You’d be hard-pressed to find a One Piece fan that didn’t agree that Chapter 1044 wasn’t a game-changer in the long story of Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirates, with the rubber swashbuckler finally receiving his Gear Fifth that has granted the pirate some wild new abilities. With the current installment of the shonen series seeing Luffy in his current form face down Kaido, it seems that the Beast Pirate has received a beatdown unlike anything that he has ever encountered to date.
Warning. If you have yet to read the latest chapter of One Piece’s manga, Chapter 1045, you might want to steer clear as we’ll be diving into spoiler territory.
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Luffy’s new powers come following the big reveal that the Devil Fruit that Monkey ate as a child was of the Zoan variety, with his new transformation allowing him to transform into a living cartoon. This spelled serious trouble for Kaido as Luffy darted into the dragon’s mouth and began expanding and punching the inner body of the Beast Pirate captain. Changing his shape to make himself as big as Kaido, Luffy was able to do the unthinkable and actually use Kaido’s dragon-form as a jump rope, placing the villain into quite the compromising situation.
Stunned at Luffy’s new powers, Kaido attempted to wrap his head around what was currently happening with an internal monologue:
“What does all of this mean? He turns all white, he uses the color of the armament of the Supreme King and can transfer his power to other things? I’ve never seen such free-wheeling combat before!”
Right at the end of his thought, Kaido receives a major knuckle sandwich from Luffy, knocking him to the ground via a cartoon fist that might be the blow to bring their dynamic battle to a close. However, with Luffy seemingly at the end of his rope with this new transformation, as his body took on an elderly appearance when he caught his breath, this battle might be far from over.
Do you think that Kaido’s days are numbered in the face of Cartoon Luffy? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Grand Line.
