The Skies Above the Capital

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The chapter begins with the title, "Chapter 1047: The Skies Above the Capital." Yamato urges Momonosuke, "You can do it, Momonosuke-kun!! Make those flame clouds!!" but Momo panics that it is easier said than done and impossible because the clouds refuse to come out no matter how hard he tries. The pressure throws him back into the night Oden Castle burned. Toki tells him to go with Kinemon and the others, insisting, "I am certain you will be able to revive the Kozuki clan... after you leap 20 years into the future!" Momo, still a frightened child, can only answer that he cannot do it.

The flashback continues as young Momonosuke begs that if he must go, Toki and Hiyori should come too. Kinemon rebukes him to think about his mother's feelings, while Momo sobs that he is not a man, just a kid. Kinemon answers that this is the land of samurai, where a great failure usually costs a life, and says no man should question the resolve of a woman who speaks with such conviction. Kiku kneels and says that with Oden gone, Momo is no longer only his heir. Kinemon then begs for another chance to fight, saying he would rather die with honor on a battlefield than burn in the castle, and would do anything to wield his sword for his lord.

Toki is moved to tears as Momonosuke forces himself to leave, telling her, "Mother... I... I will be on my way now!!" She answers only, "Yes..." In the present, adult dragon Momo remembers that he would never be able to face his mother if he left things like this. With Onigashima bearing down on the Flower Capital, he screams at the island to stop, shouting, "Stop, dammit!! Stop!! Stay away from the capital!!" The page links his current failure to make flame clouds with the promise he made as a child: he must protect Wano now because everyone trusted him with the future twenty years ago.

Back above the island, the storm around the rooftop becomes part of Luffy's attack. Luffy grabs an actual bolt of lightning and winds up with "Gomu Gomu no..." while Kaido, seeing what he has in his hand, laughs in disbelief: "You grabbed lightning? Worororo... how ridiculous...!!" Luffy hurls it as "Thunder-Bolt!!" The sound effects fill the sky as lightning bends like rubber in his hand. Kaido's reaction makes the point of Gear Fifth's absurdity clear: even a natural disaster has become a toy or weapon for Luffy, but Kaido is still calm enough to laugh at the spectacle.

Kaido avoids the thrown lightning and closes the distance, telling Luffy, "You can keep playing around if you want... but...!!" Luffy is still treating the battlefield with cartoon energy, but Kaido answers with blunt force rather than amazement. He rushes through the storm and slams Luffy hard enough to make him cry out, "Agh!!" The page is a reminder that Gear Fifth's freedom does not mean the fight is over. Kaido is amused by the ridiculous power, but he is not overwhelmed by it, and every moment Luffy spends improvising gives the emperor a chance to strike back.

Kaido lectures Luffy in the middle of the exchange, saying, "In the end, a strong devil fruit power... isn't enough to conquer these seas!!" Luffy starts another "Gomu Gomu no..." but Kaido catches him before he can finish and drives him down with another brutal blow, leaving him grunting in pain. The page contrasts Luffy's awakened Devil Fruit with Kaido's view of the world. To Kaido, powers are only one weapon; the thing that truly decides who rules the sea is something deeper and harder, and he uses the beating itself to make that argument.

Kaido uses Roger as proof of his point: "Look at Roger, he had no fruit power... and still brought the world to heel!! Such hurdles can only be overcome... with Haki!!" As he says this, Luffy stretches and tries to rebound through the air, but Kaido's dominance keeps forcing him onto the defensive. The page makes the conflict more than a clash of strange abilities. Kaido recognizes that Luffy's awakening is extraordinary, but he insists that ambition, will, and Haki are the true measure of conquest, invoking the Pirate King himself as the standard neither of them can ignore.

Luffy rebounds with rubbery sound effects, but Kaido finds his position and hits him with a named Haki attack: "Death Destroyer Thunder Bagua!!" A note explains the reference to Daimitoku Myo-o, another of the five Wisdom Kings and the vanquisher of Yama, god of death. The strike crashes into Luffy with enormous impact, forcing a startled "Huh?!" and heavy sound effects as the blow lands. The page demonstrates exactly what Kaido means by Haki overcoming power. Even in Gear Fifth's bizarre rhythm, a properly timed, conqueror-coated attack can smash through Luffy's momentum.

Kaido keeps control of the exchange and tells Luffy, "You've given away your position!! Let go!!" When Luffy refuses to release him, Kaido changes tactics and uses "Dragon Twister Demolition Breath!!" He remarks that Luffy still seems weak to slashing attacks, and the cutting blast tears across Luffy while he groans, "Urgh!!" The page shows Kaido adapting to Gear Fifth instead of simply enduring it. He understands Luffy's rubber resilience, targets the vulnerabilities that remain, and tries to force him off with slicing wind and dragon breath while Onigashima continues falling below.

The scene cuts to the Flower Capital, where the festival crowds release sky lanterns. People shout, "Up, up, and away!!" and "Watch the sky lanterns fly!!" while someone says, "Go on, reach the souls of the departed..." The festival is going to end soon, and people sing, dance, and laugh as they send wishes into the night. One grim voice says that when the sun rises they will be slaves again, while others still hope to survive for next year. The page shows the citizens below as they remain unaware that Onigashima is directly above them, making every lantern wish painfully fragile.

The lanterns keep rising through the sky as children and adults celebrate. Toko laughs, "Ahahaha!!" and the crowd continues chanting, "Up, up, and away!!" One lantern carries the plea, "Please reach Daddy!!" while Onigashima drifts above the mountains in the distance. The page then returns to Kaido and Luffy as Kaido, still in dragon form, snarls, "Let go of me!! Get down here, Straw Hat!!" Luffy coughs and is hurled through the air while clinging to Kaido from a distance. The page ties the capital's innocent wishes to the battle above: Toko is sending her words to Yasuie while Luffy fights to make those wishes possible.

Inside the dome, the fighters realize the whole island is falling. Someone asks, "Boss Hyogoro, are you alright?" and another says, "The whole island is falling!!" Hyogoro laughs that this just means Kaido is at the end of his rope, then asks everyone which outcome they prefer. Sir Straw Hat defeating Kaido would result in the island falling and all of them plummeting to their deaths, but Kaido coming out on top would only give them a little longer to cling to their lives. The samurai answer with their own reasons: they have kids, wives, and lives in Wano, and if Straw Hat wins, those people can finally live in peace and the country can return to normal.

The samurai commit to the choice Hyogoro laid out. They shout, "Straw Hat-san!! Don't mind us!!" and "Go all out and take Kaido down once and for all!!" Some Beast Pirates protest that the samurai must have a screw loose and that everyone is done for, but the samurai answer, "And?! So what if we are?" In the basement, panic continues as people scream that they do not want to die and wonder whether the falling island will kill them, while a flood suddenly crashes through the lower levels. The page shows the raid splitting emotionally: the samurai embrace possible death for Wano's future, while others still scramble to survive the fire and flood.

In the treasure repository on the second floor, the quake knocks the seastone nail loose from Orochi. He notices, "Hey... I-it's finally out!! That tremor made the seastone nail come loose...!!" Freed enough to transform, he crawls toward Hiyori and snarls, "Are you watching, Oden?! Your dear daughter is going to accompany me to hell!!" Hiyori looks terrified as Orochi declares, "Damn you... at least this way... I can take you with me!!" Outside, Yamato calls, "Hey!! Momo!!" and Momo, seeing Luffy above, reacts in shock: "Huh? Luffy?... Whaaaaaat?!" The page brings Orochi's last malice back at the same moment Luffy prepares his final scale of attack.

The final spread reveals Luffy's gigantic fist descending from the clouds, so huge that it dwarfs Onigashima and Kaido. Yamato asks whether he is prepared to punch through the island, while Momo shouts for Luffy to hold on. Luffy calls to him, "Momo!" and says, "I know you've got this!!" Kaido realizes the danger and thinks the fallout from this mighty blow will be enormous. Luffy declares, "I'm finishing this for good!!" and orders, "Onigashima is in the way!! Move it!!" The spread ends the chapter with the entire solution resting on Momo: Luffy can defeat Kaido only if Momo can move the island and protect the capital below.

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