Next Level

The story begins with "Chapter 1045: Next Level" as Kaido watches Luffy in Gear Fifth and says he was sure Luffy was a goner after the previous attack. Luffy laughs while panting, and Kaido realizes, "So was I!!" because Luffy can make his surroundings rubbery, which would fit an awakened Paramecia. Yet Kaido also says something about this feels off, because a transformation like Luffy's is more typical of a Zoan fruit. This page follows directly from the Nika reveal and shows Kaido trying to analyze what he is fighting in real time: Luffy's power now behaves like both an environmental rubber awakening and a bodily transformation that should not belong to the same category.

Kaido lunges and bites Luffy, calling him a bastard, and Luffy screams as he is caught between the dragon's teeth. Luffy begins another "Gomu Gomu no..." while Kaido's body coils around him, and the collision becomes more absurd than brutal. Kaido chomps down and swallows or traps Luffy inside his dragon form, but Luffy's rubbery body keeps moving inside him. The page emphasizes the strange tone of the renewed rooftop battle: it is still a life-or-death clash against an Emperor, but Gear Fifth turns the violence into a cartoonish physical gag where even being bitten and swallowed becomes material for Luffy's next move.

Luffy inflates himself inside Kaido with "Balloon!!" and Kaido's dragon body swells into a huge round shape. Yamato and Momonosuke react in shock from below, while Kaido groans that Luffy is a little pest. The inflated dragon writhes and bulges as Luffy stretches from the inside, turning Kaido's body into rubber-like material against Kaido's will. The page makes the new freedom of Gear Fifth unmistakable: Luffy is not simply bouncing attacks away from his own body, but forcing the same elastic logic onto Kaido's form. What should be an impossible internal trap becomes a joke at Kaido's expense.

Momonosuke and Yamato look up at the swollen dragon and ask what is happening. Yamato wonders whether this is some form of Luffy's, while Momonosuke says it looks like Kaido put on weight. Kaido complains that Luffy's body is meant to be rubbery, not his, but Luffy's face and limbs stretch through Kaido's body in bizarre ways. Luffy says "Gomu Gomu no..." while his eyes shine as if he can see a way out. The page shows that the awakened power is affecting Kaido directly: his eyes, mouth, and body all distort under Luffy's internal movement, making Kaido experience the same rubber reality that Luffy normally imposes on himself.

Luffy bursts out with "Escape Rocket!!" and Kaido screams as Luffy shoots free. Luffy laughs, then suddenly appears high above the island before dropping back down. Yamato, Momonosuke, and Kaido all stare in disbelief as Luffy's body expands into a giant form. The page ends with a huge reveal of Luffy as a giant, looming over Kaido's dragon body while everyone asks who or what he is. Even Luffy's re-entry into the fight has the timing of a slapstick stunt: he rockets out, pops through the sky, then returns in a new exaggerated scale that makes the dragon Emperor seem like something he can physically grab.

Luffy's giant Gear Fifth form stands over Kaido, and Kaido, Yamato, and Momonosuke all react to the impossible size. Kaido's subordinates below ask whether Luffy's voice is coming from that thing and whether it is really him. Luffy grabs Kaido's dragon body and starts using him like a jump rope, shouting "Jump Rope!!" while Kaido groans in pain and anger. The panel turns one of the series' most intimidating enemies into an object in Luffy's hands. Gear Fifth's ridiculousness is not harmless comedy; it is a new mode of combat where Luffy can treat Kaido's immense body as a toy and still deal real damage.

Luffy continues swinging Kaido like a jump rope until Kaido fires "Blast Breath!!" straight at him. Yamato yells that Luffy took the blast head-on, and the attack appears to burn him as he drops into a charred silhouette. Luffy's body falls and smokes, but the effect is still exaggerated and elastic. He mutters that this is the last straw, then suddenly pops back out of the burnt form with a "poof," as if the damage were part of the same cartoon logic as the rest of Gear Fifth. The page shows Kaido's attack still hurts, but it no longer produces ordinary consequences; Luffy's body processes even a direct blast breath in a wildly unnatural way.

Luffy recovers from the blast and launches back at Kaido while Kaido prepares a counter. Kaido names "Three World Conquest... Ragnaraku!!" and smashes Luffy with a huge club strike. Luffy is flattened and driven into the ground, while onlookers scream at the absurd violence. The impact makes Luffy's body deform with an exaggerated "ouch" as the battlefield reacts in panic. The page briefly restores Kaido's menace: even in this bizarre new mode, Luffy can still be punished by Kaido's strongest club techniques. Gear Fifth makes the fight freer and stranger, but it does not mean Kaido has stopped being able to hurt him.

The shock of Kaido's blow makes Luffy, Yamato, Momonosuke, and nearby Beast Pirates react with bulging cartoon eyes. Luffy bounces and reels from the hit, and even Kaido says that Luffy put on quite the show, but that he is still at the end of his rope and cannot beat him. Luffy snaps at him to shut up, but he also admits that the strike stings. The page highlights how Gear Fifth's absurd style spreads visually to everyone watching: their faces become part of the gag while the underlying stakes remain deadly. Kaido sees the comedy, but he also reads it as exhaustion and believes Luffy is nearly finished.

Luffy's Gear Fifth body suddenly sags and ages, his face becoming wrinkled and drained as he gasps, wheezes, and sticks out his tongue. He says he is far from done, but the transformation briefly collapses and he admits, "I'm beat..." Kaido asks, "What the hell are you?!" and tells him that he can rest easy and die because tales will be told of how he fought this war. Luffy rejects that completely, asking who cares about that when only his bones would stick around after death. The page makes clear that Gear Fifth is not free of cost. Luffy is pushing beyond his limits again, and Kaido tries to frame a heroic death as enough, while Luffy insists survival and victory matter more.

Yamato tells Momonosuke that it really is Luffy, even though his hair and clothes were unrecognizable and all white. Momonosuke confirms that Luffy's voice is still fading quickly. Luffy thinks of Pedro and tells himself to get loud again, heartbeat, asking whether after all this something like death can still scare him. Kaido laughs that Luffy is going to kill himself, but Luffy answers, "So be it!!" and the rhythm of the Drums of Liberation resumes. Yamato warns him to watch out as Kaido attacks again. The page shows Luffy choosing to restart Gear Fifth by force, not because his body is fine, but because he refuses to let the rhythm die while Wano still depends on him.

Kaido's spiked club slams into Luffy's face with a huge "Plonk!!" but Luffy's head stretches around the spikes instead of being crushed normally. Yamato screams, and Luffy yells that it hurts, yet he keeps laughing and moving. Kaido follows with more attacks, squashing Luffy and driving him across the roof, but Luffy's body bends, rebounds, and stretches in impossible ways. The page makes the pain and comedy inseparable: Luffy is not immune to damage, but every blow becomes a new shape, a new gag, and another chance to bounce back. Kaido's overwhelming force is being translated into rubber spectacle rather than simple defeat.

Luffy and Kaido trade more impossible impacts. Luffy bends and whips around Kaido's attacks, his body stretching like a loose elastic loop, then he counts down "One... Two... Three... Zero!!" while winding himself up and spinning back into motion. Kaido watches with a wary glare as Luffy's body coils into a new attack pattern. The page is almost entirely physical comedy and momentum, but it advances the fight by showing Luffy learning to use Gear Fifth deliberately. He is no longer only reacting to strange side effects; he is counting, timing, bending, and launching himself with the same absurd freedom that has been warping the whole battlefield.

Kaido analyzes Luffy's form with growing seriousness. He calls it a pure white transformation and notes that Luffy is coated with Armament and Conqueror's Haki. He also says Luffy can influence anything around him with his ability and fights with such freedom that he has never seen anything like it. Still, Kaido declares that there is no one in this world capable of taking him down. Luffy launches a huge free-form punch, stretching across the battlefield toward Kaido. This page shifts the tone from confused comedy to strategic awe: Kaido recognizes that the ridiculous power is also technically terrifying, combining Haki, rubber awakening, and total bodily freedom.

Kaido analyzes Luffy's form with growing seriousness. He calls it a pure white transformation and notes that Luffy is coated with Armament and Conqueror's Haki. He also says Luffy can influence anything around him with his ability and fights with such freedom that he has never seen anything like it. Still, Kaido declares that there is no one in this world capable of taking him down. Luffy launches a huge free-form punch, stretching across the battlefield toward Kaido. This page shifts the tone from confused comedy to strategic awe: Kaido recognizes that the ridiculous power is also technically terrifying, combining Haki, rubber awakening, and total bodily freedom.

Luffy's enormous punch connects and the two continue clashing with Kaido in dragon form. Kaido is forced back by Luffy's elastic pressure while Luffy keeps grinning and moving as if the battlefield itself has become part of his rhythm. The caption says things are "getting pumped," and Kaido's expression shows that he can no longer dismiss the form as only ridiculous. Luffy, fully exhilarated, calls out, "Kaido!! I'm having the time of my life!!" The bottom of the image includes scan-site promotion, but the narrative content above it is the chapter's real ending: Luffy has turned what should be the most desperate fight of his life into an ecstatic expression of liberation.

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