Izou

Izou was the former commander of the 16th division of the Whitebeard Pirates and prior to this, a retainer of the Wano Country daimyo Kozuki Oden. He was the older brother of fellow retainer Kikunojo.

Izou came aboard the Whitebeard Pirates' ship in a failed effort to keep Oden from joining the crew; later, he remained with the crew after Oden was recruited to the Roger Pirates, and upon his return to Wano, Oden elected to not retrieve Izou as he knew the retainer was content to stay with them. Izou sailed with the Whitebeard Pirates for nearly three decades until Whitebeard was killed during the Summit War of Marineford and the rest of the crew was scattered during the Payback War.

About a year after the Payback War, Izou returned to Wano alongside Marco in order to ally with the Kozuki Family's forces in their attack against the forces that killed Oden, and reunited with his sister. However, Izou was killed while fighting two CP0 agents.

Appearance
Izou was a cross-dressing man who wore a pink and purple kimono. He had a pale complexion and hair tied in a way resembling that of a geisha. He had a loose, long strand of hair that hangs over the right side of his face. He also carried another Japanese-looking, light-red spotted indument tied around his waist.

After the timeskip, he had a small scar over his right eye, his hair appeared longer, and he had a second shorter strand of hair hanging over the left side of his face. During the Wano Country Arc, he wore a red pink and white kimono bearing the simplified version of the Whitebeard Pirates' Jolly Roger with an added flame motif, as well as a black cape. Izou also wore black gloves.

He had the crest of the Kozuki Family tattooed on his back.

When he was a child dancer, he wore a kimono with a diagonal spot design, had the top of his head shaven, with his bangs parted and the back tied up and pinned, and carried a pair of fans.

Personality
Izou was very loyal to the Whitebeard Pirates and Whitebeard, as he was willing to risk his own life in order to save Ace from execution during the Summit War of Marineford.

Prior to joining the Whitebeard Pirates, Izou was loyal and very close to Kozuki Oden after he found both him and his younger sibling Kikunojo on the streets of Ringo dirtied and hungry. Even 20 years after Oden's death, Izou was still very loyal to him, having returned to Wano in order to take revenge on Orochi and Kaidou.

As a samurai, Izou appeared to value a glorious and meaningful death in battle over his own life, stating that he missed the chance to have one too many times, and is therefore ready to lose his life in the raid against Kaidou's dominion over Wano. At the same time, Izou did not believe it was fine to simply accept death too readily as long as a person has something to fight for.

Kikunojo


Kikunojo was Izou's only sibling. After their father was arrested and convicted, they stayed together to survive in the streets of Ringo and they both joined Kozuki Oden. When Oden, Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and Izou went missing, Kiku expressed worries as she could not find her brother and the others while crying. Later, when Nekomamushi and Inuarashi returned to Wano and informed Kiku about Izou staying with the Whitebeard Pirates, Kiku expressed positivity, knowing that her brother would be happy. During the raid on Onigashima, they reunited for the first time in over 25 years and he was pleased to see Kikunojo again. Right before his death, Izou's last words were for Kiku to survive the battle and live on.

Crew
Before Izou joined the crew, he was cold towards Whitebeard when Oden’s life was in grave danger. After Oden officially joined the Whitebeard Pirates, his attitude changed as he became close with the crew. When Oden left the crew, Izou chose to remain and had been a member for more than twenty-five years and became the sixteenth division commander. He was willing to rescue any of his crew when he was at Marineford. Izou, like the rest of the crew, was saddened when Whitebeard and Ace died.

As they were both interested in liberating Wano from the Beast Pirates and Kurozumi Orochi both Marco and Izou would travel to Wano together alongside Nekomamushi and the Guardians to join the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance. Follow Izou's own death, Marco agreed with Kin'emon to have Izou buried in Ringo as Izou would be laid to rest in his homeland.

Kozuki Oden
Like the Nine Red Scabbards, Izou was one of Oden's closest confidants and retainers due to Oden taking him and his sister under his care during his journey around Wano. When Oden stubbornly tried to follow the Whitebeard Pirates in setting sail, Izou joined him. Even after twenty years since Oden's death, Izou was still extremely loyal to Oden as he would go along with Nekomamushi to assist the Nine Red Scabbards and Straw Hat Pirates in the raid on Onigashima to avenge his master's death.

Abilities and Powers
As the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates 16th division, Izou had authority over the lower-ranking subordinates. Like the other former commanders, he was very powerful, further corroborated by his impressive bounty of 510,000,000.

During the Summit War of Marineford, he confronted Admiral Akainu and was left relatively uninjured. During the raid on Onigashima, the CP0 agents that encountered Izou preferred to avoided fighting him in favor of their current mission, despite Izou being heavily injured and it being two on one. While Izou was ultimately defeated and killed, he was able to take one of them down with him.

As the heir of a dancing school, where he was raised prior to his father's arrest, Izou was capable of performing traditional dancing routines.

Marksmanship


Izou was an extremely adept sniper, especially in close quarters combat. Izou developed sharpshooting skills back when he was still a street-dwelling child, as part of his entertainment routine.

As the Scabbards prepared to attack Kaidou, he was shown disarming King of his sword with a single shot.

Techniques

 * Dangirigan (弾斬丸): After imbuing his bullets with Haki, Izou shoots his bullets in a manner that produces a flying slash-like barrier around each bullet, generating an attack that pierces and slashes his opponent at the same time. This attack was first used against Kaidou in battle alongside his sibling Kikunojo.

Weapons


He wielded a pair of flintlock pistols.

During his time in Wano Country, he was seen wielding a sword in order to assist Oden to fight against Ashura Doji. He was also seen carrying a sheathed sword by the end of the Summit War of Marineford. However, he was not a very good swordsman and so heavily preferred to use guns.

Busoshoku Haki
Izou possessed an advanced level of Busoshoku Haki, which he could imbue into the bullets he shot. With it, he was able to penetrate Kaidou's tremendously tough skin by shooting it.

Kenbunshoku Haki
Izou possessed the ability to use Kenbunshoku Haki.

Past
Izou and his sibling, Kikunojo, were born in Wano Country. During their childhood, they were raised in the dancing school Hanayanagi School (花柳流) but their family was torn apart after their father was arrested. Afterwards, they had to survive on the streets in Ringo. When Kozuki Oden arrived and gave them food, they joined him. After Oden became daimyo of Kuri, he became one of his retainers.

After Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and Kawamatsu joined Oden, they were running low on funds. Therefore, he and the other retainers attempted to steal money from Shimotsuki Yasuie, but they were caught. Instead of punishing them, Yasuie allowed them to take the money and encouraged them to use it to become better people for the sake of Oden and Wano Country. Following Yasuie's advice, they educated themselves and trained to become dignified warriors. 30 years ago, they visited the Flower Capital with Oden.



Two weeks after the Whitebeard Pirates arrived at Wano, Oden secretly followed the crew when they decided to leave Wano at night secretly to prevent him from joining the crew. However, Izou knew Oden's plan beforehand and chased after him. He was pulled up after hanging onto Oden's body and tied up on the ship for at least three days before Whitebeard decided to let Oden join the crew. Soon after, his fellow comrades, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, were discovered to have stowed away on the ship as well, having waited for Oden. After many adventures together, Izou was seen partying with the crew happily.

After two years with the Whitebeard Pirates, Oden and Toki's son, Kozuki Momonosuke, was born and Oden received a bounty. Izou urged Oden to return to Wano for the sake of his wife and son, but Oden insisted on continuing with his adventures.

Another two years later, the Whitebeard Pirates clashed with the Roger Pirates on an island for three days and three nights before the skirmish became a gift exchange. Oden decided to join Gol D. Roger for one year to assist him with his final journey. Rather than go along with Oden, Izou decided that he preferred sailing with the Whitebeard Pirates and chose to wait alongside Inuarashi and Nekomamushi for Oden to return, but the latter two left him behind when they snuck onto Roger's ship without him.

The Whitebeard Pirates learned about Oden's death several years after it happened.

Some time over the course of twenty-four years, the crew expanded from five divisions to sixteen and Izou assumed control of the 16th Division as one of the Division Commanders. Izou oversaw the sake cup ceremony that officially welcomed Ace into the Whitebeard Pirates.

At some point after Ace became the 2nd Division commander, he talked about going to war with Kaidou to liberate Wano Country, but Whitebeard never agreed to this request. Izou stated that he would join Ace once Whitebeard gave his approval.

Marineford Arc
When it was revealed that Portgas D. Ace was going to be publicly executed in Marineford, Izou joined the rest of Whitebeard's fleet and their subordinate crews to rescue Ace. Arriving at the Marines headquarters, they fought to save their captured comrade alongside some late additions to the war.

After Kizaru kicked Monkey D. Luffy, Izou questioned if Luffy was already tired. Izou and several other division commanders then led a charge, hoping to break through the lines of the retreating Marines. Izou was shocked when Squard turned on Whitebeard and stabbed him. After Squard realized that he had been tricked, the Marines raised the siege walls keeping the pirates from entering the plaza, so Izou and the other pirates boarded Whitebeard's hidden paddle ship. Little Oars Jr. then pushed the ship through the hole that the giant had created.



Later on, he fought alongside his subordinates against the Marines gathered in the plaza. After Luffy freed Ace from the scaffold, the pirates rejoiced. Whitebeard then gave his final order and the pirates reluctantly followed. Just when the pirates were about to leave with Ace, Admiral Akainu called Whitebeard a failure. Ace quickly turned back and Izou tried persuading Ace to forget about Akainu but was unsuccessful. Akainu took Ace's life and then aimed to kill Luffy. Izou and the other division commanders fought against the admiral to ensure that Luffy sees the New Era.

Upon the arrival of Shanks and Sengoku calling the war to a close, Izou, like the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates and their subordinates, mourned for the outcome of the war and left the battlefield.

Post-War Arc
Izou and the rest of the crew attended the funeral of Whitebeard and Ace at an undisclosed location somewhere in the New World.

During the Timeskip
One year after the war at Marineford, the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates fought against the Blackbeard Pirates but ultimately lost. They went into hiding and have not been seen since their defeat.

Wano Country Arc
During the raid on Onigashima, Izou returned to Wano Country along with Nekomamushi and at the same time as Marco.

Izou, Nekomamushi, and Marco later joined some of the Scabbards at the back entrance of Onigashima, where Izou reunited with Kikunojo. After Marco left to check on a shadow he saw at sea, the group was confronted by Kanjuro and an army of Beasts Pirates. While Kikunojo clashed against Kanjuro, the rest fought the other enemies.

After Kanjuro and the Beasts Pirates with him were defeated, Izou reunited with Kin'emon and Denjiro. Izou and the Scabbards then entered Kaidou's castle, fought their way to the Performance Stage, and launched an all-out attack on Kaidou and the All-Stars. While falling to the lower floor, Izou and his allies managed to inflict wounds on Kaidou. As the alliance revealed themselves and attacked the Beasts Pirates, Kaidou transformed into his dragon form and flew to the roof of the Skull Dome, with Izou's group grabbing onto him. On the roof, they prepared to fight Kaidou with the Mink Tribe's help.



Jack and a platoon arrived at the roof to assist Kaidou. Izou and the Scabbards watched as the Sulong minks engaged the enemy. After Jack and his forces were rendered unable to battle thanks to the minks' efforts, Izou and the Scabbards resumed their confrontation with Kaidou. Kaidou roared lightning at them, but they dodged around it and each struck him in turn. When Kaidou retaliated with a roar that created wind scythes, Izou was alarmed when Kikunojo's left arm got sliced off. Izou wrapped a tourniquet around Kikunojo's arm, and Kin'emon cauterized the wound.

Continuing the battle, Kaidou began overwhelming Izou and the Scabbards and later incapacitated them. Big Mom, Eustass Kid, Killer, Roronoa Zoro, Luffy, and Trafalgar Law later arrived at the roof. Upon Luffy's request, Law teleported Izou and the Scabbards to a safe place. They were placed in the treasure room on the second floor, where a mysterious person was tending to them. They later recovered and regained consciousness, but the mysterious figure already had left. Before they left the treasure room, they saw who appeared to be Oden. Many of the Scabbards believed it was him; however, "Oden" was quickly exposed to be a drawing made by Kanjuro, who was still alive and heading for Momonosuke. The Oden drawing then lit a large quantity of dynamite under its garment, but Ashura Doji tackled it out of the room before it exploded, sacrificing himself to save his comrades.

The Scabbards immediately headed out to find Kanjuro, but were then confronted by Beasts Pirates All-Star Jack; Inuarashi stayed behind to battle him. As they raced through the fortress, they encountered Orochi and Fukurokuju. Orochi transformed into the Yamata no Orochi to take on the Scabbards, but they responded by swiftly decapitating his multiple heads at once. They continued on, with Raizo staying behind to fight Fukurokuju. When Kikunojo asked Kin'emon to leave Kanjuro to her, Izou asked how she was dealing with her severed arm, to which she jokingly replied it was nothing more than an itch compared to the pain she felt when Izou left her in Wano, which Izou took as a sign of high spirits from her. Izou and Kawamatsu then separated from the group and ran into Sanji carrying an incapacitated Roronoa Zoro, and the four headed to the Live Floor together.

The group arrived at the Live Floor to hear the announcement of Luffy's defeat, which Izou noted would hurt the morale of the Wano forces. When Marco decided to leave King and Queen to Zoro and Sanji, Izou protected him from incoming bullets shot by Beasts Pirates, shooting and defeating them in retaliation while also berating Marco on his carelessness. When Marco asked Izou if he thinks that gods once lived on the Red Line, Izou disgruntledly replied that Marco sounded similar to Whitebeard when he was drunk. Later, Marco in his full phoenix form began carrying Izou over the Live Stage and towards Kaidou's burning castle, where they had heard was some kind of large fire apparition.



Izou arrived in time to save Usopp, Kikunojo, and Kin'emon from a group of Beasts Pirates. Kikunojo tried to speak to her brother, but Izou told her to focus on surviving instead and ordered Usopp to carry away the two injured Scabbards. After defeating the Beasts Pirates and suffering several injuries, Izou descended towards the Basement Floor, where he encountered CP0. The agents were willing to ignore the Whitebeard pirate's presence in their pursuit of the Straw Hats, but Izou refused to let them pass. Despite being outnumbered, Izou fought the two agents and was eventually killed after being struck by a Shigan from Maha, though he managed to take Maha down with him.

Legacy
Following the success of the Raid on Onigashima, Kin'emon expressed a desire to build a temple in Ringo that would honor Izou alongside Oden, the former daimyo and Ashura Doji.

Major Battles

 * Whitebeard Pirates vs. Roger Pirates (unseen)
 * Whitebeard Pirates and their subordinate crews vs. the Marines and Seven Warlords of the Sea
 * Izou vs. Marine Officers
 * Whitebeard Pirates Commanders (minus Ace, Jozu and Thatch), Crocodile and Andre vs. Admiral Akainu
 * Whitebeard Pirates (under Marco) vs. Blackbeard Pirates (unseen, during timeskip)
 * Izou and the Nine Red Scabbards (minus Kanjuro, Kin'emon, and Denjiro) vs. Kurozumi Kanjuro and Beasts Pirates Gifters (unseen)
 * Izou and the Nine Red Scabbards (minus Kanjuro) vs. Kaidou
 * Izou and the Nine Red Scabbards (minus Kanjuro) vs. Kanjuro (Kozuki Oden drawing)
 * Izou and the Nine Red Scabbards (minus Kanjuro, Ashura and Inuarashi) vs. Kurozumi Orochi
 * Izou vs. Beasts Pirates
 * Izou vs. Maha

Playable Appearances

 * One Piece Treasure Cruise
 * One Piece Thousand Storm
 * One Piece Bon! Bon! Journey!!
 * One Piece Bounty Rush

Non-Playable Appearances

 * One Piece: Burning Will

Trivia

 * His favorite food was ganmodoki. Fittingly enough, ganmodoki is a tofu dish that can be prepared with and used in Oden, which fits with the ingredient theme used by Kozuki Oden's main retainers, the Nine Red Scabbards.
 * His name may come from Okada Izō, a samurai of the late Edo period who was feared as one of the four most notable assassins of the Bakumatsu period.
 * While without one in the series, Treasure Cruise gives him the epithet "Flintlock Pistols Izou" (短筒使いのイゾウ).
 * There is a continuity mistake in the anime when he reunites with Kikunojo, showing both of them with the same height, while Kikunojo is actually almost 1 meter taller than Izou.

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