Kaidou of the Beasts Pirates (jap. 百獣のカイドウ, Hyakujū no Kaidō) one of the 4 emperors and active in the New World until his defeat by Luffy. He the captain of the Beasts Pirates and the position of Governor (jap. 総督, Sōtoku) in it. According to Trafalgar Law, he is the“strongest creature” (jap. 最強の生物, Saikyō no Seibutsu). He has a daughter named Yamato, whom he refers to as his son. Plagued by various mental afflictions, such as drunkenness and suicidal thoughts,he currently wages a force and war against the entire world. , is unknown.
Contents
Appearance
Kaidou is more than three times the size of an average sized human and has two similarly shaped horns on his head like Oars and Little Oars Jr. He has a muscularly built body that is also covered in numerous scars. On his left arm there is a tattoo with a pattern reminiscent of scales, which also depicts a skull towards the bottom. As clothing he wears only a spiked bracelet on each side and a pair of pants, which is held with a belt and to which chains are attached. Otherwise, he was usually seen topless. His black hair and mustache of the same color are noticeably long. He also possesses a small, multi-toothed chin beard that he has grown within the last 20 years.
Personality
Kaidou is a confident and ferocious warrior who never misses an opportunity to put his plans into action. For instance, he wanted to attack Whitebeard when he was busy saving Ace from the Navy. Nor did he hesitate to pick a fight against Big Mom, an empress of equal skill. Against all odds, this eventually resulted in an alliance between the two. Together, they would first subjugate the world before fighting each other to the death again.
He also seems to be someone who has no mercy and will not engage in negotiations, making it seem very unwise to provoke, anger, or underestimate him. This was especially evident when even Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Seven Samurai, feared Kaidou’s wrath when he was unable to fulfill his end of the bargain with him because Law held Caesar Clown hostage. Another example of this is when he had Kozuki kill Oden in a particularly gruesome manner because he wouldn’t let him in on his secrets. He didn’t stop at Momonosuke either, taunting him after Oden’s death and leaving Momonosuke to the flames of the burning castle. O-Tama and Speed he attacked as well without consideration, even though he was dealing with a child. Not even in front of his own child does he show mercy. For example, as a child, he beat up Yamato several times for wanting her to be like Kozuki Oden, set sail and go out to sea. To make sure she wouldn’t leave Onigashima, he put exploding handcuffs on her when she was only 8 years old, making her a prisoner. However, their relationship seems to be ambiguous, as he refers to her as “son” despite her ambitions, and also intended for her to rule New Onigashima as Shogun, to which she vehemently protests.
Kaidou is tired of being alive for so long already and already considers suicide like a hobby. In fact, Kaidou sees death as something that makes a person complete. In his eyes, Roger and Whitebeard had done everything right. That’s why he praised the samurai’s relentlessness and determination when Kikunojo didn’t mourn her lost arm but wanted to keep fighting.
Unable to find eternal peace, he now wants to destroy what he sees as a boring world in an ultimate war. To do so, he planned to build a large army of warriors equipped with artificial devil fruits called Smiles. After Doflamingo’s defeat, which resulted in the immediate halt of Smile’s trade, Kaidou mourned Doflamingo’s weakness and his plan to further expand his Zoan army of Gifters. However, his pirate band is not only made up of Smile users, but also all sorts of strong warriors who once went to battle against him and lost.
The Emperor broke their will and forced them to sail under his flag, as he did with Basil Hawkins. In contrast, Eustass Kid and Luffy had no intention of submitting to Kaidou at any moment. However, instead of killing them, he had them taken to the convict mine of Udon, where their will would be slowly broken. In general, he doesn’t think much of the new generation and initially made fun of Luffy and Law for merely playing pirates. While he doesn’t take them seriously in a way, he still acknowledges their strength. This is a trait he also displayed in the fight on the rooftop of Onigashima, when Jack was defeated by Nekomamushi and Inuarashi in their Su Long form. Jack apologized to Kaidou for his failure, but Kaidou did not blame Jack for losing. He was not too weak, but his opponents were simply too strong.
Despite his strength and arrogance, Kaidou does not act irrationally at times and avoids conflict when the situation allows. 20 years ago, he stated that he was worried about possibly going into a losing battle if Oden and Hyogoro formed an alliance and went against Kaidou. Therefore, he had Orochi make a peaceful deal with Oden, giving Kaidou time to build up his army over the next five years. Even with Big Mom’s appearance on Wano Country, Kaidou was enraged that he was being dragged into an all-out war since she also had her children in tow and ordered his subordinates to do everything possible to prevent her intrusion.
Kaidou also possesses a certain sense of honor. Having only won in his battle against Oden because Higurashi interfered disguised as Momonosuke and distracted the samurai for a moment, he later killed her. At Oden’s execution, he apologized to him for this. He then killed Oden with his weapon, as he had won the bet against Orochi, but was already as good as dead due to the boiling in the cauldron. He also preferred a fair fight against Big Mom and had her handcuffs released after she was caught by Queen. Still, this doesn’t stop him from lying for his own gain and hoodwinking Oden, for example. He also gets rid of his own allies when they have served their purpose as in the case of Orochi, whom he didn’t need for his New Onigashima project.
Kaidou’s mood is strongly influenced by alcohol. It reveals traits in him that one would never expect, such as a very emotional side that makes him cry uncontrollably. However, his mood can also shift unexpectedly after only a few sips, causing the same thing that had previously brought tears to his eyes to make him rage. Furthermore, in this state he seems to hate being accused of weakness. Since he sobers up quickly, much to his annoyance, Kaidou is always willing to keep drinking.
Skills and Strength
General
As one of the Four Emperors, Kaidou one of the four most powerful pirates in the world, along with Shanks, Blackbeard, and Big Mom. With a bounty of 4,611,100,000, he currently holds the highest active bounty, surpassed only by the now inactive bounties of Roger and Whitebeard. He once won in battle against the Samurai of the Seas Gecko Moria, killing his entire crew. He trusted himself to be able to defeat Whitebeard two years ago, and according to the Five Elders, is one of the few people left who can stop Blackbeard.
Kaidou has gathered a considerable number of followers around him during his active years. His own pirate band now totals 20,000 members. Among them are strong fighters whose will and ambitions Kaidou has broken all of them to join his gang. As with other emperors, there are also several islands under his control. One of these is Wano Country, the home of the samurai, where his gang is currently stationed. He long ago formed an alliance with the island’s current shogun, Kurozumi Orochi. With the help of Caesar and Doflamingo, he has also managed to build an army of over 500 devil power users known as Gifters. Among his strongest fighters within his gang are his so-called main representatives Jack, Queen and King. Each of them has a bounty of at least one billion berries. Among them are the Flying Six, some former pirate captains themselves, who have joined Kaidou such as Sasaki and Who’s Who. Furthermore, X. Drake, Scratchmen Apoo as well as Basil Hawkins formed an alliance with him. Eustass Kid, Killer, and Monkey D. Luffy, on the other hand, were defeated and captured by him.
Kaidou is considered“the strongest creature in the world” (この世における最強生物, Kono Yo Ni Okeru Saikyō Seibutsu). It was already hinted on Punk Hazard that he could easily kill Donquixote Doflamingo, a world-famous pirate and former samurai of the seas. The latter is very afraid of Kaidou and no price is too high for him not to incur his wrath. Yet Doflamingo did not even show a hint of respect, let alone fear, to Whitebeard or the admirals of the naval headquarters. Furthermore, Trafalgar Law claimed that even in alliance with the Straw Hat Pirates, their chance of defeating Kaidou was only 30 percent. Furthermore, it was reported that in a 1-on-1, Kaidou would always win. That this fear is not unjustified is because seemingly no one in the world can kill him. According to stories, Kaidou has been captured several times, but every attempt to execute him was unsuccessful because every blade broke on his body. Not even he can kill himself by throwing himself from a sky island 10,000 meters above the ground, which only gives him a headache. That’s why he’s been looking for a way to die for a long time, and even considers suicide as his hobby.
Even Luffy’s attacks in Gear 4 with standard armor haki couldn’t harm him. Instead, Kaidou initially took the latter’s attacks without much resistance and without sustaining any visible injury. Only the sword “Enma” in Kozuki Oden’s hands is considered to be the only weapon that could ever harm him. What this means in terms of power is evident from the fact that Kaidou took a multitude of attacks against the nine red sword sheaths, including even a Boro Breath turned against itself. Even Kinemon, Denjiro, Nekomamushi, and Ashura Doji, who are strong samurai in their own right, failed to reopen Kaidou’s old wound from Oden in a combo. While they at least managed to make the Emperor bleed with their attack, Kaidou stated that their attacks were far too weak compared to Oden’s attack power. As with Big Mom, this speaks to an incredibly tough skin on Kaidou’s part. In the end, Kaidou was able to single-handedly take down all nine red sword sheaths. In battle, Kaidou uses a spiked club called Hassaikai, among other weapons. Despite his large muscular body, Kaidou also displays tremendous speed in his attacks. He’s so fast that he can even hit Luffy, even though he’s momentarily looking into the future with his Observation Shaki.
Haki
In battle, Kaidou demonstrated tremendous physical strength. For Luffy, he only needed one strike with his spiked club to defeat him. Kaidou’s tremendously advanced use of Haki is responsible for this. He is one of the few people to master all three forms – king, armor, and observation haki – and uses it at a level that doesn’t even allow Trafalgar Law to move him around in his “Room”. Another special feature is that he can swipe his spiked club with his king haki.
This ability, otherwise only displayed by the most powerful fighters like Gol D. Roger and Whitebeard, makes his hits many times more devastating. In an exchange of blows with Charlotte Linlin, who can unleash these powers as well, the sky splits, just as it did when Shanks and Whitebeard clashed two years ago. In this form, visible lightning effects also occur to mark these attacks. After Kaidou and Big Mom combined forces and launched a combo attack, a blast wave appeared, visibly towering over Onigashima’s already gigantic skull and leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. In addition to his already brutal physique, devilish powers, and armor haki, this makes Kaidou a seemingly all-trumping force of nature, capable of completely knocking out even notorious pirates like Luffy in a few swings.
Devil Powers
Past
The Rocks Pirates
Forty years ago, Kaidou joined the legendary Rocks pirates and their captain Rocks D. Xebec as an apprentice, which included Shiki, Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin and Captain John. Then, two years later, a battle ensued on the island of God Valley between the Rocks pirates and Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, who was supported by the future pirate king Gol D. Roger. In the fight, which would later become known as the God Valley incident, the Rocks pirates were defeated. That day, Big Mom presented him with the Fish Fruit, which is why he still owed her a favor.
Captured by the Navy
Since becoming a pirate, he suffered 7 defeats, was captured 18 times by the Navy or enemy ships, and was tortured countless times. During one of these captures, Kaidou was taken to Punk Hazard, where Dr. Vegapunk succeeded in extracting Kaidou’s stem genes to recreate his Devil Fruit. However, it was judged a failure and was eaten by Momonosuke many years later.
Then, 33 years ago, the former members of the Rocks Pirates each began to form their own pirate gangs.
Kaidou also managed at an unknown time to gain possession of one of four Road Porn glyphs, which can be used to locate the island of Laugh Tale.
Cast of Wano Countrys – Moria’s Nemesis
After Kurozumi Orochi gained dominion in Wano Country, he formed an alliance with him. When Kozuki Oden wanted to finish off the Shogun 25 years ago, Kaidou intervened and they made a deal with that one. They would leave Wano Country in peace, provided Oden would publicly make an ass of himself for five years, to which he agreed. Kaidou, in his dragon form, then towered over the capital and the hopes of the populace faded.
Twenty-three years ago, Gecko Moria and his then band of pirates showed up in Wano Country and a battle ensued in the Kuri region. Although Moria was able to loot Ryuma’s tomb, he lost devastatingly to Kaidou. Moria was then afraid of the New World.
Kaidou vs Oden
Then, when Oden and his followers counterattacked 20 years ago, Kaidou and his band of pirates confronted them in Udon. A battle ensued. Oden was able to give Kaidou his giant scar and gained the upper hand, but Kaidou was ultimately able to win because Kurozumi Higurashi distracted Oden. For this intervention, however, Kaidou later killed Higurashi. A few days later, Oden and his entourage would be boiled alive, but Oden was able to negotiate another deal. Whoever survived for an hour would get freedom. Kaidou agreed and so Oden took a wooden plank and had his followers climb it. However, this deal was also broken and so even though Oden and his followers survived for an hour, Kaidou and Orochi decided to shoot them all. While the Akazaya escaped, Oden was then shot by Kaidou himself. Afterwards, Kaidou went to Oden Castle and set it on fire to wipe out Oden’s family. However, he did not kill Momonosuke, but left him for dead. Eventually, however, everyone either escaped or was sent to the future by Toki.
After Oden’s death, Kaidou and Orochi gave the daimyos of Wano Country the choice of submitting to them or dying. The daimyos succumbed to Kaidou and while Yasuie was able to go into hiding, the rest were imprisoned. Kaidou wanted to break their will so they would submit to him. He even imprisoned his own daughter with them, as she called herself Oden. He had swords brought to the prisoners, but only a portion of food, hoping they would fight over the food. The samurai, however, thought nothing of it and left the portion to Yamato. After ten days, the daimyos finally broke out with Yamato and faced the emperor for battle, but lost again and were killed.
Ten years later, many of the men loyal to Oden were so desperate that they couldn’t wait another ten years for Kinemon and company to return and went to fight on Onigashima. However, they were all defeated. He also clashed with Ashura Doji aka Shutenmaru one day.
When Ace and his then band of pirates docked on Onigashima about three years ago to free Wano Country from Kaidou’s tyranny, Kaidou was currently on an expedition.
Within the last few years, Kaidou then began working with Orochi to trade weapons made on Wano Country for man-made devil fruits called Smiles. This with the goal of making his subordinates stronger and creating the most feared pirate gang. He himself was involved in the cruel naming. Kaidou and the Shogun remained allies.
Attempted attack on Whitebeard
One day before the public execution of Portgas D. Ace, the commander of the 2nd Division of the Whitebeard gang, Kaidou attacked Edward Newgate. Kaidou’s plan was thwarted, however, by Shanks, who stood in Kaidou’s way with his gang. However, it is doubtful whether a real fight took place, as Shanks later appeared unharmed in Marine Ford. It is therefore likely that Kaidou turned back, as he could not take on two other emperors at the same time.
Present
Kaidou’s Winter Island
Arriving in the New World, the rookie X. Drake on a winter island that was under Kaidou’s protection. The island itself was rather dreary and covered in metal plates, which flashed out of the snow everywhere.
A group of island guards, led by the cyborg Scotch, then stood in the way of Drake’s band of pirates, and as a result issued an explicit warning against the Emperor. It was also announced that the island was one of Kaidou’s favorites. X. Drake, however, ignored the warnings and promptly attacked the island guards. The exact reasons for his actions are currently unknown, but it can be assumed that he wanted to attract Kaidou’s attention in this way.
Business with Smile
As it became apparent shortly after the Straw Hats arrived in the New World, Kaidou was working closely with Donquixote Doflamingo and his subordinate Caesar Clown. The latter, under Doflamingo’s protection and secrecy, manufactured SAD for him on what should have been a restricted island of Punk Hazard, which in turn could be used to produce artificial devil fruit called Smile. This was again done in a special factory on Dress Rosa, the kingdom of Doflamingos. Upon their arrival on Punk Hazard, Luffy and co. encountered Trafalgar Law, whose main goal was to overthrow Flamingo and Kaidou. To do so, Crown had to be defeated and the SAD tank destroyed, which was eventually accomplished, through the alliance of the Straw Hat Pirates and Law. With Caesar as a hostage, they all headed to Dress Rosa to blackmail Donquixote into resigning, as he would incur Kaidou’s wrath without his scientist. The samurai lied about his resignation, however, and instead of a hostage exchange, a fight ensued on the neighboring island of Green Bit. In the process, Law revealed that he had risked dying there from the start, as long as the Straw Hats could destroy the Smile factory, so that Flamingo would be destroyed by Kaidou, who could not maintain his Zoan user army without the Smile. After Doflamingo’s defeat, Kaidou’s crew found themselves on a winter island. His subordinates had read up on the latest events on Dress Rosa in the newspaper. Searching for their boss, a pirate screamingly announces that Joker has been defeated and the deal with Smile has ended.
Unexpected Confrontation
Kaidou, meanwhile, found himself looking for a place to die on the sky island of Ballon Terminal, where Urouge and his gang were at the same time, recovering from an exhausting battle. Aiming to kill himself, he jumped off the island and landed at the current alliance base of the Kid, Hawkins, and Apoo. He survived the fall and even suffered only a few headaches. Afterwards, he vowed to take revenge on Joker and start the war of the century, even if it meant destroying the entire world. However, the members of the Worst Generation were no match for the Emperor and were crushed. Eustass Kid was imprisoned in a dungeon by Kaidou as a symbol of triumph. Apoo and his crew, as well as Hawkins, on the other hand, have already joined his gang. Thus, even after Jack’s defeat on Zou, the long-armed man contacted him to tell the Emperor that all contact with the commander had been severed.
An alliance of two emperors?
After the devastating events on Whole Cake Island, the successful escape of the Straw Hat Pirates, and his appointment as the fifth Emperor by Morgans, Kaidou was seen furiously poring over the newspaper, wondering what the Straw Hat was doing in Big Mom’s territory. Later, Big Mom even contacted him personally to plot joint revenge on the Straw Hat. Therefore, citing their shared past and a favor he still owed her, the Empress proposed an alliance between the two large-caliber individuals. Kaidou, however, threatened to kill her if she set foot in Wano Country.
Appearance in Kuri – Luffy vs. Kaidou
After Luffy defeated Holdem and while Jack was dueling with Shutenmaru, the sky darkened and Kaidou appeared in Kuri in his dragon form and ordered his subordinate to bring him both Law and Luffy. Since he was about to do massive damage to Okobore due to his drunkenness, Hawkins lured him away by telling Kaidou that Luffy and Law would be in the ruins of Castle Oden. Kaidou headed straight for the ruins and destroyed them with his fire breath.
Luffy then suddenly appeared above him and attacked the Emperor’s head with an Elephant Gun. However, the latter recovered very quickly from Luffy’s blow, transforming back into his human form. Shortly after he got up, he was attacked again by Luffy, who again assumed his Gear 4 form and unleashed a Gomu Gomu no Kong Organ at Kaidou. The latter was knocked to the ground by the force of the blow, but recovered quickly here as well and stood up with a sigh. Unfazed by Luffy’s attacks and scowling, the Emperor attacked Luffy with a single, lightning-fast punch, knocking him to the ground. However, even as Luffy lay on the ground being taunted by Kaidou’s subordinates, Kaidou noted that the latter was not only alive, but staring at him with a furious glare. Shortly after, this “unconsciousness” turned out to be his King Shaki, which knocked everyone out except Kaidou. Surprised by the fact that Luffy had the same ability as the Kid, Kaidou ordered his subordinates to put Luffy in a cell in hopes of breaking his will and adding him to his army. Kaidou then noticed that he was starting to sober up and decided to leave to continue drinking.
Kaidou and Charlotte Linlin
Some time after his altercation with Luffy, as well as Luffy being placed in his prison, word reached Kaidou that Big Mom, along with her crew and ship, were on their way to Wano Country and that they were climbing the waterfall with the giant carp. Enraged, Kaidou ordered his troops to fire on the “old witch” and her ship and crew and sink them in the ocean. However, all attempts came to naught and the crew reached Wano Country unscathed, but to Kaidou’s relief was rammed by one of the “disasters”, King, shortly after and the ship, along with Big Mom and her crew were sent towards the ocean. He later watched the broadcast of the execution of Tonoyasu, once known as Shimotsuki Yasuie.
When Big Mom was brought to Onigashima by Queen, Kaidou ordered his subordinates to free her from her sea stone chains. As a result, their weapons clashed and the sky above the island split. However, they ended their battle and announced that the Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates had formed an alliance to take over the world.
The Fire Festival
On the day of the Fire Festival, he asked for his son, and when he then encountered the Flying Six, they were assigned to search for Yamato. While Kaidou was subsequently celebrating in the company of Black Maria, Orochi, and more, Kanjuro appeared and brought Momonosuke to them. However, they were also informed that the rebels had not yet been defeated. Shortly after, Kaidou gave a speech to his subordinates, announcing the New Onigashima Project and world domination in alliance with Charlotte Linlin, before then executing Orochi and giving his subordinates the choice to join him or die. He turned to Momonosuke and gave him a chance to live, provided he would deny his origins, but he introduced himself as Kozuki Momonosuke. Before Kaidou could respond, the Akazaya and Izou crashed through the wall, taking him by surprise. To Kaidou’s amazement, they fell off the stage with him and managed to damage him. He changed into his dragon form and flew with them to the top, where more Minks were already waiting, but Jack and his entourage also appeared. After these two parties eliminated each other, Kaidou and the Akazaya finally faced each other. They were able to stand up to the Emperor and land a few hits, even bringing him down, but picking himself up again, he unleashed a wind attack and severed Kikunojo’s left arm. Back in his human form, Kaidou was then able to defeat his opponents.
Raid on Onigashima
He then raised the entire island and began his plan to lead Onigashima to the Flower Capital. A short time later, Charlotte Linlin appeared with him and they swore again on their plan to find the One Piece. However, Killer, Kid, Law, Zoro, and Luffy had also made their way to the top and came face to face with the two emperors a short time later. While Kaidou was still making sure of Luffy’s victory, if he still wanted to be Pirate King, the latter went to Kinemon and promised that he would be victorious. When Kaidou then attacked him, the straw hat dodged and gave him a Gomu Gomu no Red Roc. The rest then intervened in the fight as well, and after Kaidou was attacked by the three pirate captains, he reverted to his Dragon form. The Emperor subsequently took many hits, yet the two Emperors together seemed invincible, so the Supernovae attempted to separate them.
They succeeded, and Kid and Killer took on Big Mom, leaving only a downed Luffy, Law, and Zoro to face Emperor Kaidou. However, although Zoro was able to inflict a wound on Kaidou, both were subsequently attacked by the same, at which point Luffy rose again. Luffy, by now certain he understood Kaidou’s power, then ordered Law to leave with Zoro, as he wanted to take the fight on alone. In their ensuing attacks, they did not touch. Nevertheless, the Emperor defeated Luffy again and threw him unconscious off the island into the open sea. As he walked away, Kaidou spoke of how Luffy was probably not “Joy Boy”. He then had the outcome of the fight spread throughout Onigashima and set out to finally defeat Momonosuke. Finding Momonosuke, Shinobu escaped with him, while Kinemon got in Kaidou’s way and was defeated. Shinobu took Momonosuke off the island and Kaidou found a new opponent in his daughter Yamato. Although she was able to stand up to him more, she knew that she couldn’t defeat him in a fight. It was necessary to bridge the time until Luffy’s return. Kaidou on the other hand wanted to persuade his daughter to take her rightful place as Shogun of Wano Country, but she didn’t even think about it. She wanted to free Wano Country from her father. Nevertheless, he did not hold back.
Eventually, Yamato was able to hold off Kaidou long enough and Luffy returned. He was standing on a giant dragon that looked a lot like Kaidou in form. However, it was Momonosuke, aged by Shinobu.
Miscellaneous
- Kaidō in Japan refers to a historical travel route, such as historical roadways or sea routes.
- Kaidou has a distinctive laugh consisting of uo and several ros, i.e. uorororo (in the English VIZ version worororo). When drunk, on the other hand, he laughs Fuhihi.
- Kaidou’s bounty 4,611,100.000 contains the numerical sequence 110, or Hyakujuu in Japanese – Kaidou’s epithet and the name of his pirate gang.
- Kaidou’s appearance is obviously based on demons from Japanese mythology – Oni (鬼), ogre-like creatures with horns and wild hair armed with a Kanabō (note: needs link), an iron club. Fittingly, its base of operations is on Onigashima. The island occurs by the same name in Japanese mythology, where the Onis live and is traveled by the heroic character Momotarō. Kozuki Momonosuke, in turn, is a reference to Momotarō.
- His iron club is named “Hassaikai” (八斎戒), which is the Japanese name for the eight precepts of (note: needs link) Buddhism. The eight precepts are guidelines for lay monks on feast days.
- Kaidou may be based on the well-known Japanese mythical figure Shuten-dōji (note: needs link) (酒天童子, though there are other spellings). Shuten-dōji (translated, the name means “sake-drinking boy/boy” or even “little drunkard”) is an oni and leader of a group of other oni and Yōkai. There are several versions of Shuten-dōji’s story. Among them, he is born as an ordinary human to an ordinary woman and the giant snake Yamata no Orochi. Even as a boy, he was exceptionally strong, which is why everyone considers him scary and calls him “monster/demon child” (怪童, Kaidō ~ the characters can also stand for “unusually large child endowed with supernatural powers”). Eventually, Shuten-dōji transforms into an oni and becomes the leader of a group of Yōkai. At some point, he settles down with his subordinates on Mount Ōe (or Ibuki, depending on the version) in a large shelter. From there, in a drunken stupor, he regularly terrorizes the people of Kyoto. He thus shares this trait with Kaidou, who is equally a great drunkard. On Kaidou’s gourd, from which he drinks his alcohol, is also the character for “heaven” (天), which is also found in Shuten-dōji’s name.
- Kaidou’s dragon form is strongly reminiscent of the wish-granting dragon Shenlong from Dragon Ball.
- In China, the Azure Dragon is one of four symbols of the Chinese constellations. He is one of the dragon gods and represents the East and Spring. The blue dragon has also been adopted in other Asian countries, so in Japan he is called Seiryu. Here he is one of the four guardian spirits of cities and is said to protect the city of Kyoto in the east.
- Kaidou carries the official reputation on Wano Country as the guardian deity Myoo (jap. 明王, Myōō), who protects the land. This is an allusion to the Wisdom Kings (note: needs link), who are the patron deities of Vajrayana.
- Kaidou has eaten of the fish fruit (Uo Uo no Mi), but is able to transform into a dragon rather than a fish. The origin behind this probably lies in a Chinese legend in which koi carp annually swim up a river, at the end of which is a waterfall. The koi carp then climb the waterfall. If they make it and reach the so-called dragon gate, which is located at the top of the waterfall, they turn into a dragon as a reward. However, only a few Koi carps make it. In China, this is how the saying “The carp passes the dragon gate” came about – it means that you have finally achieved something after great effort. This is fitting in that Wano Country is a mountain-like island with waterfalls flowing from it, which are swum by giant koi carp. Here’s what was hinted at before the reveal:
- His favorite drink is sake.
- In Road to Laugh Tale, Part 2, earlier design sketches of Kaidou were shown by Oda. His hybrid form shown there in particular differs from the final version, with the visual characteristics of his dragon form prevailing in this one. For example, he has a longer neck, and for combat he was planned to use his dragon claws rather than his mace.
