Episode 971

"Raid! Oden and the Nine Red Scabbards" is the 971st episode of the One Piece anime.

Short Summary
Orochi starts taking power of the country backed up by Kaidou. Oden and his men travel to Udon to face Kaidou head-on.

Long Summary
Five years passed since Oden's return to Wano Country and nothing much had changed. He had garnered a reputation of being the silly lord for his naked dances, but the other daimyos and his retainers supported him unconditionally.

However, Orochi made his move. He wanted to start building weapon factories in Kuri to transform the country into the leader of the weapons industry. Orochi captured Hyogoro, who refused to serve him, and sent him to prison. Those who attempted to aid Hyogoro, including his wife, were shot. Upon hearing the news, Oden decided that Orochi had become a great threat and must be stopped. Because of their unwavering loyalty to the country, Oden's retainers were named the Nine Red Scabbards.

Kaidou's men were strangely prepared for the attack, almost as if there was a spy within Oden's retainers. The Nine Red Scabbards faced off against hundreds of the Beasts Pirates as well as Kaidou himself in his dragon form. Kaidou revealed that the promises Orochi made to Oden were entirely a lie. The battle begins, and despite being greatly outnumbered, the Nine Red Scabbards started strong fighting off the Beasts Pirates. While Oden's men faced off, Toki watched over Momonosuke and Hiyori back in Kuri, pressured by Yasuie to keep them safe at all costs.

Anime Notes

 * The anime shows a small flashback of the moment when Hyogoro's wife was shot to death and Hyogoro himself was dragged away by the Beasts Pirates. In the manga, this was only mentioned.