SPOILERS for recent issues of course!
Lord of the Owls - "You have suffered a wound since last we met..." Now THIS is the one I find most intriguing! Probably because I'm sure the answer must be in plain sight. The Lord of the Owls told Usagi in their second meeting that Usagi has "suffered a wound"; Usagi thought it was the scar on his forehead, but the Lord makes clear that's not what he meant. They met over fifteen years ago (publication time), now what significant "wound" would be noticeable to someone like the Lord of the Owls, who is known for seeing death/fate?
First of all, maybe most likely, Usagi was stabbed by Jei in the first Grasscutter arc. This has never been brought up since then, but we do know that wounds caused by Jei last a long time...just ask Gen
It has been hinted at forever that the black soul will possess Usagi one day, and maybe this wound is crucial at giving them that connection - and perhaps even bring about Usagi's death!Or is the wound an emotional one? Not quite the Lord of the Owls' style, but maybe...could it be related to Usagi saying farewell to Jotaro? Or maybe his farewell to Tomoe? Heck who knows, maybe even Ayako (that would be more in line actually, since Usagi saw her die).
Are there other important wounds I'm forgetting? Probably!
The Red Scorpion Gang: Ok, this will obviously be resolved in a week or two (is it this week? I actually don't know!) but what's up with the Red Scorpion Gang? And what is the connection of Suzuki's school to them? I have to admit, Stan Sakai completely subverted my expectations with the last issue!
The true nature of Jei: I think "The Darkness and the Soul" story collected in Book 24: Return of the Black Soul gives us enough clues to piece together, can we finally uncover the truth about Jei from it? It seems clear that Jei is not an emissary of the traditional gods, but of "the dark gods" that were worshipped by priest Ibaraki. Is there any such "dark god" in mythology that might fit this role? I don't know much about Enma (who from quick research is a Buddhist deity) but back in Grasscutter Jei kept talking about going to Enma's Hell...interestingly though Enma is not just the ruler of hell but also master of death, so Jei might have a tie to the Lord of the Owls as well...if the Lord of the Owls isn't Enma himself! (and this would explain the connection with Usagi's wound, come to think of it)
Anyway, this does explain why Jei perceives Usagi as "evil"...Ibaraki says in The Darkness and the Soul, "we want to eliminate the evils in this world, but what may be evil to your gods might not be evil to mine." I guess the dark gods consider Usagi an evil.
Why is this so? I think it will be revealed at some point that Usagi may actually be a chosen emissary of Buddha, or a shinto god, or something...there are some hints in Grasscutter that the sword of the gods chose to come to him, while it rejected Jei. The Lord of the Owls has also said that Usagi is "different", and that he may possibly foresee his own death at Usagi's hand.
What's more, I have become curious of Keiko, the innocent...why is Jei keeping her around? And didn't he say that she would be going with him to Enma's hell? Frankly, I have a feeling that he plans to sacrifice her when the time is right, maybe similar to the sacrificing of an innocent in Usagi Yojimbo: Yokai! Maybe by destroying Usagi and then sacrificing Keiko, Jei will open the path for the dark gods - and Enma's hell - to cover the earth! (It is no coincidence that at one point, Sasuke was asked to hunt down the blade of the gods himself)
