Kozuki Sukiyaki

Kozuki Sukiyaki is the former shogun of Wano Country. He is the father of the late daimyo of Kuri Kozuki Oden, as well as the grandfather of current shogun Kozuki Momonosuke and Hiyori. The descendant of the legendary swordsmith Kotetsu, he is a swordsmith by hobby and crafted one of Roronoa Zoro's swords, Sandai Kitetsu.

Around three decades before the present day, he was deposed from the shogunate and imprisoned by the usurper Kurozumi Orochi. Escaping sometime after Oden's execution 20 years ago, Sukiyaki went into hiding and lived as a hermit under the name Tenguyama Hitetsu; he resided in Amigasa Village in Kuri and raised the young girl Tama as his ward. After Orochi was overthrown and his grandson Momonosuke took power, Sukiyaki chose to remain hidden due to his shame over what he allowed to happen to Wano.

Appearance
Sukiyaki is a large man of slightly above average height. In his 40s and 50s while he was shogun, he had black hair which split into three tufts that pointed upward at the front, while the back was fashioned in a topknot. He had a small beard growing out of his chin which split into three prongs and a long, thin mustache which pointed upward on each side. He had thick eyebrows, prominent eyelashes, and a dark nose. He wore a light-colored kimono and a dark-colored robe which both had various flower patterns on them.

In the present day, he possesses a wrinkly face and long white hair that reaches down to his back. In his Hitetsu disguise, he wears a red tengu mask which has an extremely long nose that grows and shrinks constantly. He wears a black jacket with green poofs along its inner edges over a light gray kimono with purple spots on the bottom. He also wears dark blue puffy trousers and extremely tall geta sandals on his feet.

Personality
Sukiyaki appeared to be a strict and fair ruler, as he was willing to disown and exile his own son, Oden, for his violent actions. Shimotsuki Yasuie believed this was simply a sign of Sukiyaki's tough love for his son and a way to get him to mend his ways. He appeared to be exhausted by and ashamed of his son's ways, calling them demonic. Sukiyaki also seemed to appreciate order, as while he was not bold enough to attempt to establish order in Kuri himself due to how violent it was, he rewarded Oden with the title of daimyo when he brought peace to the lawless region.

After being deposed and imprisoned, Sukiyaki was filled with great shame upon escaping, believing he had failed the people of Wano. He was so sorrowful over his failure to the point of considering seppuku, and following the Kozuki Family regaining the shogunate under Momonosuke's leadership, Sukiyaki has no intention of revealing his continued survival to his grandchildren or former subjects, even refers his late son and grandchildren with honorifics sama to prevent his true identity from being known to his grandchildren and the Kozuki retainers. Eventually he chose to reveal his true identity to his grandchildren and retainers on the condition that once he passes down his knowledge to his grandson, he will completely go back to his life of seclusion.

As Hitetsu, Sukiyaki retained the same strict attitude, but his caring traits were more apparent especially when it came to his ward Tama. Sukiyaki is immensely protective over her and what little resources she has, and so got extremely violent against Luffy when he mistakenly believed the pirate was taking advantage of her. Later, Sukiyaki took watch over the recently orphaned Toko and brought her to the Fire Festival to cheer her up, assuring her that her deceased father will watch over her.

As a swordsmith, Sukiyaki has deep respect for swords and also fellow swordsmiths, as he refused to let Luffy borrow his ancestor's famed masterpiece Nidai Kitetsu, believing it is sinful to handle Meitos so casually, though it is mainly because of Nidai Kitetsu's dangerous nature as a curse sword. He also dutifully safeguarded Kozuki Oden's Ame no Habakiri and Enma in order to return them to Oden's heirs, Momonosuke and Hiyori. When he noticed Zoro wielding his creation Sandai Kitetsu and also Shimotsuki Kozaburo's masterpiece Wado Ichimonji, he told Zoro about their origins and about Hiyori's faith in Zoro's abilities which led her to entrust her father's heirloom to him. Sukiyaki is also a collector of beautiful girl kokeshi dolls and was quite proud of his collection; he reacted with loud shock when Robin disagreed with them being cute.

Kozuki Oden
Due to his son Oden's tendency to pick violent fights, Sukiyaki was frustrated by his violent and out-of-control nature. He exiled Oden from the Flower Capital and even barred him from stepping into the castle. Yasuie believed that the banishment was simply tough love, though Oden did not actually resent his father for banishing him.

When he got word of Oden bringing order to the lawless region of Kuri, Sukiyaki was deeply impressed. Thus, he reversed his decision of exiling his son and made him the daimyo of Kuri.

In their last meeting, Sukiyaki was surprised and proud of his son for maturing when becoming a Daimyo. When Oden heard that he passed away, he regretted not being there at his deathbed. Likewise, upon escaping imprisonment, Oden's death has saddened Sukiyaki along with Orochi and Kaidou's tyranny over Wano led him to contemplate seppuku.

Momonosuke and Hiyori
Sukiyaki has never had the opportunity to meet his grandchildren Momonosuke and Hiyori, due to having been imprisoned before they first arrived on Wano; by the time of his escape, Momonosuke had been sent into the future while Hiyori was in hiding. Sukiyaki initially has no intention of revealing his true identity to his grandchildren as he does not feel it right to enter their lives after they fought to reclaim Wano from the forces that he could not stop. The only thing he wished to do for them was to bestow the swords that Oden had left to them which he eventually did giving the Ame no Habakiri which Momonosuke declined due to feeling not ready to wield it. Momonosuke initially had no idea at the time Hitetsu was actually his grandfather Sukiyaki where he referred to him with great honorific to avoid having them discover his identity. When Sukiyaki decided to show himself to his grandchildren, both Momonosuke and Hiyori expressed happiness and relief to meet their grandfather and still have a family member after their parents died. Sukiyaki then told them that he intended to pass down a few things to Momonosuke and requested them to let him continue living anonymously.

Tama


Sukiyaki is the master of Tama and also her guardian. He cares deeply for Tama as he would do whatever he could to raise her in spite of the hardships under Kurozumi Orochi's regime, even willing to spend money buying two rice meals at least on her birthday and new year. He was also angry at Luffy for bluntly revealing Ace's death, which made Tama sad. When Tama later decided to help the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance at Onigashima, Sukiyaki was against it and while enjoying the Fire Festival with Toko, he is still concerned for Tama's safety despite having no way of knowing it at the moment.

Straw Hat Pirates
Sukiyaki had attacked Monkey D. Luffy when he first thought that Luffy had stolen Tama's rice meal. He was later angered when Luffy bluntly revealed his brother's death, saying that there is a proper time and proper way to reveal it. Sukiyaki later helped Luffy disguise himself as a Wano Country citizen, though was aghast when the latter borrowed his ancestor's masterpiece Nidai Kitetsu without permission. After learning from Kawamatsu about Hiyori's intention to give her father's heirloom Enma to Roronoa Zoro in exchange for Shusui, Sukiyaki relented and gave Oden's keepsake for his granddaughter to Zoro. Sukiyaki even offered Zoro another sword if he is unsatisfied with Enma. However, he was impressed by Zoro's quick mastery over Enma, and noted both Wado Ichimonji and Sandai Kitetsu being in his possession as proof of his strength and how he could tame Enma. After the battle, upon finding Nico Robin in the room where he was imprisoned, Sukiyaki revealed his identity and was willing to answer her question about Pluton being located in Wano.

Abilities and Powers
As shogun of Wano, Sukiyaki had full control over the country until his rule ended. He was capable of bestowing positions of authority onto others, as shown when he made his son, Oden, the daimyo of Kuri.

As a member of the Kozuki Family, Sukiyaki is a philologist who inherited his ancestors' skills and knowledge to read the Poneglyphs and write its language which he passed on to his son.

Craftsmanship
Like his ancestor, Sukiyaki is an extraordinary master swordsmith. According to Hiyori, Sukiyaki's craftsmanship is on par with the legendary master swordsmith Shimotsuki Kozaburo. He crafted two Meito; Sandai Kitetsu and Ame no Habakiri, one of the 21 Great Grade Swords. He is also extremely knowledgeable of swords and their origins, able to identify a Meito on sight.

Physical Abilities
Sukiyaki is a samurai and has great strength despite his old age, as he was capable of sending Luffy flying out of his home with great force. Sukiyaki has immense stamina and endurance despite his age as he could survive years of imprisonment by Orochi and later the harsh famine of Wano caused by Kaidou and Orochi's pollution of Wano.

Swordsmanship
Sukiyaki wields a world-renowned katana. His overall skills with it are unknown, but he was able to send Luffy crashing out of his home with great force without injuring him with the blade.

He also owns the cursed Great Grade Meito, Nidai Kitetsu, though he does not use it and it was borrowed by Monkey D. Luffy.

Past
Over eight decades ago, Sukiyaki's father was heirless and the daimyos were restless about who would succeed him. The head of the Kurozumi Family took advantage of this and poisoned the other daimyos in order to become the only candidate left. Luckily, the Kozuki line finally bore an heir, and Sukiyaki would eventually go on to succeed his father and rule over Wano Country as its shogun. Fifty-nine years ago, he fathered a son named Kozuki Oden, who he became annoyed with due to his unruly actions. Like his ancestor Kotetsu, Sukiyaki engaged in swordsmithing as a hobby, becoming as famous as Shimotsuki Kozaburo due to his superior skill in crafting powerful swords, among them Sandai Kitetsu created in imitation of Kotetsu's Nidai Kitetsu, which was later exported overseas, and also Ame no Habakiri, which eventually became one of Kozuki Oden's favorite swords.

Forty-one years ago, right after his son Oden failed in his 38th attempt to leave the country, Sukiyaki listened on as Banzaburo listed all the amazing, but also disgraceful things Oden had done so far. He then ordered his aide to deliver a message to Oden, saying that he was disowning him. Sukiyaki then exiled Oden from the Flower Capital after taking into consideration the various violent crimes Oden had committed.

Two years later, Oden established order in the lawless region of Kuri, and Sukiyaki reversed his decision of disowning him and bestowed him the title of daimyo out of gratitude for this achievement.

Between 33 and 30 years ago, Kurozumi Higurashi came to the palace disguised as Oden with the Mane Mane no Mi and recommended that Kurozumi Orochi be given a job in the castle; Sukiyaki obliged, being unaware of the deception. Thirty years ago, Sukiyaki had fallen ill and Oden paid him a visit. During their conversation, Sukiyaki commented on how Oden had grown into a fine man. This was the last time they ever spoke to each other. Orochi and his family then imprisoned Sukiyaki in a hidden room in the palace, and told the populace of Wano that the shogun had passed away.

Sukiyaki remained imprisoned for many years before managing to escape by unknown means at some point less than 20 years before the present. At that point, his son Oden had been executed and Wano had been turned into a barren, polluted wasteland by Orochi's factories, and Sukiyaki was filled with shame that he has failed to stop this, causing him to consider committing seppuku. However, Sukiyaki remained alive and somehow acquired Oden's swords Ame no Habakiri and Enma, which he intended to pass down to his children Momonosuke and Hiyori respectively. Sukiyaki settled in Amigasa Village in Kuri to wait for his grandchildren, covering his face with a mask and adopting the alias of Tenguyama Hitetsu.

Four years ago, Amigasa Village suffered from a great famine. When its citizens were on the verge of death, a group of pirates led by Portgas D. Ace washed up on the island, and the citizens were saved by stealing their food though Ace allowed them to take the food. Around a year ago, Beasts Pirates Shinuchi X Drake came and destroyed Amigasa Village. Sukiyaki stayed in the ruins of the village in order to wait for Oden's children, and a young girl named Tama stayed with him to wait for Ace. Sukiyaki became Tama's master and put her to work weaving kasas.

Wano Country Arc
On Tama's eighth birthday, Sukiyaki sent her to the market to buy some rice to eat. Sukiyaki came into his house to find Monkey D. Luffy with Tama. He saw that Luffy had eaten the rice that Tama bought and so attacked him for taking the food that Tama rarely got to have. However, Tama told him that she had given Luffy the rice out of gratitude for him saving her life, but she then fell ill due to drinking contaminated river water. Sukiyaki told Luffy that Tama was waiting for Ace, only for Luffy to reveal that Ace died. Sukiyaki berated Luffy for saying it so directly and told him about Ace's visit as well as the destruction of the village. Luffy then offered to take Tama to the town to see a doctor, and Sukiyaki told him to look for his allies. Luffy took the sword Nidai Kitetsu with him, and Sukiyaki tried to stop him due to fearing its curse, but was unsuccessful as Luffy and Tama headed off.

After an injured Tama was returned to Amigasa Village, Sukiyaki thanked Chopper and some of the minks for treating her. Sometime later after Tama, Kiku, Momonosuke, and Chopper left the village to go for a walk to Kuri Beach, Sukiyaki spoke to them through a Smart Tanishi and learned that they were traveling to Udon with an amnesiac Big Mom. Sukiyaki urged them to return to the village, but they hung up on him.



A few days later, Sukiyaki was present during a meeting of several key members of the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance. After Kikunojo returned the Nidai Kitetsu to him, Sukiyaki presented the swords Enma and Ame no Habakiri to Zoro and Momonosuke, respectively. When Zoro gave Enma a test, Sukiyaki explained to him the nature of the blade's power. Two days before the raid on Onigashima, Sukiyaki reunited with Tama when she returned to Amigasa Village with Luffy and Chopper. He also offered armor to Luffy, Chopper, and Brook. On the day before the raid, he explained to Zoro the history of Enma and its sister blade, Wado Ichimonji, and expressed confidence that Zoro could blacken Enma's blade.

Sukiyaki attended the Fire Festival with Toko and discussed how her adoptive father's sacrifice was to protect her and Wano's future. He was moved to tears when she changed her lantern's message to thank Yasuie. She then lit the candle and they watched the lantern float up into the sky along side the others. That night, Orochi and Kaidou were defeated and Momonosuke became the next shogun of Wano.

A week later, Sukiyaki went to the shogun's castle during the Flower Capital celebrations and entered the room where he had been imprisoned. Upon finding Nico Robin there, Sukiyaki revealed his true identity to her and explained what had happened to him, but she interrupted him to ask if the Ancient Weapon Pluton was indeed located in Wano, which he affirmed.

Sukiyaki then take Robin to a place underground with Trafalgar Law joining them. As the two looked around, they looked out of a glass window, and Sukiyaki revealed to them both an entirely preserved underwater city that he stated as the "Old Wano". After explaining the origins of both the old and current Wano, Sukiyaki finally took them to the room containing the Road Poneglyph, and then stated that Pluton was further down and in order to retrieve it, the massive walls acting as the country's borders had to be removed as opening the Wano's boarders to the world would mean unleashing the ancient weapon onto the world. This shocked Robin and questioned Oden's motivation regarding opening Wano's boader, Sukiyaki that everything he told has been pass down through the shogunate line and he couldn't tell her what Oden has learned abroad.

Later after the Fire Festival ended, Sukiyaki is finally introduced to his grandchildren, Momonosuke and Hiyori, and as he embraced them he tearfully apologizes for his absence, but was surprised when the two of them forgave him and were just glad that a member of their family was still alive. He was also surprised to hear that most of the remaining retainers were aware of his disguise the whole time (with Kin'emon being the only one not to notice). After this he intend to pass down a few things to Momonosuke and asked if they could continue keeping his identity a secret, to which everyone happily agreed to.

Early Concepts
In Road To Laugh Tale, concept artworks for Tenguyama Hitetsu can be found. The character was originally supposed to be part of the "Seven Scoundrels", the prototype version of the Nine Red Scabbards, with the epithet of "Hitetsu of the Wind". It is known that his interests in swordsmithing and kokeshi dolls were already present during this phase.

It is unknown, however, if Tenguyama was originally supposed to be Sukiyaki in disguise or if the character of Sukiyaki even existed in the first place, as revealed by the final version of the character.

Trivia

 * Certain decisions and changes made to other One Piece media may have indicated Oda's intention of Sukiyaki and Hitetsu being one and the same. Ryūzaburō Ōtomo voiced both characters in the anime long before this revelation was made. Additionally, Hitetsu's entry in Vivre Card - One Piece Visual Dictionary initially listed him as 58 years old, but was later corrected to 81, thus allowing it to remain accurate for this development.
 * His name is also the name of a traditional Japanese winter dish, fitting with the theme of Wano's leaders being named after Japanese dishes.
 * His favorite food is momiji manju.

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