Monkey D. Luffy, the protagonist of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga, is known for his many epic battles. One fight stood out among Luffy's many battles 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, and in this article, we'll tell you if Luffy finally beat Kaidou in a fight.

The final confrontation between Kaido and Luffy occurred at the very end of the Wano Country Arc, after Luffy discovered the true powers of his Devil Fruit and activated Gear 5. Luffy finally managed to defeat Kaido after losing to the Yonko several times. The final blow occurred in Chapter 1049 of the One Piece manga and will occur sometime later in the anime.

The rest of this article will give you a detailed look at the final battle between Luffy and Kaido. Now you know when he fell and who won, 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 latest One Piece manga.

How and when does Luffy finally defeat Kaido?

The events we're about to describe took place in chapters 1042 to 1049 of the One Piece manga. They relate to the final confrontation between Luffy and Kaido and will tell you exactly how Luffy managed to defeat the formidable Emperor.

But before we get into that, we'd like to talk a little bit about the battle on Skull Dome, which preceded what actually happened later and seemingly ended Luffy's fight against Kaido. The battle on Skull Dome took place while Law and Kidd were fighting Big Mom, so Kaido found out about Big Mom's defeat while he was fighting Luffy, which made him all the more determined to win against his enemy. The battle itself was, as you might have guessed, quite exciting.

Indeed, this wasn't their first encounter, and given the magnitude of the stakes, it made sense that they both wanted to win and give their best. Kaido had already defeated Luffy, but this fight promised to be much more important, as Luffy was now significantly stronger and the stakes were much higher than before.

And it was noticeable from the beginning. Even though Kaido knew what to expect from Luffy, Luffy was simply better this time. He was better prepared; he knew what Kaido had to offer in terms of combat, and in that respect, Kaido seemed overwhelmed when the two actually began their fight.

It was intense, with blows coming from both sides, but Luffy was ready this time. He was better prepared, and knowing that the future of Wano Country was at stake and that the Alliance was also doing its best elsewhere, he gave it his all, and Kaido was initially surprised. Luffy definitely managed to land some dangerous and near-critical blows, and from what we could tell initially, it seemed like the battle was going Luffy's way.

But Kaido wouldn't be Kaido if he fell so easily. He was considered a monster and the strongest, so even though Luffy managed to injure him and land a few significant blows, it simply wasn't enough. Kaido's endurance was incredible, and combined with his enormous physical strength, as well as his powers (especially those coming from his Devil Fruit), Kaido was not only able to survive Luffy's powerful attacks, but also managed to gain the upper hand at one point, showing Luffy just how powerful he was.

And it was this moment that was crucial for the first part of the battle on Skull Dome, because it was this moment that finally allowed Kaido to declare victory, as we will read about shortly (see below). That's why it was important for us to tell you about this battle, and we can now move on to the next segment.

As mentioned, Kaidou was initially overwhelmed by Luffy's attacks, so he dodged them using his future vision. Towards the end of their match, they both prepared for one last attack, but Luffy's technique was interrupted by a member of CP0, namely Guernica, who had also—uninvited—arrived on the battlefield, which would ultimately make Kaidou very angry. Surprised by her presence, Kaidou remembered her interruption against Kozuki Oden, ending the fight in the same way as against the samurai. Because of this, the Emperor was completely devastated.

In response, Kaidou viciously attacked the CP0 agent before returning to the castle in his dragon form, where he declared Luffy dead and demanded that Momonosuke surrender to him while agreeing to fight anyone who still wished to challenge him. He told the samurai that his insurrection against him provoked his anger, that the price of his failure would be the loss of his freedom and hope, and that he would not stop fighting until Momonosuke arrived.

However, he soon heard what sounded like the beating of a drum, before being grabbed by a huge hand and foolishly dragged up the roof by Luffy, who had awakened his Devil Fruit. Luffy then swung Kaidou around before knocking him to the ground. Luffy released him, and Kaidou admitted how happy he was that Luffy survived before casting a Boro Breath on him.

However, to his surprise, Luffy punched him and the attack landed on him. He recovered from the blow and apologized to Luffy for allowing CP0 to interfere with their duel as they both prepared for their final battle. While watching Luffy bounce back, Kaidou told him that he had awakened his Devil Fruit as it transformed the floor into rubber, like him, but felt that the transformation was similar to that of a Zoan Fruit, which confused him.

However, he bit Luffy and swallowed him, only for Luffy to bounce off him before using a Gomu Gomu no Fusen to inflate his and Kaidou's bodies, causing him discomfort as the two floated. Kaidou tried to figure out how Luffy was able to make his body rubbery just as Luffy was about to stretch his arms through Kaidou's eyes to launch himself out of Kaidou's body using a Gomu Gomu no Dasshutsu rocket, which caused Kaidou further discomfort.

Luffy then launched himself higher into the air and became a giant to step on Kaidou, but Kaidou dodged and rushed Luffy's torso; Luffy grabbed his head and tail and began using it as a jump rope until Kaidou used a Boro Breath to throw him off. When Luffy recovered and ran towards him, Kaidou transformed into his hybrid form and hit Luffy with the Kosanze Ragnaraku, slamming his head into the ceiling, causing everyone present to bulge.

As Luffy removed his head, Kaidou commented that his fight looked like something out of a comic book, but he thought Luffy was nervous, which was confirmed when the awakening effect wore off. Although Kaidou himself fell to his knees, he told Luffy that after his death, he would tell everyone how brave his fight had been, but Luffy dismissed this idea and backed off, assuring Kaidou that he was not afraid of dying.

Kaidou managed to hit Luffy with the Hassaikai several times before Luffy bounced off a rock towards Kaidou as he spun his arms like a propeller. Kaidou tried to block his attack while trying to figure out what Luffy's power was, stating that no one could take him down, only to receive a direct punch to the face from Luffy and fall onto his back.

Kaidou stood up and asked Luffy who he was, to which Luffy replied that he would surpass him and become the Pirate King. Kaidou acknowledged that Luffy still hadn't lost his spirit and how "ridiculous" his power was. He admitted that he had lost a lot in that war, but thought Luffy had too, only for Luffy to retort that he would get it all back.

He used a Gundari Ryuseigun on Luffy but was also hit several times by Luffy, whose blows went through him again. He then noticed smoke rising from the bottom of the roof and thought that the entire castle was on fire and everyone was going to burn alive, but Luffy replied that he trusted his friends to solve the problem while Kaidou launched a Kaifu attack which Luffy dodged. He then watched Luffy catch a beam of light with a smile on Luffy's face.

Luffy used a Gomu Gomu no Kaminari to launch lightning at Kaidou, but Kaidou dodged it and struck Luffy in the side, sending him flying again. Luffy used another lightning bolt to propel himself back and attack Kaidou, but Kaidou quickly dodged the attack and struck Luffy in the head.

While doing so, he tells Luffy that having a powerful Devil Fruit is not enough to conquer the seas; Roger himself did not have one, yet he became the Pirate King, and Kaidou said that these obstacles can only be overcome with Haki as he hit Luffy with a Daiitoku Raimei Hakke, knocking him into the air again.

However, Luffy caught Kaidou as he was passing through the storm clouds, and Kaidou attempted to throw Luffy off him, first striking his arm with the Hassaikai, then transforming into his full dragon form to hit him with a Tatsumaki Kaifu and a Boro Breath. His efforts were in vain, as Luffy not only held his own, but swelled his other fist to enormous size to finish Kaidou off.

Seeing Luffy's gigantic fist, Kaidou decided to attack him as he stepped into the fire, eventually forcing Luffy to let go, a move Kaidou claimed was the right one. He told Luffy that Oden had been burned alive, and since then, the people of Wano desperately clung to the hope that his "savior" would come.

He also told Luffy that his fist would never hit him because his fire would vaporize him, and he confronted Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Bajrang Gun with his Shoryu: Kaen Hakke. As they battled, Kaidou congratulated Luffy for coming this far, but he believed he couldn't change the world.

However, he asked him what kind of world Luffy wanted to create, and Luffy replied that he wanted to create a world where his friends could eat whatever they wanted, as his fist pierced through Kaidou's attack and hit him so hard in the face that it knocked him to the ground in front of the Flower Capital, seemingly knocked unconscious.

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 eruption of lava. After that, it is unknown whether he is still alive or not.