Oden's Travels

Oden's Travels
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Japanese Name:	おでん漫遊記
Romanized Name:	Oden Man'yūki
Official English Name:	Oden's Travels
First Appearance:	Chapter 962; Episode 961

Oden's Travels is a logbook that Kouzuki Oden wrote while traveling around Wano Country and later sailing on the Grand Line with the Whitebeard Pirates and Roger Pirates.

After Oden's death it came into the possession of Yamato, who came to regard it as his "bible"; the text drove him to work to become Oden, and seek out people who would fulfill prophecies contained in the book that Oden believed would come to pass 20 years after he wrote it. After meeting Oden's son Momonosuke, Yamato passed the book on to him.

History

Oden first started writing the journal around 41 years ago, when he left Shimotsuki Yasuie's residence in Hakumai to embark on his trip around Wano. He did this to emulate sea voyagers, as he heard that they kept daily logs of their travels and activities. Oden wrote about his settlement of Kuri, his voyages with the Whitebeard Pirates and Roger Pirates (including their arrival at Laugh Tale), and his return to Wano. The last known entry in the book was written 25 years ago as Oden prepared to depose Kurozumi Orochi from the shogunate; whether he wrote anything more during the remaining five years of his life is unknown.

Twenty years ago, Oden was executed by the Beasts Pirates, who went on to burn down his castle in Kuri. However, the logbook ended up in the adjacent river where it was found by Kaidou's son Yamato; Yamato speculates that someone intentionally saved the book from the fire. Yamato was motivated to keep the book due to his profound admiration for Oden, but could not read it; it was only when he was imprisoned with three daimyo some months later that they helped him learn its contents. Yamato kept the book close to him for the next two decades, considering it his "bible" as he sought to ensure the events Oden believed would happen 20 years after his death would come to pass.

Twenty years after Oden's death, during the Raid on Onigashima which Yamato believed would cause the logbook's prophecies to come to pass, he passed the book on to Oden's son Kouzuki Momonosuke.

Contents

So far, only limited excerpts from the journal are known. It is utilized as narration in the story, with standard illustrations providing context which is presumably mentioned in the journal proper. Certain things are mentioned, such as Gol D. Roger's dream, that are omitted in the manga narration and known only to the characters reading it.

Roger's Dream and Invitation

Immediately prior to this excerpt, Oden mentions Roger's hidden dream.

Reaching the Final Island

According to Kouzuki Momonosuke, Oden tore out the page immediately following this which likely described the treasure they found on the island.

End of the Voyage

Oden's description of the attitudes of his crew during the departures of Roger and himself are humorously inaccurate, as the crew was sobbing during those times.

The Future

This section is quoted by Yamato rather than being presented directly to the reader. It is presumably written around 25 years ago at the end of the book, given Oden's mentioning of Kaidou.

Legacy

This journal is the only known primary recording of the Roger Pirates' journey to Laugh Tale. While Oden mentions learning of the Void Century, the D, and the Ancient Weapons on that island, as well as confirming the existence of Joy Boy's treasure and all the riches alongside it that would become part of the One Piece, it is not clear how much, if any, of this information he shares; he apparently did write about what the treasure was, but then tore it out of the book. He does make clear the special nature of D, as Yamato took the arrival of Monkey D. Luffy as a major act of fate in regards to Oden's writings.

In the logbook, Oden makes clear his goal of opening the borders of Wano Country in order to usher in the second coming of Joy Boy, which he viewed as a necessary preparation based on his historical research that appears to prophesy certain events happening 25 years after the Roger Pirates' arrival on Laugh Tale. To achieve this, he advocated for the overthrow of the usurper Orochi and Kaidou who were intent on having Wano's borders remain closed. In the small amount of direct prophecy explicitly mentioned from the logbook, Oden states that if he does not survive until the promised day, a new generation led by powerful pirates will take down Kaidou. This indeed came to pass in the expected timeframe, with the Worst Generation of pirates rising to prominence and five of them—Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Trafalgar D. Water Law, Eustass Kid, and Killer—leading an attack that culminated in the defeat of Kaidou and liberation of Wano. With the book as his guide, and seeing many of the signs Oden foretold of manifesting in Luffy in particular, Yamato gave his full support to the uprising.

It was also viewed by Zunesha that Joy Boy returned during this time when Luffy awakened his Devil Fruit power. Momonosuke also learned of a big reason for why he must survive the conflict, and Yamato indicated that his ability to communicate with Zunesha fulfilled an anticipation of Oden's, saying he would guide the world to its dawn. However, Momonosuke said his father was not a prophet and expressed some skepticism regarding Oden's beliefs in future events, questioning whether the latter would go through with opening Wano's borders if he remained alive in the present day. Ultimately, Momonosuke elected not to open Wano's borders for the sake of the country's safety, and given that Joy Boy's arrival to Wano apparently did occur in the form of Luffy's awakening, this puts the necessity of Oden's goal to open the borders in question.