One Piece Spoilers: Does Luffy Beat Kaido With Gear 5?

"One Piece" Episode 1071 revolves around protagonist Luffy using his Gear 5 transformation for the first time. He activates Gear 5 — which makes him arguably even more powerful than Naruto at peak strength — after effectively dying and coming back to life courtesy of the mysterious, mythical sun god Nika, whose power is secretly at the core of the so-called Gum-Gum Fruit. This all takes place versus Kaido, captain of the Beasts Pirates and one of the Four Emperors. Their lengthy fight should come to a conclusion in or soon after Episode 1076, but for the time being, impatient anime fans may well be curious whether or not Gear 5 Luffy defeats Kaido in the show's manga source material.

In short, Luffy does indeed beat Kaido with his Gear 5 transformation. After first trading blows, their fight culminates in a head-to-head clash between the strongest attacks each of them can muster. Luffy is the one who ultimately breaks through, and his superpowered fist hits Kaido so forcefully it shatters one of his horns before he's propelled underground into a pool of magma deep under the surface of Wano Country.

Kaido's defeat by Gear 5 Luffy in Chapter 1049 is so definitive, he loses his position as one of the Four Emperors whereas Luffy earns a place alongside his mentor Shanks as an Emperor in the battle's wake. That said, some fans think that Kaido may still have a place in the future of "One Piece" despite his drastic loss.

The fact that Kaido and Big Mom — who's likewise left for dead underneath Wano Country's surface — both lose their spots as two of the Four Emperors suggests that their respective "One Piece" storylines are over for good. However, author Eiichiro Oda is notorious for bringing characters back from the brink every single time an apparent death is not explicit. Although Kaido is in a difficult spot and seemingly down for the count, he happens to be of the most powerful warriors in the "One Piece" universe and his death technically has yet to be confirmed.

With this in mind, some fans think that Kaido may come back at some point down the line. One Reddit user, for example, started a thread arguing that Kaido and Big Mom surviving is a guarantee. "0 chance they died. None," they wrote.

User Jack-J-Jameson argued this same point in a similar thread, clarifying in a follow-up comment that they feel both characters will likely serve a narrative purpose moving forward. So, while Gear 5 Luffy may beat Kaido, plenty of fans believe that there's a chance he'll be back again, be it for revenge or to fight on the side of the very pirate who defeated him.