Chapters · Four Emperors (Yonko) › Wano Country

Chapter 973: The Kozuki Clan

Arc: Wano Country · Saga: Four Emperors (Yonko) · Released: 2020-02-16 Oden-era flashback (~20 years ago). Sub-framing within the present-day Wano arc — arc/saga unchanged.

Summary

Continuing the Oden flashback: in a happy earlier moment, Oden hoists Momonosuke and Hiyori onto his shoulders to show them the world, telling them of the Kozuki clan’s ancient bond with Zou and the Minks (“seek out Zou”), and asking Hiyori to play her shamisen song “Moon Princess” at his funeral. The scene cuts to the night Oden Castle falls: with Oden executed, Orochi and Kaido’s forces move to wipe out the Kozuki bloodline, and the Nine Red Scabbards — armed by Shinobu — fight a desperate retreat. A drunk Kaido lifts the captured Momonosuke, is moved when the boy proclaims his father a great warrior and vows to carry the nation, and decides to let the burning castle finish the job. Toki gathers the children and unleashes her Time-Time power: revealing she fled forward from 800 years in the past, she casts the children and chosen retainers — “nine shadows on the night woven of 20 years” — into the future with a prophecy of a coming “dawn.” Hiyori, however, did not leap forward; she lived on in the past, cared for by Kawamatsu, then drifted as a starving orphan into the Flower Capital. There a new crime boss, “Napping Kyoshiro,” rises after Boss Hyogoro’s fall, and the thief Ushimitsu Kozo plagues the capital. In the final pages Kyoshiro reveals himself to Hiyori as Denjiro, his face deformed by rage; he becomes her protector in Kawamatsu’s place, christens her Komurasaki, and binds her to secrecy even from their own allies.

New reveals

• Kyoshiro = Denjiro. The Akazaya scabbard Denjiro survived the fall of the Kozuki, his face “disfigured by the demon of anger,” and built the Kyoshiro Family in the Flower Capital as a long-game cover (p. 17).
• Hiyori = Komurasaki, origin. Hiyori did not go forward in time; she lived on as a Flower-Capital orphan and was taken in and renamed “Komurasaki” by Denjiro (pp. 14–17).
• Toki is from 800 years in the past. Her Time-Time ability is forward-only; she “fled here from the past” and her power launches the children/retainers exactly 20 years ahead (pp. 11–12).
• Toki’s prophecy — “cast nine shadows on the night woven of 20 years… you shall know the brilliance of the dawn… may your purpose be fulfilled” (pp. 11–12).
• Kozuki–Zou bond, from Oden’s mouth. Oden tells his children the Kozuki and the Minks of Zou share “a powerful historical bond” and to “seek out Zou” if the time comes (pp. 2–3).
• Kaido spared Momonosuke (indirectly). Drunk, Kaido lifts the boy meaning to kill him, is struck by his declaration that Oden is a great warrior, and orders him left to “perish in the flames of the castle” — which is what lets Toki recover and save him (pp. 7–8).
• A spy is suspected among Oden’s people — the scabbards argue over “Yougara,” the spy Kaido referenced (p. 5). (Identity withheld this chapter.)
• “Napping Kyoshiro” rose only after Boss Hyogoro’s fall — context for the Flower-Capital underworld (p. 15).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Kozuki Oden, Momonosuke, Kozuki Hiyori, Kozuki Toki, Kaido, Orochi, Denjiro (revealed = Kyoshiro), Oiran (top courtesan of Wano), Ashura Doji, Inuarashi (Dogstorm), Nekomamushi (Cat Viper), Kawamatsu, Shinobu, Kin’emon (“Master Kin”), Kanjuro (drawn steed/bird), Hyogoro (mentioned — “now that Boss Hyogoro is gone”), Denjiro, Yougara
• Cover story: Gotti, Capone Bege
• Locations: Wano Country, Kuri, Oden Castle, Bakura Town, Flower Capital, Zou (mentioned)
• Groups / families: Kozuki, Akazaya Nine (Nine Red Scabbards), Kyoshiro Family, Minks (mentioned)
• Devil Fruits: Toki Toki no Mi (Toki’s forward time-leap)
• World-Building: The Kozuki Time-Leap

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page. Cover story: Gang Bege’s Oh My Family Vol. 21, “Gotti’s Counterattack” — Gotti (G-18 brass knuckles) bursts off a galleon scattering pursuers. (B&W cover comic, not a color spread.)
• Page 2–3 — Oden carrying Momonosuke and Hiyori on his shoulders, showing them “the world”; teaches the Kozuki–Zou/Minks bond; Hiyori’s “Moon Princess” shamisen song.
• Page 7 — A drunk, weeping Kaido lifts the captured Momonosuke over the burning castle; the boy proclaims his father a great warrior.
• Page 11–12 — Toki’s prophecy and Time-Time activation: “from 800 years in the past,” “nine shadows on the night woven of 20 years,” “the brilliance of the dawn.”
• Page 17 — The reveal: the deformed Kyoshiro is Denjiro; he renames Hiyori “Komurasaki” and binds her to secrecy.

Open questions raised

• Who is the spy (“Yougara”) Kaido mentioned among Oden’s retainers? (withheld here)
• Toki came from 800 years ago — does her origin tie the Kozuki to the Void Century / poneglyph lore? (see Kozuki Toki Came From The Distant Past Via Her Time-Time Fruit)
• What is the “dawn” Toki’s prophecy promises, beyond Wano’s liberation?
• Why does Denjiro insist Hiyori keep his identity secret “even from our allies”?