Storyline
Ruins of Oden Castle: Kinemon has just told the Straw Hats that he, Kanjuro, Raizo, Kiku, and Momonosuke are from 20 years in the past. The Straw Hats naturally demand a more detailed explanation of how the time jump happened, to which Kinemon tries to explain it to them. He does elaborate a bit, though, and starts by saying that while the castle they’re in is called Oden Castle, that’s just a nickname and it’s actually called Kuri Castle. However, the people of Kuri revered Oden so much that they gave him that nickname. Kinemon goes on to say that Oden was the son of former Shogun Wano Country and was a hot-blooded free spirit even in his youth.
Flashback: Oden caused one incident after another, and in the end was even banished from the capital. But this was fine with young Oden, who found the city too small and boring for him. He went to the outlaw zone of the land of Kuri, where criminals and exiles fought, stole from, or murdered each other on a daily basis. Oden already found this much more interesting and fought all the criminals in the region until the most dangerous of them all showed up – Ashura Doji. A battle ensued between the two, which ended with Oden’s victory. Afterwards, the outlaws of Kuri determined that Oden became their new leader and bowed to him. Kinemon goes on to say that Oden then brought about a change by showing the outlaws how to work honestly, after which the city and castle were built, as well as the Paradise Plantation so that everyone would have enough to eat. Oden was then officially appointed Daimyo of Kuri, and his ban lifted as a result. He had accomplished all of this by the time he was twenty. However, Oden, being the free spirit that he was, found the situation of ruling over an entire territory and having several vassals too restrictive and uptight.
On one coast, Inuarashi recalls how he and Nekomamushi first met Oden and tells the three musketeers. The two Minks were just children at the time and had been washed up shipwrecked on the coast. Because no one in Wano Country had ever seen a Mink, they thought the two were monsters, tied them up and beat them up. However, Oden interfered and called them fools for judging others based on their appearance and for attacking what they didn’t understand. Oden smiled at the two and took them with him. Inuarashi tears up at these memories and explains that Oden was her savior, hero, and master to her.
Ruins of Oden Castle: Kinemon explains that the land of Wano Country was getting better under Oden, but then Orochi and Kaidou secretly allied and trapped Oden. They took over the land after Oden’s death, polluted Kuri, and Oden was dubbed a criminal.
Meanwhile Zoro finished his fight against the tiger victoriously, but lost his orientation again and ended up at some docks.
Ruins of Oden Castle: Kinemon tearfully explains how he witnessed Oden’s execution, which was 20 years ago, but for him was just a few months ago. With no allies left, Kinemon and his comrades attempted to flee the execution site, but during the escape, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi started arguing with each other and were caught by Kaidou’s men. It was with a heavy heart that Kinemon & Co. had to leave them behind because of this, knowing that Orochi planned to wipe out Oden’s entire family and thus his next target was Oden’s wife and two children. However, when they arrived, the castle was already on fire. Kinemon and his comrades charged through Kaidou’s forces to save Oden’s family. They reached Oden’s wife Toki, as well as Momonosuke and Hiyori, and apologized to them for not being able to save Oden. They wanted to flee with them, but Toki explained she would stay while the rest found refuge in the future. She explained that she herself was from the past and traveled to this time with the help of the Time Fruit, but could only travel to the future and not the past. Momonosuke objected, but before he could say anything, he, Kinemon, Kanjuro, Kiku, and Raizo found themselves 20 years in the future in front of the ruins of the castle, finding both their own graves and the sight of Kuri destroyed. The entire country had changed: Food shortages among the population, forced labor camps, factories that polluted the environment, and the Kozuki family’s name was just made fun of because of tall tales. They thought they were the only ones left to honor the memory of Oden, but it turns out they still have allies in this time, so they were happily welcomed by some samurai.
| TV Episode Guide | Wano Arc (Anime) |
