Thriller Bark

It's been oft mentioned that Oden's form of death references the Japanese tale of legendary thief Goemon...well, another important element of many renditions of Goemon's iconic end involve him attempting to remain standing whilst being boiled alive while holding up his young son, who was likewise sentenced to die.

Finally hit me. What image does Wano's peculiarly designed shape invoke if not that of a bundled baby, with Mt. Fuji in the center serving as the remnant of a newborn's severed umbilical cord ? Methinks Oden's death may serve to foreshadow ( or echo ) that of Wano's "father," who may have died in the process of saving his creation from boiling lava.

Yes, that's right. Just as real-world Japan sits on a hotbed of the Ring of Fire, I think Wano itself is actually located in the caldera ( coincidentally a Spanish word for pot ) of an inactive volcano. And long ago this thieving Titan, similar to Goemon and Oden alike, may have made the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of friends and family.

Also lends weight to another theory of mine: there's an underground passage connecting the main Wano islands to Onigashima, probably dug through the petrified remains of the Oars Titan's limbs.....just as a the Whale Tree of Zou was hollowed out to contain a secret, enclosed space. The entrance to said secret passage? Ringo; the entrance to Oni is "Winter," as Orochi relayed...

To travel to the land of the Oni where Kaido resides, one must unsurprisingly descend into Wano's underworld to reach hell, in a figurative manner of speaking. The entrance to this passage -- and that of several other possible secret tunnels running throughout Wano -- are probably those various wells we've seen pop up throughout the arc,, w/ even Brooke calling attention to one..

A well that connects to hell where the Lord of the Underworld can be found....I've got a feeling Oda's going to be referencing this particular Japanese tale from Japanese folklore http://yokai.com/ononotakamura/

loved reading it, the idea of something or someone holding wano up is sick. Love it, keep up

Bonus: dunno if this happen for sure, but if Moriah were to return to Wano as many speculate, and learn Onigashima is a giant corpse larger than even Oars? Could spell disaster for Kaido and Wano ( or its salvation )

Tying into my prev theory that Wano will undergo a volcanic eruption and/or fall apart by arc’s end, who’s going to hold up and ferry away the re-disconnected islands/provinces? The Numbers, post-face turn. Runs in the family.

Who would animate the Onigashima corpse in this scenario? Probably Luffy, if he is indeed Joyboy’s reincarnation, confirming my theories concerning each’s connection to Oars.