Something’s Fishy About Kaido [One Piece 999]

Someone with a fish-fish devil fruit? And, it could be Kaido?! I don’t think anyone saw that coming.

The odds of Oda making a fish-fish devil fruit in a world where Fish-men exist and the natural weakness of devil fruit users is being submerged in water were pretty low. But, here we are. It’s been implied by Big Mom she gave Kaido a fish-fish devil fruit. But, he’s a dragon, right? He ate the dragon-dragon fruit and that’s that, right? Well…take a look at this:

Kaido’s got fish scale tattoos and whiskers. And, so does our fishy Koi friend here (Well, it’s got actual scales but you get what I mean). We can also ignore Kaido’s horns because they seem to be more of a characteristic of his species than the product of having a devil fruit (Yamato’s got horns too), so I guess it’s really true.

What’s more, it’s probably a fish-fish fruit: model Koi. Why a Koi? Because there seems to be an Eastern legend about the Koi fish. Basically, the gods were so impressed by a Koi making it to the top of a waterfall against all odds that they turned it into a dragon. Think Magikarp and Gyarados, for you Pokémon fans, and you got the gist of it.

So, what does this all mean? Is Kaido’s dragon form simply the awakened version of his devil fruit? Does he have even more hidden abilities ready to unleash on Team Luffy? Maybe. Or, maybe there’s a hidden weakness ready to be discovered by some perceptive opponent. I don’t know but I find it very fascinating.

More Yamato and Ace in a flashback. Could this be a sign he’s joining the Strawhats? Hm… Nope. Yamato doesn’t have to sail with the Strawhats, but he will be one more powerful ally Team Luffy will need during the series’ final arc. I also like Momonosuke and Tama getting caught up on Luffy’s connection to Ace and Roger given they’re part of the Kozuki Clan (Tama’s gotta be a Kozuki).

Really, Whitebeard? You didn’t try to liberate Wano, your brother’s country, after you discovered he died? I know war is horrible but his freaking family and friends live there. You couldn’t give them some help? It’s in character with Whitebeard, I guess, but I still call BS on that.

Nico Robin. Makes sense Big Mom would know she can read ancient writing. That alone gives the Strawhats a huge advantage in reaching Laugh Tale first. Interesting that Pudding, and three-eyed people in general, have the power to read ancient text. Why is that? I guess Oda will explain it at some point. There’s something mystical about that to me. I better keep that in mind going forward.

What exactly was Kaido doing while Ace attacked Onigashima? No clue. He probably just went out to get cigarettes and a chipotle chicken bean wrap. The bastard.

This was a good chapter. I’m a sucker for One Piece lore so I loved every second of that info dump. It’s also a nice calm before the storm. Wow! Next time it’s chapter 1000. I’m getting excited, y’all. I hope it’s good. Normally, I don’t read spoilers but…

…The whole chapter’s boob shots and crying women being saved by guys?! Damn it, Oda!