Chapters · Four Emperors (Yonko) › Wano Country

Chapter 955: Enma

Arc: Wano Country · Saga: Four Emperors (Yonko) · Released: 2019-09-09

Summary

Word reaches the allied camp that Kozuki Hiyori survived and was rescued by Zoro, moving Kawamatsu to tears and astonishing Momonosuke. At Amigasa Village the blacksmith Tenguyama Hitetsu bequeaths the late Oden’s two famed blades: Ame-no-Habakiri (which Momonosuke declines to wield “for now”) and Enma — the sword that “splits the earth to the bottom of hell,” one of the 21 Excellent-Grade Swords alongside Shusui. Testing it, Zoro discovers Enma involuntarily drains his Ryuo and slices clean through the coastline; he accepts the dangerous blade as a path to growth. Hitetsu reveals that Wado Ichimonji and Enma were forged by the same smith, Shimotsuki Kozaburo, who broke Wano’s laws and fled the country over 50 years ago, and that Enma is “not yet forged into a black blade.” Meanwhile the alliance counts its forces — roughly 4,000–4,200 against an expected 30,000 at Onigashima three days hence — and the Flower Capital’s despairing prisoners and slaves are secretly rallied to the cause. As the Fire Festival dawns and the Nine Red Scabbards set off, Wano Act Two ends.

New reveals

• Enma — one of Oden’s two swords, given to Zoro. It is among the 21 Excellent-Grade Swords (O Wazamono) along with Shusui and Oden’s other blade, Ame-no-Habakiri. Only Kozuki Oden ever tamed it.
• Enma forcibly pulls out the wielder’s Ryuo (flowing/advanced Armament Haki) on its own — Zoro’s test-cut sliced far beyond intent, severing the coastline; “a normal swordsman would be a mere husk.”
• Wado Ichimonji and Enma were forged by the same blacksmith, Shimotsuki Kozaburo, who “broke the laws and left this land over 50 years ago.” (p. 16) — a direct on-page link between Zoro’s heirloom blade and Wano.
• Enma “is not yet forged into a black blade!! Depending on you, its rank might yet be raised.” (p. 17) — Hitetsu frames Zoro’s mastery as the path to a black blade.
• Kozuki Hiyori is alive, rescued by Zoro; the Scabbards tell Momonosuke she is “18 years older than you now” (the time-leap gap). She gave Zoro her father’s memento (Enma), having recognized his Wado Ichimonji.
• Tenguyama Hitetsu is publicly a “katana blacksmith of Wano”; Sandai Kitetsu (Kitetsu III) and Nidai Kitetsu (Kitetsu II) are his blades.
• Battle math: Animal Kingdom Pirates ~20,000 + Orochi’s procession ~10,000 = ~30,000 enemies expected at Onigashima; the alliance has ~4,000–4,200. The raid is in 3 days, on the day of the Fire Festival.
• The rendezvous port has been switched from Habu Port to Tokage Port — and an enemy informant has learned both this and that Hiyori is alive (p. 16).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters (shown): Kozuki Hiyori (p. 2), Kawamatsu (pp. 2–3), Momonosuke (pp. 3–5), Zoro (pp. 4–9, 15–17), Kozuki Sukiyaki (pp. 4–8, 15–17), Otama (pp. 9–10), Luffy (pp. 10, 12), Tony Tony Chopper (p. 10), Nami (pp. 10, 15), Franky (p. 9), Kin’emon (p. 10), Shinobu (p. 10), and the Nine Red Scabbards setting off (p. 14): Okiku, Ashura Doji, Kanjuro, Raizo, Inuarashi, Nekomamushi.
• Characters (named only): Kozuki Oden (maker’s son; tamer of Enma), Shimotsuki Kozaburo (smith), Trafalgar Law (“no word from Sir Law yet”), Orochi (Shogun’s procession), Kaido (“just you wait, Kaido”), Toko (Hiyori worries for “Otoko”), Pedro & Tonoyasu (graves, p. 15).
• Swords: Enma, Ame-no-Habakiri, Wado Ichimonji, Shusui, Sandai Kitetsu (Kitetsu III), Nidai Kitetsu (Kitetsu II).
• Groups: Animal Kingdom Pirates, Akazaya Nine, Straw Hat Pirates, Kozuki.
• Locations: Amigasa Village, Kuri, Itachi Port (Kuri), Udon, Flower Capital, Rasetsu Prisoners’ Quarters, Onigashima, Habu Port, Tokage Port, Bamboo Grove (Amigasa), Wano Country.
• World-Building: Sword Grading System (21 Excellent-Grade Swords / O Wazamono), Fire Festival, Ryuo (Wano term for flowing/advanced Armament Haki).

Notable panels

• Page 1 — title page + cover story. B/W title page (“Chapter 955: ENMA”); cover serial “Gang Bege’s Oh My Family, Vol. 6: ‘Stopping at this island to stock up on food’” — Bege’s ship among rocky seas, inset of Bege pointing.
• Pages 5–6 — Enma & Ame-no-Habakiri revealed. The two Oden blades drawn in a dramatic spread; “ENMA, that splits the earth to the bottom of hell” / “AME-NO-HABAKIRI, that cuts down the heavens.”
• Pages 6–7 — Zoro’s test cut. Enma slices the coastline; “It exudes its wielder’s Ryuo on its own”; Zoro keeps it: “Enma, huh?!”
• Page 8 — “30,000 VS 4,000.” The raid’s force imbalance laid out.
• Pages 14–15 — the Nine Red Scabbards set off under “the sun at its zenith… they cast nine shadows,” past the graves of Yasuie and Pedro — visually composed mourning/resolve montage.
• Page 17 — “WANO, ACT TWO END.” Zoro cradles Enma: “Hee hee hee!! Just you wait, Kaido.”

Open questions raised

• Will Zoro master Enma’s Ryuo-drain and forge it into a black blade (raising its rank)?
• How exactly does the Shimotsuki surname connect Zoro’s home village to Wano’s Shimotsuki line and the émigré smith Kozaburo?
• Who is the enemy informant who has learned both that Hiyori is alive and that the rendezvous moved from Habu Port to Tokage Port?
• Can ~4,000 allies overcome ~30,000 at Onigashima?