Sandayu Oda

"If Oda has ulterior motives, he will need no elites, no air support, no one but himself. Trust me, I have seen him work."

— Goro Takemura, Cyberpunk 2077

Sandayu Oda (Japanese: 小田三太夫, Hepburn: Oda Sandayu) is a solo and cyberninja employed by the Arasaka Corporation, assigned as the personal bodyguard of Hanako Arasaka. He specializes in martial arts and utilizes Arasaka Mantis Blades in combat.

Biography

Early Life

Upon being admitted to the Arasaka ranks, Oda had been trained by Goro Takemura as a highly skilled fighter. Through shared battle experience, the two have managed to achieve a sense of camaraderie and mutual respect, acknowledging an honourable debt to be called upon once the need arose. Oda's skills were recognized by Arasaka and, as such, he was appointed Hanako Arasaka's personal protector.

2077

In 2077, Oda travelled to Night City onboard the Arasaka Corporation's supercarrier Kujira, escorting Hanako Arasaka. Not long after their arrival, the unexpected murder of Hanako's father, Saburo, set the tone of the dashi parade to that of a commemorative one, inciting suspicion in Oda, who was already wary of the way this event had been organized.

Following this, Oda was contacted by Takemura, who requested his audience. At this point, his former mentor had carried the accusation of being a direct accomplice to Saburo's murder, so the meeting itself had been arranged under the radar of official channels. To show a hint of trust, Oda arrived at the meeting alone, by car rather than camouflaged, and listened to what Takemura and his witness, the mercenary V, had to say. Once he realized that V had truly witnessed the events of the Konpeki Plaza incident, he promptly urged them to stop talking.

Before leaving, he issued his second and final warning – while being courteous at present, he threatened that he would not show such leniency in the case of meeting either of them again.

Despite being well aware of the event's underlying complications, Oda stayed out of the Arasaka family theatrics and instead focused strictly on his job of keeping Hanako safe.^[1]

The night of the parade, all of Oda's concerns seem to have been realized. Talking to the head of Yorinobu Arasaka's security, Adam Smasher, he expressed outrage over the lack of proper safety measures and directly questioned the choices made by Yorinobu, only for Smasher to dismiss his concerns. Eventually, he left Hanako's side to deal with the disturbances himself. He managed to catch V in the act of disabling the Arasaka netrunner, and kept his promise of not showing leniency on their second meeting as they began to fight.

After a tense battle, Oda was defeated, with his fate being left in V's hands - Takemura pleaded with V to show mercy and spare Oda as he did not wish for his former pupil to die.

If V killed Oda in Play It Safe:

If V executes Oda, Takemura expresses his anger at the decision, stating that he would remember what V had done.

If V spared Oda in Play It Safe:

If V spares Oda, and leaves to finish their mission with Takemura, he is later taken to receive medical treatment. While his wounds were easily healed, his pride following his loss in battle, would need more time to heal.

If V asked Hanako for help in Nocturne Op55N1:

Should Takemura escape the pursuit after the parade, he will call in a number of allies to accompany him in the siege of the Arasaka Tower. Among them will be Oda, who was surprised to see V follow Hanako out of the elevator. He will reluctantly accept this predicament on Hanako's order. The group arrives at the meeting with Arasaka's members of the board and faction leaders. As Hanako declares a brief summary of the current circumstances, Oda would step within reach of anyone who spoke against her. Once the engram of Saburo Arasaka appears and exposes the truth about his son's betrayal, an armed coup of the corporation is launched. Oda, alongside Takemura and V, fights back towards the elevator, clearing the area of hostiles. He will however remain with Hanako and Michiko Arasaka, as Takemura and V progress to the upper echelons of Arasaka Tower.

Should Takemura not survive the parade, Oda will not be present in the Arasaka tower.

Database Entry

ODA

Hanako Arasaka's bodyguard who also happens to be a cyberninja trained by Takemura. He was supposed to be the key to solving V and Takemura's problems, but only ended up as one more threat among many. During their secret meeting at the docks, he declined their plea for help and gave them one last chance to leave the city. He's never further than a step away from Hanako, so it'll be difficult to reach her.^[1]

Associated Quests

Equipment

Type	Products
Cyberware	Mantis Blades, Optical Camo
Weaponry	TKI-20 Shingen, Jinchu-maru

Notes

If V spared Oda's life, Adam Smasher will comment while fighting him during any of the endings: "You spared Oda. So very... human! And disgusting. Mercy is disgusting." If Oda was killed, Smasher will comment in a positive manner: "You killed Oda? Good! He was useless."
Oda's etymology is as follows:
- His surname has the Kunyomi for "small, little" (小, o ) and the rendaku pronunciation for "rice paddy/field" (田, da).
- His given name has the Go-on'yomi for "three" (三, san), a prefix either meaning "greatness" or "thickness" (太, da), and the Nanori reading for "husband, man" (夫, yu). Roughly reading "three great husbands".