Chapter 972

Chapter 972 is titled "I am Oden, And I Was Born to Boil".

Cover Page
Color Spread - The Straw Hat Pirates and their counterparts from the "Hungry Days" commercial series.

Short Summary
Shocked by what Shinobu revealed, the citizens change their behavior and start to cheer for Oden, but they discover that they are surrounded by Orochi's men. Nearing the end of the set time, the citizens count down and after an hour passed, Orochi summoned a firing squad to execute Oden and his men. Oden throws his men away from the execution site and leaves them with his wish to open the borders of Wano to the world. As the Scabbards escape, Oden then dies when Kaidou shoots him.

Back in Kuri, news arrive to Toki and she recalls Oden giving her his swords while in prison to pass them on to their children. The letter he gave to her before he left told her to use her power in preparation for a great war in 20 years time.

Long Summary
As the citizens are surprised by Shinobu revealing the truth behind Oden's actions, she is threatened by Fukurokuju and the Orochi Oniwabanshu for speaking against the shogun. Shinobu confronts her former leader with the rise of the Kozuki Family, but he dismisses her words. Meanwhile, the citizens beg for Orochi to stop the execution, but they are shot with arrows in response.

The crowd then realizes both Orochi and Oden's actions, but discovers too late that they are surrounded by Orochi's men, as words about Oden's bravery spread out. Oden then talks to his retainers about a figure from 800 years ago that Wano Country should be prepared to follow. He then states that he will die today, much to the distress of Kikunojo, and reveals his wish to open Wano to the rest of the world.

News continued to spread throughout Wano, to its further regions, as the temperature of the boiling oil kept rising. The citizens cheered for Oden, encouraging him to withstand the torture, and offering the apologies for their harsh words and their ignorance. Despite the situation and their past, Oden forgave and thanked them all, appreciating their support.

Oden then reveals his wish once more, now to the rest of Wano, revealing it was the Kozuki who closed off Wano, in order to protect it from harm by an unknown force. He then continues to say that Wano and the entire world is waiting for a figure to come after an 800 years span. When that time comes, Wano, as Oden emphasizes, has to welcome and work with them. He then requests his scabbards to open Wano's border for this to happen. As Denjiro starts to comment, he is stopped by Raizo, who speaks on behalf of the Scabbards, saying they would make Oden's dream their own.

As the hour was about to pass, and Oden remained standing, Orochi began to worry, and the clock and the citizens counted down as the hour was done. As the citizens and Scabbards celebrated, it was short-lived, as a firing squad assembled around the pot, and Orochi reveals that he changed the sentence a minute prior and prepares to kill the entire group. As a citizen tries to object and is shot down, Oden throws his men far away from the execution site, freeing them. Kin'emon tells his fellow Scabbards to run towards Kuri. Shinobu is also able to escape, and as the Scabbards reminisce about their savior under fire, Kaidou aims a gun at Oden, still in the boiling pot.

The pirate comments on Oden's heroism and apologizes about Higurashi's acts in their last fight, before revealing he had her killed. Oden commends him for his honor, and recites his name phrase "I am Oden, and I was born..." but is shot and his body sinks into the sizzling oil, leaving the sorrowful citizens to finish in his honor: "To boil!"

Back in Kuri, in Oden Castle, a servant tells Kozuki Toki the news and she reads a letter left to her by Oden before he left to face Kaidou. In the letter, Oden gives Toki instruction in case he fails to bring Kaidou down. He tells her that 20 years from then, a war is likely to break out and a power capable of bringing Kaidou down will come to the New World, and he asks her to use her abilities. Toki then remembers her visiting Oden while he was imprisoned. He gave her his swords to pass them on to their children. Toki tears up the letter, and with tears in her eyes, she promises to follow Oden's words.

Chapter Notes

 * Oden revealed that the reason the Kozuki Family isolated Wano Country was to protect it from a great force.
 * Oden explained the meaning of opening Wano Country's border and that is about welcoming a certain individual to Wano Country.
 * Seeing Oden surviving the boiling pot, Orochi changed the sentence and ordered a firing squad.
 * Oden managed to save the Nine Red Scabbards by throwing them away from the execution site, and they ran towards Kuri.
 * Kaidou revealed that he killed Kurozumi Higurashi prior to Oden's execution.
 * Kaidou executed Oden with a pistol.
 * While in prison, Oden handed his swords to Toki.
 * It is revealed that Oden was the one who came up with the plan for Toki to use her Toki Toki no Mi to travel 20 years into the future.