When we thought there was nothing more that Kaido could do, Oda pulls one on us and shows what the strongest creature alive in the world of One Piece is capable of. Chapter 997 grabbed the headlines for two moments, Zoro stating his intentions and Kaido showing (a glimpse of) his powers.

And this show of force is by no means lackluster. It is an instance that could define an era of violence that is set to follow, as proclaimed by Kaido himself.

Kaido lifts Onigashima!

Yamato’s goals were pretty straightforward. She wanted to keep Momonosuke and Shinobu safe. In fact, she was tasked to keep them safe by Luffy. In order to do so, Yamato intended to take Momo away from Onigashima, where a chaotic battle was in progress. Evading Sasaki and his armored division, thanks to Franosuke’s timely intervention, Yamato was now free to carry the Kozuki clan heir and Shinobu to safety using a Beast Pirate ship. But to their surprise, not only were the ships gone, but even the sea was not to be seen anywhere.

The reason? Kaido had lifted Onigashima and according to Yamato, was transporting it to the flower capital in Wano.

But how did he do that?

When we talk of people lifting whole islands, monstrous strength is what comes to mind. Though we know that Kaido is extremely strong, he did not have to rely on his physical strength to lift the Island. Kaido was able to lift Onigashima using flame clouds. Flame Clouds are something that are used by Dragons to fly. Oda had hinted at this in an SBS telling a fan that Kaido uses clouds to fly.

Heard dragons can fly in the sky by using the clouds, so Kaido’s doing that by generating his own clouds and then walking from cloud to cloud. Does that make sense?

Oda, SBS Volume 93 (Chapter 935)

We see the first instance of the flame clouds when Momonosuke used them to carry him and Luffy out of the trash pit in Dressrosa. This has led many to speculate if Momonosuke and Kaido have the same devil fruit powers.

Also, Yamato only mentions that Dragons are able to generate flame clouds and not Kaido in particular. Could this be a word play possibly hinting that Kaido is a dragon and not a devil fruit user? Well, we’ll have to wait and see if this is indeed the case.

Was Onigashima flying foreshadowed?

Well, we might just be reading too much into it. But then, in One Piece Chapter 793, we see Onigashima amidst the mist and fog. This incident happened when Kaido was being informed their SMILE supply has been cut off because of Doflamingo’s defeat.

If we look closely, the fog/mist/clouds that are surrounding Onigashima (probably) are very similar to the flame clouds we see in chapter 997. So does that mean Kaido frequently transports Onigashima, or any island or ship, to wherever he wants? That would be pretty insane. Also, is he strong enough to lift whole of Wano?

What next in the battle?

With the transportation of the island, the battle will now shift to Wano or New Onigashima as Kaido states. Does this mean that Kaido’s death is incoming?

The yonko is someone who was inspired by the way Oden died (guess where). He wants to go out in a similar fashion (which will make him remembered by masses?). If the battle does shift to the Flower capital, it will be a perfect time for the samurai of Wano to exact their revenge on Kaido, at least narration wise.

This would make the Wano arc come a full circle. Events that began in the flower capital with Kozuki Oden and his death at the hands of Kaido will end with the defeat of Kaido at the hands of the Wano samurai.

There are also theories that suggest that this situation is similar to the one in Fishman Island, where Luffy had to stop Noah from entering the Ryugu Kingdom and also defeat Hody Jones at the same time. Will he be to pull off a similar feat here? Seems not (but we dunno what Oda has in store for us, so let’s take it with a pinch of salt).

The situation is not as easy as we make it out to be. With Big Mom also joining Kaido on top of the dome, the Scabbards too are done for, unless someone comes there to rescue them. Also, it will be too much of ask for the Straw Hats or other supernovas to fight and defeat these two.

WIll Kaido subjugate the citizens of Flower Capital?

Kaido is keen to execute his New Onigashima plan. He wants the country to be a base for unruly pirates. And from here he would soon unleash a wave of violence and tyranny on the world. Since the scabbards seemed to have taken a bad beating, Kaido has enough time on his hands to spread terror and subjugate the citizens in the Flower capital.

He may even make an example out of the beaten scabbards to show the people that there was no hope remaining. Allow us to show you Pekom’s dialogue from chapter 815.

While this was said in reference to Big Mom by Pekoms, this is also applicable to what Kaido is doing.

Do we get a Kaido backstory?

Now that Big Mom is there on the top, do we get a Kaido backstory and some more insight into the Rocks Xebec crew? The legendary pirate has been hyped up in the Wano arc. So it is only fair for him to feature more in the story at this point.

We might also get to know about the favor that Kaido owes Big Mom. Their past and the dynamics between these two would go a long way in deciding if a betrayal that is in the cards will actually take place. Also, there is also the question of whether Oda has a plan in mind to take down this insanely powerful yonko (of course he has! We are just asking the wrong questions here to waste your time)? The man absolutely seems to have no weakness (well Enma and powerful-Ryou are on their way). It needs to be seen how he gets defeated.

What are your thoughts on Kaido’s display of power? Will he be able to begin his world of violence with this? Do the Straw Hats and the samurais have it in them to take down this monstrous opponent? Let us know your opinions in the comments section!