The “Wano” arc of One Piece has become the story of the Kozuki Clan’s revenge on Kaido and Orochi for what they did to Oden and the people of Wano. The Red Scabbard left their master so that one day they could reunite for a chance to defeat the killer.

Although the Red Scabbard was able to surprise Kaido and do some damage, the Sea Emperor proved to be too much for them. The rooftop battle ends in defeat for Oden’s followers, and they are sent down to restore their strength. Once they dealt with Kanjuro’s trick and got out again, they were confronted by Orochi before quickly cutting off almost all of his remaining head. After this, however, Denjiro was neither seen nor heard from again.

The next time One Piece readers saw the followers were in Chapter 1012 when they all split up to help out at different locations — but Denjiro was gone, simply disappearing between Chapters 1009-1012. One possibility was that he went to help Hiyori. Even though the retainers didn’t know she was in Onigashima, she was the silhouette woman who took care of them after their fight with Kaido. Hiyori could have woken Denjiro up first and asked for his help — or given him a task to do — then went into hiding to wait for Orochi. Denjiro was the one who took care of her after the death of her parents, so they had a special relationship.

What can he do, and is it his plan or Hiyori’s? Hiyori was currently with Orochi, standing above her as she burned from the fire that Kanjuro had started. She had been by his side for years, pretending to be a geisha for the man who killed her parents. It was possible that he knew something Orochi was hiding in Onigshima and had assigned Denjiro to find it. It could be some kind of treasure of the Kozuki clan, or maybe his father’s treasure that was stolen by Orochi.

Another possibility is that Denjiro is looking for Kaido’s Road Poneglyph. When the Scabbards first made it to the island, Denjiro encountered Sazaki, one of Tobi Roppo. He said to Denjiro “I heard you didn’t come this year!!” implying that he had been in the area several times before. Denjiro already had knowledge of details like the Torri Gate, so it was clear he had been doing some reconnaissance on the island. Since this was the case, he was also able to scout the inside of Onigashima during one of the Fire Festivals and find the room where Kaido hid treasures like his Road Poneglyph.

What Denjiro’s use for this – apart from giving it to the Straw Hats – is unclear, but he has knowledge of the castle that the other samurai members don’t have. Ever since Orochi escaped Hiyori’s trap in One Piece Chapter 1047, Denjiro was able to find the room they were in and save the day before finally revealing what he was up to. Hopefully he had put his skills to good use to help the raid succeed.