One Piece Chapter 972: I Am Oden, and I Was Born to Boil

00AI-written

This is a Weekly Shonen Jump cover featuring Luffy eating Cup Noodles, used as a magazine cover page before Chapter 972. It is related publication material rather than part of the manga story chapter.

Monkey D. Luffy

At the execution ground, Shinobu faces the people who have only just learned what Oden endured. Someone says, "You said that we were protected by Oden," but another admits, "Even if that's true... it's hard to suddenly change your mind!!" Shinobu is grabbed by Fukurokuju's men, yet she refuses to obey anymore. Fukurokuju says, "The 'truth' only brings confusion, Shinobu. The lord idiot who rebelled against the Shogun will die." Shinobu answers that if this is how the sentence will be executed, she is ready to die with the Kozuki. She declares, "I am a vassal of Oden-sama and I will live or die like him!! I don't obey you anymore!!"

ShinobuFukurokujuKozuki Oden

Shinobu's defiance spreads through the crowd. She vows, "We will all survive... and exterminate you next time!!" but Fukurokuju sneers, "You're dreaming." The citizens, now torn by guilt, plead with Orochi: "Sh... Shogun Orochi, please end this punishment!!" "You are welcome!!" "Please!!" Their cries are answered with violence. An arrow cuts through the air and strikes a man near the execution ground. People scream, "He was shot by an arrow!!" and "Look out!!" Orochi laughs while Shinobu snarls his name, and Kaido watches as the crowd begins to understand what kind of ruler they have served.

ShinobuFukurokujuKurozumi OrochiKaidoKozuki Oden

The crowd instantly understands how terrifying revenge can be. There is no longer hope for Wano; this punishment has gone on far too long. The people realize that the subordinates of Kaido and Orochi have surrounded them with weapons in hand. They scatter in panic, shouting, "Damnit, we're pathetic," and asking, "So he was the one who saved us that day?" The explanation for Oden's strange actions over the last five years spreads quickly through Wano. Around the boiling pot, the crowd's mockery turns into shame, but the men with weapons make sure that shame cannot become rescue.

Kozuki OdenKurozumi OrochiKaidoShinobu

A message system using arrows spreads important news across Wano's provinces, because these arrows can cross huge distances. The truth reaches more and more people while Oden still holds the plank above the oil. The oil in the pot has heated to over 700 degrees and continues rising. The people now cry, "Oden-sama!!" "Oden-sama stay alive!!" "We knew nothing, sorry for insulting you!!" and "Thank you for protecting us!!" But Oden, still carrying his retainers, answers sharply, "It's a little late, bunch of defectors!!" and then, with the same absurd honesty that made him Oden, adds, "You're welcome, I'm doing my best!!"

Kozuki OdenKin'emonDenjiroAshura DojiKanjuroRaizoKikunojoInuarashiNekomamushiKawamatsu

Oden, barely breathing, tells the retainers what he wants if he survives the scalding: "I would like to... open this country...!!" The others are confused, asking what he is talking about and what he learned at sea. Oden explains that the Kozuki clan had something to do with the closure of Wano. A very long time ago, those who sank the country away from the outside world were members of the Kozuki clan, and they did it "to protect Wano from a 'gigantic power'...!!" His final wish is no longer revenge; it is to reverse an ancient choice and restore Wano's role in the world.

Kozuki OdenKin'emonDenjiroAshura DojiKanjuroRaizoKikunojoInuarashiNekomamushiKawamatsu

Oden declares that Wano, and the world itself, is waiting for a particular individual. When that person appears after traveling through 800 years of time, Wano must be a country that can welcome and support him. Oden says bluntly that Kaido and Orochi will kill him today, so he gives the task to his retainers: "I want you... to 'open' Wano for me!!" The retainers begin to protest because a third of the hour has already passed and he is still boiling, but the message lands. Oden is asking them to survive not for him alone, but for the future that he and Roger saw coming.

Kozuki OdenKaidoKurozumi OrochiKin'emonDenjiroAshura DojiKanjuroRaizoKikunojoInuarashiNekomamushiKawamatsu

The retainers accept Oden's dream as their own. They answer, "If it's your dream... then it is ours too!!" and "If that's the case then we will do it with e-" but Oden cuts them off with a simple "Well said!!" The hour continues to burn away. The pot has become a deadly heated hell, and even the boiling oil itself seems to burn Oden, yet he does not die. The clock counts down: thirty minutes, ten minutes, five minutes, one minute, ten seconds, three seconds, one second. The crowd stares at a man who should already be dead and asks, "Even in this heat, you don't die? Who is this man?"

Kozuki OdenKin'emonDenjiroAshura DojiKanjuroRaizoKikunojoInuarashiNekomamushiKawamatsu

The hour ends. The crowd erupts: "He did it!!!" "The miracle has happened!!!" "He has overcome his execution!!" "That's Oden-sama!!!" "He survived the boiling!!!" and "Oden-sama won!!!" The illusion around Oden has been dispersed, and once again the whole country is his ally. Oden, burned almost beyond recognition, stares toward Kaido and says, "Prepare yourself, Kaido!!" For one moment, the promise seems to have been fulfilled: Oden endured the impossible and earned the right to live.

Kozuki OdenKaidoKurozumi OrochiKin'emonDenjiroAshura DojiKanjuroRaizoKikunojoInuarashiNekomamushiKawamatsu

Orochi breaks the agreement immediately. When the crowd cries, "What did you say!? If you win, you win!!" he calls them fools and says he changed the sentence to a shooting execution one minute earlier. He adds that he will kill Oden's whole family. Oden realizes the promise has been betrayed, and in the final seconds he makes his choice. He throws the plank and the Nine Red Scabbards out of the pot, sending them flying away from the execution platform. Then he shouts the command that matters more than his own life: "You guys, I am counting on you!! Open Wano!!!" Kaido, watching the deception, calls him a kid who thinks with his ass.

Kozuki OdenKurozumi OrochiKaidoKin'emonDenjiroAshura DojiKanjuroRaizoKikunojoInuarashiNekomamushiKawamatsu

The retainers are hurled free. Oden yells, "Run!!!" and Kin'emon orders, "To Kuri!!" as they sprint away with their bodies still smoking. Shinobu is cut loose in the chaos and calls after them. The execution ground turns into confusion while Kaido's men fire and pursue. The Scabbards do not have time to grieve; Oden has bought them seconds, and every second now belongs to Wano's future.

Kozuki OdenKin'emonDenjiroAshura DojiKanjuroRaizoKikunojoInuarashiNekomamushiKawamatsuShinobuKaido

Kaido orders the total erasure of the Kozuki name: "Kill them all!!!" and "Make the name Kozuki disappear forever!" The retainers run, and Oden calls after them, "Do not underestimate my samurai!!" One of them shouts, "Turn around, don't look back!!" even as they cry, "Oden-sama!!" Kaido speaks to Oden with a grim respect: "Whatever your ambitions, your body is already dead. But the least I can do is finish it myself as a sign of respect. The age of Kozuki will now end!! You will all die..." Oden, however, has already turned death into a command for survival.

Kozuki OdenKaidoKin'emonDenjiroAshura DojiKanjuroRaizoKikunojoInuarashiNekomamushiKawamatsu

As the Scabbards flee, memories of their first meetings with Oden flood back. Kin'emon remembers Oden taking what was "ours" and still becoming their lord. Kanjuro recalls being called a real madman; Raizo remembers being recognized despite his strange past; Ashura Doji remembers Oden asking whether he was the mountain bandit and the one who reigned over Kuri. Each retainer sees the same thing through a different memory: Oden accepted them as they were and made them part of his life. Now they run because that is the last order he gave them.

Kozuki OdenKin'emonKanjuroRaizoAshura DojiDenjiroKikunojoInuarashiNekomamushiKawamatsu

The memories continue as Oden's words cut through shame and fear. He tells one man, "You should be ashamed!!" and another that being afraid of difference only proves ignorance. He says, "To be afraid of being different from you only proves your ignorance!!" His old kindness appears too: when someone says, "I am so hungry..." Oden tells him, "Fine, go and eat something!" and when asked whether a person is worthy of a daimyo, he answers with food and fellowship rather than judgment. Oden also speaks of their remarkable way of dying and says he will talk about them for a long time. These memories are why the Scabbards keep moving even while their lord remains behind.

Kozuki OdenKawamatsuKikunojoDenjiroAshura DojiKin'emonKanjuroRaizoInuarashiNekomamushi

Oden speaks his last words to Kaido and Wano. Kaido apologizes about the old hag, and Oden answers, "Even if you forget me, I don't mind. My soul will continue to live on." Kaido says Oden is a serious one and should get as strong as he can, adding that he already killed the old hag. Oden, half dead but still himself, says, "If I accompany you with a cup of sake, then that suits me!" Then he gives the line that seals his legend: "'The more he is boiled...'" The people complete it, inspired: "The better he is!!!" Oden thinks of Toki, Momonosuke, and Hiyori, says "I'll be going on ahead," and drops into the oil with a final plunge. A legend has just bowed out.

Kozuki OdenKaidoKurozumi HigurashiAmatsuki TokiKozuki MomonosukeKozuki Hiyori

The people of Wano cry out the completed phrase, "The better he is!!!" as the capital shakes with grief. Oden's final fall echoes through the pot, and the narrator says, "A legend had just bowed out." The people who mocked him now scream and weep. The music of the boiling oil and the closing "Beben!" turn his death into a performance no one can forget. Oden has died, but the meaning of his life has finally reached the country.

Kozuki OdenKaidoKurozumi Orochi

News reaches Toki: "Lady Toki, we just heard of the death of Oden-sama. His last moments were said to be admirable." Toki is not allowed to collapse. She remembers Oden's words: "Toki, I have reached my limits. If I don't manage to knock down Kaido, no one of our time will succeed." He told her that in a little more than twenty years, a gigantic war capable of separating the oceans would surely break out, and that the protagonists of this immense war would arise in the New World. They would be the ones who could defeat Kaido. As a long winter brews in Wano, Toki looks at her sleeping children and understands that the future must be protected.

Amatsuki TokiKozuki OdenKaidoKozuki MomonosukeKozuki Hiyori

Toki remembers Oden asking, "Toki, I want to use your power if I ever die." She grips his swords and asks that his katanas be given to their children. When someone asks whether she is sad because of the execution, she answers with a smile, "Oh, but you're not going to die, are you? Wahaha, that's my wife!" But alone, she will not cry: "If I cry, people will laugh at me." She calls across time: "Look closely, Oden!! 20 years into the future!!" There is no question that the children are a burden for her, but the story continues its course in the present. Oden's death becomes Toki's resolve to send hope forward.

Amatsuki TokiKozuki OdenKozuki MomonosukeKozuki Hiyori

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End of chapter19 pages

Discussion

One Piece chapter 972: I Am Oden, and I Was Born to Boil — what is in it

Wano Country arc · 19 pages · 19 characters

Key facts in this chapter

p0Page 0 is the Weekly Shonen Jump cover for One Piece chapter 972 featuring Luffy and Cup Noodle collaboration.
p1Chapter 972 title is 'I AM ODEN! I WAS BORN TO BOIL!'.
p2Orochi appears during public confrontation in Flower Capital.
p3Oden is shown boiling in oil while crowd reacts with panic and realization.
p3Narration states there was no longer hope for Wano during the prolonged punishment.
p4Wano uses arrows to send messages to provincial leaders over long distances.
p4Oil in the pot exceeds 700 degrees and continues increasing.
p4Oden is enduring the boiling oil execution on a wooden beam.
p5Oden states intent to open Wano country.
p5Kozuki clan previously sank Wano to protect it from external gigantic power.
p6Wano must prepare to welcome an individual traversing 800 years of time.
p6One third of the execution time has already passed.
p7Execution time remaining drops through multiple countdown stages.
p7Oden survives beyond 30 minutes in the boiling oil.
p8Oden bursts free from boiling oil pot amid massive steam.
p8Wano citizens react with shock and celebration in streets.
p8Kaido observes from foreground with narrowed eyes.
p9Orochi orders change to shooting execution.
p9Beast Pirates gunmen open fire on Oden.
p9Oden is hit by bullets while roaring.
p10Oden charges through gunfire toward Kuri.
p10Shinobu is knocked back during the chaos.
p10Beast-like figure attacks amid smoke and blasts.
p11Oden is recaptured and dragged away.
p11Retainers react with horror and are attacked.
p11Oden makes final stand protecting retainers.
p12Young Oden fights a group of mountain bandits in Wano.
p12Raizo and Ashura Doji appear as recognizable figures during the clash.
p13Oden defeats the mountain bandits and later shares a meal with them in the village.
p14Oden confronts a woman before facing execution by boiling in front of a large Wano crowd.
p15Oden's execution by boiling concludes with massive impact and crowd reaction in the Flower Capital.
p16Toki receives news of Oden's death via messenger.
p16Toki reads a letter detailing future war events twenty years ahead.
p16Oden expresses intent to defeat Kaido before dying.
p16A long winter is shown brewing in Wano.
p17Oden requests use of Toki's power in the event of his death.
p17Toki refuses to cry over Oden's execution to avoid mockery.
p17Retainers agree to pass Oden's katanas to his children.
p17Flashback shows Oden laughing about his wife Toki.

What is said, page by page

p0Slogan declares a boy's heart is always hungry, tying to Luffy's eating action and cover theme.
p1Man in crowd states it is hard to suddenly change mind even if statement is true.
p1Long-haired woman reminds crowd they said they were protected by Oden.
p1Shinobu declares this is what everyone understood and how the sentence will be executed.
p1Fukujuro warns that the truth only brings confusion and the lord who rebelled will die.
p1Woman declares she does not obey anymore and will live or die like Oden as his vassal.
p1Woman states she is ready to die with the Kozuki and warns others of consequences.
p2Bald man tells Shinobu she is dreaming.
p2Shinobu growls they will exterminate him next time and will all survive or rather...
p2Crowd begs Shogun Orochi to end the punishment and declares he is welcome.
p2Man hit by arrow cries out he was shot and screams in pain.
p2Someone yells Orochi look out as chaos erupts.
p4Afro man reads aloud that arrows can cross huge distances for provincial warnings.
p4Narration explains Wano uses message arrows to alert leaders of important events.
p4Crowd desperately shouts Oden-sama stay alive with urgent pleading tone.
p4Oden's retainer apologizes for past insults while expressing support.
p4Lower retainers react with shock calling Oden naive during the execution.
p5Oden declares he will open the country if he survives the scalding.
p5Crowd reacts with shock and confusion at Oden's statements.
p5Retainers question what Oden learned at sea regarding the country's closure.
p5Large man reveals Kozuki clan sank the country from outside world long ago to protect it from gigantic power.
p6Large man states Wano must become a country that can welcome the individual traversing 800 years.
p6Voice declares the world is waiting for a particular individual.
p6Large man internally fears those guys will kill him today.
p6Oden shouts to open Wano for him.
p6Woman responds she wants Oden and notes a third of the time has passed if he resists boiling.
p7Spectators cheer that Oden's dream is theirs too and they will help open the country.
p7Orochi's men panic and demand the temperature be raised because Oden is still alive.
p7Narration states it has become a deadly heated hell with 30 minutes to go.
p7Crowd continues shouting Oden-sama even as time counts down.
p7Narration notes Oden did not die despite the extreme heat.
p8Crowd cheers that Oden overcame execution with excited awe.
p8Citizens shout that the miracle happened and Oden survived boiling.
p8Multiple voices call Oden-sama winner and survivor in triumphant mood.
p8Kaido warns to prepare yourself with grim threatening intent.
p8Kaido declares the whole country is his ally again with dominant mood.
p8Kaido states the illusion has been dispersed with cold finality.
p9Orochi panics asking what was said with fearful intent.
p9Kaido yells at Orochi not to incite Oden with angry command.
p9Orochi admits changing sentence to shooting execution with cruel tone.
p9Orochi threatens to kill Oden's whole family with malicious intent.
p9Oden tells retainers he is counting on them with urgent resolve.
p9Orochi taunts Oden as a kid who thinks with his ass.
p10Citizens scream run amid explosions with panicked urgency.
p10Retainer calls out Shinobu's name in alarm.
p10Oden roars to Kuri while charging forward with fierce resolve.
p11Retainers cry Oden-sama and Oden Kozuki in horror.
p11Voice states an interesting story was just heard with calm tone.
p11Oden shouts turn around do not look back with commanding urgency.
p11Orochi's men order to catch them and kill them all.
p11Oden declares do not underestimate my samurai with defiant resolve.
p11Voice says it will finish itself as sign of respect with cold intent.
p11Voice states Oden's body is already dead and age of Kozuki ends.
p12Oden grunts in pain while being grabbed and accused by bandits during the fight.
p12Bandit children yell to keep hands off while claiming ownership of an item.
p12Wild-haired bandit leader calls Oden a real madman in rage.
p12Retainers shout Oden-sama in alarm while rushing to intervene.
p12Oden questions whether the straw-hatted figure is the mountain bandit leader.
p13Oden declares that the bandits should be ashamed of their actions.
p13Oden states that fear of difference only proves the bandits' ignorance.
p13Bandit complains of hunger while Oden notes they are merely lending money.
p13Villagers remark on Oden's remarkable way of dying and lasting fame.
p13Oden offers food to the bandits after their defeat.
p14Woman tells Oden to become as strong as possible and notes her soul will live on.
p14Oden apologizes about the old hag and admits he already killed her.
p14Oden states he will go ahead with a cup of sake that suits him.
p14Crowd reacts with inspiration as Oden prepares to enter the cauldron.
p15Narration emphasizes that the more Oden is boiled the better he becomes.
p15Crowd screams in horror as Oden falls into the cauldron.
p15Desperate voices call for Ben amid the destruction and shockwaves.
p16Oden declares that failing to defeat Kaido means no one of their era will succeed, spoken with strong resolve about legacy.
p16Toki states she has reached her limits, conveying weariness and acceptance.
p16Messenger informs Lady Toki of Oden-sama's death, delivering shocking news from outside.
p16Voice orders to locate the protagonists of the next scene, directing attention forward in time.
p16Narration notes Oden's final moments were admirable, providing reflective context.
p16Toki reads that protagonists of an immense war will arise in the New World in twenty years, reflecting on prophecy.
p16Text describes a gigantic war capable of separating oceans breaking out in a little more than twenty years.
p16Narration states a long winter is brewing in Wano, setting atmospheric tone.
p16Text asserts the protagonists are the ones who can defeat Kaido, emphasizing future hope.
p17Oden states if he ever dies he wants to use Toki's power, expressing a final request.
p17Oden laughs that the smiling woman is his wife, showing affection in flashback.
p17Toki asks if Oden is not going to die, responding with disbelief.
p17Oden questions why Toki is not sad about the execution, noting her unusual reaction.
p17Retainer agrees to deliver katanas to the children while noting danger.
p17Toki commands Oden to look closely at twenty years into the future, with intense gaze.
p17Toki explains that crying would make people laugh at her, revealing her resolve.
p17Text states the story continues its course into the present.