Episode 1048

"For the Future! Yamato and the Great Swordsmen's Pledge" is the 1048th episode of the One Piece anime.

Short Summary
The battle between Kaidou and Yamato gets intense. Backed into a corner, Yamato remembers three great swordsmen who he met when he was a child. Their stunning choice for the future of the Land of Wano encourages Yamato.

Long Summary
Luffy rides on Momonusuke's back and they start flying towards Kaidou. However, being afraid of heights and having realized that they have been flying, Momonosuke comes crashing down.

Meanwhile, Yamato and Kaidou continue to fight. Yamato remembers the first time he saw Oden and how the latter's sacrifice to save his retainers touched him as a young child. This caused Yamato to rampage around the castle. Beasts Pirates tried to restrain him, but he inadvertently used Haoshoku Haki and knocked out most of them. Ultimately, the men were able to restrain him, and Kaidou went to investigate the commotion caused by his son.

When Yamato declared his love for Oden and declared himself to be Oden, Kaidou chained him and locked him up inside the Sacred Cave. Kaidou saw that his son had potential as he was able to knock out a number of his men using Haki. He told Yamato that he would be locked up for a month to cool his head, but if he changed his mind and joined his army, he would only need to call out from the cave's air hole in the ceiling. Yamato begged for his father to release him and to give him food since he was starving, but the emperor left him inside with three samurai who were also held captive. He also left the samurai their swords and a meal good for one person. It was then revealed that after Oden's execution, Daimyos from across the land stood up, with the three being the fiercest of them all.

Yamato was frightened at the thought of being left alone with the samurai who undoubtedly hated his father and could possibly take it out on him. However, the three samurai showed him nothing but kindness. They gave him the food, released him from his chains and trained him. When he saw that the samurai did not intend to harm him, he asked them to help him read Oden's journal which he found at the foot of Oden Castle.

The four read the journal together, which detailed Oden's travels from the time Roger asked Whitebeard to lend him Oden so he could reach the final island, up to when Roger's crew finally reached Laugh Tale. The journal detailed that in 20 years, the next era would come surging into the New World.

After 10 days, the samurai resolved to escape from the cave after seeing that Kaidou had no plans on releasing his own son. They also had no intention of rotting away inside the cave and while they would not be able to see the battle that would happen in 20 years, they were reassured knowing that people like Yamato would still be there to fight for Wano.

Back in the present, Yamato and Kaidou are still exchanging blows, with Yamato remembering that there were people who believed in him and accepted him. He demands to know why his father is taking away his freedom and the freedom of Wano. Kaidou answers that life isn't a series of simple questions and answers.

Anime Notes

 * The anime adds the following:
 * Momonosuke attempting to take off for Onigashima, only for him and Luffy to fall due to his fear of heights.
 * Young Yamato's battle with the Beasts Pirates members and using Haoshoku Haki is shown.
 * When the younger Yamato reads Oden's journal, the flashback is portrayed with brand-new animation.
 * The anime extends the following:
 * Young Yamato's time with the Wano Samurai.
 * The Wano Samurai deciding to sacrifice their lives instead of remaining as Kaidou's prisoners.
 * Yamato and Kaidou using their Raimei Hakke technique against each other.
 * This episode's "To Be Continued" end screen shows Kaidou and the lightning after effect from his clash of Raimei Hakke against Yamato.