Within two years after being exiled, Oden, Kin’emon, and Denjiro parted ways with Yasuie and started touring Wano Country, with Oden wanting to explore the lawless Kuri. On their tour, they were joined by the siblings Izo and Kikunojo, Kanjuro, and Raizo.
So Izo of the Whitebeard Pirates is finally confirmed to be Kikunojo’s older brother and one of Oden’s retainers.
This is what I love about Oda’s writing! He introduces Izo as a Whitebeard Commander way back in Marineford, and compared to Marco or Vista he’s not even the most important commander, but he ties it all back together with their connection to Oden. The world of One Piece is a living breathing world with one-time characters that are more than just wasted space or filler. That’s something that separates Oda from other writers. And I know we’ve seen this in the past with characters like Hachi or even places like Arlong Park being modeled after Sabaody Park but it’s always a nice thing to see something not so relevant have great relevance in the future. This is what a “gardener” type of writer should look like.
Now we could ask the following questions:
•Why and in what context Izo and Oden decided to join Whitebeard’s crew?
•Why Izo separated his way from Kiku?
•Why Izo exactly and not another Scabbard? A personal revenge? A promise?
•Will Izo appear in the Wano’s final war with Marco and the others?
I think that Oden joined Whitebeard Pirates looking for adventures while Izo joined them because he wanted to come back to feel the love of a father, and who can be better for the job that our man Shirohige!
*by Jake Wu Long
