## One Piece Chapter 972: I Am Oden, and I Was Born to Boil - Chapter: 972 - Pages: 0-17 - Characters: Monkey D. Luffy, Shinobu, Fukurokuju, Kozuki Oden, Kurozumi Orochi, Kaido, Kin'emon, Denjiro, Ashura Doji, Kanjuro, Raizo, Kikunojo, Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, Kawamatsu, Kurozumi Higurashi, Amatsuki Toki, Kozuki Momonosuke, Kozuki Hiyori ### Summary Page 0: 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. Page 1: 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!!" Page 2: 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. Page 3: 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. Page 4: 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!!" Page 5: 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. Page 6: 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. Page 7: 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?" Page 8: 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-s...