Chapter 972

Moved by Shinobu's confession, the crowd shifts to cheering Oden, only to find Orochi's soldiers ringing them in. As the appointed hour nears its end, the citizens count down, and when it passes Orochi calls up a firing squad to slaughter the group anyway. Oden hurls his retainers clear of the execution site, leaving them his wish that Wano open itself to the world. With the Scabbards fleeing, Kaidou shoots Oden, and he dies in the boiling oil. Back in Kuri, the news reaches Toki, who recalls Oden entrusting his swords to her for their children and a letter urging her to use her power for a war twenty years on.

Fukurokuju and the Oniwabanshu threaten Shinobu for defying the shogun, while citizens begging for mercy are answered with arrows. Oden tells his retainers of a figure from eight hundred years past whom Wano must one day welcome, declaring he will die that day and revealing his hope to reopen the country. As the temperature climbs, the people cheer and apologize for their cruelty, and Oden forgives them all. He explains that the Kouzuki sealed Wano to guard it from an unseen force, and that the land must work alongside the awaited figure. Raizo, speaking for the Scabbards, vows to make Oden's dream their own.

When the hour expires with Oden still standing, Orochi reveals he secretly altered the sentence and orders a firing squad. Oden throws his men far from the pot, and Kin'emon directs them toward Kuri as Shinobu also escapes. Kaidou levels a gun, admits to having Higurashi killed for her earlier interference, and fires as Oden begins his signature phrase. His body sinks into the oil, and the grieving citizens finish the line in his honor. Toki tears up Oden's letter, which instructs her to send a force forward in time to bring Kaidou down, and she vows to obey.