Chapter 1045

Chapter 1045 is titled "Next Level".

Cover Page
Color Spread: The Straw Hat Pirates in a carnival-themed scenario to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the manga.

Short Summary
Luffy uses his Gear 5 awakened form to both manipulate the environment like rubber and freely change the shape of his body, and Kaidou is left baffled as Luffy barrages him with increasingly unorthodox moves; however, Luffy does need to make a great effort to maintain this form due to his near-death state.

Long Summary
With their battle now resumed, Kaidou states that he was sure Luffy had died, to which the latter agrees. He watches Luffy bounce off the ground repeatedly and deduces that he has awakened his Paramecia Devil Fruit since he is able to turn his surroundings into rubber. However, he notes that something does not add up, as Luffy's transformation should be more reminiscent of a Zoan user. Kaidou lunges at Luffy and attempts to devour him, but Luffy bounces around his insides before using Gomu Gomu no Fusen to expand not only his body, but Kaidou's as well. Yamato and Momonosuke, who are watching the battle from a distance, are confused by what they are seeing, wondering if Kaido getting fatter was just one of his forms. While Kaidou becomes frustrated at his body gaining the properties of rubber, Luffy sees two lights from inside him, which turn out to be his eyes, and grabs through them to latch onto his nose before using Gomu Gomu no Dasshutsu Rocket to free himself from Kaidou's body. He then begins to deflate, which sends him flying into the clouds, and reemerges the size of a giant by using Gomu Gomu no Gigant, much to everyone's astonishment. Kaidou once again bites Luffy, but the latter, taking advantage of his size and Kaidou's serpentine form, uses Gomu Gomu no Nawatobi to use Kaidou's body as a jump rope.

As they descend back towards the rooftop, Kaidou fires another Bolo Breath at Luffy, which hits him directly and causes him to fall again. However, Luffy becomes frustrated and begins spinning his legs so fast that he is able to run across the air to return to the rooftop. As he prepares another attack, Kaidou strikes him with Kosanze Ragnaraku, sending Luffy's head crashing through the ground and to the lower floors, much to everyone's shock. He pulls himself back up to the roof and begins to revert back to normal, showing that he becomes extremely fatigued and visibly ages after using Gear 5. Kaidou assures him that he can die and someone will share the story of his fight, but Luffy refuses, stating that all that is left after dying is bones. Yamato and Momonosuke see that is really is Luffy, but his hair and clothes turning white made him hard to recognize.

As he prepares to reactivate Gear 5, Luffy reminds himself of several people he has made promises to or is indebted to, such as Momonosuke, Tama, Kin'emon, and Pedro. Kaidou tells Luffy to be careful or he will die, but Luffy refuses to be afraid of death and tells his heart to start beating louder, allowing him to reactivate Gear 5. He is suddenly struck again by Kaidou's Hassaikai, but this time his head wraps around the weapon and its spikes, causing it to take on a crescent shape. He begins running away in pain, but another blow from Kaidou squashes him to the ground. Luffy uses the ground as a springboard to launch himself back up and towards a rock formation, which he once again launches himself off of to return to his normal size. Kaidou, still trying to make sense of Luffy's new fighting style, watches as Luffy approaches him with his arms spinning like helicopter blades. Luffy strikes Kaido with a punch that seemingly goes through his head before knocking him to the ground, while remarking on how fun this is.

Chapter Notes

 * The fight between Luffy and Kaidou continues:
 * Kaidou points out that Luffy's awakening has elements of both Paramecia and Zoan fruits.
 * Kaidou once again swallows Luffy but the latter manages to escape.
 * More properties of Gear 5 are shown:
 * Luffy's awakening can somehow affect organic material.
 * Gear 5 allows Luffy to grow his entire body to the size of a giant. He then uses Kaidou's dragon form like a jumping rope.
 * This also drains his energy to a point that he is visibly aging. However, he manages to get back up quickly.
 * Luffy's body becomes malleable and follows the shape of Kaidou's Hassaikai when hit.
 * Luffy manages to pin Kaidou down.