One Piece Episode 956

Storyline

Kuri, Amigasa: Kawamatsu tells his comrades and Momonosuke that Hiyori is still alive. The latter, however, has not come with him, fearing that the feelings of a reunion might distract the warriors from the upcoming battle. Momonosuke, meanwhile, remembers the time his sister kicked him in greeting. Still, he thanks Zoro for protecting her all this time, even though she can be exhausting and annoying and also cries a lot. Zoro then tries to explain to him that Hiyori is now 18 years older than Momonosuke and has changed because of it. The latter, however, only thinks of the physical change and fears that now in her adult body she still greets him with a kick.

Hitetsu joins them with a chest and asks Kawamatsu if he is sure, which Kawamatsu confirms. Kiku then gives Hitetsu back the sword that Luffy had borrowed and was later taken from him in Udon. Hitetsu then opens the chest and presents Oden’s swords, which were meant for Momonosuke and Hiyori. Momonosuke’s sword is said to be able to divide Heaven, while Hiyori’s sword Enma is said to cut Hell. The two swords are of the same class as the Shuusui. However, Momonosuke rejects his inheritance for now, as he doesn’t feel ready for it yet. Enma, meanwhile, is given to Zoro, but Hitetsu explains that only Oden was able to handle it properly. Kinemon, out of kindness, advises Zoro to rather give the sword back, but Zoro goes to a cliff to test the sword on a tree. However, with just one blow, Zoro not only cuts the tree, but also half the cliff. Suddenly, the sword starts glowing weirdly, apparently sucking Zoro’s power out of him, whereupon his arm seems almost skeletal. However, when Zoro demands that the sword restore his strength, his arm returns to normal. Hitetsu explains that the sword will always try to absorb its user’s power at will, and it’s bordering on miraculous that only Zoro’s arm was affected, as otherwise warriors who tried it were completely sucked out. He asks Zoro if he wants a new sword, but Zoro just smiles and says that this one is good. Zoro adds that once he masters this sword, he will probably be even stronger.

Udon: Luffy tries to use the Ryuo in Gear 4, which doesn’t quite work out, though he does smash the steel gate he’s training on.

Kuri, Amigasa: Kinemon asks Robin how many opponents they should expect, to which she explains that she estimates the number to be 30,000. She herself says Kinemon currently only has 4,000 comrades-in-arms, yet they must win the battle in Onigashima. Meanwhile, Zoro and Momonosuke train, with Momo telling him that Kiku got angry that he used the word Sunacchi. Zoro explains that an old man told him about it in his home village, but Zoro has to confess that he himself never used the word.

A few days later, Luffy, Chopper and Tama also return to Kuri. Luffy has been training so much that he needs to sleep first. Kinemon, meanwhile, has heard from the Yakuza leaders that they were able to recruit 200 more comrades-in-arms, bringing their troop strength to 4,200. Unfortunately, they haven’t heard from Law yet, though Shinobu says it wouldn’t matter. Unfortunately, there is nothing they can do for those trapped in the flower capital, so Kinemon orders them to focus on preparing for battle and traveling to the rendezvous point for the last few days.

One day before the attack: Tama has made bamboo hats for the nine red sword scabbards as well as Momonosuke and Shinobu. The nine samurai are about to leave, as they should be first to the rendezvous point. Luffy explains that they will sail their ship over to them later.

Hitetsu, meanwhile, visits Zoro at his training and explains to him that he was the one who forged his third generation Kitetsu and that it would look pretty good by now because of Zoro. He further explains that Enma would follow the same rules as the Kitetsu swords, that no one weak would be allowed to use it. Furthermore, he explains another strange coincidence to Zoro, and that is that Enma was made by the same blacksmith as Zoro’s Wado-Ichi-Monji: Shimotsuki Kozaburo, who left the country illegally over 50 years ago.

Orochi hears from Babanuki that everything is normal in Udon, but doesn’t trust him, since he was already informed about the truth by his spy as well as that the meeting place was changed.

The curtain then lowers, signifying the end of the second act of the Wano Country arc.

Miscellaneous

• At the end of the episode, a message from Luffy and Chopper refers to the appearance of the 1,000 manga chapter in the following Weekly Shōnen Jump issue of January 4, 2021, and thanks them for their support so far.