Summary
The Wano Arc ofOne Pieceis regarded by many as the best arc in the entire story. With its incredible storytelling, engaging action, brilliant character moments, and beautiful resolution, this arc tells a tale full of hope, tragedy, and inspiration, as the main players in it strive to keep the memory alive of the one man who gave them everything to save their homeland.
Though the Straw Hat pirate crew remains the focus of the story, a brand-new faction is introduced in Wanocalled the 9 Red Scabbards. The order of events in this arc have been the subject of meticulous planning from the very start by these 9 loyal followers of Kozuki Oden to keep the memory of their master alive and to save their beloved country, so let’s take a look at the 9 Red Scabbards and see why they’re so important to theOne Piecestory.
Origins of the Scabbards
The Retainers of Kozuki Oden
About 40 years before the start of the currentOne Piecestory, Kozuki Oden was born into the Shogunate bearing his family’s name in Wano. From a very early age,Oden was the definition of a problem child, creating commotion wherever he went, which led his father, the Shogun at the time, Kozuki Sukiyaki, to eventually banish him from the Flower Capital when he was 18. After his banishment, he found a home in the lawless land of Kuri and turned it into a thriving city.
Due to his antics, infectious personality, and heroic deeds, Oden became the subject of adoration for much of the population of Wano. However, none were more inspired than those belonging to the bottom tiers of society, as many of them followed him wherever he went and idolized him more than anyone else. 9 of his greatest followers eventually fashioned themselves as Oden’s vassals, despite the samurai himself initially being against this, and after a time, became known to everyone as the 9 Red Scabbards.
My name is Oden, and I was born to boil!
After the treachery of Orochi and the influence of Kaido had all but destroyed Wano, Oden and the Scabbards fought to reclaim it, only to be defeated and sentenced to death for their crimes against the Shogunate. This led to Oden’s last stand to protect his followers and Kaido’s rampage across the country to destroy it, where many were imprisoned, but some were hurled 20 years into the future to complete the mission to save Wano!
The Leader of the Group
First Appearance
One Piece, Episode 580, “A Scorching Battle! Luffy vs. the Giant Dragon”
Arc
Punk Hazard
The very first member of the group that has ever been shown, Kin’emon is also the leader of this prestigious band of samurai. Kin’emon spent much of his life as a common thug on the streets of Wano. However, everything changed for him when hewitnessed Kozuki Oden save his lifeas well as that of everyone else in the Flower Capital by dealing with the threat of the Mountain God, which started Kin’emon’s dedication to the samurai.
Mark my words! Dawn will come to Wano! That is the promise I made to my Lord!
He called himself Oden’s biggest supporter and started following the samurai around, eventually becoming his ‘second’ and the leader of the Red Scabbards in the absence of Oden himself. At the time of Kaido’s raid after killing Oden, Kin’emon was sent into the future with Momonosuke and some other Scabbards by Kozuki Toki in order to complete the mission to save Wano from Kaido and Orochi, where Kin’emon proved himself to be the perfect leader for the group and was instrumental in saving Wano.
The Undercover Agent of the Red Scabbards
One Piece, Episode 909, “Mysterious Grave Markers - A Reunion at the Ruins of Oden Castle”
Wano
Denjiro’s journey to being a follower of Kozuki Oden started off identically to that of Kin’emon.After Oden dealt with the Mountain Godsinglehandedly, Denjiro became infatuated with him and chose to follow in his footsteps just like Kin’emon, eventually becoming one of his most devoted followers. Just like the others, Denjiro was also saved by Oden and forced to escape after the hero sacrificed his own life to save those of his followers.
Oden’s wife spoke. Before she died, she spoke.
However, after making their escape, Denjiro was not part of the crew that Toki sent into the future. Instead, he went into hiding, where the hatred and anger that he felt towards Kaido and Orochi as well as the sadness he felt after Oden’s death twisted his face into an unrecognizable shape. However, he used this to his advantage and became a leader of the Yakuza of Wano and a close confidant of Orochi named Kyoshiro, where he was biding his time for the eventual return and freedom of his fellow Red Scabbards.
The Ninja of the Red Scabbards
One Piece, Episode 768, “The Third One! Raizo of the Mist, the Ninja, Appears”
Zou
After joining up with Kin’emon, Momonosuke, and Kanjuro, Raizo was a member of the Red Scabbards who was mentioned a lot but had not been seen for quite a while initially. The ninja was the reason behind Kaido sending Jack the Drought to Zou, which led to a lot of destruction in the city, wherethe Minks insisted they did not knowwhere Raizo was, even when he was hiding there the whole time.
Raizo of the Mist… in the flesh!
Raizo was considered to be a genius when it came to ninjutsu and was a masterful ninja who served the Kozuki Oniwabanshu even before he joined Oden’s Red Scabbards. After the events of Oden’s death, Raizo was a part of Kin’emon’s group that was sent into the future to free Wano from Orochi and Kaido’s control.
Zou’s King of Day and Night
One Piece, Episode 756, “Start to Counterattack - Great Moves by the Curly Hat Pirates”
Both Inuarashi and Nekomamushi wereintroduced in the Zou arc, where they both held out against Jack the Drought’s rampage and kept Raizo’s location hidden from the villain. In doing so, Inuarashi lost a leg while Nekomamushi lost an arm, but both of them agreed to keep their ally’s location a secret despite having a turbulent relationship with one another at the time.
Raizo-dono… is safe!
The Minks were a surprising addition to the Red Scabbards because, of all the members, they were the only ones who weren’t originally from Wano since they just found their way there after escaping from Zou. After almost being killed as children, they were saved by Oden, which led to them owing their lives to him. It was this oath to Oden and to the rest of their allies which made the Minks ready to give their lives to protect Raizo.
The Legendary Kappa Samurai
One Piece, Episode 910, “A Legendary Samurai - The Man Who Roger Admired”
Kawamatsu was one of the few Red Scabbards who was not sent into the future by Toki. After Oden’s sacrifice, Kawamatsu made a successful escape, where he came upon the fact that Toki herself had died too andMomonosuke was taken by the others. Seeing the situation, he took it upon himself to raise Kozuki Hiyori, which he did for over a decade, because of which she began to see him as a parental figure.
No matter how many poisonous fish I consume, I, Kawamatsu, will never be defeated by you small fries!
However, Kawamatsu was eventually captured and thrown into a prison cell, where he spent the next 13 years, waiting for the eventual return of his allies and the overthrowing of the Kurozumi Shogunate. His love for Oden and journey as a Red Scabbard started when he came upon Inuarashi and Nekomumashi on the beach after they had just reached Wano, which led to his capture along with them. Just as they were about to be killed by the locals, Oden managed to save all 3 of them.
The Samurai of the Lingering Snow
One Piece, Episode 899, “Defeat is Inevitable - The Strawman’s Fierce Attack”
One of the four Red Scabbards who had been sent into the future, Kiku was the only one fromthe group who stayed in Wano, where she worked as surveillance at Tsuru’s tea shop as a server. During her time there, she helped around Tsuru and also took in as much information as she could get about the state of Wano to help in the rebellion.
Isn’t that the mask of the most handsome swordsman in Wano, Kikunojo of the Fallen Snow?!
Kiku started off her life as one of the 2 children of a family of performers, who had lost everything due to the deteriorating state of the country, forcing them to shut down. Due to this, she and her older brother, Izou, would perform music and dances on the street for money, until they came across Oden, who inadvertently took them under his care. From then on, Kiku devoted her life to serving the man who saved her.
The Formidable Bandit Captain
One Piece, Episode 910, “A Legendary Samurai - The Man Who Roger Admired
Ashura Doji wasn’t always a good guy. He spent much of his life as the captain of a band of bandits who called Kuri their home and were a huge part of the reason why it was known as a lawless den of crime before Oden got there. Upon Oden’s intervention in Kuri, the legendary samuraimanaged to defeat all the crime bossesof Kuri, Doji included, and proceeded to turn it into one of the best cities in all of Wano.
There are no longer any samurai left to protect these pitiful weaklings.
Following Oden’s death, Doji felt lost and seemingly cut ties with the Oden family and the Red Scabbards, returning to a life of villainy under the name of Shutenmaru as the captain of the Mt. Atama Thieves guild. However, upon seeing his old comrades rally together to overthrow the corrupt rule in the country, Ashura Doji renounced his villainous life and joined his old friends in their rebellion.
The Disgraced Traitor
One Piece, Episode 629, “Startling! The Big News Shakes Up The New World”
Dressrosa
Perhaps the biggest betrayal in the entire franchise came when Kanjuro revealed himself to be the mole within the Red Scabbards who had been relaying information and their plans to Orochi the entire time. This took the world by storm because of how sudden it was, since Kanjuro had been amember of the cast since Dressrosabut was always just playing a role.
Yes… I was the traitor!
Kanjuro was revealed to be a forgotten member of the Kurozumi clan who was an actor that had been living without a purpose until he met Orochi. The Shogun ordered Kanjuro to infiltrate Oden’s closest circle to continuously keep feeding him all the information about their plans and movements. Kanjuro would keep this act up forever, claiming that his death in the event of Oden’s would serve as the greatest role of his life!
One Piececan be streamed onCrunchyroll.
One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
