Chapters · Four Emperors (Yonko) › Wano Country

Chapter 969: Fool of a Lord

Arc: Wano Country · Saga: Four Emperors (Yonko) · Released: — Kozuki Oden flashback (historical — ~24 to ~19 years before present-day Wano). Arc/saga held per the Oden-flashback sub-framing; this is not an arc/saga seam.

Summary

Continuing the Oden flashback, this chapter recounts how the returning Kozuki Oden was robbed of the shogunate and reduced to “the Fool of a Lord.” Oden storms back into Wano and tries to cut down Orochi, but his strength is nullified by a barrier raised by the biwa-playing priest Kurozumi Semimaru and he learns the throne was stolen by sorcery: Kurozumi Higurashi, wielding the Clone-Clone Fruit, impersonated the (presumed dead) former Shogun Kozuki Sukiyaki to make all of Wano decree Orochi the shogun’s proxy. Poisoned arrows scatter the celebrating crowd as Kaido’s dragon looms over the capital. Within hours Oden is seen dancing nearly naked outside Orochi’s palace, begging for scraps — and keeps doing it weekly for five years, his hope-starved people turning from disappointment to scorn. During those years Roger’s execution news reaches Wano (24 years before “today”), the Gecko Pirates ransack Ryuma’s grave in Ringo battling the Animal Kingdom Pirates, and Hyogoro the Flower is captured and handed to Kaido. In the fifth year Orochi comes to Kuri, gloats over giving Hyogoro to Kaido and his plan to make Wano a weapons producer — the last straw. Oden weeps, then declares the time has come “to strike down Kaido,” and with the nine men he raised to samurai — the Akazaya Nine — marches toward the Hour of Legends.

New reveals

• Orochi’s shogunate is a fraud. The decree naming Orochi the shogun’s proxy never carried real authority — it was engineered by Kurozumi Higurashi, who used the Clone-Clone Fruit to disguise herself as the late former Shogun Kozuki Sukiyaki; the daimyos and the whole country believed the impostor (pp. 5–6).
• Two new Kurozumi sorcerers. The biwa-playing priest Kurozumi Semimaru wields “Barrier-Barrier Arts” (a barrier-generating Devil Fruit power) that nullifies Oden’s strength; Kurozumi Higurashi, an old hag, holds the Clone-Clone Fruit. Orochi calls his protectors “sorcery users” (pp. 3–4).
• Sukiyaki’s death is now in doubt. “Nobody can know what the real Sukiyaki was thinking” — Higurashi’s impersonation casts uncertainty over whether the former shogun truly died of illness (p. 6).
• Roger’s execution reaches Wano (24 years before present). A foreign newspaper (supplied by Orochi) brings word of the King of the Pirates’ execution and the One Piece — the start of the Great Age of Piracy; Oden laughs and wails on the beach, “Roger!! You wonderful man!! What a life!!!” (p. 11).
• Origin of Moria’s Ryuma zombie. During this period Ryuma’s grave (the “God of the Blade”) in Ringo was ransacked, and a battle broke out in Ringo between the Gecko Pirates and the Animal Kingdom Pirates — the in-story origin of how Gecko Moria came to possess Ryuma’s corpse and the black blade Shusui seen at Thriller Bark (p. 12).
• Hyogoro the Flower’s backstory. The underworld boss who controlled the Flower Capital was captured when his followers fought back; 16 of his men died, plus his wife (shot dead clinging to him); Hyogoro was handed to Kaido and is expected to die (pp. 12, 14).
• Oden’s humiliation was a deal. His weekly near-naked dance for scraps — earning him the title “Fool of a Lord” — was a five-year burden taken to protect Wano’s townsfolk (pp. 8–15).
• Origin of the name “Akazaya Nine.” The nine men Oden raised to samurai, marked by their red scabbards, were named the Akazaya Nine (Nine Red Scabbards) in honor of their strength and loyalty (pp. 16–17).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Kozuki Oden (shown — flashback), Kozuki Toki (shown — flashback), Orochi (shown — younger, flashback), Kaido (dragon form over the capital, p. 7), Kurozumi Higurashi (first appearance), Kurozumi Semimaru (first appearance), Hyogoro (shown — younger, flashback), Kozuki Sukiyaki (referenced; impersonated), Roger (referenced — execution news), Ryuma (referenced — grave ransacked), Gecko Moria (via “Gecko Pirates”), Hyogoro’s wife (unnamed — killed)
• Groups / crews: Akazaya Nine (name origin), Animal Kingdom Pirates (“Gecko Pirates vs. the Animal Kingdom Pirates” in Ringo)
• Devil Fruits: Mane Mane no Mi (named “Clone-Clone Fruit”, p. 6); Semimaru’s “Barrier-Barrier Arts” (unnamed as a fruit on-page)
• Locations: Wano Country, Flower Capital, Kuri, Ringo; Orochi’s palace/castle
• Families: Kurozumi (Semimaru, Higurashi), Kozuki (Oden, Toki, Sukiyaki)

Notable panels

• Page 1 (title page): Cover-story art — Gang Bege’s Oh My Family, Vol. 18: “Gotti vs. Navy” (side-comic B-plot; deferred to cover-tracker).
• Page 4: First appearances of Kurozumi Semimaru (biwa-playing priest, captioned) and Kurozumi Higurashi (old hag, captioned) — Orochi’s “sorcery users.”
• Page 7: Kaido’s enormous dragon floats over the Flower Capital as poisoned arrows scatter the cheering crowd.
• Page 8 (splash): Oden stripped to his loincloth (reading “chicken wingstick”), dancing like a fool outside Orochi’s palace — the iconic “Fool of a Lord” image.
• Page 11: Oden laughing then wailing on the beach over Roger’s execution — “Roger!!”
• Page 16–17: The nine red-scabbarded samurai at crimson sunset; narration christens them the Akazaya Nine and proclaims the “Hour of Legends.” Chapter closes mid-narration (“let not your eyelids blink”).

Open questions raised

• Is Kurozumi Semimaru’s “Barrier-Barrier Arts” the same power as the Bari Bari no Mi (Bartolomeo’s)? The chapter does not say. (inference)
• What truly became of the real Kozuki Sukiyaki? Did he die of illness, or did the Kurozumi remove him? “Nobody can know what the real Sukiyaki was thinking.”
• What deal did Oden strike with Orochi that forced the five-year humiliation, and how does it protect the townsfolk? (answered narratively as a sacrifice; the terms are revealed in following chapters)