One Piece chapter 972: Did Oden prophesy about Luffy?

Oden’s flashback finally ends in One Piece chapter 972. It may have ended on a sad note, but this also marks the return of the story to the present timeline. This means that Wano’s redemption is about to begin.

After Oda showed us Oden and Wano’s past, we now understand better how crucial it is to save Wano. This also helped us better understand what Orochi’s motivations were. One of the best things about One Piece is the kind of lessons it teaches us that relates to real life.

Going back to the story of One Piece chapter 972. I said in my previous article that there was something I wanted to discuss once the official chapter was released. It is about Oden’s final words during the boiling and in his letter to Toki.

Normally, when a parent with young children is about to die, they would leave a message for the children. But Oden’s last words, mainly focused on opening the borders of Wano to the world. This is probably because the accomplishment of his goal will ensure the country’s safety and of course, his children’s.

Oden’s final words

By scrutinizing Oden’s last words we can have a clue about some important details about the story. Here are some important points that we should note:

1. Oden insists on opening the country of Wano.
2. The Kozuki clan was responsible for closing the borders of Wano from the outside world. Up until now, we thought that the country was closed only to protect its resources from the outside world. But this time we learned that it was to protect the country from great external power. However, I still think this has something to do with the sea-prism stone which originated from Wano.
3. Wano and the world are waiting for a “figure”. Upon his arrival, Wano country has to be welcome and work with “them”.
4. No one can defeat Kaido for a long time. The only ones who can defeat him are the “primary figures” who will be involved in a great war 20 years from that time. These figures will muscle their way into the new world. It sounds to me like those figures will work hard to get to the new world which is the other half of the grandline.
5. Oden asked Toki to use her power. The rest of the letter remains a mystery to us.

Why Wano was closed and why it needs to be opened

I think the great external power was the world government. Why Wano was closed was to prevent them from exploiting the sea stone. Yet the world government succeeded in acquiring some sea stones. This is probably through Orochi and the cipher pol’s transactions.

Why Oden wanted to open Wano in twenty years probably has something to do with the sea-prism stone as well. Whoever controls the power of the sea-prism stone in battle will have a great advantage.

In the new world, devil fruit users are also well-trained in haki, basically stand on the same ground. But in a battle, a devil fruit user who would suddenly lose his ability will most likely be taken down. We cannot equate devil fruit users with haki users only as devil fruit users are battle-trained to use their abilities.

Did Oden mean Luffy?

Oden was obviously talking about Joy Boy in One Piece chapter 972. This was also mentioned in chapter 968. There is a standing theory that the Joy Boy they are waiting for is Luffy. Some even say that Joy Boy literally means a joyful boy, which is the main characteristic of Luffy.

However, Oden’s words clearly imply that this “Joy Boy” will not be alone. And whoever they are, they will be the ones to take down Kaido. I also believe that they further mentioned in Oden’s letter. This may even be Toki’s reference in her prophecy which reads:

Like the Moon, you are ignorant of the Dawn. If there is one ardent wish that must be fulfilled, it will be when nine shadows are cast woven together through twenty years of moonlit nights. Only then shall you understand the radiance of Dawn.

Who is this figure or figures?

At first, we would think that Toki meant the Nine Red Scabbards. What doesn’t add up is what Oden mentioned in his letter that those figures will muscle their way into the new world. Since the Nine Red Scabbards are from the new world, this could not be them. Why else would they go out of Wano and ask for help from outsiders?

There are two possible answers. Both of which matches Oden’s description. The first is the Straw hats. Currently, there are only nine official members of the Straw hat in Wano as Jinbei is yet to follow. However, there is still a big possibility that Jinbei will join them in Wano.

So the next possible answer is the worst generation pirates. Currently, there are eight of them in Wano. If we will not count Apoo, there are still seven of them and it’s not yet too late for the others to come. And right now, two possible worst gen pirates could join the war in Wano – Urouge, and Blackbeard.

Bonney might be involved in the incident in Mary Geoise, while Bege and his group are still looking for Lola in Dressrosa. However, all of them will surely be the primary figures in the impending great war.

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Image credits: One Piece official Twitter account

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