Ever since the curtains of the first chapter were pulled, Oda introduced us to a character that was back then unknown, the girl playing the shamisen.
Later during act 2, that mysterious girl was revealed: Komurasaki the Oiran. A manipulating woman but a woman that the shogun Orochi fell in love with, the calamity Queen loved, Kaido knew and wano admired her for her beauty despite her reputation. All Komurasaki needed to do is to please the men around her for her to be loved, and the moment she refused, she died.
Komurasaki died, and back was Kozuki Hiyori, the proud woman that loved her people and was willing to make many sacrifices for them. She meets up with Zoro, a man who doesn’t look at her as people used to do back in the capital and she trusts him. In order to get the sacred sword of Ryuma, Hiyori is willing to give up her father’s sword, once again doing it for the people. She later leaves as she doesn’t want emotions to be involved during the raid.
This is what we know of Hiyori and Oda focused on mainly 2 aspects when dealing with Hiyori’s personality:
– Her self-sacrificing nature, like her father.
– Her relationship with Zoro.
We later get to know during the flashback, that Hiyori was a tomboy. She liked to both play music and dropkick her brother. Later she became friends with the Shimotsuki family, with Toko, her best friend, and Yasu.
This is where the theory begins:
Hiyori is being depicted as closer to her father’s nature than Momonsuke, however this is Wano we’re talking about. A misogynistic society, where women have no place on the battlefield, need to be quiet and please. They need to be Komurasaki. Only the Kunoichis are allowed to fight, even then, there is only a handful of them. They are by no mean the norm like the samurai. When we look at the Beasts Pirates, there are just countless women, but when you look at the samurai, there is just Shinobu and one yakuza boss. Even though Hiyori is confirmed alive, everybody assumes that the blood of the Kozuki will end with Momonosuke’s death. An 8-year-old child is considered more of a threat than his 26-year-old sister.
Going back to Zoro’s flashback, this connects the dots perfectly with the Kuina situation. Kuina, a Shimotsuki from Wano, nobility, was told that she will never be strong because she was a girl. When she was born, her father said it was a shame she will never be able to take over the dojo. She was a girl.
This is where I think Zoro’s and Hiyori’s story meet: Kuina, the nobility girl who was told she will never make it and Hiyori, the nobility girl who was told to be calm and act pretty.
Who inherited Kuina’s will? I think it’s simply Kozuki Hiyori.
Faced with the misogyny in Wano, Hiyori spent 20 years in the shadows of her protectors, yet she had too many connections, knowledge of swords and of places in wano. Hiyori, from what we’ve seen from her, didn’t spend all her time in the brothel.
And here comes the second part of the theory:
Someone has to wield Ame no Habakiri to cut down Orochi, something that Hiyori wished to do herself, but the society didn’t allow her to. In the end, I personally believe she is here to do it. With so many connections to it, Hiyori is going to Onigashima with her father’s second sword, that her brother left behind and she will show the whole country how strong she is, as a warrior. She will be the sword and her brother will be the brain, as they were once depicted in the flashback: one with the book and the other with the kick.
This will cement her story with Zoro as he will come to respect her as he once respected Kuina, making this story come into a full circle.
As for her future, Hiyori will probably leave Wano as her father did, leave her brother in charge, after changing the mentality of her country once and for all. Only her legend will be left behind for generations to come.
*Theory by globalbun
