ODEN IS BACK? No, of course not. It’s pretty obvious by the fact that he looks exactly the same as he looked 20 years ago, and that it would literally make no sense in context and would break every single theme that was set up during this arc.
But then… who could he be?
There are 6 possibilities, but before taking into consideration any of them, let’s gather all the details we have right now on our disposal to make the best and most informed deduction possible.
- DETAIL N.1: Oden looks exactly like the the Oden from 20-25 years ago in physical appearance – he even has the beard. The problem is: he has no scars from the boiling or Kaido’s bullet;
- DETAIL N.2: Oden has 2 different swords. Not only he’s not wearing Enma – which makes sense, since Zoro has it – but he’s also not wearing Ame No Habakiri, as you can see by looking at the hilts of the swords he’s carrying;
- DETAIL N.3: Oden is NOT the person who was treating the Scabbards at the end of chapter 1004, as it is made clear by the fact that he himself talks like it’s the first time he sees them in 20 years.
We have very little to work with, but it’s still something. So, let’s bring up all the possibilities and decide on how strong they are based on these details.
1- POSSIBILITY N.1 – IT’S ACTUALLY ODEN
While not 100% impossible, it’s extremely unlikely. Meta-narrative aside, this Oden is literally unscathed and looks exactly like his past counterpart. He doesn’t have any scar left from the boiling oil – in which he literally bathed from top to bottom – or from Kaido’s gunshot. He also hasn’t aged a bit – and for comparison just take Rayleigh and how 25 years changed him.
Now, I say HIGHLY UNLIKELY, but still not impossible, because we all know how much Oda is not very consistent when it comes to battle wounds – Queen was just scarred last chapter by Marco’s attack, and he’s perfectly fine at the beginning of this one – or even aging – hell, Sengoku literally grew older in 2 years than Oden did in his whole flashback. This, paired with the fact that he talks like Oden would in a situation like this and he’s realistically carrying 2 new swords can still leave room for thought. However, there would be no doubt that if Oden were to still be alive, he wouldn’t loiter around the Scabbards, but would 100% be on the rooftop, or he would have already cleared all the Tobiroppo. The fact that he suddenly appears – undetected by Bao Huang and her Marys – on the THIRD floor without kicking someone’s face in is extremely suspect.
2-POSSIBILITY N.2 – IT’S THE MANE MANE NO MI
Absolutely impossible, for one simple reason; the current owner of the fruit, Bentham aka Bon Clay, never knew Oden or touched him before, and could never imitate him this well. There’s also the logistical issue of him being locked up in Impel Down, in which he acts as the Queen of the 5.5th Floor, and him reaching Wano and Onigashima at that – an island that as of right now is floating in the sky – is reaching. Still, it would line up with the specifics of his lines – he addresses all Scabbards with a “you’ve aged” while technically Raizo, Kinemon and Kiku are literally only a few months older than how they were when Oden died, making it a pretty big blunder on his part – and with the fact that Bao Huang never detected him – BonClay could literally turn into a Beasts Pirate removing all suspicion from him.
