Kozuki Oden

Kozuki Oden is a major character in the franchise. He was the daimyo of Kuri in Wano Country and the son of the former Shogun Kozuki Sukiyaki, being a member of the Kozuki Family. He was the husband of Kozuki Toki and the father of Momonosuke and Hiyori, as well as 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 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 serves as 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. In life, Oden is one of the strongest characters in the One Piece world and wields two legendary swords: Ame no Habakiri and Enma. With those in hand, he's able to clash with the likes of Whitebeard and Kaidou.
He was voiced by in Japanese and in English.
==Appearance==
Oden was a large and extremely 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.
It has been shown that the women found Oden very attractive considering how much attention he always got from them whenever he was walking down the streets of Wano. When he was 15 and kidnapped women from the Flower Capital at night to form a harem, the women stayed willingly with him despite being always free to leave, and the men were so afraid of his charisma that they always tried to hide their wives, daughters, and livestock from Oden, but without success. 
===Gallery===
====Main====
Oden3.png|Oden's color scheme in the manga.
Oden Digitally Colored Manga.png|Oden Digitally Colored Manga.png|Oden in the Digitally Colored Manga.
Oden at Age 2.png|Oden at age 2.
Oden at Age 9.png|Oden at age 9.
Oden at Age 15.png|Oden at age 15.
Oden at Age 18.png|Oden at age 18.
Oden at Age 20.png|Oden at age 20.
Oden at Age 29.png|Oden at age 29.
Oden in his Pajamas.png|Oden in his pajamas.
Oden after Whitebeard's test.png|Oden after Whitebeard's test.
Oden While Partying with the Whitebeard Pirates.png|Oden while partying with the Whitebeard Pirates.
Oden at Age 34.png|Oden at age 34.
Oden at Age 36.png|Oden at age 36.
Oden at the day of execution.png|Oden at the day of his execution.
Odenbeforereveal20.png|Silhouette of Oden before his reveal.
Oden Silhouette Face.png|Close up of Oden's face before his reveal.
====Video Games====
Oden Pirate Warriors 4.png|Oden in One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4.
Oden Treasure Cruise.png|Oden in Treasure Cruise.
Kozuki Oden Bounty Rush.png|Oden in Bounty Rush.
Kozuki Oden Thousand Storm.png|Oden in One Piece Thousand Storm.
Oden Jumputi.png|Oden in Jumputi Heroes.
====Other====
Oden in Yasuie's Flashback.png|Oden's appearance in Yasuie's flashback.
Odenbeforereveal34.png|Oden's Silhouette in Hitetsu's memories.
Oden Everyday.png|Oden in One Piece Everyday.
==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. Similiar 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. This makes 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 apologized to them afterwards for the disturbance. 
Unlike the other people in Wano, Oden didn't follow its strict rules and traditions, always doing 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, some of them 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 to let Oden join his crew 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 Oden a extremely difficult challenge: Holding onto the chain attached to the Moby Dick for 3 days. Oden readily agreed to accept the challenge, braving through the harshest weathers and obstacles without flinching despite the amount of injuries that were inflected on him throughout the 3 days, showing a incredible amount of willpower. 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 that he ended up recklessly throwing himself into danger, although he was tough enough to have always come out unharmed. 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. This makes Oden also a somewhat naive man as he was tricked by Orochi who approached him humbly and used Crocodile tears to make Oden, who was unaware at that point that Orochi is a Kurozumi, sympathize with him. Because Oden was a honorable man who always kept his word, he believed that Kaidou and Orochi would do the same and honor the agreement that they would leave Wano if he made a public dance once every week for five years to save hundreds of hostages per dance and stop the kidnappings and killings of the citizens of Wano. Oden didn't regret the choice he made as he was able to protect and save everyone, but Kaido called him foolish for choosing the method in which nobody gets hurt, saying that Oden is mighty, but soft, like Gol D. Roger and Edward Newgate. 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 or die if they get involved, especially after he learned that Momonosuke was attacked and Toki hit by an arrow.
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 Kaido 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. Oden has been shouldering all the burden all alone for 5 long years and hid his pain from everyone. When Hiyori asked Oden if he were really okay with what everyone was saying about him, he laughed it off and said that of couse he is, because he has his family. The capture of Hyogoro and death of his wife was the last straw of his perservance however, as the big tears and emotions he held back came flooding out all at once. 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 their execution, 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.
==History==
===Biography===
====Chaotic Youth====
Oden was born in the Flower Capital of Wano Country to the shogun Kozuki 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 War, where the Hyogoro 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 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 stike. 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 Izo 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. 3 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 told him 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. Izo also held onto Oden and got dragged away with him. After pulling Izo 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 Kozuki 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 Kozuki 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 Hyogoro and his wife a visit. Three years later, Oden heard that Hyogoro had been captured for his defiance and that his wife was killed. Grieving over the fate of Hyogoro 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 were disappointed that Oden isn't screaming and dying in agony, and continued to mock Oden, Shinobu, who spied on Oden and Orochi's deal, angrily attacked one of them and called the citizens fools, telling them that it was Oden who ensured that they live in peace and that the citizens of Wano will come to understand how much misery Oden kept at bay if they lose him now. Shinobu 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 as they were unjustly persecuted for his grandfather's crimes, so he took the shogun's throne to act drive Wano Country into ruin. Orochi threatened to deliver many hundreds of kidnapped citizens to Kaidou every week as tribute, as well as order his men to kill random citizens with poisoned arrows, giving Oden an ultimatum provided that he humiliated himself in front of everyone once every week as an apology to the Kurozumi Family in exchange for protecting the civilization of Wano from Orochi's vengeance, including saving the many hundreds of hostages with each dance that were meant as a tribute to Kaidou. To protect the hostages and citizens, prevent a war against Kaidou, the Beast Pirates, and Orochi that would've endangered a lot of innocent lives and cause casualties, 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 and that none of the hostages and citizens were harmed. In the end, Shinobu points out that the true fools are the Wano people who disrespected Oden while he was secretly protecting and 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. Kawamatsu, Kinemon, and Denjiro, insulted by how the citizens suddenly started to care now, told Oden to ignore them, however, Oden appreciated the citizens' words of encouragement, telling them that he will persevere. As the boiling oil in the pot passed 700 degrees and continued to rise while Oden endured the hour, he explained to his retainers that it was the Kozuki 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 ordered his men to continue raising the heat even more and the boiling oil was described as a hell where even the heat haze was lethal, Oden didn't die. Oden successfully survived the hour and the citizens rejoiced, 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, Kaidou recognized that Oden's body is already dead, telling him that he will put him out of his misery and that the age of the Kozuki is over for good. However, Oden, with a grin on his face, told him to not make the mistake of underestimating his samurai. Kaidou told Oden that people will speak of him for years to come and how he died a spectacular death, however, Oden told Kaidou that he doesn't care if people will forget him, saying that his soul will live on. After Kaidou apologized for what happend during their fight and how he killed Higurashi for what she did, Oden told Kaidou to build his strength while he can because he is a story to accompany his drinks, declaring that he is Oden and was born to boil, reciting his name phrase to Kaidou, which was finished by the citizens of Wano after Kaidou shot Oden in the head. 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 Kozuki 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 daughter Yamato discovered his journal and kept it.
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 Kozuki Family became a high crime, one that even children were punished heavily for committing. Orochi was officially recognized as a hero for defeating Oden, something that he never actually did.
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 Kozuki 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 Kozuki 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.
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 while Kurozumi Orochi suffered a similar fate of being burned alive by Kanjuro's kazenbo, with Oden's retainer Denjiro beheading Orochi, ending the Kurozumi legacy.
==Abilities and Powers==
===Overview===
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 regarded as being a tremendously powerful pirate with a great level of influence in 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 and that Ace was arrogant for thinking he could attempt to challenge Kaidou, a man that not even Oden could defeat. In truth, the only reason why Oden lost to Kaidou was because Kurozumi Higurashi distracted Oden before he could finish Kaidou off.
Kaidou, who at some point came to be called the world's "Strongest Creature", even put Oden in the same elite class as other legendary pirates such as the Emperors Edward Newgate and Shanks, the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, and his former captain, Rocks D. Xebec. Oden's 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 Kozuki Family that all of them were willing to die rather than allow even one of Oden's retainers to be captured. In spite of all the conflicts that he had with the Yakuza of Wano over the years, Oden's death had such an impact on the leaders of the Yakuza that they staged their own rebellion against Kurozumi Orochi who had allied with Kaidou before they were all captured and sent to Udon prison.
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 an implied 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 afterward.
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.
===Voice of All Things===
Like Roger and Luffy, Oden had the ability to hear the "Voice of All Things", which his son Momonosuke also inherited. On the trip to Fish-Man Island, he could hear the voices of the Sea Kings alongside Roger and also hear a voice while nearing Zou. When the Roger Pirates arrived at Zou, Oden and Roger had a strange feeling, sensing a great power.
===Philology===
As a member of the Kozuki 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 language, 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 is 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 to cook 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 which 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 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 so because he went to rescue Toki rather 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 Busoshoku Haki and coated with Haoshoku 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. He survived being boiled alive in oil while the temperature continued to increase to over 700 degrees of heat for almost over an hour, a feat no one has managed before. 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.
Odenthrowsboulder.gif|Oden throws a large boulder at the age of 14.
Odencutsshipinhalf.gif|Oden easily sinks a large pirate ship at age 29, by slicing it in half.
Odenspeed.gif|Oden's speed at age 39, speedblitzing Kaidou's men.
===Swordsmanship===
====Oden Nitoryu====
Oden was an immensely skilled and powerful swordsman, having developed his own variation of Nitoryu, which Oden himself called as Oden Nitoryu; known in the VIZ manga as 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. It was confirmed in the vivre cards that what Oden called the strongest sword style was not a boast, it was the only one that deeply wounded Kaidou. Oden Two Sword Style is in fact the strongest 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 was able to strike down the massive beast hailed as the Mountain God with a single attack. Although the Mountain God was cut in half by Oden's attack, Oden's attack didn't kill the Mountain God nor the citizens that it devoured. In SBS Volume 100, Oda explained that Oden's cut was so clean and precise that the severed parts of the Mountain God were able to be put back together. Kin'emon stated that Oden was able to fight against all of the outlaws, ronin, and the region's most dangerous criminal, Ashura Doji (someone noted to be worth 100 men in battle), and beat them all by himself after an entire night of battle. In his fight with Edward Newgate, Oden was able to clash and trade blows with him, including matching the force of Whitebeard's quake punch by using Togen Shirataki. During his adventures with the Whitebeard Pirates, Oden was able to easily sink 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 than 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, and in his final fight with Kaidou, Oden became the first and only individual to wound the nigh-invulnerable Kaidou in his Mythical Zoan dragon form, causing him to fall to the ground and be permanently scarred, though he couldn't deal another blow due to being tricked by Kurozumi Higurashi who disguised herself as a kidnapped Momonosuke to distract Oden.
Even 20 years after his death, Kaidou acknowledged Oden as the strongest samurai, and stated his belief that there will never be another samurai who could match Oden. Oden's strength left a big impression on Kaidou who, even 20 years after Oden's death, considers Oden as one of the very few people, alongside Rocks D. Xebec, Gol D. Roger, Whitebeard, and Shanks, who can match him in a deadly 1 vs 1 battle. Despite Zoro managing to leave a scar on Kaido 20 years after Oden's death by using his strongest attack, Kaido was still standing after the attack and was totally fine as he was more concerned about Zoro being able to use Conqueror's Haki, than the fact that Zoro scarred him, with him still calling Zoro a runt, showing Oden's supreme mastery in terms of strength, haki, and swordsmanship over Zoro, as Oden left a massive scar on Kaidou (much bigger than the cut Zoro did 20 years later), had him screaming in pain, and knocked him to the ground, with Kaidou still speaking highly of Oden's strength 2 decades after he died.
* Togen Shirataki (Paradise White Waterfall): Oden hardens both his swords using Busoshoku Haki and then delivers a diagonal slash with each one of them at the same time. This technique has immense power and range, as seen when Oden used the technique to bisect the massive Mountain God in half. Although the Mountain God was cut in half by Oden's attack, Oden's attack didn't kill the Mountain God nor the citizens that it devoured. In SBS Volume 100, Oda explained that Oden's cut was so clean and precise that he sliced its cells and the severed parts of the Mountain God were able to be stitched back together. When performing it in the anime, Oden not only hardenes his swords' blade with Busoshoku Haki, but also their hilts and his own arms. In SBS 100, it was revealed that Togen Shirataki has Haoshoku Haki in it.
* Shimi Daikon (Great Spirit of Samurai): Oden imbues his swords with an extra amount of Busoshoku Haki, then charges the opponent with the swords crossed behind his own head, then uncrosses them in a single motion, eventually unleashing the Armament Haki and cutting into them at once. Each sword wears a long Armament Haki blade extension as a result of this technique.
* Gan Modoki (Gun Imitating Demon): After hardening his swords with Busoshoku Haki, Oden crosses his swords and charges forward, slicing anyone in his path. When Oden used this technique, he was able to defeat several members of the Roger Pirates at once.
* Togen Totsuka (Paradise Ten Hands): Oden's most powerful technique. After hardening his swords with advanced Busoshoku Haki and infusing them with Haoshoku Haki, Oden leaps toward his opponent, and performs an X-shaped slash. The attack is so powerful that it made the Mythical Zoan enhanced nigh-indestructible Kaidou scream in pain, knocked him to the ground, and gave him a massive and permanent scar. When peforming it in the anime, Oden not only hardenes his swords' blade with advanced Busoshoku Haki, but also his own arms.
OdenBusoshokuHaki.gif|Armament Haki
OdenHaoshokuHaki.gif|Conqueror's Haki
OdenTogenShirataki.gif|Togen Shirataki
OdenShimiDaikon.gif|Shimi Daikon
GanModokiOden.gif|Gan Modoki
OdenTogenTotsuka.gif|Togen Totsuka
===Haki===
Oden was one of the very small number of people in the world who could use all three types of Haki. His Haki was so powerful that he could easily wield the sword Enma, which drains away its wielders Haki at a near fatal rate, displaying his supreme mastery compared to Roronoa Zoro whose entire arm was emaciated after a single slash wielding Enma (he was, however, able to force his Haki back to his arm). Oden was the only samurai who tamed Enma despite its dangerous Haki-draining properties and his mastery over Enma leaves Zoro in awe, with Zoro wondering how Oden was able to easily wield Enma despite how much Haki the sword drains away of its user.
====Haoshoku Haki====
Oden possessed the ability to use Haoshoku Haki/Conqueror's Haki, a very rare type of Haki whose users are said to have the qualities of a king. He has mastered Haoshoku Haki to the extent that he can render his targets completely unconscious and is able to coat himself with it. In the Mountain God Incident 41 years ago, Oden defeated the Mountain God with a single attack, Togen Shirataki. Said attack was stated in SBS Volume 100 to be a Haoshoku Haki attack, proving that Oden was already capable of using Haoshoku Haki and putting it into his attacks when he was only a teenager. In his initial encounter with Edward Newgate 30 years ago, the sudden clash between both of them created a notable effect similar to lightning, as well as released a shockwave, this is also shown during his clash against Kaidou.
Oden is one of a select few people powerful enough to use the advanced application of Haoshoku Haki, the infusion, allowing him to infuse his swords with Haoshoku Haki, and increase his attack power further. In SBS Volume 100, Oda stated that both, Roger's Divine Departure and Oden's Togen Shirataki, are Haoshoku Haki infused attacks, and in his fight with Kaidou, there was black lightning coming off Oden's blade after he cut Kaidou with Togen Totsuka. In fact, Kaido (who put Oden on the same pedestal as the likes of Rocks, Roger, Whitebeard, and Shanks) stated in his fight against Luffy that only a handful of the very strongest can infuse their attacks with Haoshoku Haki, and Zoro (whose mastery over Enma, Haki, and swordsmanship skills are severely inferior to Oden) just learned the Haoshoku Infusion, and is still in awe over how Oden was able to wield the Haki-draining sword, Enma, with ease.
While not shown in the manga, Oden used Haoshoku's more common effect in the anime once, making a bunch of Kaidou's henchmen faint. In the present time, after Kaido defeated Luffy in their first encounter and a unconscious Luffy knocked a bunch of Kaido's henchmen with his Haoshoku Haki out, Ashura Doji noted that Luffy used "Oden's ability", indicating that Oden has used the more common effect of Haoshoku Haki in the manga at least once as well, though it is unknown when.
====Busoshoku Haki====
Oden was an extremely powerful master of Busoshoku Haki/Armament Haki, which is known as "Ryou" in Wano (Ryou is the advanced form of Armament Haki which is commonly used by the people of Wano). It is most noted as he was the only samurai who tamed the Meito, Enma, despite its dangerous Haki-draining properties, which even Kin'emon, the Nine Red Scabbards' Leader feared, displaying his supreme mastery compared to Zoro whose entire arm was emaciated after a single slash wielding Enma (he was, however, able to force his Haki back to his arm). Oden was shown to have wielded Enma and Ame no Habakiri since he is 9 years old and even back then, his Ryou Haki was so immensely powerful that he had no problems with wielding Enma.
Even at age 18, Oden was masterful in using Ryou, as he imbued both his swords (Ame no Habakiri and Enma), hardening them, letting him cleanly bisect the enormous Mountain God in a single 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 Busoushoku Haki master in his own right. As a true testament to his prowess, Oden, at age 39, was able to severely injure and leave a massive permanent scar on the nigh-indestructible Kaidou while in his dragon form, giving him a permanent scar whereas Luffy using Boundman couldn't even damage him. In the anime when Oden uses advanced Busoshoku Haki, it is shown as a red colored flowing aura. At the same time however, in the anime, when he fought the Beast Pirates, his advanced Busoshoku Haki was shown as a green colored flowing aura, instead of the usual red.
====Kenbunshoku Haki====
Oden possessed the ability to use Kenbunshoku Haki/Observation haki. This haki works similarly to a sensor, the user is able to see or feel people's aura, being able to anticipate their attacks and capture them even from great distances. In other stages, this haki provides the user with the ability to even see the future.
===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 Tenguyama Hitetsu and Shimotsuki Kozaburo.
For any average Samurai, trying to hold Enma for just for a few seconds would be fatal and lead to them becoming a mere husk. According to Hitetsu, Oden was the only one who mastered Enma's significant Ryou Haki depletion, something which emaciated Zoro's entire arm and drained, if not killed, several other samurai. Even after training with the sword several times, Zoro is still having problems with just controlling it as it forcefully drains his Haki against his will. Oden's mastery over Enma leaves Zoro in awe, as he wonders how Oden was able to easily wield the sword despite how much Haki it drains from its user.
Enma and Ame no Habakiri are the only known weapons to have ever harmed the near-invulnerable Kaidou, giving him a permanent scar, something no one else has been able to do before or after until Zoro two decades later.
==Quotes==
==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 barehanded, 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, specially 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 (hinting at the size of the Mountain God). The anime removed Oden having a piece of straw in his mouth and his conversation with the man at the tower.
==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's birthday, February 22, is National Oden Day in Japan. Additionally, the chapter where Oden was killed, Chapter 972, was released on February 22.
*Oden possesses some notable parallels and contrasts to his arch-enemy Kaidou. Both were born 59 years ago and fathered their intended successors, Momonosuke and Yamato, 28 years ago. However, while Oden wanted to leave the confines of Wano to explore the world and later open Wano's borders, Kaidou started out as a voyaging pirate and now has a great interest in being based in Wano and keeping its borders closed. Interestingly, however, the paths of each of their children resemble that of the other parent; despite having been out at sea, Momonosuke wishes to fulfill his birthright and take control over Wano as its shogun, like Oden wanted to at the end, while Yamato has been trapped in Wano and wishes to set out to sea, like Oden did in the past. Additionally, Momonosuke has eaten an artificial copy of Kaidou's Devil Fruit, while Yamato wishes to actually adopt the identity of 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.
*Oden also bears a resemblance to Heracles, a divine hero in Greek mythology:
**Both possessed tremendous strength since infancy.
**Both had numerous affairs with women.
**Some of Oden's actions are based on the Twelve Labors of Heracles:
***Oden defeating the Mountain God is based on the fourth labor, the capture of the Erymanthian Boar.
***Oden's attempt to help the Flower Capital citizens during a great drought by diverting a river to the city is based on the fifth labor, cleaning the Augean stables in a single day. Unlike Heracles, Oden's action ended in disaster.
**Both were rejected and disowned by one of their family members (Heracles' nemesis was Hera and Oden was disowned by his father, Kozuki Sukiyaki).
**Both were sailors (Heracles was part of the Argonauts and Oden sailed with the Whitebeard Pirates and Roger Pirates).
**Both had fathers who were rulers of their respective domains (Heracles's father was Zeus, King and ruler of Olympus; Oden's father was the head of the Kozuki family and shogun of Wano).
**Ironically enough, Oden's german voice actor, Tommy Morgenstern, has voiced many roles of the actor Ryan Gosling, who played the titular character of the adventure series Young Hercules.
*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 by holding them up on a plank above himself.
*Kozuki 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.
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