One Piece Chapter 1049: Kaido’s Full Backstory Revealed!

Oda unleashed fire with chapter 1049, which gave us the almost-end of the most anticipated battle in One Piece history.

Kaido vs. Luffy has been one hell of a rollercoaster ride, what with all the revelations and returns. The last few chapters have given us Luffy’s Awakening, the reappearance of Joy Boy, and the defeat of the two Yonkos, Big Mom and Kaido.

Well, sure, it still hasn’t been officially declared that Kaido has lost, but all the signs point to the fact that Luffy is the victor.

One of the main clues is the reveal of the trademark mid-fight end-arc backstory. If Oda’s pattern is anything to go by, a flashback has always culminated in something big. And it doesn’t get any bigger than the fall of a Yonko.

Chapter 1049 reveals Kaido’s backstory that spills light on his origin and his journey of how he became the strongest creature in the world. It tells us why he behaves the way that he does and puts his worldview and goals into focus.

The Start of Kaido’s Flashback

Fans have been disappointed about the flashback of Kaido because it is seemingly short. But the truth is, his flashback began in chapter 1041. It revealed his history with Big Mom and foreshadowed the fall of their alliance together.

A 15-year-old Kaido meets a younger Charlotte Linlin, who, at the time, isn’t the gigantic monster of a woman we all know her to be. The flashback is only one panel long but it comments on how far back these two Yonkos go, their time as part of the Rocks Pirates.

This is incidentally another aspect people have been complaining about in the chapter 1049 flashback: the absence of the full story of Kaido’s time with Rocks D. Xebec.

The chapter 1041 flashback, in fact, proves that Oda is teasing us with the Rocks backstory; it’s obvious that he is saving Rocks’s history and the God Valley incident for an entirely different arc.

This short flashback in chapter 1041 is Kaido reminiscing about how Big Mom, like himself, wanted to rule the seven seas.  It occurs when he gets news of the fact that Kid and Law have defeated Big Mom, and he cannot believe that someone as powerful as her has been defeated.

How could I let this happen… We just swore that we’d help each other get the One Piece!

In retrospect, this was Oda hinting at the fact that if Big Mom can be defeated, Kaido can be, too.

Full Breakdown of Kaido’s Flashback Sequence from Chpt. 1049

The latest chapter begins with Kaido and Luffy’s final attacks coming down on each other, and Kaido telling Luffy that he’d never be able to change the world.

Cut to Kaido’s own dreams of changing the world: His flashback begins as a 10-year-old, when he is declared as the “strongest soldier around.” The determined and angry young Kaido says that he is still itching to fight some more.

Next is a panel that shows the Kingdom of Vodka, 46 years from now. Kaido, 13, is talking to the king of the kingdom, who tells him that war is the only option for them since the loot acquired is their only means of paying off the Celestial Dragons.

Kaido is offended at being treated as a government dog and the king tells him that he is too much of a burden. A Marines officer claims that if the king were to hand Kaido over to them, Vodka would have a confirmed spot on the next Reverie/Levely.

Poor Kaido is used as a political bargaining chip, but even though he is only 13, he manages to escape their clutches.

Kaido’s bounty is revealed and he becomes notorious among the navy and pirates alike.

One guy says that he has heard Kaido only gets caught on purpose when he is hungry. This explains the previous information of Kaido being captured by the enemy 18 times – the kid just wanted to grab a snack from the prison ships.

Two years pass as Kaido continues to elude capture. As of 15, Kaido has never been beaten on a 1v1.

A young Edward Newgate aka Whitebeard appears and asks him if he has ever considered becoming a pirate.

Kaido meets Rocks, becomes part of his crew, and travels to God Valley along with them.

The God Valley incident happens, which isn’t revealed in the flashback. The next scene appears to take place at Fullalead Island, where people discuss how the Rocks Pirates have been defeated, apparently by a man called Garp from the Marines.

There are talks about how the crew disbanded because of internal fights, since neither of the members were team players.

Kaido leaves without showing his face to his crewmate Big Mom.

10 years later, about 34 years before present events, Kaido comes face to face with Kurozumi Higurashi.

She tells him that people are calling him the “embodiment of brutality” and that violence and battle are the only way to survive this world.

Survival of the fittest is our true nature!

Kaido whole-heartedly agrees with her and says that the world will now revolve around the former members of the Rocks Pirates.

Higurashi presents Kaido with a proposition to show the nobles, who say they love peace, the reality of war.

Weapons shape the world we live in […] One’s worth can only truly be gauged in battle! Where everyone is equal and anarchy reigns free!

After that, there is a time lapse, and we presumably recommence after the death of Oden.

Kaido is talking to King, who says that he heard Yamato mentioning Joy Boy. He says that he is aware that Oden wanted to open Wano’s borders in preparation of Joy Boy’s arrival, and that he knows who Joy Boy is.

The flashback pauses here, and we see the events of the present unfolding, including the telling moment of Kaido’s Flame Clouds going out. Just before the last scene of the chapter, the flashback continues:

King… I know who he is! Joy Boy is the man who’ll be able to beat me one day!

King replies saying that if that’s the case, he doesn’t think Joy Boy can ever appear.

Luffy lands his Haki-infused punch on Kaido, and it all comes crashing down.

Well, everything except Onigashima, because Momonosuke manages to create his own Flame Clouds and land the island safely.

But Kaido and Luffy are both out of commission and the battle is finally over.

What We Can Tell from Kaido’s Flashback

The way the flashback proceeds is indicative that Luffy is Joy Boy and he has appeared to defeat Kaido once and for all. Only Joy Boy could beat Kaido because he is the antithesis of what Kaido stands for.

Kaido’s past made him a creature of violence, war, and brutality, whereas Joy Boy is the embodiment of peace, hope, and laughter.

When Kaido questions Luffy about what kind of world he wishes to make, Luffy replies saying a world where he and his friends can eat as much as they can in peace.

This kind of light-hearted affirmation is all it takes to show us how perfect this end is for someone like Kaido.

This is the clash of worldviews, not of power. Well, also of power, but more of will than of might.

Kaido’s spirit is entrenched in negativity. He was wronged by politically powerful people that turned him into the monster he is now. All he has ever known is war.

He was betrayed by his own country, and was forced to become a pirate and a fugitive with a high bounty on his head.

After he joins the most infamous pirate crew in the world, he gains crewmates, but soon becomes disillusioned after the God Valley incident.

Higurashi doesn’t help. She only adds fuel to the fire by telling him how humans, like animals, have resorted to brutality to solve their problems. This is possibly the turning point when Kaido goes from human to “creature.”

His goals take shape and he believes that the only way to the top is by becoming the most powerful pirate and subjugating everyone else. This is how he became the Strongest Creature in the World.

The most important thing that the flashback tells us that Kaido was not born evil. He even shows some redeeming qualities that actually make him quite likable.

It’s evident that Kaido was admired by his subordinates, but because he was deceived before, had learned not to trust anyone.

Some fans think that Kaido’s backstory lacked complexity, but they forget that Kaido isn’t a very complex man. He, like Luffy, is straightforward in his aims and has a simple personality. But due to his past, he is a very different person from Luffy.

Sure, the flashback sequence wasn’t as long or deep as say, Doflamingo’s. But it was just right, in context to Kaido’s character. Of course, there might be more to Kaido’s backstory, but maybe the rest of it isn’t his story to tell.

About One Piece

One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since July 22, 1997.

The man who had acquired everything in this world, the Pirate King, is Gol D. Roger. The final words he said at the execution tower were “My treasures? If you want it, I’ll let you have it. Look for it; I left all of it at that place.” These words sent many to the seas, chasing their dreams, headed toward the Grand Line, in search of One Piece. Thus began a new age!

Seeking to be the greatest pirate in the world, young Monkey D. Luffy also heads toward the Grand Line in search of One Piece. His diverse crew is joining him along the way, consisting of a swordsman, marksman, navigator, cook, doctor, archaeologist, and cyborg-shipwright, this will be one memorable adventure.