Episode 954

"Its Name is Enma! Oden's Great Swords!" is the 954th episode of the One Piece anime.

Short Summary
Kawamatsu tells the story of him and Gyukimaru, revealing that Gyukimaru was actually a fox named Onimaru. Hiyori offers the Enma to Zoro in exchange for the Shusui.

Long Summary
Zoro chases Gyukimaru, but he goes into an run-down doorway and disappears. Hiyori and Kawamatsu decide to walk together, but are attacked by another wave of bandits. Kawamatsu fights them off, and explains what happened after he lost Hiyori.

Thirteen years ago, after Hiyori ran away, he decided to leave to Ringo. Ringo was a region that was previously ruled by the daimyo Shimotsuki Ushimaru, who was with the company of a fox, Onimaru. However, when Orochi overthrew Oden, Ushimaru was killed and Ringo fell.

Kawamatsu found a mass burial site with Eternal Graves. These corpses were buried in caskets and did not decompose due to the cold. They were marked by the deceased person's sword, which was said to contain the soul of the deceased. These swords became attractive to grave robbers, but the graveyard was guarded by the fox, Onimaru.

Onimaru was initially hostile to Kawamatsu but eventually warmed up to him. However, he became hostile again after he saw Kawamatsu taking the swords from the graves. Kawamatsu explained that the swords were to be used for the upcoming Onigashima raid. Given that the samurai in the swords will help their wielders in battle, Onimaru allowed him, helping him gather the other swords.

Together they would build a hideout to keep the swords, steal food from the capital to keep themselves fed, and fight off any grave robbers, taking their swords. Unfortunately, when Kawamatsu attempted to steal tofu one day, he fell into a trap and was arrested, being sent to the Udon prisoner mine.

Back in present day, Kawamatsu goes to the place where Gyukimaru disappeared, and finds that it is the location where the swords were located. He contacts Kin'emon and tells him that he has the supply of swords needed for the army. It is revealed that Gyukimaru was the one who arranged the swords while Kawamatsu was gone, as he was actually Onimaru in his human form. He transforms back into his fox form and leaves, his duty fulfilled.

Zoro tries to take back Shusui, but Hiyori asks him to leave it. Hiyori offers him a replacement sword, the Enma. This sword belonged to Oden himself and is the only sword to have ever successfully injured Kaidou.

Anime Notes

 * The anime adds the following:
 * Zoro seeing Gyukimaru opening the entrance to the secret place where a stash of weapons is stored.
 * Kawamatsu defeating another group of Beasts Pirates after Zoro ran after Gyukimaru.
 * In the flashback, a scene shows Kawamatsu preparing to end his own life until he heard Onimaru fighting a group of Beasts Pirates.
 * A scene of Kawamatsu building the cave where he kept the swords.
 * Kawamatsu arrested by Orochi's enforcers is shown.
 * In the manga, Kawamatsu was caught by a mob of people. In the anime, Kawamatsu is caught in a net trap.
 * Who's Who, Sasaki, and Page One in his human form are shown in silhouette.
 * However, the appearance of Who's Who in Kawamatsu's flashback is non-canon, as the manga would later reveal in Chapter 1017 that he was not affiliated with Kaidou 13 years ago, which was due to having been part of CP9 at the time.
 * The scene of Kawamatsu and Onimaru fending off Bingo, Bongo, and Bungo is extended.
 * The scene of Oden wounding Kaidou is shown later in the manga.