Oda's delusional when it comes to the scabbards and co. Literally ate up all the panel time to do nothing in reality. Only like 4-5 of them should even exist.
Kiku was also completely useless and was probably just added to the story to pander to trans people
Raizo did nothing, but at least he was unique by being a ninja instead of samurai. Wasn’t even needed for the Zou plot. Could’ve just had Kanjuro snitch that two of Oden’s retainers rule Zou, and have Jack attack Zou for that reason. Or just have Kanjuro himself take Raizo’s place on Zou, which would make his betrayal sting even more. Kanjuro also would make more sense as a ninja than as a samurai.
Ashura Doji’s character could have just been fused into Denjiro’s character, and Kawamatsu could have also been fused into Denjiro’s character. Have Denjiro be the former gang leader that Oden was famous for beating and then recruiting to his cause. Have Denjiro smuggle Hiyori away and raise her in secret from the get-go instead of having her with Kawamatsu for 7 years and then handed to Denjiro. Have Denjiro be the Yakuza leader under Orochi, while also secretly funding the rebels in Kuri.
So the only Scabbards that really should have been in the story were Kinemon, Kanjuro, Izo, Denjiro, Inuarashi, and Nekomamushi. Would have saved up much more screentime having only 6 Scabbards instead of 10. Arguably, Inu and Neko could have been merged together into one character, but I think their dynamic was interesting enough to justify their existence