- I don't quite understand this obsession with Bajrang Gun being a punch. Almost all of Luffy's finishers are a punch in one way or another as his fist is his best move. Truly Garp's grandson. Luffy bragged to Shanks that his punch was as strong as a pistol. A kick would be called Bajrang Axe. A headbutt or throw is another weapon. Gomu Gomu no Thunder as a finisher says the bolt in the sky is more Yonko-level than Luffy. In the battle where Luffy finally equals/surpasses Shanks, I think it's wonderful that Luffy can now brag that his punch is a gun strong enough to knock out a Yonko.
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And yeah, the cartoony part of this is that Kaido left behind a comical coiled dragon-shaped hole. Look at the ground gaps in the surface and how they completely disappear as you follow Kaido's body to the bottom part of this panel. This nonsense is only possible because of Gear 5.
- Nekomamushi getting to announce Luffy's victory is lovely. He's the one who announced Oden's victory for completing the 1 hour challenge, and we know how horribly that turned out. Inu blamed him for provoking Kaido and Orochi, leading to Oden's death, and that's how Zou became divided between two kings. Not this time.
- If Luffy vs Kaido is a battle between a Monkey God and a Dragon God, then this whole conflict can be seen as an Olympian epic with Nika Luffy as the thunderbolt-weilding Zeus, Kid and Law as Zeus's brothers, overthrowing the Titans or the previous rulers Big Mom and Kaido, banishing them into Tartarus = the underworld prison where the wicked receive their divine punishment.
This is just amazing to look at. Sure, Wano after two Yonko battles doesn't look like Punk Hazard, but the destruction still has to be admired. Luffy could have clobbered Onigashima into rubble, but it's way more impactful how tiny Onigashima looks compared to the massive hole Kaido and Big Mom fell into. Over ten times the depth Doflamingo fell into which just exposed the secret underground port. It's nothing but solid bedrock all the way down with a total length that exceeds the width of Wano's massive main island, and naturally the impact leads to an earthquake and volcanic eruption. Devastating but beautiful.
So the Vivre Card left Yasuie's DF section blank just like it left Zoro's CoC section blank. Naturally that led people to assume ol' Yasu was faking the entire time because the Vivre Card didn't spoil key information. Some may be upset, but I feel it adds to his tragedy.
Yasu is the noble who made the decision to descend to the level of the downtrodden. He gave up wealth, power, status, even his own emotions to help some of the folks suffering worst in Orochi's Wano: the shantytown residents of Ebisu. He didn't have to do this, Yasu could have easily bent the knee like Kyoshiro and kept it all. It was his choice. Yasu wanted to be a constant presence in Ebisu and other slums he visited without wearing a mask like Kyoshiro. Someone who could give these people company, help them survive, to cheer them up, keep them from killing themselves. This makes Yasu's decision so much more powerful. He ate the Smile because he didn't want to fake his suffering. Yasu had to be as poor and cursed as the rest so he could show them how to live and therefore save them.
In an arc full of samurai willing to throw away their lives in the name of honor, it's nice that Yasu shows us Bushido can have a different path. If you die a pointless death, it's not honorable because you said so. That is determined by those around you who live to see the consequences. It's why Oda had to spare Kiku and Kine'mon, telling Usopp to go away and let them die, from what would have been very selfish and suicidal deaths. Yasu died to give the alliance another chance. Pedro died to the let the Strawhats escape and fight another day. Oden died to give Wano hope and open a path to the literal future where Momo and some Scabbards jumped. These weren't pointless deaths fighting Kaido. They died to let others live. That's how you earn honor. How people remember your name. That's when children like Toko can learn to be grateful rather than heartbroken after you're gone.