Thread by @VsFeral

“𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏”

A thread on Kaido, death and legacy in One Piece

#ONEPIECE

A core theme surrounding Kaido throughout his run as the primary antagonist of One Piece’s Yonko Saga has been his obsession with death. Kaido is introduced trying to kill himself and immediately ties himself to a core principal.

Kaido is shown to be too strong to die. However, his introductory chapter brings about somewhat of a controversy: at face value he wants to die so badly he is willing to kill himself but this is a falsehood.

Kaido wants to die a glorious death, hence his chosen method of suicide is by a “rare” means.

He has been defeated multiple times but never has anyone managed to kill him. Escaping from prison ships would suggest that this is not because they couldn’t kill him…

But because this is not how he wants to die.

A core value in One Piece is that “the weak do not get to choose how they die” and Kaido is the absolute pinnacle of this.

Kaido holds the belief that “death completes a man” and this tells us that he follows the belief of inherited will and legacy being the most important thing about one’s legend.

I believe it is not that none of the people to defeat Kaido were able to kill him, it is that none of them were able to complete him.

Kaido sees Luffy and pictures those who he holds as worthy of this, those who he believes would be worthy of ending his story.

With the exception of Shanks who is still alive, those in Kaido’s pantheon are all those who have been so strong of body and will that they chose their way of death.

In his introduction he is actively jealous of Whitebeard for having died.

Whitebeard, the World’s Strongest Man, chose his way of death to the very end. He defied impossible odds to remain standing and give one final speech to change the tides of an era.

Kaido seeks a death like this.

In fact, the main reason Kaido moved for Marineford was likely that he believed it to be a place where he could find someone worthy of killing him.

Also notably on this theme at Marineford: Luffy was too weak to protect himself and would not have been able to choose how he died.

Ace however, chose his way of death, to protect Luffy.

Oden, too, chose his way of death. Oden cemented an unshakeable legacy with his death and I believe this is where Kaido’s obsession with death comes from.

Oden became legendary moreso for his death than his life in Wano as a disgraced menace to society.

But Kaido gave Oden a means to show his strength and willpower and as Oden forced his choice of death he earned Kaido’s utmost respect.

Oden haunts Kaido to this day.

And lastly we have Roger, who after decades of being uncatchable and becoming history’s greatest legend, chose to give himself in and be executed.

Roger chose his way of death in the grandest fashion possible and changed the world forever. Never to be forgotten.

Because a man dies when he is forgotten.

Roger, Whitebeard, and Oden all cemented their legacies forever by spurring a new era with their final words, leaving a permanent mark on the world.

But Kaido is a man obsessed with the legacies of others and for all of his strength he does not seem to have anything to change an era or ignite a passion in someone else’s will, even his own child’s.

So Kaido is instead committed to dying by the hands of another legend.

So Kaido seeks out the strongest legends to try and have them bring about his end. Those at Marineford would have cemented his legacy forever if they had killed him in battle.

Or, he could have himself killed by the greatest of legends. Joyboy.

The moment Luffy first hurts Kaido he becomes fixated. As someone with the strongest will Kaido sees the full potential of Luffy as someone who could be the reincarnation of Joyboy himself.

If he could become part of the Joyboy legend he would be remembered forever.

He engages in full combat with Luffy, going so far as to actively dodge his attacks as Luffy grows stronger throughout their fight.

He could simply have stood still and let Luffy kill him, but the warrior in him demands he lose in a grand battle and have his choose taken.

Because strength is relative, the weak don’t chose their way to die but there is always someone stronger. Kaido will continue to fight and live until someone stronger takes his choice away.

He let Luffy live and though he was angry with himself about it, it was likely instinct.

Kaido through the events of Onigashima has brought about a legendary battle and has irrefutably set himself as the marker for the moment that Monkey D Luffy became a global threat to the Throne and history itself.

We are witnessing Kaido becoming complete.

I am so sorry. I wanted to write like 5 tweets and here I am 20 later rambling about death. I’m definitely wrong on some things and I’ve definitely reached a few times but let me know what you think.