Oh Great! The Kurozumi Clan is Back!

One Piece Chapter 1008 Review/Recap

Do you know which character from the Wano Arc I hate the most? Orochi Kurozumi. Yeah, I feel sorry for how the Kurozumi Clan got hunted down because his grandpa tried to take over Wano, but that’s no excuse for what he’s done. He ran Wano into the ground, he knows he did so, and he doesn’t care. So when it looked like Kaido outright killed him, I felt robbed. I wanted to see the Kurozumi Clan brought to justice for their crimes against Wano. However, I had a feeling that Oda wouldn’t kill off a villain like Orochi so casually. As it turns out, I was right. This week, the Kurozumi Clan returns with a vengeance!

Recap

Picking up where we last left off, the Scabbards are stunned by the appearance of a very much alive Oden Kozuki. According to him, he got flung into the future by Toki’s powers, the same as everyone else. The Scabbards are all thrilled to see Oden alive. However, Ashura declares “Oden” to be an imposter, as they all saw him die that day in the Flower Capital. Drawing his sword, he slashes at “Oden,” and while he gets stabbed as a result, he proves it’s not real. It’s just an ink clone created by a still-living Kanjuro. Using the fake as a puppet, Kanjuro Kurozumi declares that he will kill Momonosuke before he dies before trying to blow up the clone and take the Scabbards with it. However, Ashura sacrifices himself to give the others an opening to go after Kanjuro. 

Just then, though, Jack appears before the Scabbards, wanting to finish them off. Determined to stop him, Inuarashi decides to fight him one-on-one while the others go after Kanjuro.

Elsewhere, fires start to break out in the castle. The culprit? None other than Orochi! Having survived Kaido’s attack, Orochi has decided to burn everything and ensure the Kurozumi Clan remains in control of Wano forever. Back on the skull dome roof, the fight between the Supernova’s and Yonko continues. The Supernovas are throwing everything they have at Kaido and Big Mom, but it doesn’t slow them down. Kid even calls facing the two Hell. In response, Luffy defiantly locks eyes with Kaido before saying that he’s been to Hell a few times, impressing Kaido.

Review

I knew it! I knew that Orochi was somehow still alive and would continue to play a role in the Wano Arc. Granted, I didn’t expect him to be in hiding for so long, but that’s beside the point. The Kurozumi family has returned to the board.

While we don’t know how Orochi survived, I already have a working theory. Being the paranoid dictator that he is, Orochi had Kanjuro create an ink clone without Kaido knowing. Then, he sent the clone out in his stead, and he got decapitated. 

I am now torn about Orochi’s survival. On the one hand, I hate him and wanted him to stay dead, and those fires he’s starting are going to burn Onigashima faster than you can say “Hono-ji Castle.” On the other hand, he’s going to cause more chaos that the Alliance can use. Plus, on the microscopic chance he makes it through the battle, he’ll face justice for his crimes. 

I want Momonosuke to kill him for his crimes. The Kurozumi family will pay.

On a lesser note, I think that Momonosuke’s artificial Devil Fruit lets him be psychically linked to Kaido. It makes sense, since the fruit was made from Kaido. Maybe the heroes can use that against him somehow. 

Regardless, the Kurozumi Clan being back in the game’s going to shake this battle up somehow. I don’t know how, but I know it’s going to happen. And I, for one, love what Oda’s doing with this stuff.

I Give “Ashura Doji, Head of the Atama Mountain Bandits” a 3/5

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