Imu flick diff’d him into the ICU
Kaido needed a combo attack with BM to send Zoro there
Massive Kaido downscale
Warcury's weird durability aside, this is the first time i've really felt someone's done some shit that actually made me think "yeah this guy would give Kaido the business."
I think Shanks is stronger than Kaido at this point, but, I think Kaido would have gotten ruined by Imu due to Maki hax. Whereas I can see Shanks putting up a fight. I don't dislike this, if the God Valley 6 piece could not hurt Imu, Kaido isn't doing shit alone. There's some tech here needed to fight Imu we need to learn.
If Shanks actually knows how Imu's powers work, there's a chance characters like Zoro and Sanji can still be useful here against him.
I'm still of the mindset that Teach has Rocks logbook. At the least, Eris seemed to know a lot about Imu. Blackbeard being so cautious makes a lot of sense now. Teach wanted the Yami because it can counter Imu.
I think Dark Water is a natural counter to the black flame of Maki.
Kurouzu (闇水くろうず, Kurouzu?, literally meaning "Dark Water"; phonetically read as "Black Eddy/Vortex"): Extending one arm towards his opponent, Blackbeard activates the gravity power of his darkness to pull them into his grasp. Blackbeard can then attack them with his massive strength. This move is particularly useful when used in conjunction with the fruit's power-nullifying abilities, since the target could easily avoid it by fighting at a distance from Blackbeard, as Ace attempted. This was first seen being used on Ace in order to grab him.[3] However, this technique has also proven to be a great weakness, as most opponents he draws near him have attacked him while at close range, such as Ace launching two fiery spears into Blackbeard's chest, or Whitebeard slamming his bisento into Blackbeard's shoulder.[3][7] This is called Black Vortex in the VIZ manga and Funimation dub, and simply Vortex in the Funimation subs. The name of the attack is also a pun on the English word "close", and it can also mean "black vinegar", a vinegar commonly used in Chinese cooking.
The one issue with power scaling Imu vs Zoro compared to Kaido is that Kaido wanted to be beaten, which is what makes power scaling him such a nuisance.
Imu is not suicidal, this man is a murderer