Ch. 321Wano Country, Kozuki Toki
Key plot points and events
- After Oden’s death, Kozuki Toki flees Oden Castle with her young son, pursued by Orochi and his men. Kin’emon and Kanjuro help her escape.
- Toki is badly wounded by a poisoned arrow. Orochi corners the group and reveals his Yamata no Orochi Devil Fruit form, overwhelming Kin’emon and crushing their hopes of escape.
- Remembering Oden’s wish that their son grow up to change the world, Toki decides to use her Time-Time Fruit to send him and the retainers into the future. She declares that Wano’s dawn will come in twenty years.
- Orochi stabs Toki as she activates her power. The boy, Kin’emon, and Kanjuro vanish into a rift in time.
- Mu Chen, who has secretly watched events unfold, intervenes at the last moment, transporting Toki into his Kamui Space instead of letting her die. Orochi is left behind, wounded by the lingering effects of Toki’s power and furious at their disappearance.
Character developments and interactions
- Toki shifts from a desperate, injured fugitive to a determined protector, choosing to sacrifice herself so the Kozuki heir and retainers can survive. Her farewell reassures her son and passes on Oden’s hopes.
- Kin’emon and Kanjuro remain loyal to Toki and the Kozuki family, prioritizing the young lord’s escape despite Orochi’s strength.
- Orochi displays cruelty and confidence, taunting Toki with Oden’s death and denying that Wano will ever be free.
- Mu Chen watches with cynical sympathy for Toki and Oden’s family, then chooses to intervene, changing the apparent outcome of her sacrifice.
- Toki’s tender farewell to her frightened son contrasts with her defiant confrontation with Orochi; her decision also binds the survivors together through their shared mission.
Significant themes
- Sacrifice and protection: Toki risks her life to preserve the Kozuki bloodline and Wano’s future.
- Hope and prophecy: Her promise that Wano’s dawn will arrive in twenty years gives the survivors a purpose beyond their immediate escape.
- Tyranny versus resistance: Orochi’s power and brutality oppose the enduring will of the Kozuki clan.
- Fate and intervention: Toki’s intended sacrifice is disrupted by Mu Chen, raising the possibility that the future she set in motion may change.