Is Izou Really Dead in ‘One Piece’ Chapter 1052?

In terms of One Piece secondary characters, Izou is one of the more interesting ones. This unique character has a rich history and is closely connected to a lot of the major characters, including Monkey D. Luffy and the late Whitebeard. But, aside from Izou’s interesting story, his fate is what also intrigued fans and what caused a lot of debate online. In this article, we are going to tell you what happened to Izou in One Piece Chapter 1052, i.e., whether he has died or not.
Sadly, we can confirm that Izou is, indeed, dead in One Piece. An ally of Luffy’s and Whitebeard’s former commander, Izou was a noble and powerful fighter and he basically sacrificed his life for the cause. Namely, when Guernica and Maha, two CP0 agents wanted to continue to find Robin, he stopped them; although they were willing to let him go as he was not of interest to them, he engaged them. Sadly, he was killed by Maha using a Rokushiki technique, although it has been implied that he also managed to kill Maha in that same attack.
In this article, we are going to tell you about the events that preceded Izou’s disappearance, as well as the theories surrounding his fate. It is strange for Oda to give us some hints about Izou’s fate and not reveal what actually happened to him, but we do not doubt that we are going to find out sooner rather than later. Until then, read our article for more info.
What happened to Izou in One Piece?
In this section, we will tell you the story of Izou up to Chapter 1052, where it is seemingly confirmed that Izou dies. We are going to tell you all the relevant details that have led to this moment so we can give you the necessary background you need to have in order to understand our opinion on the matter. So, let us begin.
During the Marineford Arc, Izou can be seen fighting hand-to-hand alongside his fellow lower-rankers and commanders. Once Luffy saved Ace, all the pirates, including him, were filled with satisfaction and joy.
Whitebeard gives his last order, leaving him alone in front of the entire Marines and saving the rest of his crew with this heroic act, which Izou, like the rest of the commanders, does not fully assimilate during the battle, but fulfills it as an order of his father, Whitebeard. And when they were falling back, Akainu took it upon himself to make Ace fight him despite the other commanders, including Izou, telling him not to. That is when Ace is killed.
He shows great surprise but firmness as Whitebeard asks all the commanders to protect Luffy by any means necessary and save him so that he can see the New Age that is coming. He is also surprised by Shanks’ arrival at Marineford but does nothing about it as he is shocked by Ace and Whitebeard’s deaths.
He stops fighting once Sengoku calls a ceasefire, thanks to Shanks. Along with the rest of the commanders and crew, he is seen going to Whitebeard and Ace’s funeral somewhere in the New World. A year after the Battle of Marineford, Izou participated in the Battle of Vengeance against the Blackbeard Pirates alongside his companions. After his defeat, the definitive dissolution of the band took place, so Izou separated from his companions.
During the raid on Onigashima, Izou returned to Wano Country along with Nekomamushi and Marco. After arriving at Onigashima, she, along with the rest appeared in front of several of the Nine Red Scabbards and congratulated her sister for becoming a samurai so worthy of her. After Marco left to see a shadow he saw in the sea, the group confronted Kanjuro and an army of Beasts Pirates.
As Kikunojo engaged Kanjuro, the rest fought off the other enemies. After Kanjuro and the Beasts Pirates with him were defeated, Izou reunited with Kin’emon and Denjiro. Izou and the Pods then entered Kaido’s castle, made their way to the main stage, and launched a collective attack on Kaido and the headliners.
When the alliance mobilized and attacked the Beasts Pirates, Kaido transformed into his dragon form and flew up to the skull’s roof, with the Pods grabbing onto him. On the roof, the Pods prepared to fight Kaido with the help of the mink tribe. After Jack’s defeat, Kaido tried to attack them with a bolo breath, but Kin’emon managed to cut it off, even managing to damage him.
Said cut began the combat without quarter, getting together with Kikunojo to damage him together. As Kaido responded with a roar that created scythes of wind, Izou was alarmed as Kikunojo’s left arm was severed. Izou placed a tourniquet around Kikunojo’s arm, and Kin’emon cauterized the wound. Continuing the battle, Kaido began to overpower Izou and the Pods and then incapacitated them.
Big Mom, Kid, Killer, Zoro, Luffy, and Law later arrived on the roof. At Luffy’s request, Law teleported Izou and the Pods to safety. They were eventually taken to the treasure room on the second floor, where a person was seen tending to their serious injuries. Izou was victorious against several rank-and-file members of the Beasts Pirates, having suffered only minor injuries.
As he descended towards the basement floor, he was met by the members of the CP0 who, while noting that they would not normally let the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates roam freely, were returning to their initial task of capturing Nico Robin and dealing with the Whitebeard Pirates.
Already saying goodbye to Izou, the two agents prepared to let him go, but the samurai told them to stop. That caused both agents to face the commander of the former Emperor, but the fight did not turn out to be successful. Namely, Maha used one of his Rokushiki techniques on Izou, while Izou fired a gun at him. Maha’s attack hit the spot, but so did Izou’s. As he lay dying on the ground, Izou asked his sister not to die. Initially, when the original manga previews were out, we did not know whether Izou died or not, but since then, the situation has been cleared, and we actually do know what happened to him in One Piece.
So, what happened to Izou? Well, we are going to reveal the answer to that question in the final section of this article, so be ready.
Is Izou really dead in One Piece?
Initially, when the manga previews were released, the chances that Izou was alive were unknown, so the fans of the character couldn’t really relax at the time, if even a bit. We knew that Oda rarely killed off his characters before they reached the end of their respective stories, but Izou’s story was so fragmented that we couldn’t really determine whether Oda had something else in store for this popular character or not.
Also, at the time, we knew that it it would likewise be atypical for Oda to kill a relatively important character off-screen, and this is yet another argument that people used to express their opinion that Izou is alive in the series, despite Maha’s attack. Namely, as many fans will know, there’s an unwritten rule in manga and anime that states – if you don’t see a character die explicitly, he’s not dead. This rule is not 100% true, but it is true in 99.9% of the cases.
But, while speculations were ongoing back then, the situation was cleared pretty quickly. Namely, we can – sadly – confirm that Izou is dead in One Piece. He sacrificed himself in that battle, giving his life for the cause and for a peaceful and calm life for his sister. Guernica and Maha were on a mission, and they would’ve let Izou go had he not insisted; this shows just how noble of a warrior Izou was.
And while individually, he was undoubtedly more powerful than both Guernica and Maha, the two of them engaged him at the same time, so it wasn’t a fair fight, as the two of them weren’t actually weak.
Maha used one of the Rokushiki techniques and pierced Izou, but Izou managed to shoot him with his gun. It has since been confirmed that Izou really did die from the attack, whereas Maha’s fate remains unknown; it has been implied that he died as well, but this has not been confirmed as of the time of writing.
And there you have it. Izou had a sad ending, ultimately, but he died a noble death, proving just how courageous and authentic he was as a character.