The Wano Country arc/saga has been the longest and most rewarding leg of One Piece to date.
Spanning 149 chapters, the arc has seen the rise and fall of several alliances, the reignition of age-old lores and mysteries, the end of 20 years of tyranny and the start of a new shogunate.
Oda is a master storyteller who has made sure to either tie up most storylines or hype them up further for the final saga. But there are a few Wano plot points that have seemingly been left abandoned and didn’t really go anywhere after their initial introduction.
In today’s article, I’ll discuss the top 10 plot lines from Wano with loose ends. Either Oda has forgotten them entirely in lieu of more important things afoot, either they’re much too irrelevant, or he’s going to give us some answers in the upcoming chapters.
10Why didn’t Zoro get the Nidai Kitetsu?
The Nidai Kitetsu was brought up multiple times during the beginning of the Wano arc and the only time Zoro could have gotten the powerful sword was in Wano.
With the Straw Hats now on Egghead Island, Nidai Kitetsu is a dream that will be unfulfilled for us and Zoro alike.
The Nidai Kitetsu is a cursed katana made by Kotetsu, the ancestor of Kozuki Sukiyaki – Oden’s dad. Luffy borrowed it but didn’t really use it, not even against Hawkins, who he punched despite having the sword in his hand.
The Kitetsu kind of acted like the opposite of Chekhov’s gun: it was there all along but it was never used once.
Zoro was all set up to receive it – or so we thought. He seemed rightfully interested in it, and with his Shimotsuki origins and possible connection to Ryuma and Wano, it would have been perfect for him to trade in one of his swords for the Kitetsu, which is the second strongest Kitetsu sword.
I’m still hoping he gets it before his awaited confrontation with Mihawk.
Since we’re on the topic of blades, Zoro didn’t even learn more about the black blades from the samurai.
The Shusui was a Black Blade and he doesn’t even have it anymore. Wano, the land of the samurai, should have given us some insight about the creation of the legendary black blades. But that went overlooked too.
9What was the point of the Kokeshi dolls?
The Kokeshi dolls might seem like an insignificant plot thread, but having it appear in Hitetsu’s basement after he was revealed to be Sukiyaki makes it seem like it might mean something more.
It was first mentioned in chapter 934, when Brook found the basement when Orochi lived in the palace. Then it was mentioned in Hitetsu’s introduction box in chapter 960. And then finally in chapter 1053, when Hitetsu is revealed to be Sukiyaki – when Robin confronts him about Pluton and the Poneglyph.
Was the purpose of the Kokeshi dolls simply to connect the Poneglyph to Kozuki Sukiyaki through Hitetsu’s collecting obsession? Why bother mentioning them? Was it just to give Sukiyaki a quirk or character trait?
8Why were there Marine ships surrounding Wano?
The World Government had deployed an entire fleet outside Wano. Greenbull stated that no one dared to enter Wano what with Kaido there, so why did they come to Wano in the first place? There were two Yonkos there, plus the Alliance, and the borders of Wano were still up, too.
Even if the WG ships were there for the off chance that Luffy would defeat Kaido – which is what happened – they still had no orders from Akainu to enter the country. Greenbull/Ryokugyu only enters Wano to capture Luffy on his own accord to impress his fleet admiral.
So, unless that entire fleet was Greenbull’s it makes no sense why the WG would send the Marines to Wano.
7Where did Zunesha come from and where did they go?
Zunesha’s purpose seems to have been only to confirm Joy Boy’s presence when Luffy Awakened Gear 5: Nika. Zunesha spent years traveling the seas somehow wound up near the waters of Wano, but after the war, they just literally vanished into the mist.
The mystery surrounding Zunesha is related to Joy Boy so I’m sure we’ll get more answers later, but Zunesha’s appearance and consequent disappearance and their role in Wano seemed kind of random.
As soon as Momonosuke declared that he was not going to open the Wano borders, Zunesha was gone, without giving us any more information about Joy Boy or anything else for that matter.
Zunesha didn’t even douse the fire in Wano – it was Raizo who actually did that. All in all, the plot point of Zunesha in Wano could have been expanded on a little.
6Why did Zoro see the Grim Reaper?
After defeating King, Zoro is confronted by a figure who unmistakeably looks like the Grim Reaper. Just before the Grim Reaper strikes him with his scythe, Zoro loses consciousness. The Grim Reaper was never seen or mentioned again.
While the Grim Reaper could be a hallucination caused by the medicinal healing drug that the Minks had given him, nothing about the drawing suggested it was a vision or dream.
It could also be symbolic – Zoro was on the verge of death after his battle with the All-Star King, but Zoro has been in many multiple near-death situations and this is the first time we have seen the Grim Reaper.
I think it could be connected to the Nidai Kitetsu as well, since the sword is believed to bring a horrible death to its owners. So, maybe it’s more of a foreshadowing than a symbol.
5What happened to Luffy vs. Big Mom?
Since the Fish-Man Island arc, Luffy had vowed to be the one to defeat Big Mom. But it was Kid and Law who took down Charlotte Linlin, leaving the whole plot point of Luffy vs. Big Mom go to waste.
Luffy promised Big Mom that he would defeat her when they met in the New Word. In Totto Land, Luffy defeated her Sweet Commanders and has a confrontation with the Yonko but ends up running away in the end.
In Wano, because there were so many alliances and people fighting together, it was understandable that Luffy could get to fight only one Yonko and not two – and Kaido seemed more of a threat at that point.
It’s still unbelievable that after all the promises Luffy made that it would be him who would bring her down, it was Kid and Law who got to do the deed.
This was the reason a lot of people didn’t believe that Big Mom had been defeated – we all thought it would be Luffy who would come to end her once and for all.
What was the point of all the build-up between Luffy and Linlin?
4What happened to the Big Mom Pirates?
Ever since Big Mom and Kaido’s alliance, we were expecting the Big Mom Pirates to play a role in the Wano war. But it was only Perospero and Linlin herself who participated in the war; the rest of her fleet was pushed down the waterfalls at Onigashima’s borders by King and then Marco.
It seemed as if Big Mom’s crew was there just to drop off their mom to the fight and then back off.
The Big Mom Pirates are incredibly powerful and tightly bound to each other; had they been present during the war, the Alliance would not have won the war and succeeded in the Raid.
Maybe that is why Oda didn’t let them enter Wano – there is no way the Alliance could win against two Yonko crews.
After the war, we know through Greenbull that the World Government ships left Wano, but we don’t know the fate of Big Mom’s ships. Hell, we don’t even know the fate of Big Mom.
All I know is that if Katakuri were present in Wano, things would definitely have been more spicy – or springy.
3What happened to Toki’s prophecy about opening Wano’s borders?
In chapter 919, Kozuki Toki had prophesized that the 9 Red Scabbards would defeat Kaido and Orochi in 20 years and open the borders of Wano. The Wano arc is over, the war is won, but the borders are still closed.
Sukiyaki tells Robin how opening the borders of Wano is a literal act and it would activate Pluton. Did Toki know about this? It doesn’t make sense that Toki would predict something like this.
What’s worse it that the whole arc was about the opening of Wano’s borders, all for it to not happen. Yet.
2Why didn’t Kaido awaken?
Kaido, King, and Queen are amongst the most powerful holders of Ancient Zoan-type Devil Fruits. Since Ancient Zoan fruit Awakenings were foreshadowed in Impel Down, we were hoping to see confirmed Awakenings from the Beasts Pirates. But we didn’t.
In chapter 544, Crocodile explained how the Jailer Beasts of Impel Down were Awakened Zoans. Ever since, we’ve been waiting to see some Awakened Zoan action, and while we do get to see it from Chopper, neither of our main arc antagonists Awaken throughout the arc.
The Jailers didn’t have any other role to play in the manga, and they were never mentioned again. Narratively, the Beast Pirates have been the most important Zoan-type Devil Fruit users (before Luffy’s true DF was revealed).
If lowly Impel Down jailers could Awaken their Zoan abilities, it would only logically follow that the strongest Ancient Zoans would have this power. And Wano was the Empire of the Zoans.
Nobody was expecting Kaido to go down that easy. I mean sure, he was literally defeated by Joy Boy, but Kaido didn’t GET BACK UP. Luffy got back up about 5 times but Kaido didn’t.
There is a possibility that they were already Awakened, but what was the point of the whole Jailer Beasts story hyping up the Zoan Awakenings?
Awakened Zoans can supposedly morph into their full beast forms and revert to their primal instincts, fight mindlessly through raw power. We know Kaido, King, and Queen can transform into their complete Beast forms, but we didn’t get to see them go 100% primal crazy.
We didn’t even get any Awakenings from the Tobi Roppo. Wasted potential.
Plus, the word Awakening implies the process of awakening; we wanted to see the “-ing” part of it – like Luffy’s Awakening – the actual transformation of it, not after it had already happened.
1What happened to Zoro’s backstory?
In chapter 1023, during Zoro’s fight with King, Kawamatsu observes how Zoro’s techniques and looks have a striking resemblance to the Sword God Ryuma and to his descendant, Shimotsuki Ushimaru. Wano is the land of the samurai and it was implied that Zoro’s backstory would be revealed but it wasn’t.
Although Oda confirmed in an SBS that Ushimaru is not Zoro’s father, we deserved more information regarding Zoro’s past, especially his time in Shimotsuki village, his relation to the Shimotsuki clan, his connection to the samurai of Wano, and his full lineage.
There is also the question of whether Zoro visited Ryuma grave when he said he wanted to. The Zoro and Ryuma parallel needed to be explored and Wano would have been the perfect place to do it.
Unfortunately, Zoro’s backstory went overlooked.
About One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since July 22, 1997.
The man who had acquired everything in this world, the Pirate King, is Gol D. Roger. The final words he said at the execution tower were “My treasures? If you want it, I’ll let you have it. Look for it; I left all of it at that place.” These words sent many to the seas, chasing their dreams, headed toward the Grand Line, in search of One Piece. Thus began a new age!
Seeking to be the greatest pirate in the world, young Monkey D. Luffy also heads toward the Grand Line in search of One Piece. His diverse crew is joining him along the way, consisting of a swordsman, marksman, navigator, cook, doctor, archaeologist, and cyborg-shipwright, this will be one memorable adventure.
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