Kanjuro is a Wano Country samurai and a friend of Kin’emon and Momonosuke. He is a servant of the Kozuki Family. He was captured by the Don Quixote Doflamingo Pirates, before being freed during the Dressrosa Arc. He is also one of the Nine Red Scabbards. However, it was all a lie. It will later be revealed that he is a spy working for Kurozumi Orochi, whose real name is Kurozumi Kanjuro. In this article, we are going to tell you whether Kanjuro is a traitor in One Piece and why he did what he did.
When the Scabbards were preparing for the raid on Onigashima, Kanjuro sent a drawing clone with them instead of going there himself. Yet, the clone revealed to the Scabbards that Kanjuro was the actual traitor among them, as well as the fact that the real Kanjuro had captured Momonosuke and tied up Shinobu on the coast.
In the rest of this article, we are going to give you more details about Kanjuro and his betrayal of the Scabbards during the Wano Country Arc. You’re going to find out what exactly happened and also why it happened, as we are going to analyze Kanjuro’s psychology and the reasons for his betrayal in the series.
Is Kanjuro really a traitor?
On the day of the Onigashima raid, Kanjuro marched to the rebel meeting place with Momonosuke, Kin’emon, Kikunojo, Raizo, Shinobu, Inuarashi, Kawamatsu, and Ashura. The group eventually arrived at the meeting place but found none of their ships and allies. Despite this major setback, the Scabbards were still determined to press on with the raid, knowing they would get no other chance.
As the Red Scabbards decided to go to Onigashima alone, Kin’emon remarks that their plan has been foiled once again, and that there is surely a traitor among them. Kanjuro then denounces himself and exposes the truth to them: he had no grudge against them, he was only playing a role from the beginning and passing the information to Orochi.
He also reveals that his real name is Kurozumi Kanjuro. Kanjuro then proceeded to taunt, laughing at Yasuie’s “unnecessary” death and Inuarashi’s foolishness for not suspecting him when Jack arrived at Zo. Ships of the Hundred Beasts Crew then disembark and their occupants laugh at the Red Scabbards because they want to cross such a sea on a small boat.
And when Kinemon decapitates Kanjuro with a saber blow, we see him on the bank, with Momonosuke in his arms, whom he intends to deliver to Orochi. The Kanjuro on the rowboat was actually a drawing, which confuses Inuarashi as he thought, like everyone else, that Kanjuro couldn’t draw. While this was happening, the Scabbards ship was confronted by three Beasts Pirates ships, but the ships were suddenly attacked by the Straw Hats, Heart Pirates, and Kid Pirates, leaving Kanjuro surprised as he hadn’t heard of it.
By the time Kanjuro revealed that he was the one who leaked information to Orochi, he had already bound Shinobu with snakes. He was then surprised when Kyoshiro arrived and revealed himself as Denjiro and was further shocked when Denjiro explained that the rebels gathered at the Habu Port docks instead of Port Tokage.
Kanjuro then became enraged at Kin’emon when Denjiro assumed the leader of the Scabbards had said the wrong port to fool the spy. Even though Orochi’s plans didn’t go perfectly, Kanjuro still decides to take Momonosuke to Onigashima. Kawamatsu, therefore, dives into the water and tries to stop him with a blow of his saber but Kanjuro parries the blow with his brush and draws a magnificent bird.
As he flies away on said bird’s back, Kanjuro confesses to him that he intends to find Hiyori and kill her, now that he knows she is envious, which makes Kawamatsu’s face livid. Kanjuro is now very high in the sky, he shouts to the Red Scabbards that they are no threat to Kaido and that they won’t even manage to land on the island.
The Straw Hat Pirates finally learn that Kanjuro was the traitor and Sanji, therefore, tries to pursue him using the Moonstep but Kanjuro reveals a new technique that projects thorns of ink on all the people below. , causing Sanji to descend to protect Nami. He then mocked Oden and Toki’s legacy as well as Momonosuke’s cowardice before flying off to Onigashima.
What happened to Kanjuro?
He arrived safe and sound in Onigashima with Momonosuke. He seeks to reach Orochi (who is at the Fire Festival) as soon as possible with his new hostage, Momonosuke. He defeated two Kaido men who mistook him for an enemy. He cannot rely on them to show him the way, and is therefore lost. Kanjuro reunites with Orochi and Kaido.
He brought them Momonosuke who passed out and tells them that the alliance’s plan could not be stopped and that the Red Scabbards are not dead. When the Nine Red Scabbards find Izou at the back of Onigashima, Kanjuro joins them with Headless Warriors he drew and Gifters; he then recounts how Momonosuke tried to escape, before Kikunojo attacks him.
He was then defeated and then left bleeding on the ground, then Kin’emon solemnly put his hat on him as he passed. Kanjuro survived the duel, but suffered severe injuries that he knew wouldn’t give him much longer to live. Still determined to eradicate the Kozuki clan, Kanjuro drew a perfect replica of Oden and sent it to deceive and ambush the other Scabbards.
Almost all of them were fooled by the ruse, but Ashura Doji saw through and attacked Oden’s design, leading him to stab him before setting off explosives under his garment to take out all of Kanjuro’s former comrades. Ashura managed to save the other Scabbards by forcing the fake Oden out of the room and sacrificing himself in his big blast, and Kanjuro chuckled in satisfaction, calling his turn of Oden the perfect finale to his “performance”.
While commandeering Oden’s drawing, Kanjuro also scoured the halls of Kaido’s fortress in search of Momonosuke. Kanjuro finally arrives where Momonosuke and Shinobu are, before entering he created another replica of Oden, Kikunojo was angered by this and accused Kanjuro, but Kanjuro maintained his act throughout, and his performance eventually made Kiku hesitate when he mentioned how Oden took her and Izo in as children.
Kanjuro then took advantage of this moment of weakness to pierce Kiku’s chest with his sword, his disguise of Oden dissipating as he laughed triumphantly to have repaid him for the mortal wound she had inflicted on him. As Kin’emon grabbed Kiku and spoke to him, Kanjuro prepared his brush to strike him as well, but Kin’emon unsheathed his sword before him and hit Kanjuro with a deep diagonal cut to the chest.
He then fell to the ground with fatal injuries, Kanjuro laughed and noted how fitting it was that the man who had been his best friend “on stage” was the one who shot him. Wanting to blow up the island’s secret armory, Orochi called the badly injured Kanjuro and persuaded him to create a final painting and send him to the basement. However, Orochi lied, telling Kanjuro that this was the location of the family’s burial crypt.
Kanjuro created Kazenbo, then passed out. The creature slowly moved through the castle and burned everyone and everything it touched along the way. Kazenbo arrived at the Armory with no problem, but Yamato was able to get there at the same time and used his power to freeze the explosives, preventing Kazenbo from detonating them.
Yamato then hit Kazenbo with an attack from his ice-powered kanabo, causing him to moan; Kazenbo then called Orochi as he manifested an arm-like appendage and hit Yamato with it. Kazenbo then returns to Orochi, dying. Orochi then grapples with Hiyori, and Orochi tries to convince him to set Hiyori on fire. Kanjuro then turns on him, setting him on fire instead.
Why did Kanjuro betray his friends?
Kanjuro was born and raised in a popular theater troupe. However, her parents were killed one day on stage due to being part of the Kurozumi family. Kanjuro drifted off and eventually found his relatives Kurozumi Orochi, Kurozumi Higurashi, and Kurozumi Semimaru. In order for Kanjuro to help him in his plot to overthrow the Kozuki family and become the shogun, Orochi gave him a Devil Fruit to eat and asked him to live as a Kozuki member until he died. Since seeking death, Kanjuro readily agreed.
In what episode is Kanjuro revealed to be the traitor?
The events which we have described above, those pertaining to Kanjuro’s confession that he was the traitor, happened in Episodes 976 and 977 of the anime series, which aired on May 30, 2021 and June 6, 2021, respectively. These events were an adaptation of Chapter 974 of the manga series. It was released on March 16, 2020 and was collected as part of Volume 96 of the manga.
