Summary
When observed from a narrative standpoint,the Wano Country Arc is a huge milestonein Eiichiro Oda’sOne Piece, as it concludes the Yonko Saga and brings the Straw Hat Pirates' time sailing with Kin’emon and Momonosuke to a close. Beyond this, the climax of this arc, which featured a massive battle to liberate Wano, was an era-defining conflict that forever altered the balance of power on the seas and set up the Final Saga.
What is interesting to note here is that all of this was made possible by the intervention of a single individual, and their unique Devil Fruit powers. The person in question was Kozuki Toki, and her Devil Fruit — the Toki Toki no Mi — played a crucial role in bringing Luffy and his crew to Wano Country. Hence, here is a look into how Toki’s Devil Fruit powerswere a catalyst for Wano Country’s liberation, and why this was so important for the larger post-time skip story ofOne Piece.
A Devil Fruit With No Combat Power
Although most Devil Fruits have some potential for use in combat, the Toki Toki no Mi is one of the few that possesses no such benefits, but its abilities are as limited as they are incredible. Fundamentally,this Devil Fruit grants the power to travelforward in time, which is an ability that holds absurd potential in the world ofOne Piece.
The fact that Toki was able to travel over 800 years into the futurefrom the time of the Void Century throughsuccessive leaps, stands testament to how truly ridiculous this ability can be. Unfortunately, the fruit’s power does not allow the user to travel back in time, meaning that any jump forward is an irreversible one-way trip.
Similarly, the user must also consider the point in space at which they will arrive upon jumping forward,since the Devil Fruit only permits them to moveahead in time without traveling through space. The longest known time jump so far in the series was for a period of 20 years, and it is this very jump that proved crucial to Wano Country’s liberation in the long run.
Sending The Scabbards To The Future
Years prior to this fateful journey through time, Amatsuki Toki first met her future husband, Kozuki Oden, after he saved her from a crew of pirates. Shethen sailed alongside the Whitebeard Piratesand the Roger Pirates, before marrying and settling down in Wano Country with Oden, where they lived with their two children, Momonosuke and Hiyori.
However, tragedy struck as the country was held hostage by the alliance between Kurozumi Orochi and Kaido, who forced Oden to do their bidding in exchange for the lives of Wano’s citizens. Even as she watched her husband humiliated as he wasmade to dance naked in Wano’s Flower Capital, Toki’s faith in him was unwavering, but this would soon be tested.
After a failed attack on Kaido’s forces, Oden was sentenced to death alongside his vassals. Despite saving his subordinates, Oden himself was killed in an event known as the “Legendary Hour.” Soon after, Kaido and Orochi attacked Oden Castle in Kuri, and set it ablaze. Unable to find a way to escape, Toki tearfully gave up her own life to sendMomonosuke and four of the Nine Red Scabbards— including Kin’emon, Raizo, Kanjuro, and Kikunojo — into the future. With this final act of bravery, Toki entrusted everything to her allies in the future.
Kin’emon And Momonosuke’s Fateful Journey
While Toki’s choice to send her son and four of Oden’s vassals into the future may have been a huge risk, it did have the potential to validate the sacrifice she had made. In making the five of them travel into Wano Country’s future, Toki was able to keep the Kozuki Family’s hopes alive,ensuring that one of Oden’s descendantswould eventually have the chance to claim leadership of Wano Country.
At first, the four Scabbards struggled to gain a foothold in the grim future they encountered. Upon leaving Wano Country to seek help from elsewhere, they were all separated by unforeseen circumstances. Raizo was stranded in Zou, and Kanjuro was forced to hold off Doflamingo’s subordinates,as Kin’emon traveled to Punk Hazard to findMomonosuke, who had accidentally boarded a ship bound for the island.
Kin’emon had the additional misfortune of encountering Trafalgar Law on the way to Punk Hazard, and he subsequently endured having his body dismembered and scattered all overthe island by Law’s Ope Ope no Mi powers. At what seemed like the darkest point in their journey, the duo encountered the Straw Hat Pirates. This meeting was a critical turning point in their effort to restore the Kozuki Family, as they gained powerful new allies who pledged to take them back to Wano Country.
Allying with the Straw Hat Pirates and the Heart Pirates, Kin’emon and Momonosuke were able to locate Kanjuro in Dressrosa, and together, theytook down the Warlord Donquixote Doflamingo, to put pressure on his business associate Kaido. From here, they journeyed to Zou and freed Raizo, before returning to Wano Country.
Here, they fanned the flames of rebellion against the tyrannical regime headed by Orochi. In the 20 years that had elapsed, Orochi andKaido transformed the country froma prosperous and thriving land, into an industrialized wasteland whose people were being oppressed, as the nation’s resources were exploited and contaminated for the purpose of manufacturing weapons. After several failed attempts to take down Kaido, followed by a lengthy battle against him, Big Mom, and the Beasts Pirates, the Straw Hats were finally able to free Wano Country from the Emperor’s clutches, and appoint Momonosuke as its new shogun.
Finding The One To Liberate Wano Country
One common factor in all these triumphs is Monkey D.Luffy, the user of the Gomu Gomu no MiDevil Fruit — later revealed to be the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika — and the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. If Toki had not sent Kin’emon and Momonosuke into the future, Luffy might never have traveled to Wano Country, fought Kaido, and Awakened his Devil Fruit.
As the successor to Joy Boy, a legendary figure from the Void Century,Luffy had a huge role to play in the liberationof Wano Country, and it would not have been possible without Toki’s time-traveling Devil Fruit power. If not for the Toki Toki no Mi, Luffy would never have learned of Wano’s plight due to the country’s limited contact with the outside world. Hence, from all these points, it is quite evident to see that Toki’s Devil Fruit played an instrumental role in bringing the person who would one day save Wano Country to its shores.
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One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
