Chapter 1000

As the Inuarashi Musketeer Squad clears Luffy’s way to the roof and Marco throws Zoro up there, Yamato reminisces about meeting with Ace. Ace had revealed Luffy’s dream to Yamato, who had read those exact words in Kouzuki Oden’s logbook quoting the Pirate King Roger. Before Ace departed, Yamato made him a Vivre Card so they could find each other again someday, but Yamato’s portion of the card disappeared once Ace died. Back in the present, Yamato reveals to Momonosuke that Oden wrote in his logbook that if he did not survive, then powerful pirates leading a new generation would come into the New World and take down Kaidou in 20 years. As Yamato recounts this, Luffy, Zoro, Law, Kid, and Killer confront Kaidou and Big Mom on the Skull Dome’s roof. Luffy goes to talk to Kin’emon, who has been defeated along with the other Nine Red Scabbards, and the samurai asks Luffy to put Wano on his back in the light of his own group’s failure. As Kaidou moves to attack them, Luffy has Law move the Scabbards inside the Skull Dome while he leaps over Kaidou. He then proceeds to strike the Emperor in the face with Gomu Gomu no Red Roc, a powerful Gear 3 punch that sends him crashing to the ground. Luffy then tells Kaidou and Big Mom that he is the one who will surpass them and become the Pirate King.

Yamato asks if Momonosuke was born on Whitebeard’s ship and he even sailed on Roger’s ship and explains that Oden and the Roger Pirates predicted that a little over twenty years in the future, a new generation of pirates would advance to the New World, and he believe they were talking about this very moment. Yamato also revealed that he thought Ace would have led the charge but after his death he recalled something. In the past, Ace accidentally told Yamato about Luffy and his dream before demanding he never laugh at him. He declares he won’t allow anyone to mock his dreams because he and Sabo believed in him. Before he can finish, Yamato starts tearing up and declares he would never laugh at him, because those were the same words that dumbfounded Oden.

Ace is intrigued by who said that and offers to drink with that person and Luffy someday, only for Yamato to reveal that person was dead, which annoys him. Afterwards Yamato gives Ace his Vivre Card, who explains to him how it functions and asks to meet him again someday, which he agrees to. In the present, Yamato reveals that Ace’s Vivre Card disappeared without a trace one day, which made him realize he was dead, and the newspaper the next day revealed everything, such as Ace being Roger’s son and that Luffy was already making a name for himself. Yamato explains that Momonosuke brought that very same person to Wano, as if Oden documented the future, and how a group of powerful pirates would shoulder the burden of the next era and go to the New World, and by chance he died, they would defeat Kaidou in his stead. Speaking of, Luffy and Zoro reach the roof of the Skull Dome along with Eustass Kid, Killer, and Law where they confront Kaidou and Big Mom awaiting them.

Luffy notices something and starts walking toward the two as Kaidou tells Big Mom what Luffy told him previously. Big Mom also adds how he talked back at her and how he destroyed her castle, so she wants an apology. To their surprise though, Luffy ignores them and walks past them over to the Nine Red Scabbards and Izou, who were defeated and left beaten on the floor. Kaidou turns to look at Luffy and demands he say what he said to them previously to their faces. Luffy, however, continues to ignore them and apologize to Kin’emon for arriving late. He looks at the injured samurai as Kin’emon distraughtly says that he can’t leave things as they are, or he will never be able to face Oden in the afterlife. He asks Luffy to shoulder their burden and save Wano, who agrees citing that it is the land of his friends. An annoyed Kaidou proceeds to raise his club to strike Luffy, who asks Law to move everyone away with his Devil Fruit powers, which he does so. He then jumps high into the air dodging Kaidou’s strike as he goes into Gear 3. As he does so, he thinks back to when the Mink Tribe revealed that Raizo was safe and that they would never sell out their allies, Momonosuke’s tears as he yelled, he wanted to take down Kaidou, Kin’emon revealing he had traveled through time, Yasuie’s execution, Hyougoro’s tears of joy, and Kin’emon revealing the details of Oden’s death. He then proceeds to strike Kaidou with a new attack called Gomu Gomu no Red Roc, slamming him into the ground and actually causing him to bleed. Big Mom is left in disbelief at the sight of Kaidou getting knocked down as Luffy introduces himself as the one who will surpass the two of them and become the Pirate King.