One Piece 698-671 Review: The Idiot Lord

One Piece, Chapters 698-671

Chapter 698: Oden's Return
We continue with my huge readthrough of One Piece's newest chapters, and it's... it's sure a huge feeling reading through all of these chapters in one go. It's like reading a whole tankobon volume, and it's so, so interesting to speculate on what the fuck went on during Roger's final trip to reach the One Piece. We get a couple of oblique scenes, like Shanks asking Roger some questions before crying his eyes out, or the moment when the World Government censors "Gol D. Roger" into "Gold Roger", and how for the remainder of Roger's career, pirates and marines alike are all hunting Gold Roger's crew, leading to the pretty cheerful disbandment of the Roger Pirates.

Interestingly, we get a bit of a random scene where we get a bunch of Sea Kings talking to each other about how "our kings are about to be born", seemingly referring to Shirahoshi and... someone else? Someone that will come from a far away sea? Whether this is Luffy or someone else remains to be seen. Roger realizes that the timeline of what the Sea Kings are talking about lines up with Shyarly's prophecy about Poseidon's birth, which is pretty interesting. We get Roger and Rayleigh discussing how they were "too early", which... again, it's interesting, and I'm not sure if they had actually needed the Ultimate Weapons to properly unlock One Piece or something? It's around this point that Roger decides to make a son, and it's sort of handled in a hilarious joking manner... but then you remember what ultimately happened to poor, poor Ace and it's just kind of sad.

I absolutely love how as the Roger Pirates send off Roger at a port, Oden's monologue talks about how "in a man's farewell, there are no tears. The Pirate King's crew do not cry." while the artwork makes it clear that every single god-damn person on Roger's ship is making the One Piece ugly crying face.

Meanwhile, the Roger Pirates end up dropping Oden off back at Wano, and Oden attributes Wano's closed borders to the terrible weather... before ominously noting that Wano will open the borders at "the day Joy Boy finally appears". Wait, so Joy Boy is a title? Or is he some dude that'll return back alive? Is Luffy the new Joy Boy? So many questions from this one random line Oden said. Anyway, Oden is reunited with his family and his retainers... and Kin'emon and the other Scabbards are less than pleased to see Oden. The people of Wano are happy to greet Oden back, though, and all of the goodwill is apparently thanks to Toki herself being an absolutely awesome people person who mingled with the small folk while talking up Oden's deeds. Kin'emon and the others are still not particularly pleased with what the see as an abandonment of the country, while Denjiro and Ashura Doji have returned back to their old lifestyles. Considering that those two ended up also doing so in the present-day timeline (Ashura's back to being a bandit and Denjiro's MIA, anyway) it's not that hard to believe that they're some of the more flaky members of the Scabbards.

Oden ends up being briefed about Wano's current politics, the weapon factories being built everywhere, the death of his father... but more worryingly, the fact that apparently, both Sukiyaki and Oden apparently gave their blessing to Orochi as shogun. Kaido is also apparently already working with Orochi at this point, and Kin'emon and company tell Oden that at one point, the Scabbards attempted to resist when Orochi executed a man's family for refusing to work... but instead, this is a ploy for Kaido's forces to try and assassinate the Kozuki heir, Momonosuke. Toki is the one that ended up using her body as a shield, being scarred on the leg. And Oden is obviously instantly furious, and the monologue is pretty badass as Oden heads off to war, charging out of Kuri and sprinting across Wano itself to take out the fool that has taken over Wano. Oden easily takes out Orochi's entire retinue of guards, and charges straight into Orochi's throne room with the intent to murder him, and Oden really doesn't give a shit about anything Orochi has to say, which is pretty damn badass. "Your death comes before anything else."

Chapter 696: The Idiot Lord

...except we know how this plays out. Orochi survives to become an antagonist in the present day, while Oden is dead. Oden's attempted attack on Orochi ends up being repelled by a massive forcefield created by the old man that accompanied Higurashi... who we learn is called Kurozumi Semimaru, and also the previous wielder of the Bari Bari fruit, Bartolomeo's devil fruit. It's... it's really interesting. This means that both older Kurozumi devil fruit users are going to kick the bucket before the flashback is over, but it's, again, pretty dang interesting to see previous wielders of these Devil Fruits in a different era.

We get a bit of yelling between Oden demanding Orochi abdicate, Orochi's gloating and the revelation that Higurashi is the one who pulled the strings and the fact that the Kurozumis basically assassinated Sukiyaki... while we cut back and forth between the narrator talking and the people of Wano cheering for the return of the rightful Kozuki heir. There's a bit with poisoned arrows and a brief sight of Kaido's dragon form above the Flower Capital's skies... and we cut into a two-page spread with Oden dancing around with nothing but a loincloth instead of fighting Orochi and Kaido, making a complete and utter fool out of himself while the bad guys mock him and the people of Wano just look on in shock as their supposed savior acts like a complete idiot instead of a hero.

And after multiple chapters of Oden being hyped up as basically a man on the caliber of Whitebeard and Roger, it's not surprising that this chapter is another one that caused the fandom to explode in confusion and anger at the fact that Oden's a complete fool. Of course, it's pretty obvious that between the Oden/Orochi confrontation and Oden dancing like an idiot, something has happened -- and the only thing that could make Oden do this is probably a huge hostage situation.

We get a montage of Oden doing this for years as the people continue to mock him and the retainers are confused, while propaganda is spread about what a complete moron Oden is and whatnot. We get to see Oden's reaction to Gold Roger's execution as Orochi ends up sending a newspaper from the outside world to Oden, something that he totally does just to spite the poor man, and Oden's reaction is... a mixture of mourning and laughing, which is an interesting one. Again, it's definitely something that has to do with the true meaning of the One Piece, and it's going to be interesting to reread these chapters after we eventually get like the whole story about the meaning of One Piece in like 2045 or something. We get another brief continuity nod as Kaidou's battle with Gekko Moriah is noted to happen at around this point, and this was when Moriah ransacked the grave of Ryouma.

Eventually, the only people still believing in Oden the Idiot Lord are his family, his Scabbards, and the few allies he has like Yasuie and Hyogoro... and we briefly get to see Hyogoro's wife as Oden pays them a visit. But five years after the fact, and Orochi arrives in Kuri to kick Oden around and demand the creation of even more factories, and Oden is absolutely baffled. "What about the boat, and what about Kaido?" Clearly, Orochi made a deal with Oden that he clearly has no intention of keeping, and while it's completely stupid for Oden to trust a snake like Orochi, we later learn the reason and it's hard to really say what Oden really could've done in his position. Orochi mocks Oden, talking about how Hyogoro had refused to comply, and how Orochi had given Hyogoro over to Kaidou and murdered Hyogoro's wife.

It's this that ended up absolutely making Oden furious. And as someone who has been forced to endure pain for five long years, he ended up finally being furious and finally decides that enough is enough, and he's going to make Kaidou pay. We get this absolutely glorious closing two-page spread as the remaining Samurai with wide-brimmed hats march towards the capital with the intention of toppling Kaido and Orochi... and even Ashura and Denjirou have returned to help out as well... it's just kind of bittersweet that even the narrator acknowledges that despite their resolve and badass pose, this endeavour will end up leading in the failure and public execution of Oden. 

Chapter 670: Oden vs. Kaido
670, I feel, sort of disappointed some parts of the fandom because they expected a far more elaborate and fancy confrontation, but at the same time... we sort of know that Oden loses. Would I love a full chapter of nothing but the Oden/Kaido fight? Sure, that'd be neat, but it'd also slow down the already long flashback arc by another week, and as a battle whose outcome we already know, we honestly won't get all that much by extending it.

Anyway, 670 starts off with Oden and the Scabbards facing off against Kaido in drgaon form, who ominously notes that there's a spy within Oden's ranks. Now I'm not about to get into yet another discussion about who the spy is, and how everyone thinks it's either Kanjurou or Shinobu... but I don't know. I have my own theories on who the spy is, but mostly because all the other characters have had huge moments of being a good person, so I dunno. If it's any of the Scabbards, I do hope we get a decent explanation as to why they're doing this. Anyway, Oden vs Kaido! Kaido claims that if Oden had resisted back in chapter 696, maybe they would've stood a chance when Kaido was still marshaling forces and whatnot, and mocks Oden for being soft and being afraid about casualties, and Kaido just gives this long, long rant about how silly Oden, Newgate and Roger are for being pirates that are kind. Oden, of course, doesn't regret any of the decisions he's made that ended up with him losing his pride, and goes straight into battle.

The battle... mostly takes place off-screen with Oden and his Samurai blowing away Kaido's goons, and we get a bit where young Shinobu shows up to assist Oden, and it's interesting that Shinobu's expressions seem... conflicted as Oden talks about how he doesn't blame the other ninjas for 'losing faith in an idiot lord'. I guess Shinobu might've been the traitor or a spy in the past, but her encounter with Oden in 670-671 changed her mind? We get brief glimpses of Queen and King facing off against the samurai, before Oden unleashes the massive two-blade strike with black haki lightning that unleashed that massive scar on Kaido's chest, in a blow that actually brought Kaido down onto the ground. Of course, poor Oden ends up getting stopped from dealing what seemed to be a fatal blow on Kaido when what appears to be Momonosuke is about to be stabbed in the face by a member of the Beasts Pirates... except it's actually Higuarashi, the shape-shifting old hag. This momentary distraction is what's needed for Kaido to get the drop on Oden and whack him in the head, taking him out and claiming victory. A bit of an anti-climactic end? Perhaps. It's sudden, it's quick, and Oden's beaten by foul play, but it's all right. I personally don't really have much of a problem with anything that happens here.

And then Oden's rebellion was quashed, and we get a brief showcase of how Oden made a huge scene about how he doesn't know who the hell Shinobu is, identifying her as an assassin after his life, causing Shinobu to end up being released, while Oden and his Samurai are to be killed by boiling in a cauldron.

Chapter 671: Condemned to Boil
This chapter starts off with a neat bit, with Momonosuke eating some food after it's being tested for poison, while Toki informs him that he's going to carry the burden of the country some day. Meanwhile, Oden and company are about to be boiled alive in a gigantic cauldron of oil. The people of Wano are apparently still not particularly pleased with Oden, mocking him as an Idiot Lord as he's about to be boiled. We get to see some random dude get burned straight to death when he slipped and fell into the boiling oil, which is actually surprisingly brutal for One Piece standards.

Oden, meanwhile, makes a deal with Kaido, telling him that he can decide on a time, and Kaido will release the survivors after the allotted time... even though death via oil-boiling is supposed to be an instant death sentence. Kaido finds this amusing enough that he sets the time to one hour, and Oden jumps straight into the boiling oil... then pulls out a plank to hold up his samurai, rescuing them all from the fate of being burned alive and telling them to shut up with an order. Kaido is satisfied enough and finds the whoel thing amusing despite Orochi's protests, and we get to see poor Oden suffer as the clock counts down and Kaido and Orochi continue to mock him. It's a pretty badass sequence, and honestly, not the worst way to die.

Some random fucker mocks Oden as an 'idiot lord' that's making the execution a boring affair, and Shinobu straight up just chokes the dude. Should've thrown the dude into boiling oil is what I would do if I was in her position, really, and Shinobu begins to rant and explain just what the hostage situation is all about not just to the audience, but also the people of Wano, restoring Oden's reputation and making the whole oil-boiling sequence the actual 'Hour of Legends' instead of the fight. Shinobu reveals that Orochi doesn't care about ruling Wano, nor does he care about being a dictator or a shogun, but he just wants to ruin all of Wano for persecuting him as a member of the Kurozumi clan. He straight up wants to fuck Wano up, and Orochi had threatened Oden with the lives of hundreds of kidnapped people that are tied up and taken hostage, meant to be given to Kaido to either sell or murder as he please. Apparently prior to the whole 'idiot lord' sequence there's a brief fight between Oden and Kaido, before Orochi made a proposal -- dance naked every day as a sign of apology to the Kurozumi family, and he will save 100 kidnapped people every day, while Orochi and Kaido made the deal to leave the country after they build their ships.

And... and it's easy, in retrospect, to say that Oden shouldn't have negotiated with terrorists, or that he should've called in his Whitebeard/Roger Pirates allies, or he should just Oden Nitoryu'd his way through anyway... but can he really do that? Oden's the sort of self-sacrificing dude that would give up his own happiness before, taking on the blame of the giant pig rampaging in the place of Kin'emon and getting himself exiled from the capital city, or voluntarily letting go of the chain that tied him to Whitebeard's ship to save a random damsel in distress. For all his badassery, Oden has had a track record of really just sacrificing himself even though it might not be the smartest or most logical thing to do... and I feel like that's pretty dang consistent with One Piece as a whole. Sure, he could've been smarter about it and tried to find another solution, but ultimately I do feel like Oden deciding to play the role of the idiot lord is pretty on-brand with the character.

Anyway, it's an interesting end to him, and one that's a whole lot more interesting than just "he fought Kaido, lost and got executed". Ultimately Oden hasn't made all the optimal decisions or whatever, but his story is still a pretty dang interesting one! As someone who literally didn't give two shits about Oden or Wano when the arc started, they really ended up making me attached to this character, huh?


Random Notes:

• The Bege cover story now pits Bege's gang members against the marines, who have arrested Chiffon. M'kay. 
• The Sea Kings also discuss offhandedly how the 'whales will be happy too', so, uh, Laboon might be a mite bit more relevant than we thought he is, huh?
• Toki's scar is going to be important, because we spent a fair bit of screentime in the otherwise pretty fast-paced arc focusing on that. The amount of focus we spend on Oden looking at the scar makes me want to believe that Toki somehow survived and will be involved in the present-day arc in some way. Is she actually Komurasaki? 
• Young Gekko Moriah actually looks like he has the proportions of a normal person, and not the bizarre fucked-up Frankensteined doll creature he is in the present day!
• Throughout all of these chapters, one thing that is the point of discussion is Toki being unnervingly calm about everything that's going on. Sure, she's got future sight, but previous chapters seemed to show that her love for Oden is genuine, so seeing her more or less emotionless and even apathetic about Oden's death seems to hint that she either has something up her sleeve, or there's more to her than meets the eye. 
• Oil boils at 300 degrees Celsius, by the way, which is significantly hotter than regular old boiling water. 
• This whole death-by-oil sequence with Oden lifting up his retainers is a specific homage to Japanese hero Goemon, who reportedly did the same thing to rescue his brother.