Lol, just realized, there goes your aerial matchup for Sanji XDD
Gotta say, I think the fact that this arc is as long as it is, is what actually justifies the conflict of them winning. The raid is now officially 35 chapters long and is not ending anytime soon. Like I love the sheer brutality of Kaido beating down the scabbards by 999, then Kinemon getting back and getting horribly beaten here.
Like I think the longevity of the conflict is what makes it intense, and rereads are gonna be good when it happens. Now this interaction between Yamato and Kaido is what I'm excited for next, even if it leads to a flashback.
I do hope that Big Mom's crew is in fact relevant though. I still find it off that this whole thing has been Kaidos crew (and Big Mom and Perospero lol). Like we have 4 Supernova (Killer, Hawkins, Drake and Apoo), who are frankly wasting their talent on each other imo.
Hawkins is very clearly not bad and was forced into it, thus why I think Luffy (and his fight with Killer) will prove him wrong. Apoo might be harder to convince but I do think some event will cause him to flip sides too. The Supernova are mainstays and I can't see even Apoo being antagonistic by the end.
What I was getting at is these 4 could fight Smoothie, Snack, Compote and Daifuku respectively. If Law only ends up assisting Kid up to a certain point (when Luffy gets back up), then maybe he fights Smoothie and someone someone takes on Perospero if Neko can't win.
Same concept with Inu, i still think someone (Yamato or Chopper in a new monster form or Jinbe somehow if Brook took over that fight or just Luffy wrecking him) will help him and take over said fight.
That said, you can tell which fights are likely permanent (Sanji v Queen, Jinbe v WsW, Franky v Sasaki, Robin/Brook v Black Maria, Nami/Usopp v Ulti/Page One if they get up) and which might not be by the end or at least are more up for debate (Law potentially staying with Kid to fight BM, Yamato vs Kaido, the 2 Supernova paired fights, Inu vs Jack)
One way I've potentially been able to tell this is the case is the ones that are "permanent" have made some pretty grand entrances:
- Robin striking Black Maria, Brook releasing Sanji. Telling him to leave it to them
- Sanji saving Chopper from Queen, telling Chopper to leave it to him
- Jinbe and Franky being left opponents while others moved on (i.e. Luffy and Yamato/Momo/Shinobu respectively). Yamato tells Franky she leaves Sasaki to him. Jinbe tells Luffy to go on so he can take care of who was waiting on the 4th floor.
- Nami making proclamations that shed beat Ulti
With that, it leaves the idea that maybe Usopp fighting Page One isn't a permanent thing. Maybe a recovered Page One will be for Chopper? Maybe Usopp will fight Ulti with Nami? Will Yamato fight Kaido permanently? Will Jack defeat Inu and be involved in another fight? Will Law and Kid tag BM permanently? What of the 5 missing Numbers and the 5 that may recover?
So many questions still, but that goes back to my point about the arc being as long as it is and me appreciating it because it IS the first 2 Yonko.
