The raid has begun. The assault on Kaido and his forces has been signaled by the actions of the Akazaya Nine as they overwhelm Kaido and force him to the ground of Onigashima. Within the shock running through Kaido’s body at the presence of shadows manifesting themselves in front of him after twenty years, memories of Oden reverberate through his mind uncovering a feeling he had thought buried. Across the distance of twenty years, the scar left by Oden on Kaido begins to pulsate in response to the injuries suffered from the Akazaya Nine as they drive their wills through the man responsible for their Lord’s death and the suffering of the land they swore to protect. Kaido acknowledges the actions of the Akazaya Nine and in reply to Luffy’s declaration of war against the forces of Kaido, Big Mom and Orochi, he accepts Luffy’s challenge. An all out war has begun.
The Samurai forces have infiltrated Onigashima and with the signal conveyed by Momonsuke and the Akazaya Nine, all the forces reveal themselves to the shock of the Beast Pirates. Unbeknownst to Kaido and the All Stars, their arrogance and overconfidence has made them blind to the enemies right in front of them. Underestimating every single Samurai and the capabilities of the Straw Hat Pirates, they have in part, manufactured the circumstances they now find themselves in. As more Samurai storm the rear entrance of Onigashima to progress their raid, the state of organisation for the Beast Pirates has been left in tatters at the mercy of the opponents they have currently no counterattack to. Queen attempts to rally the forces of the Beast Pirates but the suddenness of the invasion has yet to be fully processed by them. Not even King and Jack have had a chance to fully comprehend what has happened.
Add to that the revelation that Kaido’s daughter, Yamato, has openly expressed her existence as an enemy to them, the Beast Pirates have been further thrown into a position of bewilderment. Even, Ulti, seems unable to comprehend what Yamato means and intends. But with the line being drawn by Yamato’s declaration, she has now intentionally made herself an enemy of Kaido, the Tobiroppo and the rest of the Beast Pirate forces. With Ulti on edge, it appears inevitable that Yamato and Ulti will continue to clash. Through the battle, Yamato may convey to Ulti what she means when she states she wishes to become ‘Kozuki Oden’ and why it is important to her. Ulti could have been one of the few ‘friends’ Yamato had on Onigashima which would deepen the relevance this upcoming fight could embody. Potentially we may even get some information concerning Yamato’s mother.
Now that Big Mom has encountered Luffy again, the primary purpose for her travels to Wano Kuni is standing right there in front of her. Before following through her intention to end his life, Big Mom also wishes to sate her curiosity concerning Luffy’s presence in Wano Kuni. In response and much to the confusion of Luffy’s allies when he states he did not come to Wano Kuni to take down Kaido, Luffy declares that it is Kaido, Big Mom, Orochi AND all their forces that he wishes to crush. Now that Big Mom is ready to battle Luffy, will their fight commence or could another party interfere and engage Big Mom allowing Luffy to go after Kaido. The Luffy VS Big Mom will commence but won’t conclude during this Arc, instead after a few attacks and Big Mom realising that Luffy is not the type of opponent she should be underestimating, I can see someone like Jinbe joining in on the fight to allow Luffy to go after Kaido. Jinbe may not be able to defeat Big Mom but as shown during the Whole Cake Island Arc, he is capable enough to take Big Mom on and keep her preoccupied. I would love to see Yamato and Jinbe take on Big Mom.
The dialog Kaido exchanged with the Akazaya Nine in regards to the nature of Pirates contained a level of definity uncharacterised by his demeanor he has expressed so far. All the pain and bitterness entrenched in his “truth” about Pirates conveys an experience deeply embedded within Kaido’s perception of how the world functions. The lesson he asserts seems to be one he has had to learn himself. Most likely during his time as a member of the Rocks Pirates when he was betrayed by a man he respected. A man whom Kaido genuinely thought would become King of the World. Rocks D. Xebec. Upon Xebec’s defeat to Garp and Roger, when Xebec realised he could not win against the two of them, he most likely betrayed his crew by abandoning them in order to escape. This could have led to Kaido being captured by the Marines and a moment that defined what Kaido is now. The respect Kaido would have had in Xebec’s power may have made him vulnerable to being abused by Xebec and caused him to view the world is such an unforgiving manner. If Xebec lied to and used Kaido during the God Valley incident in order to escape, I can see how this moment could have been the one to burn an impression within Kaido that the nature of Pirates is treachery.
With a history that involves Kaido’s perception of a pirate being defined by the actions of Rocks D. Xebec, could this allow Monkey D. Luffy to help redefine the meaning of “pirates” to Kaido. So far, every conclusion Kaido has reached concerning Luffy has been wrong. Once Kaido and Luffy finally face off again, will Kaido be open to the type of Pirate Luffy is and acknowledge his efforts that have led to the situation they now find themselves in? Will Kaido allow himself to see past his own demons and preconceptions? Furthermore, if Kaido does liberate himself through his defeat to Luffy, will his opinion of Luffy change? With such a history, there may be a path for Yamato to board the Thousand Sunny. If the Blackbeard Pirates show up at the end of the arc to finish off Kaido and reveal their connection to Rocks D. Xebec, there would be significant reason for Yamato to join with the Straw Hat Pirates against the Blackbeard Pirates going forward. Kaido may even end up supporting the thought of his child following a man like Monkey D. Luffy once he comes to see Luffy for who he is.
In order to freely fight in his awakened Dragon form, Kaido has ascended to the top of the Onigashima skull dome and taken the fight against the Akazaya Nine outside. The battlefield is now illuminated by the full moon and with the Mink Tribe present, the might of the Mink Sulong form is about to be demonstrated. After having the Sulong form hinted at since the start of the Zou Arc and teased during the Whole Cake Island Arc through Carrot and Pekoms, we finally get to see the true extent of its might with Nekomamushi and Inuarashi about to transform. To what degree are the abilities of a Mink enhanced when utilised by a master Mink in their awakened Sulong form? How powerful can the presence of a Full Moon make a Mink? And what relevance does the moon have with snow, if any? Very much looking forward to the next chapter (will Who’s Who transform into a Pawpawsaurus and Sasaki into a Torosaurus?).
12Dimension 