TV-Series
Description
Raizō, known as Raizō of the Mist, is a ninja from Wano Country and one of the Nine Red Scabbards, the group of retainers who served the legendary samurai Kozuki Oden and later his son Kozuki Momonosuke. He was born in the Udon region of Wano and stands out for his immense physical stature, roughly 311 centimeters tall, with an unusually wide build, pronounced cheekbones, a long square jaw, lightning-shaped black eyebrows, and short black hair arranged into antenna-like tendrils. A crescent-shaped scar on his forehead was inflicted by King of the Beasts Pirates. Despite his intimidating appearance, Raizō is a serious, honorable, and deeply kindhearted man who takes his profession as a ninja very seriously.
In his youth, Raizō was considered a genius ninja of the Kozuki Oniwabanshu, the family's spy organization. After a painful rejection by a kunoichi he admired, he left that service and lived for a time as a bandit and wandering outcast in Udon. Around 41 years before the main events of the story, he chose to follow Kozuki Oden, who accepted him without hesitation despite not seeking followers. Raizō devoted himself wholeheartedly to Oden, and when the retainer Shimotsuki Yasuie advised Oden's followers to educate themselves and become proper retainers, Raizō and the others spent years studying to uphold their master's reputation.
Following Oden's execution at the hands of Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi, Raizō became part of the plan to take revenge and fulfill Oden's dying wish to open Wano's borders. During the siege of Oden Castle, he and three other retainers were sent 20 years into the future by the time-travel ability of Kozuki Toki, Oden's wife. This means Raizō is chronologically about 55 years old but physically 35. He acts as a major ally to the Straw Hat Pirates during the Zou and Wano Country arcs. On Zou, the Mink tribe of the Mokomo Dukedom risked everything to protect him from Jack of the Beasts Pirates, hiding him atop the great elephant Zunesha and enduring torture rather than reveal his location. Raizō was devastated by their sacrifice and insisted he would rather be turned over than see more people hurt on his behalf. He is highly emotional and frequently breaks down crying when overcome with gratitude or grief, and he openly shows how much he cares for his comrades.
Raizō values loyalty above almost everything else, and although he despises the shogun Kurozumi Orochi, he respected his rival ninja Fukurokuju for remaining faithful to the man he served. That rivalry had a personal origin: Raizō was once fond of Fukurokuju's younger sister Fukumi and rescued her during a mission, but when she attempted to kiss him, his pure-hearted nature led him to push her away so forcefully that she was injured. Too ashamed to face her, he fled, and she reportedly called his name on her deathbed, which Fukurokuju misread as hatred and turned into a lifelong grudge. Raizō never offered an explanation in his own defense. His relationship with the other Red Scabbards is close and trusting, particularly with Kin'emon, with whom he traveled through time, and Kawamatsu, whose reunion in the Udon Prisoner Mine briefly caused Raizō to lose his usual caution. He also supports Momonosuke as his new lord after the fall of Orochi, and once the battle for Wano is won and Momonosuke becomes shogun, Raizō takes on the position of daimyo of Udon.
Raizō is a highly skilled practitioner of ninjutsu. His abilities include a smoke escape technique that lets him vanish in a cloud of smoke, a clone technique that creates multiple copies of himself, expert shuriken throwing, a binding technique that immobilizes opponents, and electrified shuriken. He also possesses the powers of the Maki Maki no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, although he is unaware it is a Devil Fruit and refers to its power as a scroll-scroll ninjutsu. This ability allows him to create and manipulate scrolls that can absorb and store almost anything, including enemy attacks, and later release them. During the assault on Onigashima, he absorbed one of Kaido's fiery breath attacks and returned it at the emperor, and he also stored seawater delivered by Zunesha and unleashed it at a critical moment to save his allies. Raizō is additionally capable of using both Armament Haki, known as Ryuo in Wano and used by the Nine Red Scabbards to wound Kaido, and Observation Haki.
Over the course of the story, Raizō develops from a lonely former outcast into a trusted strategist and warrior. During the preparation for the raid on Onigashima, he proved himself diligent and methodical, working out plans to strengthen the alliance and keep track of unresolved problems such as shortages of weapons. He is patient rather than rash, willing to wait days for the right moment, and even when an apparent vision of Oden appeared before the Scabbards, he was one of the few to rationally doubt that it was truly their fallen master. In the final phase of the Wano conflict, he defeats Fukurokuju in their long-standing duel and takes part in the decisive battles against Orochi and Kaido alongside his fellow retainers, ultimately securing peace for Wano and a new purpose for himself in service to the Kozuki family.
In his youth, Raizō was considered a genius ninja of the Kozuki Oniwabanshu, the family's spy organization. After a painful rejection by a kunoichi he admired, he left that service and lived for a time as a bandit and wandering outcast in Udon. Around 41 years before the main events of the story, he chose to follow Kozuki Oden, who accepted him without hesitation despite not seeking followers. Raizō devoted himself wholeheartedly to Oden, and when the retainer Shimotsuki Yasuie advised Oden's followers to educate themselves and become proper retainers, Raizō and the others spent years studying to uphold their master's reputation.
Following Oden's execution at the hands of Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi, Raizō became part of the plan to take revenge and fulfill Oden's dying wish to open Wano's borders. During the siege of Oden Castle, he and three other retainers were sent 20 years into the future by the time-travel ability of Kozuki Toki, Oden's wife. This means Raizō is chronologically about 55 years old but physically 35. He acts as a major ally to the Straw Hat Pirates during the Zou and Wano Country arcs. On Zou, the Mink tribe of the Mokomo Dukedom risked everything to protect him from Jack of the Beasts Pirates, hiding him atop the great elephant Zunesha and enduring torture rather than reveal his location. Raizō was devastated by their sacrifice and insisted he would rather be turned over than see more people hurt on his behalf. He is highly emotional and frequently breaks down crying when overcome with gratitude or grief, and he openly shows how much he cares for his comrades.
Raizō values loyalty above almost everything else, and although he despises the shogun Kurozumi Orochi, he respected his rival ninja Fukurokuju for remaining faithful to the man he served. That rivalry had a personal origin: Raizō was once fond of Fukurokuju's younger sister Fukumi and rescued her during a mission, but when she attempted to kiss him, his pure-hearted nature led him to push her away so forcefully that she was injured. Too ashamed to face her, he fled, and she reportedly called his name on her deathbed, which Fukurokuju misread as hatred and turned into a lifelong grudge. Raizō never offered an explanation in his own defense. His relationship with the other Red Scabbards is close and trusting, particularly with Kin'emon, with whom he traveled through time, and Kawamatsu, whose reunion in the Udon Prisoner Mine briefly caused Raizō to lose his usual caution. He also supports Momonosuke as his new lord after the fall of Orochi, and once the battle for Wano is won and Momonosuke becomes shogun, Raizō takes on the position of daimyo of Udon.
Raizō is a highly skilled practitioner of ninjutsu. His abilities include a smoke escape technique that lets him vanish in a cloud of smoke, a clone technique that creates multiple copies of himself, expert shuriken throwing, a binding technique that immobilizes opponents, and electrified shuriken. He also possesses the powers of the Maki Maki no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, although he is unaware it is a Devil Fruit and refers to its power as a scroll-scroll ninjutsu. This ability allows him to create and manipulate scrolls that can absorb and store almost anything, including enemy attacks, and later release them. During the assault on Onigashima, he absorbed one of Kaido's fiery breath attacks and returned it at the emperor, and he also stored seawater delivered by Zunesha and unleashed it at a critical moment to save his allies. Raizō is additionally capable of using both Armament Haki, known as Ryuo in Wano and used by the Nine Red Scabbards to wound Kaido, and Observation Haki.
Over the course of the story, Raizō develops from a lonely former outcast into a trusted strategist and warrior. During the preparation for the raid on Onigashima, he proved himself diligent and methodical, working out plans to strengthen the alliance and keep track of unresolved problems such as shortages of weapons. He is patient rather than rash, willing to wait days for the right moment, and even when an apparent vision of Oden appeared before the Scabbards, he was one of the few to rationally doubt that it was truly their fallen master. In the final phase of the Wano conflict, he defeats Fukurokuju in their long-standing duel and takes part in the decisive battles against Orochi and Kaido alongside his fellow retainers, ultimately securing peace for Wano and a new purpose for himself in service to the Kozuki family.