I'd say it's the latter. Nothing in the arc ever hinted Zoro would kill Kaido.
Nothing, except the tons of forshadowing and him outright saying it last chapter.
His foreshadowing resolving around Oden, his sword, Kaido's words about failing to open the old scar, and his own words about slicing Kaido just hinted at the possibility that he either would manage to open the old scar the Scabbards failed to do, or create a new one. That'd be his contribution imo
Yes because thats what oda does with inherited will, he makes you do the exact same thing as the will youve inherited and not surpass it,
luffy will be pk and not beat the wg like roger and start a new pirate era right...
this is odens will what he wanted to do kaido
This is inherited will
There is no set up just to scar kaido
The set up for the one who opens the scar is the one kaido thinks is the one worthy of killing him.
This is actually whats said and this is the whole sequence of that part,
It starts of with doji outright saying this fight isnt over until his head is severed. I e this war wont be over until hes dead.
so kaidos words
I saw a visage of oden
I could have let you kill me
But you are not oden
We will never see a monstrous samurai like oden again
Its too shallow you dont even have enough power to open the old wound
people just focus on his last line instead of his whole speech and just say zoro will just open the wound without looking at why kaido said that,
kaido was going to let the scabbards kill him until he realized they are not oden they are not as strong as oden they couldnt even open the wound oden gave him
so the samurai that CAN open the scar that IS as monstrous as oden IS the one he will accept that kills him.
The set up isnt for there to be someone to just open the wound, but the one who does that is capable of killing him. And thats kaidos own view.
Besides oden had kaido one blow from death if zoro does the same theres no one to save him.
This clearly isnt an arc where odas doing the usual
oda has never had zoro THIS adamant to fight the main villian
so no this isnt luffys fight because they usually wont interfere with each others fight going all the way back to mihawk
The purpose of this raid was and isnt for luffy to beat kaido or anyone to just simply BEAT kaido
its to kill kaido and orochi
as the scabbards (one of many instances) said a few chapters a go
Its zoro not luffy who met the princess of the arc saving odens daughter
who met yasu
who got odens sword and will
who literally mirrored things oden did in his flashback
who went around wano seeing its plight
even the citizens of wano in the flower capital know what needs to be done
beating kaido achieves nothing.
And all that without even mentioing ryuma the god of wanos legend of slaying a dragon above the flower capital