Oden onto his ship. Izo, Toki, Inuarashi, and Nekomamushi were also accepted.
Adventures with the Whitebeard Pirates
Oden proved to be one of the most powerful members of the crew, sinking an enemy ship before his crew had the chance to plunder it. Traveling across several distant lands, he recorded all his adventures in his journal. Oden got close to Toki, who explained that her parents were born in Wano Country, so she wanted to visit it. During Oden’s second year with the crew, they had a child named Momonosuke. Oden became a wanted pirate overseas. When Whitebeard decided to segment his crew into divisions, Oden became the commander of the Second Division.
Back in Wano Country, the Shogun Sukiyaki fell critically ill and had to select an heir. Since Oden was absent, he appointed a proxy. Meanwhile, the Roger Pirates were informed about a new samurai from Wano working under Whitebeard. Roger decided that he wanted to meet the samurai himself. However, the other daimyo rejected the proxy because he was a member of the family. Orochi’s past is revealed: in his childhood, he and his family became fugitives because of his grandfather’s actions. Orochi fled to the forest and found a desolate cabin. Inside, an old woman and man explained the truth about Orochi’s grandfather. Since the Kozuki Shogun was infertile, daimyos from the Shimotsuki, Fugetsu, and Uzuki families all wanted to be the next heir. Orochi’s grandfather attempted to take over by assassinating the other daimyos, but the Kozuki Shogun finally managed to give birth to an heir, Sukiyaki. The assassination plot was exposed, Orochi’s grandfather committed suicide, and the people grew to despise the Kurozumi name. The old woman deduced that all Orochi’s miseries stemmed from Sukiyaki being born and that Orochi would have become shogun if Sukiyaki had not been born. She revealed she was also a member of the Kurozumi family and had the power to transform her appearance. She gave Orochi a devil fruit, allowing him to transform into an eight-headed serpent. Orochi plotted to usurp Sukiyaki’s throne. Orochi needed to collect funding to buy weapons, so he stole money from Yasuie while working undercover as a servant and took out loans without paying them back. The old woman then disguised herself as Sukiyaki to convince the Shogun to let Orochi into the palace, where he became the Shogun’s faithful servant. Years later, the old woman disguised herself as Sukiyaki, pretended to fall ill, and spread news that Sukiyaki had died, allowing Orochi to rise to power.
Meeting with Roger and Joining the Roger Pirates
Overseas, Oden reached his fourth year under the Whitebeard Pirates, giving birth to another child, Hiyori. They approached an island being plundered by Gol D. Roger. Oden picked a fight with Roger and was defeated, but Whitebeard appeared, and their crews started battling each other. The battle lasted three days before a ceasefire ended it. A gift exchange was carried out on the fourth day, and Shanks and Buggy appeared, frightened by Teach, who had allegedly never slept. Roger met with Whitebeard and was amazed that Oden could read a poneglyph. Roger originally thought he had reached the end of the Grand Line on Lodestar Island, but his log pose stopped working, so he deduced there was a final island after that. Roger heard that the location of the final island was written on the poneglyphs. Roger asked to borrow Oden for a year to reach the final island. Whitebeard refused, but Oden agreed, determined to find the final island. Oden parted ways with Whitebeard and joined the Roger Pirates. Toki and their children stayed with Whitebeard while Inuarashi and Nekomamushi stowed away on Roger’s ship. The Roger Pirates stopped at Jaya, unaware it was a lawless town filled with violent criminals. The townspeople retaliated, but Oden fought them off. At the end of the day, Oden used the stolen ingredients to make oden stew for his crew, who enjoyed the dish.
Roger contracted a terminal illness and knew he had under a year to live. Still, his crew continued their adventures, merrily singing “Binks’ Sake.” They reached Skypiea and found the ancient golden city
of Shandora, whose poneglyph pointed them to the location of a second poneglyph in the Sea Forest near Fish-Man Island. However, Roger’s illness worsened, and his crew brought him to Crocus, who was recruited into the crew to care for Roger. In Fish-Man Island, Roger met with Neptune and asked if he could borrow the second poneglyph, but it was lost. Oden spotted Sea Kings nearby, who were excited for the birth of Poseidon, the Mermaid Princess. They planned to take the Road Poneglyph near the Forest. Neptune was told by a fortune teller that a Mermaid Princess capable of talking to Sea Kings would be born in ten years and would raise a force capable of destroying the world. Roger figured the Sea Kings were talking about a ship called Noah. Their next destination was Wano Country, but Roger knew the samurai would prevent pirates from landing, so they sailed on. However, Oden was homesick and started writing letters. Reaching Zou, Oden found the third Road Poneglyph, so they proceeded to the last destination: Whole Cake Island. They snuck into Big Mom’s territory, stole a copy of the fourth Road Poneglyph, and discovered the location of the final island. Roger decided to go there first and name the island Laugh Tale. Roger Pirates disbanded, allowing the crew to reunite with their loved ones. Roger became the Pirate King.
Return to Wano and Confrontation with Orochi
Oden returned to Wano and discovered that his father had died. Orochi, the new shogun, had transformed the country into a lawless land. Oden stormed the Flower Capital and attacked Orochi, but the latter survived because of his fruit power. Orochi made a deal with Kaido to rule Wano and exploited the citizens, extracting heavy taxes and enslaving townsfolk to work in weapon factories. Oden stormed the castle to attack Orochi, but a barrier protected the latter. Oden’s followers informed him that his father died because of an illness. Sukiyaki had initially appointed a trustworthy man named Shimotsuki Yasuie as his successor, but Orochi seized power by poisoning Sukiyaki. Oden discovered that the barrier was created by Semimaru, an aide of Orochi. Oden was told by the citizens that the Kurozumi family would kill his loved ones if he acted against Orochi. However, Oden saw the citizens’ suffering and was enraged. Kaido and Orochi’s forces confronted him, and Kaido transformed into his dragon form, blasting Oden into the river.
Oden’s Execution and Legacy
Oden was imprisoned and tortured, but he endured the pain to protect his followers. Kaido offered Oden a deal: if he survived an hour in boiling oil, his followers would be freed. Oden agreed, and despite the excruciating pain, he endured for the full hour, holding his followers above his head. Kaido, impressed by Oden’s resilience, ordered his men to release Oden and his followers. However, Orochi betrayed the deal, and Oden was executed. Oden’s followers managed to escape, vowing to avenge their leader and liberate Wano from Orochi and Kaido’s tyranny.
Oden’s legacy lived on through his followers, who became known as the Nine Red Scabbards. They continued to fight against Orochi and Kaido’s oppressive regime, inspiring the people of Wano to resist and strive for freedom. Oden’s story became a symbol of hope and courage for the people of wano.
