This text was originally written for Arlong Park forums’ discussion thread.

Oof, what a chapter!

I was not expecting another legacy devil fruit to be playing a part here. The need for Semimaru and Higurashi to die before the present day is an interesting plot problem. Any other series, I would confidently be expecting Oden or one of the Scabbards to kill them outright next week or the one after, but Oda doesn’t like making his heroes killers, even for characters so completely irredeemable. I wonder if he plans to twist the plot to have Kaido execute them for failing to control Oden, or have them fall victim to some kind of near-comical accident while the more serious battle goes on around them.

The big mystery of the chapter is of course what Oden and Orochi talked about. I’m sure we’ll get some info on it next week, either through a flashback within the flashback or from Shinobu’s perspective. I would guess from the context in the rest of the chapter that it was a mix of things. The lives of the commonfolk on the line, either through the poisoned arrows (Queen?) and Kaido, a promise to leave Kuri relatively untouched (hence why Orochi still had to “make his move” on the region four years later, and an agreement that Kaido’s operations would result in ships being built and the borders opened. A delicate balance of factors combined with Oden’s trusting nature (given how many loans he gave Orochi back in the day) that resulted in what we see here.

This is the real tragedy of Oden. Unlike most flashback characters, he hasn’t been undone by being too virtuous at the wrong time (Bell-mere refusing to disown her family, Hiruluk taking poison in his attempt to support Chopper’s work, Tom not rejecting the ships he built, Rocinante giving up his life for Law’s), no, Oden has actually been undone by his flaws. He felt too big for the space he was living in and was undeniably selfish about pursuing his dream. He didn’t fail when he made his stand against Orochi and Kaido’s invasion because he wasn’t there to stop them at all. Even when Roger’s crew came for the Poneglyph he chose to look away from the blighted landscape and horrible factories and keep putting his adventure and his dreams first. By the time he was ready to actually give Wano (the land he was meant to be responsibly for) his full attention, Orochi and Kaido had too great a stronghold and too much leverage for him to fight back properly. Oden was a big personality, one of the biggest we’ve seen so far. Massive amounts of virtue, but shortcomings to match. I wouldn’t call him a bad person, especially given that he couldn’t have known the true extent of what Orochi was doing, but he undeniably let Wano down when he chose his priorities, and now it’s come back to bite him.

Although, that brings me to the thought that Oda maybe could have set this up a little better. I think most of us believed until this chapter that it was just Orochi causing trouble in Wano while Oden was off with Whitebeard and Roger. No one thought Kaido was moving in until after he came back, probably until the night he died. A better look at the state of things when Roger picked up the Poneglyph, or some mention that they had to sneak past Kaido’s crew to get in might have made things clearer for the readers and enhanced the dramatic irony of us knowing how badly the country is falling apart while Oden remains willfully ignorant. Eh, we’ve had weeks to overthink it all. Maybe things will read a little easier in the volume binge.

And another slightly critical point, this time about the translation. I liked the thinking behind “Akazaya Nine” at the time it was revealed, but I don’t think it would have been chosen if we’d known at the time it would need to be referenced so literally like this. The price you pay for an up to date translation is not being able to anticipate little things like this. It’s why I’m going to be cautious of any retranslation initiative that comes up before the series is completely or almost completely said and done.

That last spread is incredible though. The march of the scabbards in chapter 955 was a powerful enough moment on its own, but it only gets stronger seeing it reflected here. It’s fun that Oda plays with the time travelly-aspect of the story by making the recreation of this famous moment in the future being the one we see first and the original the one that comes after. Oh, and I can’t wait for the digital colour manga to get this far. I always think it’s at its best with scenes covered in warm hues, and this big sunset with a strong emphasis on red lighting is perfect for that. See ya’ll in two and a bit years for that I guess.

I’m not expecting the flashback to end next week, but I’m expecting it to start accelerating toward an ending. Details of Oden and Orochi’s deal intercut with the trip to Kaido in the first half, some shit going down in the second, possibly closing on Oden and Kaido clashing for the first time. We’ve had some of the most exciting lore reveals in years in the past few chapters, so I expect the trend to continue with some of the hardest hitting drama in the next few. Volumes 95 and 96 in their entirety are going to be remembered as one of the highest points of the series, you all mark my words!