Chapters · Four Emperors (Yonko) › Wano Country

Chapter 958: The Promised Port

Arc: Wano Country · Saga: Four Emperors (Yonko) · Released: 2019-10-07

Summary

A flashback cold-open shows the Roger Pirates at sea, dropping Kozuki Oden back at his homeland. A drunk, laughing Roger waves off advice from his “alcoholic doctor” Crocus; young Shanks and Buggy and a smiling Rayleigh offer to help Oden, who thanks “Rayleigh, Redtaro, Buggyjiro” but insists Wano’s closed-borders riddle is a problem the Kozuki clan must solve alone. Oden vows to find a way to “pass this will on” and, in silhouette, declares he will “wait for a future… in 20 years from now” and work with the vassals he left home to open the Land of Wano. The crew bids him farewell — and twenty-five years pass. In the present, Wano Act Three opens on the day of the Fire Festival: at Habu Port in Hakumai — the largest port in Wano — Shogun Orochi sets sail (drunk) for Onigashima and a once-a-year feast for 40,000, leaving Kyoshiro to guard the capital; “the two men who rule over Wano” — Orochi and Kaido — are to meet. The Flower Capital revels under a clear full-moon sky. But at the alliance’s secret rendezvous, Tokage Port in Udon, a violent storm pins the ships — and then the Scabbards discover the port is deserted: not a single ship, ~4,000 soldiers gone, the Udon camp emptied, the snail silent and every ally unreachable. Old Oden retainers (Jibuemon of Kibi) call in, “come from 20 years in the past,” but Kin’emon despairs that the enemy numbers 40,000 and “there will be no help.” A rash Dogstorm moves to take a small boat to Onigashima alone. The chapter closes teasing Kaido’s island the night before — “the previous night… the incident already happened.”

New reveals

• The Roger Pirates returned Oden to Wano (flashback, 25 years before present; “25 years passed” caption bridges to the present day). Oden parts from the crew, refusing their help: “this is something that we of the Kozuki clan must solve on our own.” (pp. 2-4)
• Oden’s vow: he will not “leave the country behind, then come back and demand ‘Make me the shogun!’” — instead he will “find a way to pass this will on” and, in 20 years, “open the Land of Wano” with the vassals he left home. (pp. 3-4)
• Oden’s nicknames for the Roger crew: “Rayleigh, Redtaro, Buggyjiro” — Redtaro = young Shanks (red hair / “eldest son”), Buggyjiro = Buggy (“second son,” to Buggy’s annoyance). (p. 3)
• Wano Act Three begins on the day of the Fire Festival; “the seasons of Wano are separated in the extreme by region,” so weather differs island-to-island (a storm at Tokage Port while the capital is clear). (pp. 5, 9)
• Habu Port, in Hakumai, is the largest port in Wano, “a massive wharf lined with maple trees”; Orochi’s procession departs from there to Onigashima. (pp. 5-6)
• Onigashima’s annual feast is for 40,000 — Orochi’s forces plus Kaido’s Beasts — and “the two men who rule over Wano” meet there. (p. 7)
• Tokage Port found deserted on raid night: “not a single ship,” ~4,000 soldiers missing, the Udon excavation camp emptied with “signs the port was attacked,” the snail (“Smail”) unresponsive, and no contact with Law, Hyogoro, or Dogstorm’s musketeers. (pp. 11-13)
• Old Oden vassals rally late: Jibuemon of Kibi and others call in over the snail — “we have come from 20 years in the past… We are the vassals of Kozuki Oden… the time has come for us to spend the lives that should have perished back then.” (p. 13)

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Roger, Kozuki Oden, Crocus, Shanks (“Redtaro”), Buggy (“Buggyjiro”), Silvers Rayleigh, Orochi, Kaido, Kyoshiro, Kin’emon, Luffy, Inuarashi (Dogstorm), Nekomamushi (“the Cat”, mentioned), Ashura Doji, Kawamatsu, Okiku, Jibuemon, Trafalgar Law (hailed, mentioned), Hyogoro (hailed, mentioned)
• Locations: Wano Country, Habu Port, Hakumai, Onigashima, Flower Capital, Udon, Tokage Port, Kuri, Kibi, Ringo, New World (flashback sea)
• Groups: Roger Pirates, Akazaya Nine (Nine Red Scabbards), Animal Kingdom Pirates (Beasts), Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance, Kozuki
• Concepts: Fire Festival, The Kozuki Time-Leap

Notable panels

• p.1 — Title page / cover: Gang Bege’s “Oh My Family” Vol. 8 — “You’re Sisters?! Lola went to Dressrosa a few days ago!” (Chiffon, Bege, Lola). Chapter title “THE PROMISED PORT.”
• p.2 — Splash of the Roger Pirates’ ship at sea; a drunk, laughing Roger and the “alcoholic doctor” Crocus; Oden aboard. (mirror candidate)
• p.3 — Young Shanks and Buggy offer to help Oden; Rayleigh smiles; Oden: “Rayleigh, Redtaro, Buggyjiro… I thank you.”
• p.4 — Oden’s silhouette vow (“in 20 years from now… open the Land of Wano”); Roger crew departs (“We shall, Roger!! Let’s do it, Oden!!”); “twenty-five years passed.”
• p.5 — “WANO ACT THREE” title; Habu Port / Hakumai splash. (mirror candidate)
• p.6 — Orochi’s drunken send-off for Onigashima; Kyoshiro to guard the capital; the maple-tree wharf — “the largest port in Wano.”
• p.7 — “the two men who rule over Wano meet”; once-a-year feast for 40,000 at Onigashima.
• p.8 — Flower Capital Fire Festival; drinks “flow freely” one day a year; clear full-moon sky.
• p.9 — Wano’s region-locked weather/seasons; map of Wano (Kuri, Kibi, FC, Ringo, Hakumai, Udon, Tokage Port).
• p.10 — Storm at Tokage Port; Luffy begs Kin’emon to postpone the raid.
• p.11 — “Not a single ship!!”; the Cat didn’t arrive; ~4,000 soldiers and the fleet gone; the camp emptied.
• p.12 — “This is the promised port!!!”; the snail unresponsive; “Where have they all gone?!”
• p.13 — Snail hails to Law / Hyogoro / Dogstorm’s musketeers go unanswered; Jibuemon of Kibi and other old Oden vassals call in.
• p.14 — Despair: “There will be no help!! The enemy numbers 40,000!!”
• p.15 — Dogstorm moves to take a small boat to Onigashima (“Stop this!!”); “the previous night… the incident already happened” — Kaido on Onigashima.

Open questions raised

• What emptied Tokage Port “in the span of a single day” — where did the ships and ~4,000 soldiers go, and who “attacked” it?
• What was the “incident” that “already happened” on Onigashima “the previous night”?
• Has the Kozuki uprising collapsed before it began, or is the empty port part of a hidden plan?
• Will Dogstorm’s rash solo charge on Onigashima doom the alliance?