30 years ago, Oden asked Whitebeard to join his pirate crew. Whitebeard refused Oden’s request because he did not seem like the kind of person to follow someone else.
So the Whitebeard Pirates sailed away covertly in order to avoid Oden, as Whitebeard did not want to be implicated in any supposed kidnapping. However, a chain then wrapped around the Moby Dick’s mast, and Oden, having suspected that this would happen, held on as he was pulled by the ship. Izo, who had suspected Oden in turn, then rushed up to Oden and jumped on him, intent on getting him back to Wano.
In the end Whitebeard decided to allow Oden to join if he could ride the chain for three days, but Oden, when there were only ten minutes left, ended up drifting away.
He washed ashore on an island. Here a gang of men assured a woman named Amatsuki Toki that they would take her to Wano like she had asked, but she had realized that they were human traffickers.
She held them at bay with her katana as she planned to escape by traveling into the future, when suddenly a massively swollen Oden walked onto the shore, having come after hearing Toki cry for help. The gang mistook him for a sea demon and fled in fear.
A little curiosity: Seems like the symbol on Toki’s dress is from the House Arryn of Game of Thrones.
After Toki treated his wounds, Oden defended her when the traffickers came back with their leader Karma. However, Whitebeard then came and took out Karma and decided to let Oden join his crew after seeing him give up on his ambitions to help Toki.
Oden was welcomed aboard by Whitebeard’s crew, and discovered in shock that Inuarashi and Nekomamushi had stowed away as well. Whitebeard let Toki come aboard as well, and Oden’s group participated in many adventures with the crew that showed Oden just how big the world is.
One day, Toki told the crew that she was 26, but had been born 800 years ago. So she was a time traveler and was looking for Wano. She also said she always wanted to go there. This is likely a lie to conceal her origins. Her clothes and Oden’s comment on them suggets us that she was from Wano and now she was trying to go back.
Meanwhile, Gol D. Roger read the news of Oden joining Whitebeard and expressed a desire to meet him.
So for the first time we see him clearly in his youth, though he’s 47 years old here, only 6 years younger than his time of death.. probably he aged quite badly due to his disease. Still, you can see how his hair and face are reminiscent of Ace’s!
