One Piece Chapter 962 Theory: How Orochi became a Traitor

Orochi is one of the main antagonists in the Wano Arc. He allied with Kaido to kick out Oden and turn Wano country into their territory. Orochi’s past character, however, is very contradicting to his present.In One Piece chapter 961, Orochi’s past was first introduced.

Unlike most fans’ expectations, Orochi turned out to be a humble servant. He was shown in the latter panels of the chapter as Yasuie’s new servant. This got many fans speculating how a servant Orochi turned against Oden, allied with Kaido and eventually became shogun.

Here are some speculations on this matter.

Nobunaga and Mitsuhide Inspiration

Oda is a genius in creating storylines, is no joke. His inspirations comes from a wide variety of literature. A fan comment on Reddit suggests that Oda might have taken inspiration from the Japanese history to create Orochi’s character. It is the history of Mitsuhide’s betrayal of Nobunaga.

Nobunaga was a Japanese daimyo in the late 16th century who tried to unify Japan during the Sengoku period. While Mitsuhide was a general under Nobunaga’s command. Mitsuhide, like Orochi eventually betrayed his master.

The specific reason is unknown, but theories suggest personal ambition and/or grudge may be the cause of the betrayal. Building on that premise, Orochi may have similar reasons for betraying Oden.

Orochi’s Personal Ambition

Since very little is known about Orochi’s past, we can only assume about his personal ambitions. But if we think about it, who would not want to be in power?

From the previous chapter, it can be observed that Orochi thought so little about himself. He even threw himself into a puddle so that Oden can cross without getting wet. This implies that Orochi is oriented with the fact that Oden might be the next Shogun.

He may compare his state with Oden and fantasize himself being praised and served by servants. I mean who would want to be a servant for the rest of their lives?

Orochi Envies Oden

Clearly, Orochi had enormous amount of respect for the Shogun’s heir as we have seen in the previous chapter. But if we recall what we know about Oden so far, we might see a catalyst for Orochi’s betrayal.

His own father disowned him and banished him from the capital. Years later, he successfully left the island and became a pirate. Oden was the last candidate for Shogun, if he was a candidate at all. Even Oden said that he could not just leave the country and demand the title of shogun upon his return.

Seeing Oden’s return and goal to be the shogun, Orochi must have felt it was unfair. By this time, Orochi probably worked his butt hard to rise in power. He may also already have inclinations of becoming the shogun.

Orochi’s Personal Grudge

Oden’s public execution was justified by Orochi for violating the country’s policy of not leaving the borders. But burning down Oden’s castle and killing his family is clearly a sign of grudge. But how did it start? I believe Orochi’s grudge against Oden started from day one.

Orochi was Yasuie’s newest servant when Oden met him. From Orochi’s very self-degrading actions, we can safely assume, he desperately needed the job. Then Oden, the spoiled son of the shogun, asked his uncle Yasuie to get rid of him just because he looked weird.

Oden’s ill-treatment towards Orochi could have gone over and over. Oden probably did small things that appeared as bullying to Orochi. But an accumulation of these small things may have formed into hatred that caused Orochi to murder all of Oden’s family.

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Image credits:Viz Media/ Funimation/ Onepiece.fandom

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