In the flashback dedicated to Kozuki Oden, who has been fully occupying the animated transposition of Eiichiro Oda's work for many weeks now, the fate of the legendary samurai of the Country of Wa will be fulfilled in the next episode of ONE PIECE.
In the dramatic fight with Kaido, Oden demonstrated his remarkable willpower and sword skills, inflicting the massive cross-shaped scar on him. The war, which began with the samurai and his loyal Nine Red Sheaths rebelling against the tyranny put on Wano by the cunning Orochi and the Emperor himself, captain of the Pirates of the Hundred Beasts, ended with Oden and his companions being defeated and sentenced to public execution.
After laying out the details of the sentence, which includes being burned in a vat of boiling oil, episode 972 centered on Orochi and Kaido's plans to take complete control of Wano. Knowing he can do it, Oden offers a solution to the two tyrants, requiring them to set a time limit for him and the Nine Red Sheaths to resist within the tank, in return for freedom if they survive the horrific torture. The suggestion is accepted by the shogun and the Emperor, which begins the final lines of the flashback dedicated to the legendary Kozuki Oden.