Characters / One Piece: Kozuki Oden

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Main Character Index > Inhabitants > Blue Seas (East Blue Pirate Crews) | Paradise | Sky People | Fish-Man Island | New World (Wano [Kozuki Clan | Kozuki Oden])

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Kozuki Oden

Voiced by: Hiroya Ishimaru (Japanese); Robbie Daymond (English); Tommy Morgenstern (German)

Age: 39

Debut: Chapter 920 (Manga, silhouette), Chapter 960 (Manga, full appearance), Episode 910 (Anime, silhouette), Episode 960 (Anime, full appearance)

Lord Oden loved to say... "It's too cramped!" For Lord Oden... The realm of Wano was just a bit too small.

"The world is full of new sights! Cold and Heat like I've never felt! Flora! Fauna! Races! Strengths! Thoughts! All of it. Different! I feel like my eyes are reopened every day! Everything is so much more than I could have imagined! I amount to so little! A tiny, insignificant speck in the wide, wide world! Anything can happen!"

—Oden's diary (Chapter 964)

The previous Daimyo of the Kuri region in the Land of Wano and Momonosuke's father, who was executed twenty years before the arrival of the Straw Hats at Wano. Orochi usurped the throne from him, but his actions still affect the present story and he is still one of the central characters for the Land of Wano Arc. Oden is also a former member of the Whitebeard Pirates who became the very first commander of the second division (Ace's predecessor). He later became a member of the Roger Pirates since Roger needed his ability to read the Road Poneglyphs.

Oden is a carefree man, the epitome of freedom in the series, who can't stand the strict rules of Wano, feeling almost caged at the thought of not being able to leave Wano. Despite starting out as a selfish and troublesome delinquent in his childhood, being rough around the edges, doing whatever he wants to do, and appearing as an arrogant and self-centered person on the surface level who doesn't like receiving affection and doesn't care for others, Oden is in truth a selfless and humble person who, despite often having the best intentions, tends to cause trouble with his unorthodox methods, which caused him once to be exiled by his own father. Despite his strong dislike for any position that comes with responsibilities, Oden is a selfless man who can't stop himself from taking the burdens of others on himself and helping those in need at his own expenses. During his exile, he meets many quirky individuals that, inspired by him, follow him and would eventually become his personal squad of retainers known as the Akazaya Nine. In his last moments, Oden passes on his final wish to his loyal retainers: to open up Wano to the rest of the world.

In life, Oden is one of the strongest characters in the One Piece world. He's one of the very small number of people who could use all three types of Haki, has the ability to hear the "Voice of All Things", and wields two legendary swords: Ame no Habakiri, the sword said to be able to cut "heaven" itself, and Enma, the sword said to be able to cut to the "bottom of hell". With those in hand, he's able to clash with the likes of Whitebeard and Kaido. Due to his fearsome strength and affiliation with the Whitebeard Pirates and the Roger Pirates, Oden received a bounty (the amount of which is unknown).

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A - D

• Abduction Is Love: When he was fifteen years old, Oden kidnapped many women from the capital to create an harem and fought their husbands, fathers, and families when they came to free them. However, the said women could leave whenever they wanted to but remained out of their free will to stay with Oden. Ironically, the woman who Oden actually married and loved, Toki, is the only one that he didn't kidnap but rescued instead.
• The Alcoholic: Oden loved to drink sake, having started drinking alcohol when he was only 8 years old.
• Anger Born of Worry: Downplayed. After Denjiro and Kin'emon begin to follow Oden, the latter is clearly disgusted and avoids them. However, when Oden sees the two standing out in the rain, he asks them what are they doing and they reply that they're guarding his house. Oden calls them idiots and angrily orders them to come inside.
• Anime Hair: His hair has a round flat top resembling a huge mushroom, fittingly as shiitake are used in oden soup.
• Anti-Hero: Oden is without a doubt a heroic person, but he doesn't act like a classic Japanese hero: he doesn't follow the rules and traditions of Wano and he's not above scolding and insulting the person he helps.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: When he's only eighteen, Oden tames Kuri by challenging Ashura Doji and all of the bandits of the land, all by himself. When his supporters reach him, they find out Oden has defeated everyone in a single night.
• Ass Kicking Pose: Oden has a distinct fighting pose in which he wields his two katanas, which he does before beginning a fight. He's also illustrated in such pose in the cover of Volume 96.
• Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Oden's hair is shaped like a mushroom, and the shiitake is an ingredient of oden soup.
• Audience Surrogate: Oden's wish to live an adventure and explore the outside world parallels the wishes of the readers to "live" an adventure while reading the series and, more notably, when he gets out of Wano, meets Whitebeard and Roger and explores the outside world, Oden reacts with surprise and amazement, just like the readers.
• Awesomeness Is a Force: Oden is a user of Conqueror's Haki, which is made evident by his clash with Whitebeard, another Conqueror's Haki user.
• Badass Normal: Oden doesn't have any kind of Devil Fruit ability, his combat abilities come from his sheer strength and skills. Oden was immensely powerful, being among the strongest warriors in the entire world of One Piece. He wielded two legendary swords, Enma and Ame no Habakiri, and with those in hand, he's able to clash with the likes of Whitebeard and Kaido.
• Bait the Dog: Inverted. Oden is introduced using a burned corpse to heat up his oden soup, right in front of the dead's relatives, but it's actually his way to properly send off his deceased friend. This scene paints him as a man who doesn't care about traditions, and can appear rude because of it, but has genuinely good intentions.
• Barbarian Longhair: Aside from his mushroom-like top, Oden's hair is long and wild, emphasizing his impulsive and hot-blooded personality.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Oden wants nothing more than leave Wano and see the world, having made 37 attempts to do so in his youth. He finally joins up Whitebeard Pirates to sail the seas for five years but when he comes back, he finds out that while he was away his father died and that Orochi has risen to power, turned Wano into a wasteland, and enslaved most of the inhabitants.
• Because Destiny Says So: After hearing Sharley's prophecy and finding Laugh Tale, Oden learned that "Joy Boy" will appear twenty years in the future after an 800-Year Span to bring the dawn and that Wano's Borders must be opened by then to welcome and cooperate with them. In the middle of his execution, Oden accepts the fact that he won't be alive to see Wano opening its borders so he sacrifices himself to make sure his retainers and children will open Wano's Borders in his stead.
• Berserk Button: One innocuous thing that comically sets him off is thanking him. Oden helps people of his free will but doesn't want to be repaid and thanked for his actions. When Ashura gets emotional and thanks him for having showed him peace for the first time, Oden gets exaggeratedly angry and kicks him in the face.
• Beyond the Impossible: His permanent scar on Kaido is described as an unbelievable feat, since it's the only time the Emperor has ever been scarred.
• Big Damn Reunion: Upon Oden's return to Wano, his wife Toki and their children were overjoyed to see him again, and so was he.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Oden has a pair of big and expressive brows which make it easier to read his exaggerated facial expressions.
• Blood from the Mouth: While standing in the boiling oil and holding the Akazaya Nine, the effort is so great that blood pours from Oden's mouth. However, Oden's expression remains impassive as he suffers to save his samurai.
• Blood Knight: Oden loves getting into fights. When he was eight, he fought against gamblers in a drunken rage. When he was nine, he took on the entire yakuza. When he was fifteen, he even took on anyone who tried to kill him over his kidnapping of girls for his harem. When he was eighteen and reached the outlaw region of Kuri, Oden challenged all the bandits of Kuri and beat them in the span of a single night. When he was twenty nine, his first reaction to seeing Whitebeard and his crew was attacking Whitebeard, wanting to test him, while enjoying every single minute of their fight.
• Body Horror: A rare Played for Laughs example. After enduring for three days, tied to a rope into the sea, Oden emerges with is body swollen to ridiculous proportions (the result of having absorbed a lot of water) and scares away some slave traders. His body returns back to normal after a single night while being cared for by Toki, though his internal injuries don't fully heal for a little while after that, leaving him weaker than normal in the fight he gets into the next day.
• Bold Explorer: Played for Laughs. Since in his younger days, Oden always felt suffocated by the fact he had to remain in the land of Wano, wished to leave and explore the rest of the world. He famously tried to unsuccessfully multiple times to flee on a boat, despite doing so being illegal, until he got his wish by secretly sneaking on the Moby Dick. After joining the Whitebeard Pirates, Oden explores multiple islands around the entire world, often putting himself in danger because of how excited he is, despite the warnings of his mates. Oden writes his adventures in a journey log, where he comments how he knew very little of the world and that meeting this many different people and cultures made him feel small. He then joins the Roger Pirates, with whom he reaches the Sky Islands and, more importantly, Laugh Tale, the island where Roger's treasure is located.
• Boom, Headshot!: After enduring the boiling oil for an hour, Oden's body is so damaged that he cannot move, and Kaido finishes him off with a bullet to the head as a sign of respect.
• Book Ends: To better show Oden's development and layered personality, his introduction and death have many parallels: Oden is introduced using the heat of a recently burned corpse to cook oden, while at the end of the flashback Oden dies after being boiled alive for an hour.
• Born Winner: Oden was born with his incredible strength, performing incredible feats as a toddler, and charisma and never had to work hard to achieve 'em. This makes him very charismatic towards other people, regardless (and actually even more because) of his disdain for Wano's traditions. Regardless of it, Oden remains for the most part a humble person who never boasts of his achievements and doesn't care what the others think about him.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: In his youth, Oden already had great strength and was more wise than he usually acted like, as the incident with the "Mountain God" showcased, with him taking the blame for it despite not being at fault. But Oden preferred to go at his own pace and not exactly trying to be in a position of authority despite knowing his father wanted him to succeed him. The first chance he got, he abandoned his duties to Wano to go travel the world with Whitebeard. Even when he was on Whitebeard's crew, when Whitebeard decided to start division commanders and he was suggested for a position, Oden wasn't exactly thrilled at the notion and had to be forced into taking it.
• Bring It: Upon entering the lawless region of Kuri, all of the bandits surround Oden, who, without any hesitation, challenges them. He defeats everyone, including the leader Ashura Doji, in the span of a single night.
• Brutal Honesty: Oden is a very carefree man and has no problem with expressing his true feelings and his thoughts even if it's not the most tactful choice, which sometimes it makes him appear like a rude person. For example, he has no problem telling his followers that he doesn't want them to admire him, even if he does care for them.
• The Casanova: When he was fifteen, he kidnapped many women from the capital and formed a harem. Said women were free to leave but preferred to stay with Oden. After many failed attempts of the husbands, families, and samurai of Wano to "free" those women, the men of Wano became so afraid of Oden's charisma that "Hide your wives! Hide your daughters! Hide your livestock!" became a regular sentence whenever Oden was walking down the streets of Wano.
• Catchphrase: Kin'emon remarks that, in life, Oden used to say "This is too cramped!" very often. Said line would usually mark another effort to improve the region, especially regarding its isolationism.
• The Chains of Commanding: Oden doesn't want to hold any position of authority because it would limit his freedom. When Newgate nominates him commander of the second division, Oden makes a disgusted face and refuses, but his crewmates force the position upon him.
• Character Development: When he was young, Oden was a completely selfish boy, who would cause huge troubles just to get what he wants (fighting gamblers, the yakuza, kidnapping women and having a harem, etc), not caring about what other people say about him and at the consequences of his actions. After getting captured at the age of ten and spending time in the quarry as a prisoner, Oden was said to have reformed his ways, and after he left prison, he attempted helping the Flower Capital citizens at the age of 14 during a great drought by diverting a river to the city, which however resulted in the Capital becoming flooded, and the authorities attempting to capture Oden again. Oden slowly grows out of his rebellious phase when he grows up (His wish to leave Wano and see the world never disappeared however until he traveled with the Whitebeard Pirates and then Roger Pirates), and at 18-years-old, he's already more altruistic, but is still impulsive. Oden always had a strong wish to live free and he hated having any kind of responsibility. He clearly cared about Wano even in his youth since he saved a town from the Mountain God, took in many orphans and loners, and beat every bandit in Kuri and turned it into a peaceful land for the citizens of Wano. After a long journey by traveling with the Whitebeard Pirates and Roger Pirates, Oden became much more responsible and aware, to the point that he sacrificed his pride and honor for 5 years just to save the lives of the citizens of Wano and the hostages Orochi took, as well as to avoid involving innocents in a fight against Orochi and Kaido. His relationship with his retainers changed as well during his life, he didn't want them to follow him at first but then took them in and cared for them, and in the end, he sacrificed himself and endured hellish pain in the boiling oil for an entire hour, to save their lives.
• Chef of Iron: Downplayed. Oden is Wano's strongest samurai and a amazing cook, although he only specializes on preparing his namesake soup. Oden hunts for the ingredients, like giant fishes, all by himself.
• Chick Magnet: Oden is very charismatic and good looking and, when he was fifteen, he kidnapped a bunch of women for his harem. Said women could leave whenever they wanted, but simply wanted to remain with him. Even outside of his harem, he attracted every woman and girl in Wano, as seen in the beginning of the flashback.
• Chivalrous Pervert: When he was 15, he took over a mountain temple (threatening the High Priest) and started kidnapping beautiful women from the capital to form his personal, giant harem. All the women apparently found him irresistible and stayed with him despite being free to leave.
• Child Prodigy: Oden was born with his incredible strength, having performed incredible feats as a toddler and little kid. He was already a master samurai when he was 9 year old, having waged war against the entire Yakuza, with nobody of them being able to match him even when he was this young.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: While he never boasts of his heroic actions, Oden cannot resist helping everyone in need he meets, even if reluctantly or while keeping a rude attitude. The Akazaya Nine are inspired by Oden precisely because he's helped them during an harsh time of their life, such as when he takes Kin'emon's blame for the Mountain God incident, feeds Kikunojo and Izo, and gives Ashura Redemption. Oden also gave up his chance to join the Whitebeard Pirates because as he's about to finish the test of holding onto the chain attached to the Moby Dick for 3 days, he hears a woman's cries for help and lets go of the chain to save her, though thankfully this action pleases Whitebeard enough to let him join anyway. Oden is aware that he can't resist helping others and, when he briefly stops at Wano to let a sick Toki and their children off the Oro Jackson, Oden feels that something changed in his homeland and refuses to turn his back since he knows that, if he saw what is happening, he would leave Roger's crew, not see Laugh Tale (Which would have been bad because it was only because of Oden seeing Laugh Tale, that he learned about Joy Boy coming in 20 years), and never set out to sea again. Unfortunately, Oden also has the habit of doing everything by himself, taking all the burden on his shoulders, which backfired when he made a deal with Orochi and Kaido to sacrifice his own reputation in exchange of the lives of all the hostages that Orochi took, as it leads to Oden's downfall and death.
• Clothing Reflects Personality: Inverted. Oden's attire consists of a standard-worker kimono, an obi-belt (typical of a sumo wrestler), wooden sandals and a pair of katanas, and every single element is ostentatiously Japanese. However, Oden's personality is diametrically opposite to what the standard feudal Japan society would impose and breaks Wano's traditions without caring about what others might think.
• Comes Great Responsibility: Played with. One of Oden's main characteristics is his dislike of responsibility. For this reason, he didn't want to become Shogun at first, and is disgusted when Whitebeard offers him the command of the second division, a position the crew forces upon him. However, often when others can't realize it, Oden is willing to literally take the responsibility and blame for the actions caused by other people. Examples include when he took the blame for Kin'emon, who brought the pet white boar to the capital which attracted the Mountain God that then destroyed part of the Flower Capital, or when he made a fool out of himself for 5 years to save the live of the citizens of Wano and hundreds of hostages from Orochi and Kaido, and make amends for the persecution of the Kurozumi clan made by Wano citizens.
• Compliment Backfire: When Oden hears his daughter Hiyori playing the shamisen, he tells her that he loves the song and wants her to play it at his funeral. This last comments makes Hiyori, at the time a six years old kid, cry.
• Cool Sword: Oden has two Great Grade swords: Enma and Ame no Habakiri. The former is said to be able to cut through the bottom of hell and drains the user's Haki with each slash, meaning that only a Master Swordsman of the highest caliber can wield it without dying. It was inherited by Hiyori before being passed down to Zoro in exchange for the return of Shuusui to the Land of Wano. The other sword was crafted by Tenguyama Hitetsu, which is said to be powerful enough to cut even the heavens, and is to be bequeathed to his son Momonosuke.
• Crazy-Prepared: Before he goes off to fight Kaido, he leaves Toki a letter in case something happens to prepare for things should he not be around to help opening the borders of Wano, largely going off of what Sharley told Roger and him when she was telling their fortune, as well as what he learned on Laugh Tale. This in turn prompts her to create the "prophecy" of the return of the Red Sheathes and how, in 20 years, they'll be the ones to finally liberate Wano. Needless to say, this ends up spooking Orochi a great deal, making him paranoid that it pokes holes in his grip of the country. And indeed, Toki used her powers to send her son along with Kin'emon, Raizo and Kanjuro into the future so that the Kozuki lineage survives. This is also twofold as it's to prepare for a much greater event past saving the country, that was predicted by a young Sharley.
• Critical Hesitation Blunder: At a critical moment in Oden's battle with Kaido, right after Oden deeply hurt the pirate, Higurashi turns into Momonosuke and has one of Kaido's men look like they are holding him hostage, distracting Oden just enough for Kaido to hit him in the back and end the fight.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Played with. Being submerged in boiling oil is very painful and it killed an average man who accidentally fell into the pot in seconds despite getting out. Oden felt the heat of the boiling oil the moment he jumped into the giant pot. This is made even more painful because he endures being submerged in the boiling oil for an entire hour while holding up all of his retainers on a thick wooden plank the entire time. He survived being boiled alive in the oil while the temperature continued to increase to over 700 degrees of heat, where it was said that "it was a hell where even the heat haze was lethal" and how the boiling oil burned Oden's skin. Even when he was near death, he mustered the strength to throw all nine of his retainers a great distance away from the execution site to save them from Orochi's firing squad. Despite all of this, though, his actual cause of death was a shot from Kaido's gun after he survived being boiled.
• Cry Laughing: Downplayed. Upon reading of Roger's death, Oden goes off to the beach and cries, but tears are quickly replaced by laughter as Oden realizes what Roger has done with his death and his last words.
• Death by Irony: Discussed and inverted. While Oden is executed, Orochi believes that having him boiled alive is extremely ironic given his name and favorite food, while Oden himself, in his last words, claims that it's the most appropriate way for him to die.
• Death by Origin Story: Oden's death and sacrifice not only plays a big role in the story of the Wano arc, but avenging him and restoring the Kozuki clan on the throne is the main motivation of Momonosuke, the Akazaya Nine and Yamato.
• Defiant to the End: Even when he's facing down a gun squad and Kaido prepared to shoot him, Oden continues to talk smack until his final breath. Kaido and Orochi kill him, but they never break him.
• Desecrating the Dead: Played with. He's introduced eating oden using the burned corpse of a man to heat the meal which is disrespectful from the point of view of the dead's family, but for Oden, it's a way to send off his deceased friend, by having one last meal with him.
• Destructive Saviour: As a young teen, Oden wanted to help others, but his methods often brought more problems. For instance, a servant says Oden once tried to help out the Flower Capital that was experiencing a drought by redirecting a river and caused a flood as a result. After growing up and maturing, Oden becomes more responsible of his actions and avoids causing as much damages as he can.
• Determinator: Oden is a very determined man, physically and mentally, whether it's for his own desire or to help someone else.
  • When he asks Whitebeard to let him join his crew, Whitebeard initially doesn't want him to upon learning Oden is next in line to be a Shogun and tries to leave quietly. Oden figures he would, caught up to them, and held onto a chain he attached to the ship, dragging him behind. Despite the objections of his vassal to pull him aboard, Whitebeard instead gave Oden a test: If he could hold onto the chain for three days, he would be allowed into the crew. Oden actually manages to do so for two days and was very close on finishing the test but lets go ten minutes shy of the three days, to follow a woman's pledge for help. Regardless, Whitebeard understands Oden let go because of his desire to help and allows him on board.
  • He makes a fool of himself every week for five years to protect his citizens from Orochi while being laughed at by those same citizens. Yet he keeps dragging his face in the mud, ignoring his retainers beg to stop, and fully intends to respect the deal, until Orochi breaks it.
  • In his fight against Kaido and his army, Oden's strength and endurance exceeded their expectations, with him blasting the forces of Kaido's army away, as well as standing up after getting hit by a Boro Breath from Kaido, and then permanently scarring Kaido.
  • His execution may be the ultimate instance of his endless determination. Oden was able to hold up all nine of his retainers, each who are very large, on a thick wooden plank while his lower half was submerged for an extended period of time in a large pot of boiling oil, which killed an average man in seconds despite getting out. Oden survived being boiled alive in oil while the temperature continued to increase to over 700 degrees of heat for over an entire hour, a feat no one has managed before. Despite being near death, Oden could still muster the strength to throw all nine of his retainers a great distance away from the execution site to save them from Orochi's firing squad. However, it appeared that Oden reached his limit from this as Kaido noted that his body was dead.
• Determined Defeatist: Even though he knows that he and his retainers are a measly force compared to Kaido's numerous crew, Oden confronts him anyway once he realizes Kaido and Orochi won't leave Wano without a fight. However, Oden's strength exceeded the expectations of Kaido and his army, with Oden permanently scarring Kaido, and then going for the finishing blow. Before Oden managed to kill Kaido, Kurozumi Higurashi, who disguised herself as Kozuki Momonosuke, pretended to be a hostage to distract Oden, so that Kaido could strike him down. Despite this, due to knowing the little chances of winning, Oden had already prepared a plan in case of failure.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Oden is the only one to leave a permanent scar on Kaido, who has otherwise survived any execution attempt. Even in the present day, after countless battles and feats like throwing himself off a Sky Island, the scars of Oden's blades are still the only marks Kaido bears.
• Dirty Kid: Exaggerated. He had been frequenting the red light district and spending lots of money there since he was six years old. He didn't lose his perverted personality as a teenager; at fifteen years old, he kidnapped many women and brought them to a temple as part of his harem.
• Disappeared Dad: To his children, Momonosuke and Hiyori, having given his life to protect them from Kaido. Even after twenty years, Hiyori fondly remembers him. Momo, whose memories are much more recent, cries while eating a soup because it reminds him of his father.
• Disproportionate Retribution: When Oden was only a nine years old, he burned down a casino simply because he was forbidden to enter. This led to a war between Oden and the entire Yakuza.
• Dodge the Bullet: He can dodge bullets with ease.
• Doomed Moral Victor: After Kaido and his army defeated Oden and his retainers (albeit with an unasked-for dirty trick on the part of Kurozumi Higurashi, who distracted Oden as he was about to finish Kaido off; without this, Oden would have won the fight and killed Kaido), Orochi has Oden and his retainers publicly executed by being boiled alive to present them as criminals in front of Wano's population. However, not only does Oden sacrifice himself to save his samurai, showing his strength and compassion to everyone, but Shinobu reveals that Oden danced naked for five years to protect the citizens of Wano, as well as Orochi's hostages, from Orochi's tyranny. By the end, even if Oden is killed, everyone loves him again and wants Orochi's reign to end, and even twenty tears later, many people join the rebellion to put the Kozuki clan back on the throne. Oden also left a massive, permanent scar on Kaido, and before he died, he told Kaido that he's a tale to accompany his drinks. Flash forward twenty years into the future, Kaido is a bored and suicidal drunk who seemingly suffers from PTSD because of Oden. Oden also won over the heart of Kaido's child, as Yamato made it their goal and dream to become like Oden, Kaido's arch-enemy. Oden definitely left a big impression on Kaido.
• Doting Parent: Although a bit unorthodox, Oden loves both his children and likes spending time with them, such as when he holds Momonosuke up to let him enjoy the world or when he hears and praises Hiyori's musical skills. Even twenty years after his death, Hiyori fondly remembers him.
• Dual Wielding: Oden was an immensely skilled and powerful swordsman who was specialized in the style of two swords, having developed his own variation of Nitoryu. Oden's character and his legendary dual wielding swordsmanship are a reference to the historical, legendary Samurai Miyamoto Musashi who was considered as the greatest and the most feared Samurai of all time, being famous for using the style of two swords.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Coming back to Wano after a five-year journey, Kin'emon greets Oden by calling him "scum" because he blames him for Orochi's rise to power. Oden calls Kin'emon out for his lack of manners.
• Due to the Dead: Oden is introduced paying respect to an old friend of his... cooking and eating a whole pot of Oden on his funeral pyre and toasting at him. At least he does apologize to the traumatized family.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: In his final moments, Oden stands alone in a pot of boiling oil with Orochi continuously raising the temperature for a full hour, holding his top retainers above him for the entire time. When it becomes clear Orochi is reneging on the deal, Oden throws them to safety and fearlessly faces down Kaido himself, declaring that Wano will one day be open before Kaido finishes him with a shot to the head and Oden's body falls in the boiling oil with a big grin on his face.
• Dying Wish: Before dying, Oden expresses his desire to open the borders of Wano so that the country could be more open and involved with the rest of the world. He dies with the certainty it will happen in the future, through his retainers and children, as well as a mysterious figure called "Joy Boy" who will arrive twenty years later.

E-L

• Edible Theme Naming: Aside from his name (a theme followed by his entire family) every one of his attacks contain a food-themed pun.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Played With. After he begins dancing naked on the streets, the Wano inhabitants lose hope in Oden and maliciously call him "fool of a lord", Yasuie jokes that the title of "lord" is too much of a compliment to him. However, while his retainers don't approve of this treatment, Oden doesn't care about what others call him and keeps dancing for years. This becomes more tragic when Shinobu explains that Oden danced naked on the streets because Orochi threatened to deliver hundreds of kidnapped citizens to Kaido as a tribute and gave Oden an ultimatum provided that he humiliated himself in front of everyone every week to spare a hundred lives with each dance as per his reparations to the Kurozumi Family. With little choice, Oden started to follow Orochi's terms. During Oden's execution, the citizens initially mocked him until Shinobu revealed the reason for Oden's actions during the past five years, which was preventing a fight against Orochi and Kaido that would've endangered a lot of innocent lives, as well as freeing Orochi's hostages. In the end, Shinobu points out that the true fools are the Wano people, who disrespected Oden while he was secretly saving them.
• Establishing Character Moment: During his official introduction in Chapter 960, Oden is first mentioned as having done numerous amazing, but also outrageous actions since he was a little boy. Oden is first seen cooking a hot pot over a comrade's bones. While this seems to establish him as a real Jerkass, Oden finishes the meal and thanks his friend for the hospitality, and it becomes clear to the audience that Oden intended to honor his former comrade with one last meal. This establishes Oden as someone who doesn't care at all for social norms, what other people think of him, and consequences, but has good intentions.
• Everything's Better with Samurai: Oden was a Samurai of Wano and he was hailed as the strongest samurai of his lifetime. Even to this very day, 20 years after his death, Oden is considered as the strongest samurai, with Kaido stating his belief how there will never be another Samurai who could match Oden.
• Evil Weapon: Oden wielded 2 legendary Great Grade Swords. Enma and Ame no Habakiri. Enma is a cursed sword which is difficult to control and forcibly sucks out the Haki of anybody who wields it. Oden was the only one who mastered Enma's significant Haki depletion, something which emaciated Zoro's arm and drained several other samurai.
• Exact Words: After being sentenced to be boiled alive along with his retainers, Oden tells Orochi and Kaido to give them a chance to survive and that they can set whatever time limit they like and if any of them survive that long, Kaido and Orochi should set them all free. Kaido gave Oden and his Retainers one hour. They accept, Oden jumps in the pot and holds all of the Akazaya Nine above himself. Orochi notes that they are not immersed in the oil, but Kaido points out that they are all indeed in the pot and claims to be fine with it.
• Experienced Protagonist: At the beginning of the flashback dedicated to him, Oden is already Wano's strongest samurai and has already done a lot of impressive feats, such as throwing his wet nurse across the room when he an infant, catching two rabbits with his bare hands when he was 2, killing a bear with a thrown boulder when he was 4, visiting the red light district and participating in casinos when he was 6, starting to drink booze and picking fights with gamblers when he was 8, burning down a Yakuza casino and waging a war against the Yakuza when he was 9, working in a quarry when he was 10, and then having a harem of women who he kidnapped (who stayed willingly) when he was 15, causing the Harem War as the women's loved ones, as well as many powerful samurai, went after Oden to stop him, but he stood his ground and fought and beat all of them. And during the 3 years that are between the Harem War and the start of the flashback where Oden was 18, Oden attempted to set out to sea 38 times.
• Face Death with Dignity: Oden holds his retainers up for an entire hour while being half-submerged in boiling oil. This action costs him all of his strength and he's aware that he won't survive, therefore he tells his retainers to open Wano's Borders before throwing them to safety when Orochi's firing squad aimed their guns toward Oden and his men. Oden is confident that his supporters will open up Wano, keeps talking to Kaido while the latter has him at gunpoint, until Kaido kills him with a shot to the head. Oden is still shortly alive after this and goes out smiling because he knows that his followers will make his dream come true in the future.
• The Faceless: His face prior to his own flashback is continuously kept in shadow, even when he gets some speaking roles, to give his first true introduction as much impact as possible.
• "Facing the Bullets" One-Liner: While standing in a pot of boiling oil as Kaido levies a gun at him, Oden says: "My name is Oden, and I was born to boil!". He doesn't end the line because he's shot midway through, but the inhabitants of Wano finish it for him.
• Fantastic Racism: Averted. Despite being from the isolated Land of Wano, Oden is much more open-minded than his fellow Wano inhabitants. When the young Dogstorm, Cat Viper, and Kawamatsu are about to be burned at the stakes, Oden doesn't share his subjects' prejudice against them and instead admonishes them for their treatment of the trio. This plays a big part in the three's loyalty to him.
• The Farmer and the Viper: The farmer to Orochi's viper. Oden met Orochi when Orochi was a kid and a servant to Yasuie. Out of pity for Orochi and respect for Yasuie, whenever Orochi came to Oden and asked for money, Oden would satisfy his request at his own expense. Unknown to Oden, said money is used years later to hire Kaido and help Orochi to keep his newly-usurped position as a shogun. When Oden learned about what Orochi did while he was away and that his wife has been attacked, he is furious and rampages to Orochi's castle, attempting to kill Orochi, as well as clashing with Kaido. However, Orochi then showed Oden a room with hundreds of kidnapped, innocent citizens and threatened to deliver them to Kaido as tribute, to force Oden to surrender and endure humiliation, just to spare their fate. Orochi and Kaido promised to leave Wano in 5 years if Oden danced naked on the streets every week to save hundreds of the hostages, and Oden held onto the deal in the hopes of preventing Orochi from offering innocent people as tribute for the Beasts Pirates, and to avoid involving innocent lives in a battle between him and Kaido. However, Orochi never intended to fulfill his promise of leaving Wano.
• Fatal Flaw: Oden consistently tries to shoulder burdens by himself, whether it's declining the help of the Roger Pirates or never confiding in his retainers about the hostage situation. Rather than bringing the Akazaya Nine with him, Oden confronts Orochi and Kaido alone instead of asking for the help of his samurai, and makes a secret deal with them, taking all the burden of Wano on his own shoulders. Unfortunately, Orochi and Kaido never intended to fulfill the deal and leave Wano, and instead use the delayed time to gain more forces. Oden learns his lesson too late and, when he confronts Kaido's army with the Akazaya Nine's aid, he's defeated and executed (However, Kaido's victory didn't come without dirty tricks. If it wasn't for Kurozumi Higurashi distracting Oden as he was about to finish Kaido off, Oden would have won the fight). His death is even brought about by him literally shouldering all the burden by himself, holding his retainers aloft the boiling oil whilst he himself is the only one to suffer the ultimately-fatal burns.
• Fling a Light into the Future: After hearing Sharley's prophecy and finding Laugh Tale, Oden learned that "Joy Boy" will appear twenty years in the future after an 800-Year Span to bring the dawn and that Wano's Borders must by opened by then to welcome and cooperate with him. Even though Oden made deal with Kaido during the day of his execution that, if they survive 1 hour in the boiling pot, he and his Retainers are set free, Oden secretly knew that Kaido and Orochi were going to kill him no matter what, and that Wano would open its borders 20 years from then, to welcome "Joy Boy". Accepting that he would not live to see Wano's Borders opening, Oden planned to save his retainers and his children by sacrificing himself so that they could open Wano's borders in his stead.
• Fluffy Tamer: After cutting the Mountain God in half to save a town, as well as the people who the Mountain God swallowed, the Mountain God is revealed to have survived, with visible stiches. According to SBS 100, Oden's cut was so clean that he didnt kill the parts of the Boar that he cut. Since both parts were still alive, they were able to be stitched back together. Oden ends up taming him and his child, using the latter 2 years later to carry his palanquin.
• Fourth-Date Marriage: Oden and Toki meet in a lost island, after saving each other, and quickly fall in love with each other. While their marriage is never shown, they have their first son, Momonosuke, a year after they meet and their marriage is a happy one.
• Go Out with a Smile: After Kaido shoots Oden in the head, the latter sinks fully into the boiling oil with a big smile, secure in the knowledge that his retainers got away and will open up Wano's Borders in the future.
• Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Oden in Kaido's eyes is just like Roger and Whitebeard; mighty yet too soft in the wrong ways. Even after Oden learns that Orochi's goal is to make the citizens of Wano suffer as much as possible, he assumes that Orochi and Kaido are being honest when they make the deal and will leave peacefully after five years. At no point does Oden ever consider that they would be lying and using that time to gather a stronger army, leading to his shock when he learns the truth and realizes he has to fight them. Oden does wisen up at the very end though and is aware Orochi never will let him survive his execution, so he sacrifices his life to save his retainers and has a backup plan prepared for when he dies.
• Good Is Not Nice: While Oden is undoubtedly a good person at heart who helps others whenever he can, he isn't exactly nice and well mannered. At least not until he met Toki. His disdain for rules and traditions means his actions are often unintentionally disrespectful to others, such as when he used the recently-burned corpse of his dead friend to cook a pot of Oden (It was Oden's way of paying respect to his friend), and he's not afraid to say what he thinks of others, even while helping them.
• Good Parents: Although he's sometimes clumsy in his fatherhood, Oden is a good father who shows a lot of affection to his children, Momonosuke and Hiyori, as shown when he holds the former over his head to show him the world outside of Wano while they were traveling or when he compliments the latter's musical skills. Oden loved his children dearly and when he comes back from his journey, both Momonosuke and Hiyori hug him and they still mourn his death in the present.
• A Good Way to Die: Oden is the name of a soup and Kozuki Oden dies by being boiled alive (although it doesn't actually kill him, it just leaves him without strength), he says with his last words that it's actually an appropriate death since his name means he's born to boil. Oden goes down, after a gunshot, with a smile on his face, confident that twenty years later Wano will open up its borders as he always wanted, and that his retainers and his children will keep his legacy.
• Guyliner: Oden has red eyeliner around his eyes, making them look sharper. It was also tradition in Feudal Japan for a royal family member.
• Happily Married: With Toki. Despite having the possibility to have a harem all for himself, Oden ends up marrying her, and it's a loving marriage.
• Harem Seeker: When he was 15, Oden kidnapped many women and put them in a temple to create his own personal harem. Said women could leave whenever they wanted but decided to remain with Oden, until their husbands and families engaged a war with him.
• Hearing Voices: Just like Roger, Oden has the ability to hear the voice of all things. While they travel to Fish-Man Island, both Oden and Roger hear the Sea Kings' discussions and, when they reach Zou, both have a strange feeling. This ability is inherited by his son, Momonosuke.
• Hated by All: In his young days, before being adored by everyone, he was a complete nightmare to his family and the citizens of Wano, not so much out of malice but his totally carefree and reckless lifestyle — running up gambling debts, accidentally causing a flood, eating people out of house and home, constantly trying to sail away and failing due to being a terrible navigator, always getting into fights, etc. Subverted because many secretly admired him because of his carefree nature but had Wano's traditions so ingrained in their minds that they could not admit it, since it's not allowed to show admiration for someone who commits sacrilegious acts.
• Hated Hometown: Oden openly disrespects Wano's strict rules and traditions, doing whatever he feels, and hates being forbidden to leave because he feels cramped in his hometown and wants to see the world outside, he also doesn't want to rule over Wano because it would limit his freedom. This is what appears on the surface-level because, deep down, Oden loves his country and its inhabitants and is sorry that Orochi defiled it during his absence. His love goes as far to sacrifice his own honor and reputation just for the sake of the Wano.
• Henpecked Husband: While their relationship is a happy and loving one, Toki's temper makes her the more dominant of the pair, and if Oden were to anger her (often by worrying her), Toki would punish him by making him skip dinner.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Twice. The first is a non lethal one, in which he sacrifices his honor and his image, dancing almost naked in the streets, to save Orochi's hostages and with the promise that Orochi and Kaido would leave the coutry. The second is when, after losing the battle against Kaido, Oden and the Akazaya Nine are sentenced to being boiled alive. Oden, however, asks for a chance to be spared and Kaido declares that whoever is still alive after an hour in the pot of boiling oil, will be allowed to live. Oden then holds his subordinates while his body is half-submerged in boiling oil. Ultimately, when Orochi unsurprisingly goes back on his word when Oden survives the hour and is set to just shoot them all, Oden uses the last of his strength to fling all his men to safety while he stays behind.
• Hidden Depths: Oden is a troublesome man (especially when he was younger) who dislikes holding a position of authority and doesn't care about the traditions and rules of Wano, which on paper would make him a terrible ruler. However, he's also a man who takes the responsibility for other people's actions and is willing to be punished even if he has nothing to do with them. He may appear selfish on first hand, but he's actually very selfless and humble, taking in orphans and loners and letting them live with him. He may appear as someone who doesn't care about his country, but he loves Wano more than anyone else, saving a town from the Mountain God, turning the region Kuri into a peaceful land for the citizens, as well as throwing his pride and honor later on away to save Wano's citizens and the hostages Orochi has taken.
• Historical Villain Upgrade: In-Universe. Oden in life was a good man, despite being rather rough around the edges. Twenty years later, Orochi's propaganda has changed his image from the beloved daimyo of Kuri to the villain who nearly destroyed Wano by opening its borders to the world. This is downplayed, though, since anyone who was alive during Oden's reign remembers him quite well and secretly supports the return of the Kozuki clan.
• Honor Before Reason: When he asks Whitebeard to let him join his crew, Whitebeard initially doesn't want him to upon learning Oden is next in line to be a Shogun and tries to leave quietly. Oden figures he would, caught up to them, and held onto a chain he attached to the ship, dragging him behind. Despite the objections of his vassal to pull him aboard, Whitebeard instead gave Oden a test: If he could hold onto the chain for three days, he would be allowed into the crew. Oden actually manages to do so for two days and was very close on finishing the test but lets go ten minutes shy of the three days, to follow a woman's pledge for help. Regardless, Whitebeard understands Oden let go because of his desire to help and allows him on board.
• Hot-Blooded: When he was young, Oden was a very impulsive man, often taking action without caring about the consequences. At nine-years-old, he was at war with the Yakuza, while at eighteen-years-old he fights and defeats all of the bandits in Kuri. After many years, however, he lears to be more responsible about the consequences.
• Hot Blooded Sideburns: In combination with his wild hair, Oden has two thick sideburns, which hints at his hammy and manly personality.
• Humble Hero: Despite being the strongest Samurai, Daimyo of Kuri, and Heir to the Shogun of Wano, Oden refers to everyone as his equal and despite the deeds and sacrifices he performs to help others, he doesn't like getting any credit for them:
  • During the Mountain God incident, Oden took the blame for it despite it being Kin'emon who brought the offspring of the Mountain God to the capital. Even after striking the Mountain God down to save a town, Oden expected no credit for it and instead continued playing the role of the one who's responsible for the Mountain God attacking the town.
  • Oden took in many orphans and loners despite not wanting them to follow him at first, and he wanted no credit for letting them live with him.
  • After Oden went to Kuri, beat Ashura and every single bandit in there, rallied them up, and turned Kuri into a peaceful land, while also sparing the bandits and making Ashura into one of his Retainers, Ashura was grateful to Oden that he showed him how peace looked like. Oden didn't like that, telling Ashura to stop being creepy.
  • He saved Dogstorm, Cat Viper, and Kawamatsu from people who tormented them and took them in, expecting no credit for it.
  • As Oden was about to pass Whitebeard's test after holding onto a chain pulled by the Moby Dick and having faced the many dangers and climates of the New World ocean with no protection for three days, Oden heard a woman in trouble and let go to save her. After saving her and waking up the next day, he was more thankful to her for treating him, not wanting any credit for saving her life from a bunch of kidnappers.
  • The most explicit example of this is when he agrees to Orochi and Kaido's deal of dancing naked on the streets to save the lives of Orochi's hostages and the citizens of Wano. He threw his pride and honor away and humiliated himself without explaining the motivations for his actions to anyone, not even his wife, children, and retainers. The citizens of Wano who treated Oden like scum for those 5 years, learned about this only thanks to Shinobu, who spied on the deal between Oden and Orochi.
• Hunk: Oden is the very defintion of hunk. He's extremely muscular, tall, manly, and good looking. Not to mention his muscular and hairy legs. He's so attractive that when he formed a harem when he was fifteen, all the women stayed willingly, despite being free to leave.
• Hungry Weapon: His Great Grade Sword Enma is among the best swords in the entire world, it's a sword of the highest quality. However, it's difficult to control and forcibly sucks out the Haki of anybody who wields it. Even a badass like Kin'emon remarks that he'd rather not wield the blade. Oden wielded the sword with ease and he was the only one who mastered Enma's significant Haki depletion, something which emaciated Zoro's entire arm after a single attack and drained several other samurai. Even when Oden was only 9 years old, he already wielded Enma without any problems.
• I Just Want to Be Free: Oden is one of the characters most representative of the series's main theme of freedom. He was born in Wano, an island based off feudal Japan with strict laws and traditions and where it's forbidden to leave. Oden's main motivation since he was a kid is to leave Wano, where he feels suffocated, and see the rest of the world. For this reason, when he reaches into the bandit-region of Kuri and hears it's a place where it's impossible to leave, Oden feels the urge to conquer the region and change it for the better. Oden hates being in a position of responsibility exactly because it would hinder his freedom, and prefers helping people in his own way.
• I Regret Nothing: When confronting Kaido who laughs at him for falling for his ruse to allow time to build up his forces by playing the fool via Orochi's wishes. Oden firmly states he doesn't have any regrets for what he had to do if it kept his family, retainers, and the citizens of Wano safe.
• Iconic Outfit: Oden wears a traditional, orange kimono, leaving most of his legs exposed; the kimono had two yellow crescent moon designs on it. Oden also wore a large purple and white nio-dasuki tied around his shoulders that ran down his back. He would often alternate between this and a similar longer kimono, with his nio-dasuki worn as a belt and tied in the front. Oden also wore his swords, Enma and Ame no Habakiri, across his left waist tucked inside an obi belt. An identical obi belt is worn by Yamato, showing how he is trying to be like Oden.
• I Gave My Word: As stated by Hiyori, Oden was a man who always honored his word. This unfortunatelly got him killed by Orochi when he thought the latter would honor his deal with him.
• Immortality Through Memory: In his last speech, Oden says that, even after his death, he will still influence the world through the people who remember him and maintain his ideals. Indeed, twenty years after his death, Oden's memory resonates strongly through the people of Wano and, while fighting the Akazaya Nine, Kaido feels Oden in their attacks.
• Implausible Fencing Powers: In his flashback, Oden proves to be an incredibly powerful samurai by cutting the gigantic Mountain God in half with a single slash. Said attack had so much power and range that it also destroyed many nearby houses, but didn't kill anyone, freeing the people who were devoured by the Mountaing God. The Mountain God also turned out later on to have survived the attack, the reason for this was revealed: Oden cut the Mountain God so cleanly and precisely in half that it didn't die and the severed parts were able to be stitched back together.
• Improbable Age: Before he's properly introduced, a servant makes a List of Transgressions which chronicles Oden's infamous activities since he was barely 1-year-old. Among various things, he threw his wet nurse across the room as an infant, catched two rabbits with his bare hands when he was 2, killed a bear with a thrown boulder when he was 4, visited the red light district and participated in casinos when he was 6, started to drink booze and picked fights with gamblers when he was 8, burned down a Yakuza casino and waged a war against the Yakuza when he was 9, worked in a quarry when he was 10, and then had a harem of women who he kidnapped (who stayed willingly) when he was 15, causing the Harem War. He's also famous for having united the outlaws and transformed the wildland of Kuri into a paradise before reaching 20-years-old.
• Inadequate Inheritor: Oden is the son of the Shogun, however, his rebellious personality makes him go against Wano's traditions, which is (at least officially) frowned upon, and is a huge troublemaker. The citizens are afraid of Oden, fearing the trouble he would cause them and, when Oden is 18-years-old, his father disowns him after he causes problems for the umpteenth time (unbeknown to Oden's father, the Mountain God Incident was not Oden's fault, Oden actually saved a town from the Mountain God and took the blame for the incident). Ironically, Oden doesn't want to become Shogun and isn't fazed by this. Eventually, Oden regains his right to the throne by turning the land of Kuri into a paradise for the citizens, showing that he's matured and has become worthy of being a Shogun.
• Innocently Insensitive:
  • When Oden acts on his own instead of following Wano's strict traditions, he tends to be rude, meaning his actions can appear sacrilegious to other people. In his introduction, Oden is scarfing down a meal cooked with a cremated corpse's body; Oden's intention is to honor his late friend with a last meal, while the deceased's family is horrified by Oden's action. However, Oden make amends for the disturbance.
  • While a young Hiyori plays a melody the shamisen, Oden appreciates it and tells her to play it at his funeral. This comment makes the little girl cry, but Oden doesn't realize it and asks Momonosuke what did he do to his sister.
• I Work Alone: While never said outright, Oden prefers doing things on his own and taking all the burden on himself. For this reason he initially doesn't want people to follow him and, even after gaining some followers, he tends to wander alone for a few days before going back to them. This turns out to be a Fatal Flaw as, when he returns to Wano and finds out Orochi is the new Shogun, Oden challenges him and Kaido all by himself, without the help of his samurai, and makes a deal with Orochi and Kaido to resolve things peacefully in exchange for his own honor, without ever telling anyone. Only when Oden sees that Orochi and Kaido have no intention of following the deal does he call the Akazaya Nine with him.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: After being defined as a great man by his former subordinates, in his debut Oden is shown using the recently-burned corpse of someone to cook a pot of Oden, right in front of said corpse's relative, but it's quickly revealed that the person who died was a friend of Oden and it was Oden's way to send off his deceased friend, having a last drink with him. At surface level Oden appears to be an arrogant and self-centered person who doesn't like receiving affection and doesn't care for the others, such as when he shows disgust at the idea of Kin'emon and Denjiro following him. In truth, Oden is a selfless and humble person who took in many orphans and loners, takes the blame for things he didn't do (like taking the blame for the Mountain God incident), doesn't think twice about sacrificing himself for someone else, and he cares deeply for his family, retainers, and the people of Wano.
• Jumped at the Call: Oden invoked this on himself. Oden has always wanted to leave Wano and see the world outside and, upon learning about the arrival of a pirate crew (Whitebeard's), he immediately asks to join them. Whitebeard refuses, but Oden secretly follows them when they sail, and Oden's determination and honor convince Whitebeard to make Oden part of the crew. Oden then narrates his epic adventure across the world with the Whitebeard Pirates, and later the Roger Pirates, in a diary.
• Katanas Are Better: Just like every samurai, Oden's main weapon is a katana. Notably, he wields two, Enma and Ame no Habakiri, both of which have a slightly curved blade and are among the twenty-one great grade swords.
• Ki Manipulation: Oden was an extremely powerful master of Armament Haki, which is known as "Ryuo" in Wano. It is most noted as he was the only samurai who tamed the Great Grade Sword Enma despite its dangerous Haki-draining properties, which even Kin'emon, the Nine Red Scabbards' leader, feared, displaying his supreme mastery compared to Zoro whose entire arm was emaciated after a single slash wielding Enma. Oden already wielded Enma with ease when he was only 9 years old, and even at age 18, Oden was masterful in using Ryou, as he imbued both his swords Enma and Ame no Habakiri, hardening them, letting him cleanly bisect the enormous Mountain God in a single slash. At age 29, Oden hardened his swords and then clashed with Whitebeard, an immensely powerful Armament Haki master in his own right. A true testament to his prowess was when, at age 39, Oden successfully wounds the nigh-indestructible Kaido while in his dragon form, giving him a permanent scar whereas Luffy using Boundman couldn't even damage Kaido. Oden's enormous amount of Haki and his mastery make him the only Samurai in Wano who was able to wield and tame Enma, mastering the cursed sword on top of that.
• Killed Midsentence: While Kaido holds him at gunpoint, Oden makes his speech about an upcoming war and his wishes to open Wano to the rest of the world, but is silenced when pronuncing the final line when Kaido shoots him in the head. However, the citizens watching the execution finishes the line for him.
  Oden: I am Oden and I was born... (gunshot)
  Citizens:... to boil!!
• Lady Killer In Love: When Oden was fifteen, he gathered a harem of kidnapped women, all of whom preferred him over their husbands, but after meeting Toki, he falls in love with her and they end up having two children.
• Large and in Charge: Zigzagged. Oden is 3.82 meters tall, more than twice the average person, and used to be the daimyo of the Kuri region and the heir to the shogun throne. When it comes to his retainers, however, Oden is taller than most of them except Ashura Dohji, Dogstorm and Catviper, who are all more than 5 meters tall.
• Large Ham: Oden is extremely energetic and boastful, while his body language follows the acting of the Kabuki Theatre. His presence is impossible for anyone near him to ignore and leves a mark (literally, often by destroying something) wherever he goes. For this reason, Yasuie doesn't believe Orochi's claims that Oden stole his money because, if Oden truly stole them, he wouldn't have done it secretly but in a way that everyone would notice.
• Leeroy Jenkins: In his youth, Oden has the habits of jumping at any challenge, often causing troubles, such as when he cuts the Mountain god in two, causing a lot of collateral damage. After being taken up into Whitebeard's crew, Oden acts impulsively, mostly out of excitement to see new things, like running ahead of the rest into new strange islands and getting himself into trouble or sinking ships before they could be looted. By the time he's come back to Wano, Oden has matured and doesn't act impulsively, but tries his best to avoid hurting anyone.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: After learning that Kaido has killed Hyogoro's wife and men, Oden goes to confront him and his army, wearing the bow of his obi belt on the front. Once Kaido confirms that he and Orochi never intended to keep the deal, Oden turns the bow of his belt on the back to get ready to fight.
• Like Father, Like Son: Oden was regularly roaming the Red Light District when he was only 6 years old and spent the castle's money at the pleasure halls. When he was 15, he kidnapped women from the capital and formed a harem. It's next to no wonder why his son Momonosuke is a perverted kid.
• Literal Metaphor: After returning from his journey, Oden insisted on opening Wano's borders; while it seems that he's talking about the end of Wano's isolationism, Sukiyaki reveals that "opening Wano's borders" mean to literally tear down the rock walls surounding Wano and release Pluton.
• List of Transgressions: Before Oden is introduced, a servant lists Sukiyaki, Oden's father, the feats Oden did across his lifetime up to this point since he was a baby, such as throwing his wet nurse across the room as an infant, catching two rabbits with his bare hands when he was 2, killing a bear with a thrown boulder when he was 4, visiting the red light district and participating in casinos when he was six, starting to drink booze and pick fights with gamblers when he was 8, waging a war against the Yakuza when he was nine, and having a harem of women who he kidnapped (who stayed willingly) when he was 15 and then causing the Harem War. Ironically, while narrating these events, the servants gets increasily excited, showing that Oden is secretly admired for doing things the others wish to do but don't to follow Wano's strict rules. This scene gives a first impression of Oden as a troublesome and incredible person.
• Living Legend: Oden's legendary dual wielding swordsmanship caused him to be hailed as the strongest samurai of Wano, meaning the strongest samurai in the entire world. Oden has always been famous in Wano for his eccentric personality and absurd feats, as well as for being a huge trouble-maker. After turning the wasteland Kuri into a paradise for the citizens of Wano and becoming Daimyo and a more mature person, Oden is beloved in Wano. Oden then traveled with the most famous pirates, the Whitebeard Pirates and Roger Pirates, and he received a bounty (though the amount of it is unkown). Oden was one of the few people who were on Laugh Tale. When he came back to Wano, everyone cheered his return because the people saw a savior in him who would rescue them from a cruel tyrant (Orochi) and stop Orochi's reign, as well as kill Orochi and Kaido. Oden was considered a full on legend in Wano by the time he returned, with him being known for his legendary swordmanship and as someone who traveled with Whitebeard and Roger, with Oden "knowing no enemy of his caliber". Even after his death, his legacy is still known and affects many characters. In the present story, Kaido states that there will never be another Samurai in the world who could match Oden. Oden was also infamous enough for Sengoku and Sakazuki, the former and current Fleet Admiral, to still remember Oden even 20 years after his death.
• Load-Bearing Hero: An unconventional example, in that he's preventing others from falling. After being sentenced to be boiled alive along with his retainers, Oden tells Orochi and Kaido to give them a chance to survive and that they can set whatever time limit they like and if ony of them survive that long, Kaido and Orochi should set them all free. Kaido gave Oden and his Retainers one hour. Oden then jumps into the boiling oil and holds all of his retainers on a wooden platform above the boiling oil for the entire hour. After throwing his retainers into safety, Oden's body died and he is then shot in the head by Kaido.
• Long-Dead Badass: Oden was one of the, if not the, strongest samurai in the history of Wano. He fought nearly on-par with Whitebeard and Roger years before he even reached his prime and was the only person to inflict a permanent scar on Kaido. However, he was killed by Kaido twenty years before the events of Wano. His death brought down the morale of Wano's citizens. Kaido, in the present day, still wishes to encounter another fighter like Oden.
• Lost in Translation: In Japanese, there are different honorifics to use when referring to different people (like when they belong to a higher or lower status) and it is good etiquette to use a different kind of language depending on their status. One aspect of Oden's personality is that when he talks, he doesn't change honorifics or language from person to person, but speaks to everyone whether they're a daimyo or his own underlings, as if he/she is his equal. However, in other languages these etiquettes and honorifics don't exist and this aspect of Oden doesn't get adapted in other languages.
• Lost Language: As a member of the Kozuki Clan, Oden has been taught to read the Poneglyphs. With this ability, Oden gains Roger's interest and is asked by Roger to join his crew. It is thanks to Oden, that Roger was able to reach Laugh Tale. Unfortunately, Oden dies before he can teach his son how to read the Poneglyphs, making him the last of his clan to be able to do so.

M-Z

• Made of Iron: Oden was able to hold up all nine of his retainers, each who are very large, on a thick wooden plank while his lower half was submerged for an extended period of time in a large pot of boiling oil, which killed an average man in seconds despite getting out. Oden survived being boiled alive in oil while the temperature continued to increase to over 700 degrees of heat for over an entire hour, a feat no one has managed before. Despite this, Oden could still muster the strength to throw all nine of his retainers a great distance away from the execution site and was still alive while his body was on fire until Kaido shot him in the head, with Oden smiling while his body sunk into the sizzling oil.
• Magnetic Hero: Oden's lack of interest for Wano's strict rules and traditions, his charisma, and his lack of judgmentalism, made him an inspiring person to whoever he met. He recruited his Retainers (who would later on become the Akazaya Nine) mainly by either sticking up for them (Kinemon), feeding them (Izo and Kiku), saving them (Dogstorm, Catviper, and Kawamatsu), defeating them (Ashura), or just with his charisma alone (Denjiro and Raizo), showing a big amount of chivalry and strength. Just like Luffy and his Grand Fleet, he didn't want them to follow him at first, but they did anyway, so he was eventually fine with it. Even the regular male Wano citizens were secretly fanboying over Oden after he saved a town from the Mountain God, and wanted to follow him, but couldn't because they were bound by Wano's rules and traditions, unlike Oden.
• Malicious Slander: As daimyo of the Kuri region, Oden is beloved by anyone, but his name is all but cursed by the current generation of Wano citizens due to smear campaign perpetrated for 20 years. However, those who remember his times still have a good opinion of him and his clan, but showing any sympathy toward the Kozuki clan is illegal and would lead to being caught and imprisoned.
• Manly Man: In a series with manliness as a recurrent theme, Oden was the epitome of manliness. He’s pretty much a folk hero given flesh. He could do incredible feats of strength since he was a toddler, was an inspiring figure for many people and had women everywhere falling for him.
• Manly Tears: Oden cries in a few occasion, showing his empathy and emotionality. In his debut, Oden is eating a hot pot of Oden soup, heated by using the fire of his friend's burned corpse and while doing so, his eyes are hidden while his nose is clearly dripping, implying he's crying for his deceased friend. After his journey with the Roger Pirates to Laugh Tale, Oden, along with the rest of his crewmates, bawl their eyes out when seeing off their captain Roger, and he cries again when he learns of Roger's execution a year later.
• Master Swordsman: Oden's legendary dual wielding swordsmanship caused him to be hailed as the strongest samurai of his period, every warrior in Wano cannot come even close to beat him, he was already a master samurai when he was 9 since he wielded Enma and Ame no Habakiri with ease even back then, waged war against the entire Yakuza, and he then defeated all of the outlaws that lived in Kuri (an entire army of bandits, including the infamous Ashura Doiji), in just a single night when he was 18. He's strong enough to clash evenly with Whitebeard in his prime and leave a marking scar on Kaido. The only ones who are proven to fight Oden on equal footing are Roger, Newgate, and Kaido, who comes from outside Wano. Even the Akazaya Nine, despite each of them being a fearsome warrior in their own right, when fighting together, cannot put Kaido on the edge as much as Oden did on his own. Even 20 years after his death, Kaido still acknowledges Oden as the strongest samurai, and states his belief that there will never be another samurai as powerful as Oden. To prove it further, he wielded and mastered Enma, a Hungry Weapon that only a Master could even pick up without being killed.
• Meaningful Name: His namesake is reflected a lot in his personality and appearance: his favorite food is oden and he's often seen eating it, often with his retainers and fellow crewmates, his hair is shaped like a shiitake, an ingredient for oden soup, and every thong he wears has written in kanji an ingredient for oden. Oden is also a dish that symbolizes diversity and peaceful co-existence because it has many different ingredients, and Oden is much more open-minded than Wano inhabitants and, among his followers, he has people of different kinds, like two minks and a fish-man. More importantly, oden is a hot soup and Kozuki Oden is sentenced to be boiled alive after being defeated by Kaido. It doesn't kill him, but an hour in boiling oil leaves him without strength. Oden himself notices the coincidence of his death with his final words.
• Morality Chain: After Oden defeats Ashura, the latter experiences true peace and goes from a dreaded bandit to one of Oden's loyal samurai. After Oden dies and many of his supporters give up their life in a failed attempt to defeat Kaido, Ashura goes back to his bandit life. He joins the Akazaya Nine again after seeing Yasuie's sacrifice.
• My Death Is Just the Beginning: After being tricked in his fight with Kaido which allowed Kaido to strike him down, Oden was imprisoned. However, he already made up a backup plan before that, in case he fails. The plan to take down Orochi and Kaido and open up Wano to the rest of the world. Said plan, however, requires him to sacrifice himself to save the Akazaya Nine, so that Oden can hand his dream to them and his children, because he knows Orochi would never let him survive. The plan works and Oden's last actions bring back the faith to the Kozuki clan, leading to the events of the Wano arc twenty years later.
• Mr. Fanservice: Oden is a extremely muscular, tall, and attractive man. Even when he was 15 years old, he had unbelievable charisma as the women who he kidnapped stayed with him willingly. There are several moments throughout his flashback where Oden is shirtless, with emphasis on his muscular and toned body.
• Mythical Motifs:
  • He bears similarities to the Greek demigod hero Hercules/Heracles.
    • Both possessed tremendous strength since infancy.
    • Both had numerous affairs with women.
    • Some of Oden's actions are even based on the Twelve Labors of Hercules: Oden defeating the Mountain God is based on the fourth labor (the capture of the Erymanthian Boar) and Oden's attempt to help the Flower Capital citizens during a great drought by diverting a river to the city is based on the fifth labor (cleaning the Augean stables in a single day). Unlike Heracles, Oden's action ended in disaster.
    • Both were rejected and disowned by one of their family members (Hercules' nemesis was his godly stepmom Hera and Oden was disowned by his father, Kozuki Sukiyaki). Although Sukiyaki never tried to kill Oden.
    • Both were sailors (Hercules was part of the Argonauts and Oden sailed with the Whitebeard Pirates and Roger Pirates).
    • Both had fathers who were rulers of their respective domains (Hercules's father was Zeus, King and ruler of Olympus; Oden's father was the head of the Kozuki family and shogun of Wano).
  • Oden is very similar to Susanoo-No-Mikoto, the Shinto god of the sea and storms:
    • Both had huge egos and were banished for their ridiculous actions.
    • Both their signature swords are named Ame no Habakiri.
    • Both went on journeys to redeem themselves for their chaotic deeds by committing noble and heroic acts in defense of others.
    • Susanoo-No-Mikoto is enemies with a malevolent entity that went by the moniker of Yamata no Orochi, something similar with Oden and Kurozumi Orochi.
• Naïve Newcomer: As a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, Oden doesn't have the experience of his crewmates and, whenever he reaches a new island, his excitement and thrill for adventure would gets the best of him, putting him in danger. Thankfully, Oden is tough enough to always come out unscathed.
• Naked People Are Funny: Deconstructed. As part of the deal he made with Orochi and Kaido, Oden is forced to dance naked in the streets once a week, which makes him look ridiculous and resulting in the citizens, except a few very close to him, losing their faith in him and earning the nickname "Fool of a lord". Ironically, the dances are all that save those very same citizens from Orochi's tyranny.
• Never Got to Say Goodbye: When Oden leaves for a journey outside of Wano, his father is already sick and, after he comes back a few years later, Oden learns his father died when he was away and is embittered that he couldn't be with him during his final moments.
• Never My Fault: Played for Laughs as Oden isn't denying his mistake but simply isn't aware of it. After he accidentally makes Hiyori cry (because he told her that he wants her to play a song at his funeral), Oden asks Momonosuke what has he done to his sister, not realizing it was his own comment.
• No Historical Figures Were Harmed:
  • While Oden is definitely more moral, his vast list of insane accomplishments and wholly uncontrollable behavior call to mind Oda Nobunaga. And just like Nobunaga, Oden dies before he can see his dream come true, sacrificing himself so that his retainers and children complete it for him in the future.
  • He also borrows quite a few beats from Ishikawa Goemon, especially his iconic death by being boiled alive holding up someone else (In Goemon's case, it was his son. In Oden's case, it was all of his retainers).
  • Oden also bears Miyamoto Musashi's reputation, as both are considered as the greatest (and the most feared) samurai of all time, in the style of two swords.
• One-Man Army: At age 9, even the yakuza had banned him from their casino. This resulted in Oden setting their casino on fire and waging war against them. At the age of eighteen, when he reaches Kuri, Oden challenges the bandit king Ashura Doji and his entire gang and stomps them all by himself over the course of a night. Once returned after his long journey, Oden learns of Orochi's rise to shogun and how Toki got hurt, which angers Oden enough to rush toward the Flower Capital, defeating all of the palace guards. Oden shows his incredible strength once more during his battle against Kaido's men when he plows through many of them to get to Kaido himself, who notes how fearsome Oden is and has to resort to trickery to bolster his forces to stand a chance against him.
• Opposites Attract: Oden tends to cause trouble and gleefully engage in fighting whenever it comes up while Toki prefers running away from troubles, often using the Toki-Toki Fruit to travel in the future. Furthermore Oden wants nothing more than to leave Wano and explore the world beyond while Toki has always dreamed of visiting Wano, because it's where her parents came from, and asks Oden (and Whitebeard) to take her there, much to their disbelief. Despite so many differences between them, it's been stated that the marriage between Toki and Oden is a very happy one, and after Oden dies, Toki chooses to remain and die with him.
• The Outside World: What Oden wishes to see. It is forbidden to leave the land of Wano, but Oden feels it's too cramped for him and as a teenager he attempted to leave Wano over 30 times, but failed every single time. His wish is granted with the arrival of the Whitebeard Pirates, and seeing the rest of the world changes him. His final wish is for the entirety of Wano to be open to the outside world.
• Pacifism Backfire: As Oden attempted to kill Orochi for what he did to his family and the people of Wano, Oden's attack was stopped by Kurozumi Semimaru, who used a barrier to protect Orochi. Oden heard about how Orochi rose to power, and he was also confronted by Kaido. Both Oden and Kaido clashed evenly and to stop them from destroying the castle, Orochi came up with a deal to blackmail Oden, while also showing Oden a room with hundreds of hostages. If Oden danced naked in the Flower Capital once a week for 5 years, the hostages Orochi has taken, as well as the citizens of Wano, would be spared. Orochi and Kaido also promised to leave Wano in 5 years. Believing in the deal, Oden threw his honor and reputation away to save and protect Orochi's hostages and the people of Wano. Unfortunately, those 5 years gave Kaido and Orochi enough time to gather more resources and become stronger.
• Papa Wolf:
  • Oden is very protective of his children and trying to harm then is one of the quickest ways to anger him. Exploited in that this trait is what ultimately led to Oden's death and Wano's continued subjugation. One of Orochi's followers took on Momonosuke's form and pretended to be held hostage with a knife to the neck. When Oden is about to kill Kaido, he hears his son crying for help and immediately turns away from Kaido to go help Momonosuke. This leaves Oden open to attack and leads to Oden's defeat.
  • Oden was also a paternal figure to his retainers. Despite not wanting them to follow him at first, Oden took in orphans and loners and they became a part of his family. When they were short of food, Oden even refused to eat just so his Retainers don't starve.
• Parrying Bullets: He can deflect bullets with ease, as seen when we went to get the ingredients for Oden soup and bandits shot at him. He reacted by easily dodging and deflecting their bullets.
• Person of Mass Destruction: While lacking a destructive Devil Fruit power like most emperors, Oden remains one of the strongest characters in the entire series. With the legendary swords Enma and Ame no Habakiri, Oden is capable of doing tremendous destruction. Unfortunately, this caused a lot of problems when he was still a teen as Oden tended to cause a lot of collateral damage.
• Prepare to Die: After learning what Orochi did to the Land of Wano, its inhabitants and, most importantly, to Toki, Oden dashes toward Orochi's palace, defeating any guard that tries to stop him. Once he reaches Orochi, Oden tells him that his death will come before anything else. However, Orochi is saved by Semimaru and Oden accepts a deal to avoid involving innocent people, with the promise that Orochi and Kaido will leave in five years.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: Oden was the beloved Daimyo of Kuri and Heir to the Shogun of Wano. Oden's legendary dual-wielding swordsmanship caused him to be hailed as the strongest samurai of Wano, meaning the strongest samurai in the entire world. Every samurai in Wano cannot come even close to match Oden. Even 20 years after his death, Kaido stated that there will never be another Samurai in the world who could match a monstrous and powerful samurai like Oden. Oden was such a skilled fighter that he clashed with (Prime) Whitebeard, and put a massive, permanent scar on Kaido, being the only person able to perform such a feat.
• Real Men Cook: Oden is one of the manliest characters of the series and is exceptionally good at cooking his namesake soup. He gathers the ingredients on his own, whether it is by fishing with his bare hands or by stealing, and the oden he makes is so delicious that everyone loves it.
• Rebel Prince: Downplayed. Oden is the son of the shogun and is destined to become Wano's ruler, but he has no interest in it and actively dislikes being in any commanding position, whether it's being the shogun or the commander of a fleet. However, he's willing to become the next shogun rather than let Orochi continue his tyrannical rule and turn Wano into a living hell for its inhabitants.
• Rebellious Spirit: In contrast to the other inhabitants of Wano's strict adherence to rules and traditions, Oden is the epitome of freedom and doesn't care about formal norms or what the others think of him. This causes him to be feared by Wano inhabitants, although his free spirit makes him admirable in their eyes as well. After his journey across the One Piece world, however, Oden comes back as a more mature person, with a stronger sense of honor and responsibility.
• Rebuilt Pedestal: After Oden comes back from his journey, everyone is happy because they believe he will take down Orochi and stop his tyranny. However, after facing Orochi in his palace, Oden comes out and dances naked in the streets, disappointing the entire population of Wano and earning the nickname "fool of a lord". However, his reputation is restored thanks to Shinobu, who explains the deal between Oden and Orochi&Kaido, revealing that Orochi&Kaido blackmailed Oden with the lives of the innocents and that Oden sacrificed his pride and reputation to protect the people of Wano, as well as save hundreds of hostages and prevent a conflict that would've taken a lot of innocent lives. To confirm that they admire Oden again, Wano's people complete his last sentence.
• Refuge in Audacity: Oden is a loud and expressive man who doesn't care for Wano's strict traditions and many times he publicly breaks them or causes a big mess in the most spectacular way possible. In his introduction scene, Oden pays homage to his deceased friend while cooking and eating oden on his burned corpse, right in front of the dead man's family! It's also why Yasu doesn't believe Orochi's claim that Oden stole the money because, if he actually did it, he wouldn't have done it secretly but in such a spectacular way everyone would have noticed.
• Rescue Romance: Oden and Toki met when he followed her cries after letting go off the chain attached to the Moby Dick, which he he has held onto due to Whitebeard's challenge, for nearly 3 full days. Oden scares the bandits who were trying to capture Toki away because of his overinflated body after having absorbed too much water, and she treated him afterwards. During their voyage with the Whitebeard Pirates, they ended up falling for each other pretty quickly and eventually had two children.
• Rightful King Returns: After returning from his travels and learning of Orochi's doings, Oden attempted to conquer back the Shogunate but was defeated by Kaido. Luckily, he thought ahead in case such a scenario happened and had Toki send their son and his loyal vassals to the future to keep hope alive for the country. Twenty years later and with the help of the Straw Hats, the Kozuki Clan finally ousts Orochi from Wano's throne, ends his tyranny and restores their rightful rulership to the country.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Upon returning to Wano after sailing with the Roger Pirates, he learns of Orochi's abuse of Wano, while that angers him enough what really gets him is learning that Orochi was after his family and Toki took an arrow to the knee protecting her children. After which, he instantly grabs his swords and makes a beeline for the Flower Capital, throttling all the guards that stand in his way, kicks in the door to the throne room and rushes directly at the panicking Orochi, ignoring his pleas that Kaido won't take this attack lying down and major intent to kill. He even fights evenly Kaido and is only prevented from doing so due to making a deal with Orochi to save Wano's citizen. By the second time, Oden has learned to control his impulse and, after Orochi reneges on his deal by intent on enslaving Kuri, as well as killing one of his closest ally, Oden goes with his retainers, marching toward Orochi. He and the Akazaya Nine plow through Orochi and Kaido's forces and he would have killed Kaido if not for Higuarashi's cheap trick.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: After being disowned, Oden goes to the most lawless land in Wano and reforms the outlaws and bandits there after beating them, before building a farm, a village, and many other things for the citizens, eventually becoming Daimyo... all before 20. He earns his Daimyo position to say the least.
• Samurai: During his life, Oden is the strongest samurai of Wano, and therefore the strongest in the world. Oden is specialized in the style of two swords (like Miyamoto Musashi) and has a strong sense of honor, just like the classic figure of the samurai. However, Oden is actually a daimyo and not at the service of someone, travels through Wano in his late teens which, combined with his attire, resemble the figure of the Rōnin as well.
• Shirtless Scene: There are several moments that expose Oden's muscular and toned body:
  • When there was a short flashback scene of a younger Yasuie training with Oden (Silhouette), Oden was shirtless.
  • After Oden beat Ashura and all the bandits in Kuri, his abs and chest were exposed.
  • When Oden was fishing with his bare hands and saved Dogstorm, Cat Viper, and Kawamatsu from being tormented, he wore only a thong, leaving his toned and muscular body completely exposed.
  • When Oden sneaked out of his castle to get on Whitebeard's ship and got caught by Izo, he was in his pajamas.
  • He dances with only a thong on in front of everyone to save all of the hostages and citizens of Wano, but that scene isn't played for Fanservice.
  • On the day of his and his retainers' execution, Oden was the only one who was shirtless.
• Slasher Smile: Oden has quite a few of those. For example, when he went to Kuri alone to face Ashura and every single bandit in there, he smiled extremely excitedly for the upcoming fight.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: Oden keeps the sleeves of his worker kimono rolled up, showing off his strong arms and emphasizing how much work he does.
• Sorry That I'm Dying: After holding his retainers for an entire hour with half of his body being submerged in boiling oil the entire time, Oden accepts the fact that Orochi and Kaido will kill him no matter what and epresses regrets for not being able to see Wano opening up to the world as he wishes. Oden decides to sacrifice himself to save his retainers from Orochi's firing squad, handing his dream and will to his retainers as he's left behind in the boiling pot to meet his demise.
• Stepford Smiler: He spends five years making a fool of himself with his public near-nude dances, all the while scorned by most of the nation for enabling Orochi's tyranny. While he seemed to take in stride, it was only after Orochi broke his promise that five years of anguish finally came out.
  Hiyori: He always, always had a smile on his face... but the whole nation was taken hostage, and he was carrying the burden all by himself. I wonder how painful it must've been!
• Stewed Alive: True to his name (Oden is a winter dish soup) Oden got sentenced to death by boiled alive in a pot of oil. Being boiled alive was a typical execution method of ancient Japan (and thus its expy Wano) reserved for criminals. Subverted because Oden resists for an hour and Orochi decides to just shoot him and the Akazaya Nine, until Kaido steps him and personally kills Oden with a bullet in the head.
• Sticky Fingers: Oden is a good guy, but even Yasuie is aware that he can simply take something if he wants it, however, when Orochi accuses Oden of stealing Yasuie's money, the latter doesn't believe it because Oden would do it right in front of witnesses rather than secretly.
• Strong Family Resemblance: In-Universe. After Shinobu ages Momonosuke up to twenty-eight years with her devil fruit powers, he becomes very similar to his father in looks, sharing the same face structure and long wild hair, although he lacks the facial hair his father had. Yamato lampshades the resemblance by putting a plate on Momo's head to mimic Oden's hairstyle.
• Super-Reflexes: Like many characters in the story, Oden is very fast. He can dodge bullets and kept up with (Prime) Whitebeard.
• Super-Strong Child: As a toddler, Oden had already shown absurd feats of strength, like hurling his wet-nurse across the room when he was one-year-old and killing a bear by hurling a boulder at it when he was four. Big Mom does similar feats at five years of age and she's already giant-sized. Oden only avoids being an Enfante Terrible because he generally means well, even if he can be insensitive and cause troubles.
• Supreme Chef: Although Oden is only shown cooking his namesake soup, he's really good at it. Everyone who tastes it adores it and Oden uses it to befriend the Roger Pirates after joining them.
• Sweet and Sour Grapes: After Oden sneaks on the Moby Dick, Whitebeard gives him a test to join them: hold onto a chain attached to the Moby Dick for three days. Right before the three day passes, Oden hears a woman screaming for help and lets go immediately to help her. Whitebeard is so pleased by Oden's decision that he lets Oden join the crew anyway.
• Take Up My Sword: After enduring for an hour in boiling oil while holding the Akazaya Nine, Oden is aware that he won't survive to see Wano opening its borders to the world and hands his dream to his retainers and his children, trusting in the prophecy and that they will make it.
• Taking the Heat: After the "Mountain God Incident" in which he defeats a giant white boar, everyone assumes Oden is responsible due to being seen with the boar's child. Kin'emon, the one who has really brought the infant boar to the Flower Capital, is perfectly willing to admit he's the one to blame, but Oden clonks him and allows everyone to think he's responsible, since Oden can afford it as the son of the Shogun, while Kin'emon could've been sentenced to death. This is what caused Kin'emon to become Oden's loyal follower.
• Team Chef: While it's never shown if Oden is a cook as well, he's incredibly good at making his namesake soup and, both with his follower and as part of the Roger Pirates, Oden often cooks for his group.
• Technical Pacifist: After Oden learned that Orochi became shogun, how he had been oppressing the citizens with the aid of Kaido, and that his family was threatened and Toki got injured while protecting Momonosuke, Oden became furious and rampaged to Orochi's castle to kill Orochi. Oden's attack on Orochi was stopped by Kurozumi Semimaru, who used a barrier to protect Orochi. Oden then learned about the history of Orochi and the Kurozumi clan, about how the Kurozumi Family was unjustly persecuted for the actions of Orochi's grandfather, and how they were hunted down and terrorized with unreasonable violence and unfairly killed as sinners simply for being blood-related to his grandfather. This shocked Oden. However, when Orochi showed Oden a room of hundreds of hostages, Oden became furious and clashed with Kaido. To stop them from destroying the castle, Orochi came up with a deal to blackmail Oden. If Oden danced naked in the Flower Capital once a week, the hostages Orochi has taken, as well as the citizens of Wano, would be spared. Orochi and Kaido also promised to leave Wano in five years. Believing in the deal, Oden left the castle and a few hours later, he started dancing naked in the streets of the Flower Capital. He did this once a week, causing the people of Wano to lose faith and respect for him. Unknown to the people of Wano, the same person who they ridiculed, sacrificed his own honor and reputation, just to save and protect them. Oden made this choice to avoid involving innocent people in a battle and resolve Orochi's tyranny peacefully, while making amends to the Kurozumi clan as well. Unfortunately, Orochi never intended to respect the deal and upon learning that Kaido kidnapped Hyogoro and killed his wife and men, Oden and his retainers grabbed their weapons and went on to fight Kaido and his army.
• Temporary Bulk Change: After being submerged in water for three days while holding onto a chain pulled by the Moby Dick and facing the many dangers and climates of the New World ocean with no protection for three days, Oden's body swells up until he's a giant, round, caricature of himself, but gets back to normal after a single night with Toki's treatment.
• Think Nothing of It: As he sees a young Dogstorm, Catviper and Kawamatsu tied to a pole and set on fire by some Wano inhabitants, Oden scolds the inhabitants and beats them for their bigotry. Dogstorm, Catviper and Kawamatsu thank him and he just leaves, until they call him because they are still tied to a pole. Out of gratitude, the three become Oden's followers despite the latter not wanting them to follow him at first, yet letting them live with him and feeding them, and eventually being fine with it.
• This Is Unforgivable!: Upon returning from his journey, Oden learns Orochi has usurped the title of shogun and has turned Wano into a desolate wasteland, but what sends him into a Roaring Rampage of Revenge to kill Orochi is learning that Toki has been hurt by Orochi's guards.
• Through His Stomach: Upon joining the Roger Pirates, they bluntly tell Oden that they would never be friends. However, Oden steals a lot of ingredients for his oden soup and, after trying it, the Roger Pirates party with him like best buds, and after the journey to Laugh Tale, they make a toast to Oden, who is about to come back to Wano.
• Trademark Favourite Food: His favorite dish is Oden, appropriately enough. He's even introduced wolfing down a whole pot of the stuff and often prepares it for himself and his retainers, while each of his thongs have the kanji of a different oden soup ingredient.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Exaggerated. Oden had been a troublemaker since he was an infant. He threw his wet nurse across the room as an infant, obliterated a bear by throwing a boulder at it, visited the red light district, in which he spent most of the royal funds, began drinking alcohol, burned down a Yakuza casino, and then started a war with the Yakuza. All of this before reaching the age of ten-years-old.
• Undignified Death: After being defeated by Kaido, he's sentenced to death by being boiled alive, just like the actual oden soup, which is not only a painful way to die but also one reserved for criminals. The Straw Hats are enraged after hearing that Oden, a good ruler beloved by everyone, met this terrible demise. In truth, Oden not only resisted an hour in the boiling oil while keeping his retainers safe, but also survived the ordeal he was put into, until he's killed by Kaido himself as a sign of respect, while the inhabitants of Wano mourned him.
• Unexplained Recovery: After the Akazaya Nine were beaten by Kaido during the Onigashima War, they are greeted by Oden, despite having witnessed his death, and most of them cry of joy at the sight of their former master. However, Ashura quickly notices that he can't be the real Oden, and reveals it's actually a drawing made by Kanjuro.
• Unishment: After Oden takes the blame for the Mountain God's rampage, Sukiyaki, the current shogun, reluctantly banish his own son from the Flower Capital for all the troubles he causes. However, Oden hates being stuck in a place so he has no problem with his father's decision and, after spending some time at Yasuie's house, wanders across the Land of Wano with his Retainers like a Rōnin.
• Universally Beloved Leader: Oden was such a good Daimyo that he used to be so adored by the residents of Kuri that Kuri Castle was called Oden Castle by the residents. Unfortunately, twenty years of Malicious Slander and propaganda threw that reputation down the crapper. However, the people who have lived under Oden's rule still fondly remember him. During his absence, his wife helped everyone keep faith in him. If it wasn't for her, his reputation would have plummeted much sooner. In the present day, only the residents of the prosperous Flower Capital believe Orochi's propaganda, while knowledge of Oden's deeds has stayed alive outside the capital through word-of-mouth. In Kuri, even youngsters like Tama long for the return of the Kozuki Clan.
• Unreliable Narrator: Played for Laughs. When documenting the day Roger parted ways with his crew in his journal, Oden writes that it was a stoic and dignified affair with nary a tear shed, while the scene shows that all of the Roger Pirates were in fact blubbering and crying their eyes as they waved goodbye to their beloved captain.
• Unseen No More: Oden is one of the central characters of the Wano Arc, whose influence begins hundreds of chapters before the Straw Hats reach Wano, and he also plays a trivial role for Roger's journey, therefore Oden is mentioned a lot for many chapters, but appears on-panel only during the first two acts of the Wano arc as a shadow, without revealing his face or look. Oden's appearance is revealed at the beginning of his flashback, and since that scene he appears in full body.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: When Oden became a daimyo and Orochi frequently came to him and asked to borrow money from him, Oden always obliged despite never being paid back, doing so because he felt sorry for Orochi and out of respect for his relationship with Yasuie. Orochi always approached Oden humbly and used Crocodile tears to make Oden pity him and lend money to him. Unknown to Oden and Yasuie, that helped Orochi gather enough money to hire Kaido. Meanwhile, Oden's five year long absence facilitated Orochi's rise to Shogunate and their country's enslavement and pollution by the Beast Pirates. Once he comes back, Oden regrets to have not been there when his country was ruined by Orochi's reign.
• Violence Really Is the Answer: Zigzagged. Initially, when Oden learns about what Orochi did while he was away and that his wife has been attacked, he is furious and rampages to Orochi's castle, attempting to kill Orochi, as well as clashing with Kaido. However, Orochi then showed Oden a room with hundreds of kidnapped, innocent citizens and threatened to deliver them to Kaido as tribute, to force Oden to surrender and endure humiliation, just to spare their fate. Orochi and Kaido promised to leave Wano in 5 years if Oden danced naked on the streets every week to save hundreds of the hostages, and Oden held onto the deal in the hopes of preventing Orochi from offering innocent people as tribute for the Beasts Pirates, and to avoid involving innocent lives in a battle between him and Kaido. Unfortunately, Oden later realizes Kaido and Orochi have never intended to keep the deal and that Hyogoro was captured and his wife and men were killed for refusing to submit to Orochi, causing Oden to gather his retainers and attack Kaido and his army, to solve the situation once and for all.
• Warrior Prince: Not exactly a prince, but Oden is the son of the shogun and thus lived in the Flower Capital until his father disowned him (2 years after this, Oden was granted the title of Daimyo of Kuri at the age of 20 after his father heard about his deeds). Oden is a fierce warrior who causes violent fights, tames a lawless land into a vertible paradise, and sailed with the Whitebeard and Roger Pirates. After his journey, Oden came back to Wano "invincible and triumphant", with him knowing no enemy of his caliber.
• What You Are in the Dark: In public, Oden appears to be a rude person at worst or a well-intentioned individual who seemingly tends to worsen the situation at best (with them not knowing that it was him who saved him from the Mountain God), and always voices his dislike of Wano's traditions and its strict rules. He also shows to dislike any kind of responsibility and to prefer living a carefree life. Upon returning to Wano after sailing with the Roger Pirates, Oden learned about Orochi becoming shogun and how he had been oppressing the citizens with the aid of Kaido. While that angers him enough, what really gets him enraged is learning how his family was threatened and Toki was injured protecting Momonosuke. Enraged, Oden ordered his retainers to guard his family before charging to the Flower Capital. He arrived at the castle, fought his way through the guards, kicked in the door to the throne room, and rushed directly at the panicking Orochi, ignoring his pleas that Kaido won't take this attack lying down, with Oden intending on killing Orochi. Oden's attack was stopped by Kurozumi Semimaru, who used a barrier to protect Orochi. Oden heard about how Orochi rose to power, and he was also confronted by Kaido. Both Oden and Kaido clashed evenly and to stop them from destroying the castle, Orochi came up with a deal to blackmail Oden, while also showing Oden a room with hundreds of hostages. If Oden danced naked in the Flower Capital once a week, the hostages Orochi has taken, as well as the citizens of Wano, would be spared. Orochi and Kaido also promised to leave Wano in five years. Believing in the deal, Oden left the castle and a few hours later, he started dancing naked in the streets of the Flower Capital. He did this once a week, causing the people of Wano to lose faith and respect for him. Unknown to the people of Wano, the same person who they ridiculed, sacrificed his own honor and reputation, just to save and protect them. In secret, Oden loves his country and is a man truly willing to take others' burdens all on himself.
• Whole Costume Reference: Downplayed. Oden's kimono is mainly orange, similarly to the iconic suit worn by Son Goku. Ironically enough, Goku's german voice actor throughout Dragon Ball Z, Tommy Morgenstern, also voices Oden in the german dub of One Piece.
• Wild Take: Oden's most notorious reaction is an exaggerated disgusted face, which is always pointed out by other characters. He makes that face when Kin'emon and Denjiro tell him that they're going to follow him forever, when Toki expresses her desire to visit Wano, and when Whitebeard assigns him the command of the second division (since Oden dislikes being in a position of power)
• The Worf Effect: After clashing roughly equally with Prime Whitebeard, he's sent flying by Roger with a Haki-imbued, named attack to demonstrate the gap in strength between even someone as strong as him and the World's Strongest Man. It has to be noted though that not only did Oden get immediately get back up from it and was barely injured, but this wasn't Oden in his prime since it was said that he returned to Wano later on "many times stronger" and "invincible and triumphant", to the point that Current Kaido compares the Oden who he fought, to Prime Whitebeard and Roger.
• World's Best Warrior: Oden's legendary dual wielding swordsmanship caused him to be hailed as the strongest samurai of his period, every warrior in Wano cannot come even close to beat him, he was already a master samurai when he was 9 since he waged war against the entire Yakuza, and he then managed to defeat an entire army of bandits, including Ashura Doiji, in just a single night when he was 18. The only ones who are proven to fight Oden on equal footing are Roger, Newgate, and Kaido, who come from outside Wano. Even the Akazaya Nine, despite each of them being a fearsome warrior in their own right, when fighting together, cannot put Kaido on the edge as much as Oden did on his own. Even 20 years after Oden's death, Kaido still acknowledges Oden as the strongest samurai, and states his belief that there will never be another samurai as powerful as him.
• Worthy Opponent: Kaido considers Oden as one of the scant few capable of matching him, putting him on the same pedestal as the likes of Roger, Whitebeard, Rocks Xebec, and Shanks, the strongest pirates to have ever existed. For this reason, he had to build his strength and forces up for 5 years to match Oden, and even then, Oden still overwhelmed him and was going for the finishing blow during their fight. It was then that Higurashi distracted Oden with a cheap trick by transforming into his son and pretending to be taken hostage, so that Kaido can strike down the distracted Oden from behind. However, Kaido actually disliked the cheap trick Higurashi used to win the fight and later on killed her for interfering. Later, Kaido personally kills Oden after he survived the boiling execution, instead of letting Orochi's henchmen finish the execution, as a sign of respect.
• Younger Than He Looks: At the start of the flashback, Oden was only eighteen and looked like this. In fact, even when Oden was only fourteen years old, he already looked just like a full grown man, having already a muscular and toned body and rough face that made him appear a dozen of years older. Not surprisingly, he doesn't change much after ten years.
• Zero-Approval Gambit: To save the people Orochi has taken as hostages and avoid a dangerous conflict, Oden accepts Orochi's deal and sacrifices his image and his honor without a second thought. Oden never reveals this to anyone and takes the burden on himself, while the others learn it much later thanks to Shinobu, who secretly witnessed the negotiation of Oden and Orochi's deal.

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"Toki, Momonosuke, Hiyori, I shall be the first to leave!"