The Beast Pirates Captain and Emperor of the Sea, Kaido is one of the driving forces in One Piece’s New World. The final, primary antagonist of the Wano Saga, Kaido truly shows what evil can accomplish at the cost of human suffering. So, who is this dragon of a pirate, and how did Kaido become the monster of the man he is today?
Spoilers are abundant here, up through the most recent chapter 1089 of One Piece. So, if not caught up, the manga is available on MangaPlus, Viz, and Shonen Jump, as well as in local bookstores! Now, proceed with caution!
Who is Kaido?
Kaido is one of the Four Emperors of the Sea in One Piece’s New World. He doesn’t control much territory, though does technically have Dressrosa under his thumb through Doflamingo. One of the few remaining Oni, a race of massive warriors with huge horns, Kaido has the natural strength of an army on his own, and powers that make him nearly unbeatable. Unbelievably durable and able to take out entire cities with a blast of breath from his dragon form, he’s a true terror to all that meet him.
Kaido’s most terrifying trait is his absolute lack of mercy. He’ll crush anyone who threatens him, with no care for collateral damage or casualties. A Conqueror in the sense of an absolute tyrant, with the Haki ability to match it. Kaido is just a monster of drunken hate. All he wants is to become the most powerful pirate on the Grand Line, and believes that he is the one to succeed Joyboy.
Was Kaido a Rocks Pirate?
One of the original Rocks Pirates, and initially recruited by Big Mom herself. He joins one of the most terrifying crews to roam the Grand Line, just a young, angry teenager at the time. Kaido is determined to make his name as a fighter in these days, and God Valley is just a showcase of the battles he’ll fight later. Despite the combined forces of Kaido, Big Mom, Whitebeard, and Rocks D Xebec, they’re defeated by the alliance of Roger and Garp. It’s near the end of God Valley as they all go on the run that Big Mom gives Kaido a parting gift, his Mythical Fish-Fish Fruit, Type: Azure Dragon.
World Government Prisoner
Bad for Kaido, he’s caught by the World Government not long after. He’s taken prisoner, and brought to the Punk Hazard lab for years. It’s here that Vegapunk takes samples of Kaido’s blood and DNA, which make the fake Devil Fruit Momo eats later. Despite the near-perfect replication of his Devil Fruit ability, Vegapunk still considers the pink color a failure. Kaido has further experiments done until finally breaking free one day, taking King the Lunarian with him.
The Beast Pirates
This is when the Beast Pirates form, Kaido and King being the first members. From there they recruit others, including Queen who is a former MADS scientist like Vinsmoke Judge, Caesar Clown, and Vegapunk. While they start out as terrors of the sea, rampaging and ransacking through the New World, they soon form an alliance with Kurozumi Orochi to take over Wano. Here, he sets up shop on Onigashima.
Why Does Kaido Take Over Wano?
Kaido doesn’t take to the seafaring pirate life but instead decides to set up his own base of operations. When he conspires with Kurozumi Orochi to overthrow the Kozuki clan, he gains large amounts of land in Wano. This turns into weapons factories, which pollute the land and rivers, turning them toxic. Meanwhile, he uses the native population as slave labor, forcing them to work as everything from Geisha to laborers in the factories. Putting it simply, Kaido wants power and knows that Kozuki Oden poses no threat to his strength. He’s bound and determined to take over but even admires Oden for his determination to save his vassals.
Kaido has kept his base of operations on Onigashima off of Wano for over twenty years now. Numerous skirmishes with everyone from Shanks to Whitebeard haven’t broken his control over the country. Despite the people’s desire to open them, the massive borders prove valuable to Kaido.
Does Kaido Have Powers?
Kaido is one of the strongest pirates in the New World for a damn good reason. He’s powerful in brute force, Devil Fruit, and Haki abilities which make him dangerous to anyone. His Conqueror Haki is off the charts strong, and his and Luffy’s clash splits the sky above them. His Armament Haki is equally strong, though Observation is lacking. Kaido believes that Haki is the supreme power, and rules over everything else.
Surprising, since he has one of the strongest Devil Fruit abilities in One Piece, and uses it a lot. He has the Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Type: Azure Dragon, an incredibly powerful Mythical Zoan Fruit. It allows him to transform into a massive, serpentine dragon at will, as well as the typical Zoan Hybrid form. Kaido often relies on the hybrid form along with Armament and Conqueror-imbued Haki attacks for his fights.
Yamato, Son of Kaido
The only child of Kaido, Yamato is the opposite of his father. While he fights with much the same style, he also has a Mythical Zoan Dog-Dog Fruit, Type: Wolf Deity. He’s incredibly powerful, with Haki already powerful at an early age with his Devil Fruit ability. Yamato also resents his father fiercely, as Kaido kept him locked up in Onigashima for most of his life. This leads to Yamato helping Luffy in his battle, showing her father that she won’t be like him, ever.
Though Yamato is occupied elsewhere helping Momo, Luffy takes control and hits Gear Five after dying. Kaido is just thankful for a second chance, and Luffy apologizes for Cipher Pol interfering in their fight. The two go at it, trading blows that range from serious attacks to Looney Tunes f*ckery on Luffy’s part. Finally, Luffy hits the Gum-Gum Bajrang Gun, which makes a fist the size of Onigashima imbued with Conqueror and Armament Haki. Kaido is hit so hard that he goes to the ground and creates a hole that doesn’t end until he’s down to the magma of the earth. Now, he threatens Wano no more, and the Kozuki Clan begins to rebuild under Momo.
Is Kaido Dead?
It’s the most likely scenario, but One Piece is a fickle bitch when it comes to characters dying. There’s a good rule that says unless they show the body, everyone is still alive somewhere, hiding, waiting. That said, Kaido and Big Mom essentially got their asses kicked straight to hell by the Luffy/Law/Kid alliance. If they are alive, they’re a long, long way down and probably too hurt to get back up for a while. So, safe to assume they’re both dead for now, but then again Pound and Pell are still alive so who knows?
Does Kaido Awaken His Zoan Fruit?
Despite the power he shows in his hybrid form, Kaido canonically has not awoken his Zoan Fruit. It kind of makes sense, because his whole thing is reliance on Haki over Devil Fruit’s abilities. Still, it is interesting that all that time he had the Fruit, he never once used any kind of Awakening. If he did, he probably would have been able to defeat Luffy, as he would gain a boost in strength much the same as he did butt without the cartoonish powers. It would be more along the lines of Kaku and Rob Lucci of Cipher Pol 0 when they Awaken theirs.
Now, Kaido is out of the picture and Luffy has taken his place as Emperor. He brings Wano under his protection, allowing Momo and the Kozuki advisors to restore peace to the continent without fear of invasion. Yamato, forsaking his father’s legacy, now travels the country like Kozuki Oden, with an open invitation to join the Straw Hats. Kaido’s shadow has finally been vanquished from the Grand Line by the shining light of Nika the Sun God.
