Well, I think the point is that Zoro is unaware of his fate as has been suggested in the VCs, the mags, and even by Kawamatsu/Hyogoro in the manga.
More like a theme of identity i'd say which has been a fairly rigorous trend in WCI and WANO
especially in wano its more of a exploring one's identity in contrast to embracing it like portrayed with Katakuri, pudding etc
in wano ( Onigashima) the theme of identity is tagged with a role, a mission, a fate truly..
Momo - - >>identity crises - - - >>Shogun
Sanji - - >>identity crises (ambiguity of competency and efficiency as a Warrior of science or a flawed human) - - - >> whatever helps Luffy and expects of him.
Yamato - - - - >> identity crises (Oden 7_7) - - - >> yet to be resolved (most likely gonna ditch the idea)
in Zoro's case it isn't even a crises its just straight up "that nikka look like someone ik"
but surely it has a purpose to innt exactly why the lack of build up between kaido and Zoro doesn't make sense for zkk
is there a problem with there being barley any build up or just mediocre incentive at best ? i mean yea i admit the idea of zoro's stature exponentially increasing and him coming out as contemporary incarnation of Ryuma is fascinating as all hell but it depends on how it is executed or whether or not that should be the case.. what if the Ryuma fate is being the "King" and not slaying the dragon.. which sits well with how identity crises has been handled in Onigashima .. where the fate or goals of the individuals that got depicted in the theme are more so a set of ultimate conclusions they reached after internal reconciliation that requires consistent commitment towards the conclusion they reached ( Like Being a Shogun, being useful to Luffy as chef etc) in a same lane of thought even if its not a crises but the correlation of Ryuma being the King and zoro wanted to be WSS is what requires consistent prolonged commitment to it which is intriguing.
it'd odd if they bought it up just recently just for zkk.. it could have been a foundation laid in the beginning of Wano giving more substance to Zkk but i don't think so
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Well, I think the point is that Zoro is unaware of his fate as has been suggested in the VCs, the mags, and even by Kawamatsu/Hyogoro in the manga.
Zoro doesn't know that he is [probably] a Shimotsuki. He doesn't know that he has a connection with Wano and its lore since centuries ago. What I see is that Oda is building Zoro up to unintentionally become one of the primary saviors of Wano alongside Luffy by having him act in accordance with Ryuma.
Besides, if ZKK were to happen, I would expect the effect that Oda is looking for to be complete shock. If it was supposed to be obvious to the casual reader that Zoro was going to do it, it would not have nearly the same effect.
The other issue is, part of the reason that ZKK is plausible (or at the very least, another confrontation between Zoro and Kaido) is because of unfinished business Zoro has in Wano:
1. Black blades
2. Shimotsuki lineage
3. "Monster samurai"
You might say that these things don't have to be resolved in Wano. However, we've been TOLD about them in Wano, even multiple times, and they are hardly relevant outside of Wano. If you [or someone] doesn't believe these things will be rectified in Wano, then would you even believe in ZKK if the hints had been spoonfed to us?
Think about it this way: if Zoro had declared time and time again that he would be the one to kill Kaido, if Zoro had expressed so much pent up anger towards Kaido, would that really change anything? If anything, Zoro would be treated in the community like the people who mocked Kid fans for thinking Kid would actually do something major against Kaido based on the sole fact that Kid said he would.
So ultimately, my point is this:
1. In my interpretation of ZKK, it is meant to be a shocking event that is not predictable to the casual reader
2. Zoro has unfinished business in Wano, and Kaido is the only antagonist left. Kaido is even involved in 2 of the 3 orders of business I mentioned
3. Zoro having more overt conflict with Kaido wouldn't have changed anything in the grand scheme of things when considering how convincing ZKK is to people who don't believe in it in the first place
the rest of the point are debatable i'd say.. like alot of detail about sanji was unveiled in Wano with the ground work being in WCI.. oda might pull something similar given the pacing of the arcs..
an overt conflict seems unlikely but it being purely being zoro vs Kaido and not more nuanced is unlikely given Luffy, sanji and the SHP are on stand by
granted Luffy falls what impression would it make if zoro solos kaido just seem bizarre given his condition.. again a group battle seems more probable and it makes up for the lack of tension and basis as well in the main story
again the monster samurai thing is hanging still.. there is a logical psrt to it and a narrative one
Logical is that A dead kaido ain't gonna acknowledge zoro
narrative is that.. either its the scar and Kaido implicit "admission" or there is just barely any tension between them to be any further development on that
