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One Piece: Why Was Kaido Going To Marineford?

During the Summit War, there were reports that Kaido had set sail and was on his way to Marineford. At that time, it felt like the yonko wanted to earn fame by taking down the strongest man alive, Whitebeard. But as we get to know him more in Wano, especially his backstory, this notion does not sound very plausible. And since the Wano arc started, more theories have been swirling around as to why Kaido wanted to go to Marineford.

Lets look at some of the most plausible reasons.

To defeat Whitebeard:

The most obvious reason for why Kaido tried to go to Marineford is; to defeat Whitebeard! But unlike previous assumptions, this could not be just to make name for himself. There are two possible reasons as to why he wanted to take down Whitebeard.

Kaido wants to kill Whitebeard

Kaido wanted to spread Mayhem:

From the recent chapters, especially after his revelation of the New Onigashima plan, it is clear that Kaido wanted to overturn the balance of the world and begin an era of violence. If he had similar goals before, then the major hurdle he would have to overcome in order to achieve so would be to defeat Whitebeard. The strongest man alive was not one to be taken lightly, and he would definitely not allow the Beast Pirates’ captain to spread violence or even set foot in his territory. And considering how prominent areas of the new world were under Whitebeard, the only option he had in front of him could be to take down old man Newgate.

Rightly so, since Whitebeard’s death, the New World has been in turmoil. And Kaido is poised to use this opportunity to stamp his brutal authority in the world of One Piece.

Kaido had a grudge against Whitebeard:

Reading (too much) into Kaido’s conversation with Red Scabbards during their face-off in Onigashima, we feel that the yonko could have had some kind of a grudge against his former crewmate Edward Newgate.

Pirates will betray

In this panel, Kaido mentions how pirates turn tails and flee when the situation gets out of hand. Kaido himself is a pirate, and if his enemies were people like Newgate and Shanks who would not run away from a dificult situation, then why would he make such a statement. He may have been referring to the new age newbie pirates who give up in the face of grave danger. But something about this exchange makes us feel that Kaido is talking from experience.

Could Kaido have been betrayed in the past, while he was a member of the Rocks crew? Did Whitebeard and Big Mom and others flee when they realised Rocks had lost the battle at God Valley? Is that why Kaido holds a grudge against him? Was Kaido the only one who stayed and fought till the end? Could this be one of the instances he got caught by the marines (and then got experimented on by Vegapunk to make an artificial devil fruit?)

Well, the possibilities are plenty. But then if Kaido had a grudge against Whitebeard, why would he envy the latter’s death? This brings us to the second reason as to why Kaido could have set sail to Marineford.

Kaido wanted a gallant death:

Kaido’s suicidal tendencies and desire for a grandiose death are no secrets. In fact, he has tried to go out in style numerous times. So the second most plausible reason for Kaido going to Marineford could be to have a brave and grand death.

The summit war was a huge incident involving major players. The three admirals, Fleet admiral Sengoku and Garp from the navy. Whitebeard & his crew and other strong members. All of them in the same place, going at each other in a fierce battle. What better place to aim for a death that would earn him fame?

It is very much possible that Kaido wanted to go there to humor his hobby of having a great death. Was Oden’s death an inspiration for this behaviour of his? Well, it seems very plausible to us. Maybe he would have tried to save Ace, thus doing something good and earning some genuine love. But did Kaido have a reason to save Ace?

Kaido wanted to save Ace:

We stumbled across this interesting Reddit theory by u/binyhun that stated that Kaido had a very genuine reason to go and save ace. The reason being none other than Yamato. In this theory, the user states that Kaido went to Marineford to save Ace for Yamato, who liked him.

Kaido and Yamato In One Piece

Ace visited Wano four years before the current events taking place in the manga. Meaning he went there two years before the time skip. Yamato seems to have known Ace well enough to identify Luffy was his brother. While Yamato liking Ace might sound a bit far-fetched, he could still have been a good friend or an influential person to her (like Ace was to O-Tama).

Would Kaido really honor his daughter’s wish like that? And if he indeed was headed to Marineford with “good intentions”, why did Shanks stop him? Why do you think Kaido was headed to Marineford? Let us know in the comments below!

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