One Piece has reached its 1000th chapter after more than 20 years, and Eiichiro Oda made sure to make this release an impressive one. As you can imagine, the hype was high for the chapter, and it delivered in every way. After all, Ace ended up making an appearance in this chapter, and fans were given a front-row view of his confession to Kaido’s kid.
The moment went down when One Piece kicked off chapter 1000 with a check-in from Yamato. Kaido’s son has been talking to Momo about his father’s will, and Ace came up in their conversation a while back. This means fans weren’t totally surprised to see Ace in this new chapter, but they were surprised to hear his confession to Yamato… even if he made it accidentally.
Videos by ComicBook.com
As it turns out, Ace felt comfortable enough with Yamato to share one of his biggest secrets and joys. He told the heroine that Luffy is going to become the Pirate King, and Ace admitted he was certain his little brother was going to make it happen. Not even Whitebeard could stand in the little guy’s way.
“Sure, when Luffy first said it, we laughed but that’s okay. Nobody else can laugh. We believe in him! I really think he can make it happen!!”
The confession might have been unintentional, but Yamato was glad to hear it. Ace could not have known how closely his words aligned with those uttered by Kozuki Oden all those years ago. In the most unexpected of ways, Ace gave hope that Kaido would be taken down by a new generation of pirates, and that time has seems to come at last.
Are you surprised by the pair’s meeting in Wano? Does this chapter make you miss Ace all over again? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.