Chapters · Four Emperors (Yonko) › Wano Country

Chapter 941: The Star of Ebisu

Arc: Wano Country · Saga: Four Emperors (Yonko) · Released: 2019-04-28

Summary

In the Flower Capital, Shogun Orochi rages over Oiran (top courtesan of Wano)‘s death while Kyoshiro — who cut her down — frames the killing as a loyalty/face-saving act and reveals he has arranged her public funeral, to be broadcast nationwide on light-scrolls (pp. 3-5). Orochi seizes on the capture of the Robin-Hood thief Ushimitsu Kozo, whose identity he finds “startling” (“HOW IS HE ALIVE?!!”), and decrees the thief be executed alongside the funeral as twin “stars of the city” dying together (pp. 3-5). At the Udon labor camp, Queen breaks down over Komurasaki’s death and demands the broadcast, while the prisoners panic that Luffy — bloated from secretly devouring all of Queen’s oshiruko overnight — will trigger a “double shock” (pp. 6-7). In Kuri, Holdem’s faction torches Atamayama, Shutenmaru’s mountain hideout, to bait the Atamayama Thieves Brigade; Kin’emon and Inuarashi race to win the furious Ashura over to the alliance (pp. 8-9). At the Ringo Northern Graveyard, Zoro and Brook stumble onto a hidden woman living in a well-hut — revealed on-page to be Momonosuke’s younger sister, kept secret by Kin’emon’s orders (pp. 10-11). At a teahouse outside the Capital, Toko learns the captured Ushimitsu Kozo is her own “daddy,” Tonoyasu of Ebisu Town, and bolts to save him (pp. 12-13). The funeral procession parades Komurasaki’s body (p. 14), and the broadcast reveals the crucified thief is Lord Yasuie (“Yasu the Hedgehog”), former Daimyo of Hakumai who stood beside Lord Oden and supported the Kozuki clan (pp. 15-16). Yasuie, alive against all belief, vows to die laughing and to leave two apologies and a parting word for Orochi (p. 17).

New reveals

• Ushimitsu Kozo = Tonoyasu = Lord Yasuie. The masked Robin-Hood thief, the cheerful Ebisu beggar “Yasu,” and the long-presumed-dead Daimyo of Hakumai, “Yasu the Hedgehog,” are one man — an Oden-era ally who “stood alongside Lord Oden and supported the Kozuki clan” (pp. 15-16). This is why Orochi finds his identity “startling” and asks “HOW IS HE ALIVE?!!” (p. 4).
• Tonoyasu is Toko’s “daddy.” Toko names the captured thief as her father (p. 12) and runs for the Capital despite being wanted herself (pp. 13, 17).
• Kyoshiro arranged Komurasaki’s funeral and defends her killing to Orochi as protecting the shogun’s “face” against her defiance (pp. 3, 5). Orochi will execute Yasuie at the same event — “the two biggest stars of the city dying together” (p. 5).
• Momonosuke has a living younger sister, hidden in Ringo. Zoro and Brook find a woman in a well-hut at the Northern Graveyard, revealed on-page as Momonosuke’s younger sister, whom Kin’emon ordered to stay in the well (offerings were left for her) (pp. 10-11). (Name not spoken on-page; identity beyond “Momonosuke’s sister” withheld.)
• Queen was infatuated with Komurasaki; news of her death devastates him at Udon (p. 6).
• Holdem’s faction set the Kuri wildfire at Atamayama to punish/provoke the Atamayama Thieves Brigade, hoping to broadcast Shutenmaru “burning alive” (pp. 8-9). Kin’emon’s plan needs Ashura Doji turned against the Animal Kingdom Pirates (p. 9).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Orochi, Kyoshiro, Oiran (top courtesan of Wano) (deceased; funeral), Denjiro, Tonoyasu, Toko, Queen, Luffy, Kaido (named), Ashura Doji (as Shutenmaru), Holdem (faction), Inuarashi (Dogstorm), Kin’emon, Brook, Zoro, Momonosuke (sister referenced), Kozuki Oden (referenced)
• Groups: Animal Kingdom Pirates, Atamayama Thieves Brigade, Kozuki
• Locations: Flower Capital, Udon, Kuri, Atamayama, Bakura Town, Ringo, Northern Graveyard, Ebisu Town, Rasetsu Town, Hakumai, Wano Country

Notable panels

• Pages 1-2 — Two-page color spread (road-trip / “Stop the Vehicle — End of the Sea” theme): Nami and Chopper on a desert highway with signposts (“Beach,” “Home,” “Hell,” “With You Anywhere”); Luffy, Robin and Zoro at a “GOOD PLACE” rest stop. Decorative AU art; no apparent foreshadowing.
• Page 4 — Orochi: “But… HOW IS HE ALIVE?!!” — the hook for the Yasuie reveal.
• Page 14 (visual mirror) — Splash: Komurasaki’s funeral procession through the Flower Capital, her body displayed, the crowd wailing “The TREASURE of Wano!!!” / “This isn’t the oiran’s procession I wanted to see!!” Restages the living Oiran’s Procession (alive, celebrated Ch. 928 p. 14) on the same page slot, inverted celebration→grief. Filed: Oiran Procession Restaged As Komurasaki’s Funeral Procession.
• Pages 15-16 — The crowd recognizes the crucified thief as Lord Yasuie, “Yasu the Hedgehog,” Daimyo of Hakumai and Oden’s ally.
• Page 16 (visual mirror) — Yasuie crucified dead-center atop the Rasetsu Town execution platform, behind a tall barrier, the crowd packed below crying “Let him down!!” / “We’re so happy you’re alive!!” This re-stages Oda’s public-execution-platform composition first installed with Roger Ch. 1 p. 1 (condemned figure elevated center over a roaring crowd), the Wano instance of the lineage Roger → Luffy (survives, Ch. 100) → Noland (Ch. 292) → Ace (Ch. 549/550). Filed: Yasuie Execution Platform Mirrors Roger Execution Scaffold.
• Page 17 — Yasuie unbowed on the cross: “I intend to go into the great beyond LAUGHING!!” Toko cries “DADDY!!”

Open questions raised

• What are Yasuie’s “two things for which I need to apologize” and the parting word for Orochi (p. 17)?
• Why does Orochi find Yasuie being alive so startling — what is Yasuie’s full Oden-era history?
• Who is the hidden woman in the Ringo well beyond being Momonosuke’s younger sister (name withheld, pp. 10-11)?
• Will Kin’emon succeed in turning the enraged Ashura Doji against Kaido’s forces (p. 9)?
• Will Queen’s “double shock” (Komurasaki dead + stolen oshiruko) expose Luffy at Udon (p. 7)?