If you remember your 101 One Piece battles, you'll know that one fight managed to stand out among Luffy's many fights against his many opponents. The fight we're talking about is Luffy's fight against Kaidou of the Four Emperors, one of the most powerful characters in the entire franchise and one of its main villains. With the conclusion of the Wano Country Arc, we finally have a clear winner of this battle, but what happened to Kaido in the end? Is he dead or alive? In this article, we'll tell you what happened to Kaido and whether he's alive or dead in One Piece!

For now, Kaido's fate remains unknown. We know that he was defeated and fell into Wano's magma chamber with Big Mom (Charlotte Linlin), seemingly dying from the fall. However, Kaido is a very resilient character and we haven't actually seen him die in the manga, which is always a clue, and with Oda planning an all-out war for One Piece, he could return in the future.

The rest of this article will give you a detailed look at Kaido's fate during the final moments of the Wano Country Arc. You already know what happened and how it happened, so we'll just give you the details so you have the full context. Be careful, though, because the article will contain many spoilers for the One Piece manga.

Is Kaido really dead in One Piece?

Officially, Kaido's status in One Piece is unknown. Namely, after his defeat by Luffy in Wano Country, Kaido appeared to be dead due to Luffy's newly discovered powers, and with Big Mom's defeat also causing a stir, the two fell into Wano Country's magma chamber. From that point on, his fate is unknown. The protagonists consider Kaido and Big Mom dead, but no bodies have been seen, and Oda has not confirmed Kaido's death in any way.

We know there's a rule in manga and anime that if you don't see a character die on screen (or on the page), they probably aren't dead. This is a long-standing rule in the world of anime and manga, so it might give us some insight into Kaido's true fate. In fact, we never saw him die, only fall into the magma chamber. Now, Kaido is a major character, and even if he were a villain whose death might make sense, considering that Oda is likely heading toward all-out war, his death might not be as certain as the protagonists think. Knowing how strong he is, he might well return in the future, but right now, we don't know for sure.

What happened to Kaido in One Piece?

In this section, we will reveal what happened to Kaido during the final moments of the Wano Country Arc. At first, Kaidou was unable to avoid Luffy's attacks because he was too overwhelmed by them. They both prepared for an additional strike as their duel drew to a close, but a CP0 member interrupted Luffy's attack. When Kaidou was surprised by his appearance, he recalled how he had interrupted Kozuki Oden and ended the fight in the same way he had against the samurai. The Emperor was completely devastated.

In retaliation, Kaidou severely stabbed the CP0 agent before transforming into a dragon, after which he returned to the castle. There, he declared Luffy dead, demanded that Momonosuke submit to him, and vowed to confront all remaining enemies. He warned the samurai that their rebellion against him had angered him and that the loss of their freedom and hope would be the price of their failure. He also vowed to continue fighting until Momonosuke arrived.

He soon heard what sounded like a drumbeat, but Luffy had just awakened the true powers of his Gomu Gomu Devil Fruit, grabbed him, and foolishly pulled him towards the rooftop where they were fighting. Kaidou was then thrown by Luffy before being knocked to the ground. Before casting a Boro Breath on him, Kaidou admitted that he was relieved that Luffy had survived.

To his shock, Luffy punched him back, landing the blow. As they both prepared for their final battle, he recovered from the blow and apologized to Luffy for letting CP0 interfere in their fight. Kaidou explained to Luffy that he had awakened the true powers of his Gomu Gomu no Mi, which led to the transformation of the floor into rubber, like Luffy himself, but felt that the transformation was similar to that of a Zoan Devil Fruit, which puzzled him. Kaidou watched Luffy bounce back.

But after swallowing Luffy, who had bounced off him, Kaidou used a Gomu Gomu no Fusen to inflate both of their bodies, making the man uncomfortable as they drifted. As Luffy went to extend his arms through Kaidou's eyes to use a Gomu Gomu no Dasshutsu rocket to propel himself out of Kaidou's body, Kaidou tried to figure out how Luffy had managed to rub his entire body together, making Kaidou feel even worse.

When Kaidou dodged and rushed towards Luffy's body, he transformed into a giant and simply trampled him. Luffy grabbed the dragon's head and tail and began using it as a jump rope until Kaidou used a Boro Breath to throw him. When Luffy recovered and sprinted towards him, Kaidou activated his hybrid form and slammed Luffy into the ceiling with the Kosanze Ragnaraku, causing everyone in the room to burst into tears.

Kaidou remarked that Luffy's fight looked like it belonged in a comic book as he removed his head, but he thought Luffy was tense, which was proven true when the awakening effect subsided. Even though Kaidou himself knelt, he told Luffy that he would tell the world about his valiant fight after his death. Luffy completely refused and transformed again, assuring Kaidou that death held no fear for him.

Before Luffy jumped off a rock and launched himself at Kaidou while using his arms as propellers, Kaidou was able to hit him with the Hassaikai several times. As Kaidou tried to resist Luffy's strike while attempting to determine the true nature of Luffy's newfound power, claiming that no one could outmatch him in combat, Luffy punched him directly in the head and knocked him to the ground.

Luffy replied that Kaidou was the one who would surpass him and take the throne of Pirate King when Kaidou stood up again and wondered who he was. Kaidou realized how "insane" Luffy's power was and that he still retained his spirit. He acknowledged that he had suffered significant losses in this conflict and believed Luffy had too, but Luffy retorted that he would recoup all his losses.

He attacked Luffy with a Gundari Ryuseigun, but Luffy also hit him several times and continued to pound him. He thought the entire castle was on fire and everyone would perish when smoke started coming out of the lower part of the roof, but Luffy replied that he trusted his friends to put out the fire. Kaidou launched a Kaifu attack, which Luffy was able to evade. He then watched Luffy as he caught a beam of light while smiling.

Luffy was launched into the air again when Kaidou used a Gomu Gomu no Kaminari to evade Luffy's lightning attack and strike him in the side. Kaidou lunged back with another thunderbolt to attack Luffy, but he managed to dodge his punch and hit him in the head. Kaidou hit Luffy with a Daiitoku Raimei Hakke as he did so, sending him flying back. He then told Luffy that although Roger does not possess a powerful Devil Fruit, he still managed to become the Pirate King, proving that having one is not necessary to rule the seas.

Kaidou attempted to throw Luffy off him, but Luffy caught him as he moved through the storm clouds. To do so, he first struck him with the Hassaikai before transforming into a full dragon and using the Tatsumaki Kaifu and Boro Breath. This was ineffective, as Luffy not only managed to hang on but also exploded his second fist to enormous size to defeat Kaidou.

Kaidou made the decision to attack Luffy while he was immersed in the fire after spotting his enormous fist. This caused Luffy to release his grip on him, which Kaidou believed was the right decision. The people of Wano have clung to the belief that their "savior" will arrive since he told Luffy about Oden, who had been burned alive.

He also warned Luffy that if he hit him, he would end up being destroyed by his flames, and then used his Shoryu: Kaen Hakke to counter the Gomu Gomu no Bajrang Gun used by Luffy at that moment. As they engaged in combat, Kaidou congratulated Luffy for making it this far but thought that he couldn't make a difference in the world. While punching Kaidou in the face so hard that he fell to the ground in front of the Flower Capital, supposedly knocked out, Luffy replied when the man asked him what kind of society he wanted to create, "I want to build a world where my friends can eat whatever they want."

After that, Kaidou continued to fall while reverting to his original form until he reached a magma chamber next to Big Mom. Because of this, the place exploded in a large lava eruption. After that, it is unknown whether he is still alive or not.