Kaidou

Kaido of the Beasts, renowned as the world's "Strongest Creature", is the Governor-General of the Beasts Pirates and one of the Four Emperors ruling over the New World. He is also the father of Yamato.

From his base on Onigashima, Kaido has occupied Wano Country along with his crew and once allied with Wano's shogun, Kurozumi Orochi, until Kaido decided to dispose of him for his New Onigashima Project. Decades ago before the formation of his own crew, Kaido was an apprentice in the legendary Rocks Pirates, and he is currently in an alliance with his former Rocks crewmate and fellow Emperor, Big Mom.

Kaido was first referred to by Monkey D. Garp in the Post-Enies Lobby Arc and then directly mentioned by Gecko Moria in the Thriller Bark Arc, with his status as one of the Four Emperors revealed after the Straw Hat Pirates defeated Moria. Thus, Kaido is the third Emperor mentioned by name and the last to debut. Before he debuted in person, his voice was heard in a flashback that Kozuki Momonosuke had when first disembarking on Dressrosa.

He is the primary antagonist of the Wano Country Arc and one of the central antagonists of the Four Emperors Saga.

Appearance
Kaido is a middle-aged man who cuts an imposing figure due in equal measure to his great height (standing at slightly shorter than his subordinate Jack, who stands at 8.3 meters (27 feet)) and muscle bulk, easily dwarfing normal humans. Overly top-heavy in build, he has a broad, well-muscled torso with wide-set shoulders attaching to strong, mascular arms, and somewhat out-of-proportion legs; far less heavily built than his arms yet about the same length (with his feet much tinier than his hands).

Kaido's head, atop his bulky neck, is disproportionally small as well (smaller than his hands) and has a massive pair of gray-white, sharp-pointed horns come out of its sides, curving slightly to the front, then upward. He has a longish face with a heavy, hairless brow ridge topping sharp, often bloodshot eyes, (parent to small, yellowish irises) plus a hook nose and large, full-lipped mouth. Kaido is near-always seen frowning and has moderate wrinkles: particularly prominent being his crow's feet below his eyes, forehead lines, and laugh lines from always sneering. His black hair consists of an unruly, mostly swept-back mane reaching his mid-back, and forming distinctly flat, rectangular locks of which some fall down near the front, over his ears, or jut upward. His facial hair is neat, done in a wavy, waist-length Fu Manchu mustache that pairs with a spiked goatee across his chin. Right of his defined abs is his only scar: a massive, recessed X-shape whose upper points reach to his pectoral, given to him by Kozuki Oden. A tattoo of dim-red segments resembling reptilian scales, individually bordered in orange, goes from his left pectoral down the front of his left arm, ending in correspondence to the wrist with a white (dark in the manga), traditionally shaped skull on the lower forearm.

Clothing-wise, Kaido dons a blue-purple, feathered sleeveless overcoat draped on his shoulders,, and below a lavender, tight-fitting, open shirt with long sleeves. He has a black bracelet with golden (dark in the manga) spikes above each wrist. Upholding said shirt is a thick, off-white belt of laid rope festooned with a pair of white, hanging shide in the front. More outwardly from below the rope hang two additional pieces of fabric: rectangular, hemmed flaps (which may be the bottom of said shirt) that each have, from two hemmed holes at their bottom, a short, thick, golden torus chain attached to themselves. Two yellow straw cords are below the shimenawa, serving as waistbands to secure a short, hanging row of thin, red ribbons. Finally, the rest of his lower wear consists of simple, baggy pants of gray-green color, tucked below the knees into simple, blackish boots.

20 years before the current storyline, Kaido's Fu Manchu was only chest-length, he lacked his current beard, had much fewer wrinkles, and until his battle with Oden did not have any visible scars on him. During Oden's execution, he wore the pairing of a black, sleeveless leather jacket and black, tight leather pants, with a belt featuring his crew's Jolly Roger on its big, round buckle. At the time due to the injury he suffered from fighting Oden, Kaido's chest and abdomen were heavily bandaged.

Personality
It may not be the way of the times anymore... but death is what truly completes a person!

Kaido is a merciless, aggressive, and confident warrior who never misses an opportunity to gain an advantage in war. He suffers from bouts of apathy and boredom, harboring a general sense of unconcern for most things including the very nature of the world and the lives of himself and his subordinates. He keeps a grumpy disposition with little pleasure and excitement in his life and is constantly frowning most of the time. As such, he craves excitement and chaos, wanting to start the largest war in the world because he felt it was too mundane. This recklessness, coupled with his apparent inability to die, has caused Kaido to make attempted suicide his hobby. Kaido has a very positive view on death, thinking that it is the moment a person achieves true glory. As such, he admires those who die fighting until the end, such as Gol D. Roger, Edward Newgate and Kozuki Oden.



Kaido is a heavy drunkard who loves to drink sake, which causes his mood to change erratically. For example, he quickly went from being melancholic over his inability to increase the number of his Gifters and fulfill his dream of having a crew consisting of only Devil Fruit users to becoming angry and violent, brutally beating his subordinates and cursing Luffy and Law. While drunk, Kaido may become more destructive by accident since he ends up caring little for his surroundings, to the detriment of his own crew and their operations. In fact, Kaido is such a habitual drinker that he even dislikes being sober at any given time.

With the goal of waging an all-out "final war" against the World Government, Kaido ultimately seeks to form the strongest pirate crew consisting only of Devil Fruit users; so he actively seeks out formidable manpower in the New World to recruit into his growing army, including Super Rookies like Basil Hawkins, Scratchmen Apoo, and X Drake. Rather than kill those who resist him, he attempts to break their spirit through torture and forced labor until they either die or submit to his cause. Kaido also has an interest in finding the Ancient Weapons and the One Piece for his cause; having taken a Road Poneglyph under his ownership and ruthlessly hunting down Kozuki Momonosuke as well as his three retainers, Kin'emon, Raizo, and Kanjuro, in the chance that Kozuki Oden may have imparted some knowledge to them.

Kaido is known to be hard to reason with and not usually open for negotiations or excuses, making it unwise to provoke or underestimate him; this is enforced dramatically when Donquixote Doflamingo, a former Warlord of the Sea and former World Noble known for his fearless attitude, became disturbed at the prospect of angering Kaido when he became potentially unable to fulfill his end of their business deal. One of his crewmates later stated that Kaido would be very angry once he heard the news of the SMILE Factory's destruction. This unreasonable attitude caused a group of Kaido's subordinates including X Drake to attempt to deliver the news of Doflamingo's defeat to the Emperor from a distance rather than approaching him in person. Despite this, Kaido is not completely unreasonable as he sometimes listens to his subordinates and is capable of allying with a fellow Emperor that he previously threatened to kill.

Kaido is extremely cruel, even towards children. After murdering Kozuki Oden, he viciously insulted Oden right in front of his son Momonosuke, adding mockery to Momonosuke's sorrow and hopelessness. Adding to this, he brutally attacked Tama, who was no threat towards him, and left her for dead. Kaido bluntly informed Queen about Komurasaki's "death" while casually laughing at Queen's despair over the death of his idol and later found amusement upon seeing Orochi's spiteful execution of Yasuie as well as his ally's cruelty in feeding his own citizens faulty SMILE fruits. As an abusive father, Kaido also has no qualms beating up his daughter Yamato since childhood, showing that even his own child is not spared from his violence and wrath.

Kaido is highly confident in his power and considers himself to be far above the likes of Super Rookies, to the point of even refusing to take the Straw Hat Pirates and Heart Pirates seriously despite them crippling his SMILE trade; this is reinforced by his belief that defeating a Warlord of the Sea is nothing to be impressed with and subsequent dismissal of Donquixote Doflamingo as being weak. He was also quick to threaten to kill Big Mom when she announced her intention to come to his territory, showing no reservations against someone possessing power equivalent to his own.

Despite his immense arrogance, Kaido does acknowledge other individuals of exceptional strength, such as Shutenmaru and Eustass Kid, wishing to have both become subordinates of his despite their constantly defiant attitude. This extends to Luffy, one of the people responsible for the halting of his SMILE trade that was vital to Kaido's ultimate goals, yet the Emperor chose to have the Straw Hat captain imprisoned so he could be recruited as a soldier of formidable power instead of killing him. Due to his respect for power, Kaido is willing to offer strong subordinates a chance to be promoted to an All-Star in his crew as long as they prove it in an authorized challenge against a current one. Since Kaido sees and acknowledges an enemy's power, he does not blame his subordinates for losing battles against opponents that he deems appropriately powerful. Kaido forgave Jack for losing to Nekomamushi and Inuarashi in their Sulong forms, because he understands that Jack is not weak, but rather that his enemies were merely too strong to handle.

In spite of his brutal, savage reputation, Kaido is pragmatic enough to avoid conflict that could devastate his forces and territories. When Big Mom attempted to invade Wano Country, Kaido feared it would become an all-out war and furiously ordered his crew to stop her, especially after being aware that Big Mom's powerful children were accompanying their mother. This was true even in the past, when Oden returned to Wano Country from his journey. Kaido agreed with Orochi to trick Oden into submission by making a fake deal with him, giving himself time to reinforce his army. Kaido even admitted to being unsure of fighting Oden during the time of their first meeting, acknowledging the daimyo's infamous bold nature.

While Kaido is vicious and ruthless to his enemies, he does have some form of honor. When he met Big Mom again for the first time in decades, he told his men to take her Seastone cuffs off before trying to kill her, strictly preferring to fight his enemies fair and square despite having an easier chance to kill his fellow Emperor in a weakened state. When a member of the Beasts Pirates seemingly captured Kozuki Momonosuke (in truth Kurozumi Higurashi in disguise) as a hostage to distract Oden, Kaido only took the opportunity to strike Oden down because he did not know of the situation until afterwards. Intolerable of foul play in regards to his own battles, he killed Higurashi for interfering regardless of her being one of Orochi's closest supporters, and upon Oden successfully surviving being boiled alive in oil for an hour while holding up his retainers during his execution, Kaido was solemnly impressed by Oden's strength and willpower. As a last sign of respect, he informed Oden about Higurashi's demise while apologizing for her interference in their battle and opted to kill Oden himself with a gunshot.

Honorable moments aside, Kaido can be rather treacherous, and seemingly believes that betrayal is part of a pirate's nature, admitting that he overlooked the threat of the Nine Red Scabbards because he never expected them to ally with pirates. Kaido is not above making false promises, having lied to Oden twice to keep the daimyo and his country in check. The first time, it was to buy time as Oden demoralized himself to Wano's citizens for years, allowing Kaido to build more strength for his army. The second time was to have Oden and the Scabbards killed so the country would lose their hope of revolution, despite a prior agreement to spare them if they survived a certain punishment. Kaido also has no qualms killing allies should they outlive their usefulness, having beheaded Orochi once the latter questioned his plot to reform Wano into a pirate paradise despite their alliance of over two decades.

Kaido is greatly annoyed at the number of people capable of Haoshoku Haki, stating that the world does not need so many people who could use it. Like several other characters, Kaido has a unique laughing style: "Worororo" (ウォロロロ). A second one of his has been observed as he was drunk: "Fuhihihi" (フヒヒヒ).

Crew
Kaido is determined to build his crew into the strongest army of Devil Fruit users ready for what he's declared to be the biggest all-out war against the World Government. Thus, he actively sought out strong and formidable manpower in the New World to draft into his ranks, from pirates such as the Super Rookies from the Worst Generation to the leader of the Mt. Atama Thieves, Shutenmaru. Those who resist or defy his attempts are often sent to slave away at the mines of Udon until they either die or their spirits break and submit to Kaido.

Kaido himself has not demonstrated much concern for his crew, although he does seem to care about them to a degree, as Scotch stated that Kaido would go after X Drake if Drake attacked him. Kaido is also invested in making his crew stronger by giving them artificial Zoan powers with SMILE, and became very emotional when he found out that his SMILE supply had been stopped. When Kaido gets drunk and emotional, he can be very violent against his subordinates, as he smashed a few of them through his lair with his mace when they expressed concern over the threats of Monkey D. Luffy and Trafalgar Law.

When Kaido came to Kuri after Luffy and Law had made a disturbance, Holdem became worried that Kaido might kill him for being beaten by them, though a drunk Kaido paid him no mind. Kaido's subordinates have all demonstrated an unwavering loyalty to him (save for X Drake who is operating as an undercover Marine), although Jack and Basil Hawkins became very concerned when Kaido went on a drunken rampage through Okobore Town and wanted to stop him from destroying the manpower of Kuri's factories.

King
Of all the All-Stars, King seems to be the one who Kaido trusts and gets along with the best as he was unbothered when he discovered that King had summoned the Tobi Roppo while using his name in, and when Orochi objected to Kaido taking the Flower Capital for his New Onigashima Project, King immediately lent his sword to his captain so he could decapitate Orochi with it, showing a great degree of trust and understanding between them.

Queen
Upon delivering the news of Komurasaki's death to Queen, Kaido was unconcerned about Queen's well-being upon hearing this despite the All-Star being enamored with her, to the point of even mocking him for crying about it.

Jack
As one of his All-Stars, Kaido cares about Jack's well-being a great deal. When he heard about Jack failing to rescue Doflamingo from the Marines, Kaido was more concerned about the loss of his SMILE, though his lack of concern about Jack may have been due to Jack being a fish-man and therefore likely to survive naval combat. When Jack was brutally beaten by Inuarashi and Nekomamushi after the two minks activated their Sulong forms, Kaido intervened to save Jack's life. He held no grudge against Jack for being defeated, knowing that it was due to the minks' extreme strength rather than the All-Star's weakness; in fact, he even commended Jack for his work in keeping the other minks at bay and told him to get his wounds treated.

Tobiroppo
The Tobiroppo consist of the six strongest Shinuchi in the Beasts Pirates. Kaido appears to be very proud of them, wishing to introduce them to his fellow Emperor and ally Big Mom. He also trusts them with missions dealing with his child Yamato.

The Tobiroppo seem to have the utmost respect for their captain. Ulti is not afraid of criticizing Kaido's familial issues, much to the shock of her companions, but otherwise genuinely thinks that her boss will eventually become pirate king, enough to become massively angered towards anyone who dares to dispute that claim. Sasaki shows interest in socializing solely with Kaido, looking down on those in the lower ranks. Black Maria acts in a flirty way towards her captain and appears to enjoy his company.

Charlotte Linlin
Kaido and his fellow Emperor Charlotte Linlin, better known as Big Mom, have been rivals with each other ever since they were crewmates on the Rocks Pirates, and both of them would like nothing more than to kill the other. Kaido threatened to kill Big Mom if she entered his territory and tried to kill Luffy, whom he wanted for himself, and did not appear to care about Linlin claiming that he owed her a debt. Part of that debt is from her giving him the Uo Uo no Mi after the God Valley Incident. However, Kaido does not wish to kill Big Mom in an underhanded manner but wants to beat her in equal combat, as when she was captured and brought to Onigashima, he ordered his subordinates to release her from her Seastone chains before he fought her.

However, following their battle, Kaido and Big Mom found common ground in their dream of taking over the world and they temporarily put aside their differences in order to achieve their goal. They now act quite jovially around each other as they drank together and were excited about working together again, although they ultimately still wish to kill each other once they achieve their dream.

Donquixote Doflamingo
Kaido and Doflamingo had a business partnership where Doflamingo supplied Kaido with SMILE fruits in exchange for weapons, which he significantly invested in his goal to make his crew the strongest of Devil Fruit users. Word of Doflamingo's defeat and the destruction of the SMILE factory brought Kaido mourning at his loss much to his drunken emotional sorrow. Law later states that Kaido would have killed Doflamingo if he ceased producing SMILE, and Doflamingo became very fearful at the possibility of incurring Kaido's wrath when Luffy and Law threatened his production. Despite calling him weak, Kaido heavily valued Doflamingo's business to the degree that when Doflamingo was captured by the Marines, he ordered Jack to stop hunting for one of the Kozuki Family's retainers and to free Doflamingo from an armada of Marine warships escorting him to Impel Down.

Kurozumi Orochi


Kaido and Orochi, the shogun of Wano Country, had been allies for over 25 years after Orochi bought his loyalty using the money previously borrowed from Oden. Their bond appeared to be strong, as Kaido would attack anyone who threatened Orochi, and Orochi was extremely confident in having Kaido's support, which allowed him to do anything, including opposing the World Government and exploiting them for his own gains. They were friendly enough to share drinks together in Orochi's castle. Kaido was initially dismissive about Orochi's warning of the Kozuki Family's comeback and even poked fun at Orochi's paranoia. Nevertheless, when Orochi had shown proven information from his spy Kanjuro, Kaido chose to believe Orochi, instructing the latter not to kill the time travelers as he wished to ask them information regarding Oden's journey to Laugh Tale. When he saw the broadcast of Orochi killing Shimotsuki Yasuie and the false laughter of the crowd watching, Kaido expressed amusement at the shogun's cruelty.

In the end though, Kaido was merely using Orochi as a pawn, and once Kaido revealed his New Onigashima Project, he beheaded Orochi when the latter objected to it.

Yamato
Yamato is Kaido's daughter. The two of them have a strained relationship, as Yamato idolizes Kaido's enemy Kozuki Oden. When Kaido learned of Yamato's wish to be like Oden, Yamato was met by a beating. However, Yamato has emulated Oden for the past 20 years to the point of even presenting as a man like him, and although Kaido disapproves of their idolizing him, he does refer to Yamato as his son. Kaido does not seem to be aware that Yamato wishes to fulfill Oden's dream of opening Wano's borders, a cause which he is opposed to.

Kaido has been cruel to Yamato since childhood as he beat them numerous times and kept Yamato imprisoned on Onigashima since the age of eight, shackled with explosive handcuffs. Kaido's overall view of Yamato is unknown; who he casually refers to as "idiot", but wishes to have them participate in his party during the Fire Festival and later even replace Orochi as shogun.

Yamato seems to have a very low opinion of Kaido and has claims to have attempted to defeat him multiple times in the past in order to attain freedom, being particularly frustrated about the explosive handcuffs. They sought Monkey D. Luffy precisely to join forces with him in order to take down Kaido and did not object to the idea of Luffy defeating him. Yamato was noticeably angry when Kaido announced his plans of have them become shogun of Wano. Once Yamato realized that Kaido was willing to even kill his own child (after Luffy removed their handcuffs and they indeed exploded), they disowned him and did not even appear to care if he were to die during the raid on Onigashima.

Kozuki Family
Kaido became mortal enemies with the Kozuki Family, as he worked with Orochi to kill Kozuki Oden and caused Kozuki Toki's death while attempting to kill her and her children, Momonosuke and Hiyori.

Kozuki Oden
As the first person to have ever injured him, Kozuki Oden left a deep, strong impression on Kaido.

Kaido thought highly of Oden, having heard of the samurai's infamous reputation prior to their actual meeting, to the point of prioritizing the gradual expansion of his army to properly tackle the Kuri daimyo. Impressed by the man's feat of surviving a boiling pot of oil for a whole hour, Kaido decided to kill Oden himself as a sign of respect, acknowledging that his enemy had died as a legend.

In spite of Oden's death ever since, Kaido still seems to be haunted by his fight with him, particularly the fact that he almost died that day if it were not for Higurashi's actions. When the Nine Red Scabbards ambushed him during the raid on Onigashima, he was shocked to see Oden's image in them, reminiscent of how he was nearly defeated by their master twenty years ago. When the Scabbards successfully injured him, the scar he received from Oden started hurting to the point he screamed in agony. Later on, after finally evaluating the Scabbards' strength during their fight at the top of the Skull Dome, Kaido concluded that, in spite of carrying Oden's will, the Scabbards would never be able to measure to their fallen master, with the Emperor even claiming that it was an impossible task for any samurai.

Kozuki Momonosuke
In the past, Kaido threatened to kill Momonosuke, holding him by the throat above the Kuri Castle when Momonosuke declared his ambition to be the shogun. Kaido considered him an immature brat in response, knowing that Momonosuke was only speaking out of duty rather than actual ambition. Considering him as pathetic compared to his father, Kaido chose to leave Momonosuke behind in the burning castle rather than kill him personally. This experience has ever since caused Momonosuke to be afraid of heights, refusing to fly despite that being within his capabilities while in dragon form.

Because of Kaido's actions, Momonosuke and his retainers wish to bring him down after being sent 20 years forward in time by Toki and have spent all their time working to form an alliance to accomplish this. When Kaido first saw Momonosuke again after twenty years, he remained unimpressed upon seeing him brutally beaten by Kanjuro. He also questioned Momonosuke whether he was truly Oden's son, claiming that he did not inherit any of his father's strength and guts, which he thought highly of. Repeating the question he asked twenty years ago, Kaido offered to spare Momonosuke if he denied about his heritage. When Momonosuke refused to lie, Kaido prepared to execute him as a Kozuki in order to officially start his New Onigashima Project.

Nine Red Scabbards


To fulfill Oden's wish of opening Wano's borders, the Scabbards (except Kanjuro, who was a traitor) plotted to defeat Kaido.

Ten years before Momonosuke's return, Ashura Doji gave up hope after his comrades became impatient and perished trying to fight the Beasts Pirates. Kaido was impressed with Ashura's strength and wanted him to join his crew. Although he had stopped following the Kozuki Family, Ashura had no wish to serve Kaido and refused, though Kaido remained open to him joining and offered to forgive Ashura if he did. However, after Yasuie sacrificed himself to give the Kozuki revolution a chance, Ashura eventually rejoined the Kozuki Family and their quest to bring down Kaido. Kaido was shocked to learn that most of them survived and were in the future. He was surprised to hear Kanjuro, whom he had nearly killed twenty years ago, was in reality, a secret ally of Orochi and was very impressed by Kanjuro for his deceptive skill that had also fooled him. The remaining Scabbards, bearing twenty years of anger and hatred over their master's death, eventually succeeded in ambushing him during the Fire Festival. Kaido was surprised to learn that Kyoshiro is actually Denjiro and Ashura Doji was a member as well. Despite proudly claiming that they could never hurt him, Kaido envisioned Oden's angry image commanding he leave Wano and never return as they furiously attacked him, pushing him off his feet. When the Scabbards actually injured Kaido and made him scream in pain, he went serious enough to take the battle outside of the Skull Dome with the Scabbards.

Edward Newgate
Much like with Big Mom, the late Whitebeard was Kaido's fellow Emperor and former crewmate on the Rocks Pirates. While acknowledging and respecting him for his power, Kaido viewed Whitebeard as too soft because of his morals and honor code. Prior to the Battle of Marineford, Kaido attempted to intercept Whitebeard while he was on his way to Marineford with the intention of killing him, although the attempt was stopped by Shanks. Two years later, he cursed Whitebeard for being able to die while he was unable to.

Monkey D. Luffy
Kaido first heard of Luffy after finding out that he worked with Trafalgar Law to destroy his SMILE production. He refuses to consider Luffy as a serious threat, viewing him defeating Doflamingo as nothing special. However, he still has a grudge on Luffy for his actions and wants to get revenge, as he was angry that Big Mom wanted to come and kill Luffy, and he went to Kuri when he heard that Luffy and Law's alliance had come there. Although Kaido defeated Luffy with a single hit and still does not view him as a threat, he was impressed with the pirate's abilities and so had him imprisoned to break his spirit and make him into a subordinate. When the Straw Hats joined the Kozuki Revolution, Kaido was amused by Luffy's declaration of an all-out war against the Beasts Pirates and dared him to try. When Luffy manages hone his Busoshoku Haki enough to injure him, Kaido mentally compares him to those capable of challenging him: Roger, Whitebeard, Oden, Shanks, and his former captain, Rocks.

Trafalgar Law
As with Luffy, Kaido became enemies with Law after finding out that the two pirates had destroyed his SMILE production. Like Luffy, Kaido wants to kill Law but does not consider him to be a real threat. He went to Kuri to apprehend them upon finding out they were there, but after defeating Luffy, Kaido notably wanted to go back to Onigashima and get drunk rather than search for Law.

Eustass Kid
Kid encountered Kaido when the latter fell out of the sky and landed at the Kid Pirates' hideout before coming face to face with the rookie pirate. Kid refused to submit to Kaido and tried to fight him only to be defeated and captured. Kaido then imprisoned Kid, hoping to eventually break his spirit. During his imprisonment, Kid is shown to hold a strong grudge against Kaido and firmly told Luffy that he will be the one to defeat the Emperor. However, after seeing what happened to Killer, Kid decided to prioritize finding the rest of his crew and rejected Luffy's offer for an alliance. After getting his crew back, he joined Luffy and Law to take down Kaido but just for the glory of defeating him, not for the Kozuki revolution.

Rocks D. Xebec
Kaido's former captain during his time as an apprentice in the Rocks Pirates. The details of their relationship are unknown, but Kaido seems to hold Xebec in high regard and respects him for his strength.

Wano Country Citizens
Kaido is said to be revered in Wano as a "wise king" and protector of their realm, although this only seems to be the case among people who are loyal to Orochi. Anyone who becomes an enemy of Orochi also becomes an enemy of Kaido, as seen when he attacked and killed the remaining daimyo for rebellion and attempted to kill the Kozuki Family and everyone associated with it. Thus, Kozuki Family loyalists consider Kaido to be an enemy, and those who have allied with the family's survivors are working to take down Kaido as well as Orochi. When Kaido attempted to search Kuri for Luffy and Law while drunk, he mindlessly caused damage to Okobore Town without a second thought by flying through it.

When Kaido announced the New Onigashima Project, he revealed that he had plans to enslave all of Wano's citizens, including those residing in the Flower Capital, to have them make weapons.

Abilities and Powers
People often say "If it's one-on-one, Kaido will win." On land, sea, and air... among all living things, he is a pirate who is known as the "strongest creature"!!!

As one of the Four Emperors, Kaido is one of the four strongest pirates alive, renowned as the "Strongest Creature". Notably, he has a bounty of 4,611,100,000, which is the highest known bounty of any pirate currently alive and third highest in history, surpassed only by the bounties of the late Whitebeard and Gol D. Roger. As the Beasts Pirates' Governor-General, Kaido has authority over a massive, 20,000-strong pirate organization, and due to his alliance with Orochi, he and his crew enjoy authority over and cooperation with thousands of Wano's samurai forces serving Orochi.

Kaido attempted to take Whitebeard's life, something very few would dare, and subsequently had an encounter with Shanks, along with clashing against Big Mom two years later. The Five Elders mentioned Kaido as one of the few people able to stop Blackbeard. His strength was also recognized by his fellow Emperor Big Mom, who could not fathom the idea of Monkey D. Luffy defeating him.

According to Trafalgar Law, Kaido could easily kill Donquixote Doflamingo, a world-famous, extremely powerful pirate in his own right; Doflamingo himself, despite his normally always-retained fearlessness, was shown visibly distressed at the prospect of angering Kaido. Additionally, Law speculated that his own crew and the Straw Hats allied together would only have a roughly 30% chance of bringing down Kaido, though the statement is questionable seeing as, at that time, Law was not serious about fighting him. Kaido defeated two other members of the Worst Generation, Eustass Kid and Killer, along with the rest of their crew, with seemingly no issue and refused to take Law and Luffy's alliance seriously regardless of their victory over Doflamingo, viewing defeating a Warlord of the Sea as nothing special. Kaido's confidence was later proven to be warranted when he defeated Luffy with a single blow.

Overall, Kaido has been stated to have only lost seven battles in his lifetime and has only been injured twice. As stated during his introduction, people consider it a certainty for Kaido to win any one-on-one battle he takes part in, and even most groups and armies have little ability to take him down. When the daimyos rebelled, Kaido crushed them, and when hundreds of samurai went to Onigashima to attack Kaido ten years ago, they were all killed. During his fight against the Red Scabbards at Onigashima, Kaido easily overpowered them while in human form. Kaido also took on the Gecko Pirates 23 years ago and slaughtered all of them singlehandly except for their captain Gecko Moria.

Similar to the other Four Emperors members, Kaido has many underlings and other pirate crews allied with him and is able to claim self-governing islands as his own territories. With Caesar and Doflamingo as his associates, Kaido has created an army of over 500 Artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruit users, known as the Gifters.

Physical Abilities
Befitting his bulk, Kaido is legendary for his supreme physical power as the strongest creature in the world. He is capable of swinging his kanabo hard enough to send a normal-sized person flying into the distance in one blow, and he broke past the tremendous defensive power of Luffy's Gear Fourth with great ease. He once sunk nine enormous prison ships singlehandedly.

Kaido possesses nigh-indestructible durability, even without using Busoshoku Haki. He took multiple powerful hits from Monkey D. Luffy's Gear Third while in his dragon form and transformed back into his human form after being pummeled into the ground, and proceeded to receive a barrage of Gear Fourth hits that were even more powerful, yet he felt nothing more than annoyance, received no injuries, and was able to quickly get back up and counterattack without issue. This all changed once Luffy was able to improve his Busoshoku Haki from his training while in Udon, as he is now able to injure Kaido with his newest Gear Third technique.

Kaido also clashed with Big Mom continuously for one to three days, and emerged without any injuries or signs of fatigue, showing an incredible amount of stamina. While the Red Scabbards were able to accomplish the rare feat of drawing blood from him with their swords and attacks, these wounds were shown to have very little if any effect on him. He could withstand having his immensely destructive Bolo Breath redirected at him by Raizo's Maki Maki no Mi, as well as assaults from Nekomamushi and Inuarashi's Sulong enhanced attacks, Kawamatsu's Amano-gawa, Izo's Dangirigan, and Kikunojo's Zansetsu-gama, ultimately requiring Kinemon, Denjiro, Inuarashi, and Ashura to focus and coordinate their Togen Totsuka attacks together at his scar to finally inflict significant damage. However, Kaido himself stated that the injuries were still shallow in comparison to when Oden inflicted him with a massive scar.

This durability has given Kaido the reputation of being unable to die. He has been caught and tortured 18 times, and people as powerful as the Marines and other Emperors have attempted to execute him 40 times, only to fail as Kaido survived every single attempt because every single execution weapon broke when being used on him. Most notably, Kaido has jumped from 10,000 meters from the sky onto the ground, creating a massive shockwave strong enough to sink a large ship nearby, and emerged only with a headache; it has even become a hobby for him to attempt suicide, only for it to fail.

The first known time he ever suffered a significant injury was in a battle against Kozuki Oden, a legendary samurai who was dual-wielding two of the twenty-one Great Grade swords, Enma and Ame no Habakiri, gaining a scar on his body. During the raid on Onigashima, the Nine Red Scabbards were able to inflict considerable damage to him through teamwork and their improved strength and skills, though not to the same extent as Oden. Even when he was simultaneously attacked by Luffy, Law, Kid, Zoro, and Killer, Kaido remained unfazed.

Despite his enormous size, Kaido is extremely fast as shown when he had moved fast enough to completely blitz Luffy in an instant while attacking him and appearing behind him afterwards. Another testament to his speed, he was fast enough to nearly once again blitz Luffy despite perceiving the future using Kenbunshoku Haki, being barely fast enough to avoid a head-on attack.

Devil Fruit


Kaido ate a Mythical Zoan-type of the Uo Uo no Mi, a Devil Fruit which allows him to transform into an Eastern dragon. His dragon form is massive, almost half the size of a small town, with blue-scales, and a ring of flames around each of his upper arms.

In this form, Kaido is capable of moving through the air by creating special clouds called "Flame Clouds" and using them as footholds. These clouds can also be used lift other objects, or even large landmasses, such as Onigashima. He can also release devastating blasts of fire from his mouth, which can instantly deal significant damage to, if not fully obliterate, large structures. Aside from fire, Kaido appears to be capable of releasing other elements from his mouth, like blasts of lightning by roaring or wind by blowing, the latter in the form of invisible blade projectiles that can easily slice flesh and bone.

Kaido has mastered his Devil Fruit powers in that he can access some of his draconic abilities without needing to transform, such as generating Flame Clouds to levitate Onigashima.

Haki


Kaido possesses Haoshoku Haki, as shown when he clashes with fellow Haoshoku Haki-user Big Mom.

Weapons


Kaido wields a giant kanabo made of dark-colored metal, studded with sharp spikes, as his weapon of choice, which he already possessed during his apprentice days in the Rocks Pirates.

Brandishing the weapon with his massive strength, Kaido can severely injure and send foes flying far distances with immense force, in just single blows. Using single swings of the club, he respectively dealt finishing blows to the mighty Kozuki Oden two decades ago (the man left severely injured, bleeding, and unconscious from the hit) as well as to a Gear Fourth-using Luffy in the present, breaking past the tremendous Haki defense of the latter's empowered form and, again, rendering the foe unconscious.

Attacks

 * Raimei Hakke (雷鳴八卦): Kaido charges towards his opponent at high speed, swinging his kanabo horizontally to strike them with devastating force. The impact releases several black thunders, similar to that of a Haoshoku Haki clash. The attack is so fast that even with the ability to see the future of advanced Kenbunshoku Haki Luffy was not able to completely dodge it. It was first used against Luffy in his Gear Fourth form, knocking him unconscious with a single hit. This technique is also used by his daughter Yamato. The "Eight Trigrams", or Bagua, are the eight symbols of Taoist cosmology to represent the fundamental principles of reality. In the VIZ Manga, this is called Thunder Bagua.

Past


Over 40 years ago, Kaido joined the Rocks Pirates as an apprentice. 38 years ago, the Rocks Pirates clashed with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp on God Valley and were defeated, resulting in the crew disbanding. On the day the Rocks Pirates fell, his crewmate Charlotte Linlin gave the Uo Uo no Mi to Kaido, which put him in her debt, which she considered to be a lifelong one.

Since becoming a pirate, he had been defeated seven times and captured eighteen times by the Marines and the other members of the Four Emperors. During said captures, Kaido was repeatedly tortured and given the death sentence forty times. However, no method of execution was effective on him, and Kaido managed to sink nine massive prison ships that held him. At least 33 years ago, Kaido started recruiting his crew.

Kaido was not recognized as one of the top pirates in the world until around the time when Gol D. Roger was executed. He, along with Shanks, then joined Whitebeard and Big Mom among the ranks of the Four Emperors.



After Kurozumi Orochi became shogun of Wano Country, Kaido formed a partnership with him and supported his tyranny. 25 years ago, Kaido confronted Kozuki Oden at the shogun's castle after the latter attempted to kill Orochi. Kaido and Orochi then made a deal with Oden. If Oden danced naked in the Flower Capital once a week, citizens would be spared. They also promised to leave Wano in five years. Afterwards, Kaido flew over the shogun's castle in his dragon form.

23 years ago, Kaido fought with Gecko Moria in the Ringo region of Wano Country and defeated him. Though the exact details of the battle are unknown, Moria lost his entire crew and was left warped and shattered from the experience, holding a grudge against Kaido to this day. At some point around this time, Kaido's daughter Yamato told him that they wanted to be Oden, and Kaido beat them in response.



20 years ago when Oden and his nine retainers were on their way to Onigashima, Kaido and his crew confronted them in the Udon region. In the ensuing battle, Oden managed to wound Kaido. However, Kaido knocked Oden unconscious when Oden was distracted by Kurozumi Higurashi who had impersonated a kidnapped Momonosuke. Sometime after the battle, Kaido killed Higurashi for her interference.

On the day of Oden's execution, Kaido joined Orochi in witnessing the execution. Oden then made a deal with Kaido to let those who survived the execution go free and Kaido gave him an hour. Kaido was amused to watch Oden as the latter endured standing in a pot of boiling oil while holding his retainers with a board. Although Oden successfully survived one hour in the boiling pot, Kaido and Orochi decided to execute Oden and his retainers regardless. As Oden's retainers fled, Kaido apologized to him for Higurashi's interference before shooting Oden in the head.

After Oden's death, Kaido attacked and set Oden Castle ablaze before Oden's retainers returned. While threatening Momonosuke, he told the boy that his father was a foolish lord. However, Kaido decided to leave Momonosuke in the burning castle instead of killing him outright. Kaido also managed to gain possession of a Road Poneglyph, one of the four poneglyphs that when deciphered could reveal the location of Laugh Tale.

Ten years ago, the Kozuki Family's supporters gathered to stage a massive rebellion before the comeback of Oden's retainers, Kaido personally intervened and brutally massacred a majority of the rebels along with their families. At some point after taking over Wano, Kaido additionally faced the thief Shutenmaru.

At one time, Kaido and his top subordinates were away from Onigashima on an expedition. When Kaido returned, he was furious when he found his dragon statue destroyed.

Sometime within the last four years, Kaido began collaborating with Warlord of the Sea Donquixote Doflamingo and the rogue Marine scientist Caesar Clown to create an army of artificial Zoan Devil Fruit users, via SMILE.

Marineford Arc
When Whitebeard was on his way to save Ace from his execution at Marineford, Kaido tried to attack him. However, Shanks intercepted Kaido before he could reach Whitebeard. It is unknown how their encounter ended, but Shanks arrived unscathed at Marineford by the end of the war.

Dressrosa Arc


Kaido went up to Ballon Terminal, where he encountered Urouge, who learned of his intention to attempt suicide and allowed him to proceed. Kaido jumped off the sky island and landed 10,000 meters below on the Kid Pirates' base. However, he only received a minor headache and found himself face-to-face with the Kid, On Air, and Hawkins alliance. After cursing Whitebeard for having been able to die, Kaido yelled that Doflamingo needed to make preparations for battle before promising to start a massive war due to the world boring him.

Zou Arc


After their encounter, Kaido badly defeated Eustass Kid and placed him in a cell, while Scratchmen Apoo and Basil Hawkins became his subordinates. After Jack's defeat, Apoo contacted Kaido in his fortress, revealing that they had lost all contact with Jack's fleet after they went to attack Zou for a second time.

After learning that Jack's attempt to rescue Doflamingo failed, Kaido was enraged at not being able to acquire any more SMILEs, which meant he could not gain any more Gifters. As he drowned his sorrows in alcohol, Kaido's despair turned to rage when his subordinates mentioned Monkey D. Luffy and Trafalgar Law, causing him to smash one out of the building with his mace. Kaido angrily stated that the two Supernovas were nowhere near him in power, pointing to the defeated Eustass Kid as an example.

Levely Arc
As the news of Luffy's exploits at Totto Land spread across the world, Kaido read the newspaper and angrily wondered why Luffy was in Big Mom's territory. A few days later, he was contacted by Big Mom, who demanded the right to kill Luffy. He rejected her request since he wished to take care of Luffy himself, but Big Mom was unbending as she reminded him of a debt.

Wano Country Arc
After getting drunk, Kaido flew to Kuri in Wano Country. On the way, he found Speed and Tama and attacked them after hearing a report of the former's treachery. He then went to Okobore Town and called out to Jack to bring Luffy and Law to him. While flying over Okobore Town, he recognized Shutenmaru and asked him to become his subordinate. Kaido was drunk and in a partial stupor, which was a sight that unnerved even the likes of Jack, a subordinate known for his own violent streaks, fearing what Kaido would do in this state. Basil Hawkins then came and told Kaido that Luffy and Law were hiding in the ruins of Oden Castle, and Kaido immediately flew toward it and shot a heat breath at it, instantly destroying it. However, he was then hit in the head by a giant punch from Luffy.



After Kaido was sent crashing into the ground, Luffy got his attention by yelling at him. Kaido attacked with a fire breath, but Luffy dodged and used Elephant Gatling. Kaido then returned to human form, and Luffy activated Gear Fourth: Boundman and assaulted Kaido with Kong Organ. Luffy's attacks were ineffective, as Kaido then struck Luffy with "Raimei Hakke", rendering him unconscious with just one hit. Kaido stood over Luffy, scoffing at the idea his opponent aspired to be Pirate King after bringing him down with such ease.

Though Luffy was unconscious, Kaido noticed that Luffy was still glaring at him. He then ordered his men to imprison Luffy, deciding to break his spirit and turn him into a subordinate. While walking away, Kaido learned that Luffy possessed Haoshoku Haki when the latter instinctively knocked out some of his men. Kaido found that attribute worth some credit but was equally quick to order Luffy locked up. Deciding to take care of Law later, Kaido departed to go drink again, annoyed that he had sobered up.

When he heard that Big Mom and her crew were attempting to enter Wano, Kaido ordered his subordinates to stop them. He then heard that King knocked Big Mom's ship off the waterfall.

While Queen was at Udon, Kaido informed him through a Smart Tanishi about Komurasaki's death. Kaido then watched the broadcast of Shimotsuki Yasuie's execution.



After Big Mom was brought to Onigashima, Kaido ordered his subordinates to release her from her cuffs. The two Emperors then began to argue and clashed weapons, causing the skies above Onigashima to split in two. The two Emperors continued fighting throughout the night. Kaido and Big Mom eventually stopped their fight and came to an agreement. After speaking with Apoo about his return over Smart Tanishi, Kaido announced to his subordinates that he and Big Mom were forming a pirate alliance to take over the world, shocking many who heard the unexpected news.

As the Beasts Pirates were preparing for the upcoming feast on the day of the Fire Festival, Kaido asked for his son before he was informed of the Tobiroppo's arrival. Kaido, King, and Jack then had a meeting with the Tobiroppo. After having Bao Huang go over the day's schedule, Kaido gave the Tobiroppo the mission of finding his son Yamato, saying he would let them battle one of the All-Stars for their position if they succeeded.

Kaido then enjoyed the festival with Orochi and did not mind if Black Maria decided to stay. They were briefly interrupted when Kanjuro arrived with Momonosuke. Kaido told his men to stand down as Kanjuro was Orochi's ally. As Kanjuro delivered Momonosuke to Orochi, Kaido expressed his disappointment with the boy. He also learned that the plot to stop the Kozuki rebellion failed and that Luffy, Zoro, Kid, and Killer were present on the island.



He later went to the Performance Stage to announce a project dubbed "New Onigashima". He proceeded to explain his plans to find the Ancient Weapons and the One Piece and to transform Wano Country. When Orochi objected, Kaido promptly decapitated him. He further explained that he planned to move his base to the Flower Capital, turn Wano into a pirate nation, and have Yamato become shogun. He also gave Orochi's subordinates a choice to join him or die. Out of self-preservation, Orochi's subordinates submitted to Kaido. The Emperor then turned to Momonosuke and asked for his name, offering to spare him if he denied being Oden's son. After Momonosuke refused to lie, Kaido was surprised when the Scabbards arrived and attacked him.

As Kaido was pushed to the lower floor, the Scabbards managed to inflict wounds on him. While speaking to the Scabbards, Kaido attempted to discourage them by stating that their pirate allies would betray them. After hearing Luffy's declaration of war, Kaido transformed into his dragon form and flew to the roof of the Skull Dome with the Scabbards hanging onto him. On the top of the dome, Kaido commented on the Mink Tribe's ability to transform into their Sulong forms as he was joined by Jack, Nangi, and some Beasts Pirates when they prepared to fight the mink forces.



Jack suffered severe injuries from his fight with the Sulong minks, prompting Kaido to step in before Jack could be killed. The Emperor then resumed his battle with the Scabbards. Kaido tried scorching the samurai with a fire breath, but Kin'emon sliced the flames and cut Kaido's mouth. Kaido roared lightning at them, but they dodged around it and each struck him in turn. Kaido was confused on how their attacks could injure him. After Raizo reflected Kaido's Bolo Breath back at him, four of the Scabbards—Ashura, Kin'emon, Denjiro, and Inuarashi—replicated Oden's Nitoryu stance and struck Kaido's scar with the same attack that made it.

While recovering from that attack, Kaido remarked that he was reminded of Oden but the Scabbards did not have the same strength as him. Kaido then retaliated with a roar that created wind scythes, one of which sliced off Kikunojo's left arm. After Kin'emon cauterizes Kikunojo's wound, Kaido returned to human form and praised the samurai for their determination. Continuing the battle, Kaido gained the upper hand and began overwhelming the Scabbards and later incapacitated them.



Soon, Kaido used his power to lift the entire island of Onigashima above sea level and began moving it to the Flower Capital. As the island was floating to its destination, Kaido was joined by Big Mom, whom he provided fire and lightning for Prometheus and Zeus to feed on in order to recharge as Big Mom told him to leave Nico Robin alive. Kaido asked if her daughter Charlotte Pudding can read the Poneglyphs, but Big Mom decided not to wait for her power to awaken. When she asked where he planned on dropping Onigashima, Kaido told her that he would drop it on a castle in the Flower Capital that still stands as a symbol of the Kozuki. Big Mom started inquiring about the Road Poneglyph, causing Kaido to tell her that her true intentions were showing. She replied that she still considered Kaido as a little brother and reminded him that she was the one who gave him his Devil Fruit on the day Rocks fell, which she believed was Kaido's life debt to her. He brushed her off and said they could talk more about it after they find the One Piece.

Later on, Kid, Killer, Law, Zoro, and Luffy arrived on the roof. After Luffy had spoken to the wounded Kin'emon and Law had teleported the Scabbards to a safe place, Kaido attempted to attack Luffy, but Luffy dodged it and struck back with a powerful Gear Third punch that made Kaido bleed, shocking both Emperors. Though initially stunned that Luffy's attack harmed him, Kaido regained his composure and struck back with his club. Luffy managed to avoid the full brunt of the attack but was still grazed. However, Kaido was still impressed that Luffy did not go down easily. After Big Mom attempted to attack Luffy, Kaido launched another attack on the Straw Hat captain, but Law teleported Luffy to another spot. Kaido then told Big Mom to step back as he wanted to see the strength of the five members of the Worst Generation. Zoro, Killer, Luffy, Kid, and Law then unleashed their own attacks on Kaido, but the Emperor transformed into his dragon form and joined Big Mom in the sky.

Major Battles

 * Rocks Pirates vs. Roger Pirates and Marines (unseen)
 * Kaido vs. Gecko Moria's first crew (unseen)
 * Beasts Pirates and Kurozumi Higurashi vs. Kozuki Oden, the Nine Red Scabbards, and Shinobu
 * Kaido vs. Kozuki Oden
 * Kaido vs. Ashura Doji and Denjiro (unseen)
 * Kaido vs. Shanks (unseen)
 * Kaido vs. Eustass Kid and Killer (unseen)
 * Kaido vs. Speed
 * Kaido vs. Monkey D. Luffy
 * Kaido vs. Charlotte Linlin
 * Beasts Pirates and their allies vs. Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance and Kid Pirates
 * Kaido vs. The Nine Red Scabbards (minus Kanjuro) and Izo
 * Kaido, Linlin, Zeus, Prometheus and Napoleon vs. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Kid, Killer and Trafalgar D. Water Law

Name
Kaido's name was officially romanized as "Kaido" in One Piece Green: Secret Pieces (the long "o" in the name left un-transcribed, matching this wiki's romaji convention of long vowels: a normal o or ō with a macron); however, Kaido's bounty poster has shown his name in-story as "Kaidou".

Epithet
The "hyakujū" (百獣) part of Kaido's epithet is an idiomatic noun meaning "all kinds of beasts/animals" (referring to the animal kingdom), combining the kanji for "hundred" (百) and "beast" (獣); it is usually found in the Japanese title attributed to the lion, "hyakujū no ō" (百獣の王), meaning "king of beasts". With Kaido's title an obvious derivation ("Kaido" replacing "king"), it can be translated as "Kaido of the Beasts". In the VIZ manga translation, Kaido is instead called "Kaido, the King of the Beasts" to make the connection more obvious.

Anime and Manga Differences
During his clash with Big Mom at Onigashima in the manga, he was shown wearing his shirt. In the anime, he is not.

Playable Appearances

 * One Piece Thousand Storm
 * One Piece Treasure Cruise
 * One Piece Bounty Rush
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4
 * Jumputi Heroes
 * One Piece: Burning Will

Support Appearances

 * One Piece: Great Pirate Colosseum

Trivia

 * As with Big Mom's, Kaido's first-shown silhouettes prior to his debut greatly differed from his actual looks revealed much later:
 * His first silhouetted self was seen when the Four Emperors were first explained by Garp in Water 7, depicting Kaido as having a much wider face, a pointier, beak-like nose, and a huge, evil-looking grin.
 * When Jinbe briefly talked about the Four Emperors at the end of the Fish-Man Island Arc, the anime showed a similar silhouette of Kaido as the earlier one, with his hair much puffier and wavier than it would turn out to be.
 * The anime episode of Kaido's debut first aired on May 1, which is also Kaido's given birthday.
 * Kaido's bounty is the highest currently revealed to be active, the second highest among the Four Emperors past and present (below Whitebeard's), and the third highest known overall.
 * His bounty (like the other Emperors') also represents a goroawase-type numerical pun: in 4,611,100,000, the digits 110 as the whole number "one-hundred-ten" would be read as "hyakujū" (百十), making it homophonous with the "Beasts" (百獣) part of Kaido's epithet.
 * Among the Four Emperors, Kaido is the only one not yet seen as a child. He is also the only one whose age (as well as his height and blood type) is unknown.
 * Kaido seems to be inspired by oni, ogre-like yōkai who are among the greatest icons of Japanese mythology:
 * Oni are usually depicted as having a giant, hulking frame, one or multiple horns on their heads, wild hair, and a fierce visage, traits shared by Kaido.
 * Like Kaido, oni are said to possess immense body strength. In addition, they are often depicted carrying kanabo as their signature weapon, like Kaido does.
 * Kaido's residence on Onigashima (literally "island of oni/ogres") is based on the Japanese folktale hero Momotarō's tale wherein Momotarō, upon maturing into adolescence, went to defeat a band of oni dwelling on an island of said name.
 * A resemblance of Kaido's character can be also observed to a particular oni of Japanese myth, Shuten-dōji, whose story is one of Japan's most popular oni tales (and whom Ashura Doji is also based on):
 * Shuten-dōji was a giant, powerful oni and leader of a bandit gang who lived at Mt. Ōe in his fortress. He was born human, but as a child was referred to as a "monster child" (怪童) for his supernatural strength and wit (which Kaido's name may derive from, with the word "kaidō" also translatable as "an unusually large or strong youth").
 * Since his youth, Shuten-dōji had a matchless thirst for sake (hence his name that means "sake-drinking boy") and after becoming an oni would often go on drunken rages, similar to Kaido's own drunk persona. In fact, Kaido's sake gourd has the kanji for "heaven" (天) on it, which is also contained in a variant of the name "Shuten-dōji" (酒天童子).
 * Kaido's name may further derive from Kintarō, also called Sakata no Kintoki, another folk hero of Japanese myth. Not only is Kintarō connected to the figure of Shuten-dōji (capturing him at one point), one of his other (Edo-period) names is "Sakata Kaidōmaru" (坂田怪童丸).
 * Kaido's rank as head of the Beasts Pirates is called "governor-general" (総督), which is also translatable as simply "governor" or "viceroy". In a Japanese context, such term can refer to certain military commanders that were active in Japan from the Bakumatsu to the early Meiji era. Additionally, from 1910 to 1945, Japanese-administered Korea had a governor-general, as did Japanese-administered Taiwan between 1895 and 1945.
 * Kaido's belt, a twist of white rope with zigzag paper streamers, is based on the ropes (綱) traditionally worn by yokozuna (the highest-ranked sumo wrestlers, hence their name) during their entrance ceremonies so as to denote their rank. Said belts are a variation of the much larger shimenawa used to mark off sacred Shinto spaces like shrines; similar to the shimenawa, the yokozuna belts hold religious meaning as objects of purification.
 * Kaido's Wano-bound reputation as a "wise king" (明王) is based on the Wisdom Kings (their Japanese name), who are Vajrayana Buddhist deities.

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