Pretty good chapter. Oden is insane and I did not expect such a big moment from Shinobu.
Orochi's backstory takes a lovely dark twist. Orochi and his clan were persecuted and wiped for the crimes of his grandfather. A similar character like Doflamingo was strung up somewhere in the North Blue, mostly of his doing as he revealed his celestial ancestry trying to boss around commoners. Orochi has no interest in acting to the benefit of Wano. This isn't Wano being mismanaged due to incompetence or some flawed vision of what's best for the country. He deeply despises this place. Orochi deliberately turned Wano into a hellscape to let everyone suffer and exact his revenge. Among villains, only the Celestial Dragons surpass Orochi's sheer evil now.
Personally, I can accept how Oden was reduced to a fool. From "Oden should have tried going around the barrier" to Orochi unveiling a room full of hostages and Kaido joining in to stop Oden himself. He was boxed in and forced to talk about a deal from the start. They could have simply imprisoned Oden otherwise. For 5 years, Oden humiliated himself to save lives. He went around each town to make sure Orochi kept his end of the bargain and things were not getting worse. That explains why none of the other Daimyo even after losing hope in Oden didn't declare war during these 5 years but tried violence before and after this period. It's possible Oden also saw ships being built, but that doesn't mean Kaido would use those ships to leave Wano. Oden accepted a bad clause to the deal there. But if Wano is safe for 5 years and Kaido hasn't left, he'll just kick his ass out right? That's where Oden missed the long game, Luffy IQ doesn't plan years into the future. Kaido was building up his forces and a spy was planted in Oden's camp. Kaido was buying time to guarantee victory while Oden lost all respect and thus the backing of Wano's military forces. Military strategy flew over his head as he kept dancing and checking all the villages were safe. A fool with a big heart, who tried to take all Wano's problems onto himself and suffered in silence.
I crave new methods of torture and suffering in this series just as anyone else, and a big burning pot a oil leaves me just as amused as Kaido. It's so funny how a rando mocking Oden just slips in there and dies. We were told about a baptism in Impel Down where prisoners were dunked in a boiling pot, how long they lasted determined their level with those who withstood it all in Level 6. This experience is meant to be instantaneous death, there's no prison time after this. It is clearly way beyond a little boiling water Oden experienced on a chain behind Whitebeard's ship. Yet once again Oden tries to take all the suffering onto himself as he decides to hold his subordinates above his head. A lord giving up his life for his vassals, but it's only been 5 minutes so far.
Just where is the traitor amidst all of this? Don't tell me that bastard is willing to get sliced, beaten and boiled in oil just to get back at Oden? That honestly deserves some respect. The Korozumi granmda would have transformed back and pleaded for her life by now. I've given up on Shinobu due to how much she's grown on me in this flashback, but at least she could have been released early from prison to survive the death sentence. I'm beginning to think all this traitor talk is just a way to try and sow discord among the alliance. Kaido and Orochi could have an invisible spy at their disposal, but pinning it on an insider is a great way to cause doubts and infighting among Oden's extremely loyal samurai. Some people will certainly be disappointed by such a development, but it should work if Oda highlights what the Scabbards have done and how they should have never been doubted.
Oden says he has to live, but I'm not sure if he survives the hour mark here. The Scabbards become persecuted after this, which means Kaido went back on his word or Oden didn't complete the challenge and they hauled ass. It's possible the boiling didn't do Oden in and that's merely the final impression the Scabbards got as they fled the scene. However, Oden's will has been passed on with Ame no Habakiri to Momo and Enma to Zoro. Oden is destined to die. I only wonder if he's getting a Roger or Whitebeard death moment next chapter.