Nine Red Scabbards

Captained by Kin'emon, this squad gathers nine of Wano's mightiest warriors, all of whom once served Kouzuki Oden as his closest followers and now stand behind his son, Momonosuke. Their renown ran so deep that Orochi's fabricated tale of crushing them was enough to cement his image as a fearsome fighter.

After two decades of honing their craft, the group landed real blows on Kaidou, an Emperor of the Sea, even carving a deep gash across his chest while he soared in dragon form. Though he overpowered them with ease, he openly acknowledged their strength. Jack of the Beasts Pirates, who had personally crossed swords with several of them, rated the squad as more dangerous than the Tobiroppo, even when the warriors were close to collapse.

The squad traces its roots to Oden's exile from the Flower Capital after he shouldered blame for the Mountain God Incident. Kin'emon and Denjiro pledged loyalty to him for sparing their lives, and they were soon joined by the minks Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, the fish-man Kawamatsu, and four more warriors: Ashura Doji, Kikunojo, Raizo, and Kanjuro. Together they tamed the lawless region of Kuri, earning Oden his post as daimyo.

Twenty years before the present day, Oden marshaled his retainers against Orochi and Kaidou, and the long shadow they cast at dusk gave the band its name. Their march ended in defeat and Oden's public execution, but before dying he flung his men to safety. Toki then used her Devil Fruit to hurl Momonosuke and four Scabbards two decades into the future to finish the fight. After scattering across the seas in search of allies, they reunited in Wano, joined the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance, and stormed Onigashima. There they battled Kaidou's forces, beheaded Orochi, and ultimately entrusted Luffy with the killing blow against the Emperor.

Kin'emon leads the squad, with Denjiro, Kikunojo, Raizo, Kawamatsu, Ashura Doji, Inuarashi, and Nekomamushi rounding out the loyal ranks. Several spent years under disguises: Denjiro posed as the yakuza boss Kyoshiro to worm into Orochi's trust, while Ashura sank into banditry as Shutenmaru before being coaxed back. One member, Kanjuro, proved to be a Kurozumi spy feeding intelligence to Orochi, and was cut down by Kin'emon during the final battle. After the war, Izou took the traitor's place in their charge against Kaidou. With victory secured, the survivors escorted Momonosuke to the capital and watched him claim the shogunate.