Chapters · Four Emperors (Yonko) › Wano Country

Chapter 1032: Oden's Beloved Blade

Arc: Wano Country · Saga: Four Emperors (Yonko) · Released: 2021-12-05

Summary

The Onigashima raid runs across several fronts. Inside the burning castle, Izo hauls a wounded man through the smoke, uneasy about reports of an “enormous apparition”; the Beasts grunts scream to bring out the cannons before they burn alive. Yamato, chasing through the second basement, brushes off one of the Numbers (“nice to see you again, but I’m in a hurry”), then realizes the fire creature gnawing downward through the walls is heading for the Armory — if it goes any lower the whole island detonates — and begs the Number’s help. Nearby, two CP0 agents try to erase X Drake (“inconvenient truths are meant to be erased”), naming him outright; Apoo is knocked flat, and the two rivals reluctantly team up against the assassins (Drake: “Of course I’m in!!!”). A hooded figure quietly photographs the CP0 agents, scheming to sell Morgans proof that the World Government’s “lapdogs of the Celestial Dragons” are inside Kaido’s castle. Outside the dome, Zoro vs King escalates: King’s beak-laser “Imperial Stake” and wing-guarded defense force Zoro to puzzle out his enemy. Zoro deduces the back-flames and the no-bleed body are NOT pteranodon features but signs of some unknown race — and Enma flares dramatically mid-clash (“ENMA IS—!!”). The chapter closes in the Treasure Repository, where a shamisen plays: an oiran in Komurasaki’s likeness draws out a weeping man — implied Orochi — who has dreamed of “Komurasaki” every night since “that terrible day.” “Neither can I, my lord,” she answers. “I am always… always by your side.”

New reveals

• King’s race is an open tell, not a pteranodon trait. Zoro establishes that the flame burning permanently on King’s back keeps going regardless of his Zoan form, and that King does not bleed from clashes that should have cut him — leading Zoro to guess fish-man heritage, giant blood, or “some race I’ve never heard of.” (pp. 14-15)
• “Imperial Stake.” King’s beak fires a laser-like piercing beam (“how can you block that?! it’s like a laser beam!!”), framed as how “the pteranodons of the ancient past hunted their prey.” (pp. 10-11)
• The fire apparition threatens to blow up Onigashima. The creature passes through walls and burrows down toward the Armory; Yamato: “If it goes any further down…!! No!! Anything but that!!! The entire island’s going to explode!!!” (pp. 5-6)
• CP0 knows X Drake’s identity. “Do you think we’re not aware of exactly who you are? X. Drake.” The agents target him to bury “inconvenient truths”; Drake and Apoo grudgingly ally. (pp. 7-9)
• A spy is selling CP0 to the press. A hooded figure photographs the CP0 agents, anticipating Morgans will “pay big for these pics” of Celestial-Dragon lackeys colluding with Kaido after losing their arms broker Doflamingo. (p. 6)
• Orochi is alive and being lured. A man weeping over the late oiran Komurasaki is drawn into the Treasure Repository by a shamisen-playing oiran in her likeness (Hiyori’s Komurasaki guise). The man is not name-captioned this chapter, but his unique obsession with Komurasaki marks him as Orochi. (pp. 16-17)

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Zoro — fights King outside the dome; wields Enma; deduces King’s race tell.
• King — pteranodon All-Star; “Imperial Stake,” wing defense, perpetual back-flame, will not bleed.
• X Drake — named to his face by CP0; allies with Apoo.
• Scratchmen Apoo — knocked flat by CP0, rallies, teams with Drake.
• Yamato — chases the fire apparition into the basement; fears the Armory blast; enlists a Number.
• Izo — moves through the burning castle carrying a wounded man.
• Orochi — (implied, name withheld) weeping in the Treasure Repository, lured by “Komurasaki.” See How Did Orochi Survive His Beheading.
• Oiran (top courtesan of Wano) / Kozuki Hiyori — Hiyori in her Komurasaki guise, playing shamisen.
• Kozuki Oden — title + cover (depicted only).
• Kaido, Morgans, Doflamingo — referenced.
• CP-0 — two agents present.
• Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model Pteranodon — King’s fruit (powers in play).
• Celestial Dragons, New Onigashima Project — referenced.
• The Numbers (un-named individual) — one giant Number bars Yamato’s path, then agrees to help.

Notable panels

• Page 1 (cover): Reader-request illustration — “Black Cats and Yamato Making Deliveries” by Kokoro Fukada. Yamato points the way while two black cats in striped delivery garb carry parcels; Oden’s face floats in a thought-balloon. A standalone reader-request piece (not the serialized Bonney cover arc); decorative, no B-plot.
• Pages 5-6: The fire apparition boring through the floors; the F4–B2 floor map with “Here Now” closing on the Armory.
• Page 6 (bottom): The hooded spy photographing CP0 — Morgans-scoop seed.
• Pages 10-11: King’s “Imperial Stake” beak-laser; Zoro blocking.
• Page 16: “ENMA IS—!!” — Enma blooms into a burst of force mid-clash.
• Page 17: The Komurasaki-guise oiran plays shamisen; the weeping man cries “KOMURASAKI?!!” — Orochi drawn out.

Open questions raised

• What exactly is the fire “apparition,” and who/what created it? (It moves with intent, passing through walls toward the Armory.)
• Which race accounts for King’s permanent back-flame and no-bleed body? **
• Will the photographed CP0 scoop reach Morgans, and what does it expose about the WG–Kaido alliance?
• Does Hiyori’s shamisen lure end in Orochi’s death? **