Why Kaido taking so much damage makes totally sense!

 

I understand why people are upset at how Kaido is taking this much damage, but I think it makes perfect sense.

We know very little about Kaido aside from what we were told during his introduction.

What Wano as an arc has done is highlight a very important relationship Kaido has had that still effects him to this day. That relationship is Kaido and Oden. One of Kaido’s defining character features is his scar. The only scar that was given to him throughout his years of battle, a scar given to him by Oden.

The narrator told us “if it is one on one bet on Kaido”, but if you look at how Kaido vs Oden went down Oden had Kaido dead to rights before Higurashi interfered.

Kaido couldn’t beat Oden one on one and needed outside help to finish the job, a true stain on his reputation. He not only lost his reputation of invincibility when he fought Oden but he was also brought down to the most vulnerable state of his life as far as we know. Kaido was so annoyed at this outcome that he had the interfering party killed.

Fast forward to Oden’s execution, Kaido humors Oden’s request for mercy by giving him an hour in the pot. Any normal person would die instantly but not only did Oden persevere but in one hour he was able to regain the trust of the Wano populace that he spent 5 years ruining.

Oden’s final act was so impressive that it inspired Kaido’s own son to idolize Kozuki Oden and live the next 20 years as another reminder of Kaido’s tainted victory.

Even when Kaido has Oden’s own son dead to rights he can’t move forward until Momonosuke throws away his association to Oden, a truly petty request. No matter what Kaido has done he was not able to truly purge Wano of Kozuki Oden and now 20 years later the reckoning has arrived.

The Red Scabbards are here to carry out their lord’s will and have each privately trained their Ryuo and learned their master’s technique enough to pierce Kaido’s indestructible skin.

Oden warned Kaido to not underestimate his samurai and to build his strength, but Kaido was sure that the will of Oden would die with him 20 years ago. Now we see Kaido in the same vulnerable position as he was 20 years ago and we get to see how he will respond to it in the present.

As nice as it would be for Kaido to maintain his invincible status until Luffy reaches him I don’t think that is the story Oda has been telling in Act 3. This fight with the Red Scabbards is the culmination of not only 20 years in their time but also the longest flashback in One Piece history featuring Oden, Kaido and the Scabbards. This is also the culmination of Kaido’s story arc with Oden and I would much rather prefer Kaido to be a much more fully realized character by the time Luffy reaches him than him remaining a generic indestructible monster.