Chapters · Four Emperors (Yonko) › Wano Country

Chapter 1027: Danger Beyond Imagining

Arc: Wano Country · Saga: Four Emperors (Yonko) · Released: 2021-09-26

Summary

As Kaido’s dragon form drags the floating island of Onigashima through the night sky toward the Flower Capital, the alliance grasps the true scale of the threat: Kaido is moving the entire fortress on gigantic flame clouds, and at this rate it will reach the capital in under five minutes. If Kaido is beaten — or the flame clouds otherwise weaken — the island, stuffed with weapons and explosives, will fall to Earth like a giant bomb and kill everyone, friend and foe, with no time to evacuate. Yamato coaxes the newly transformed Momonosuke, who has just learned that dragons fly by creating their own flame clouds, into taking flight; Momonosuke vows to hold Onigashima aloft and push it back. Crucially, the group resolves to keep all of this hidden from Luffy — only Luffy can defeat Kaido, and he must keep fighting without the burden of knowing the stakes. On the Performance Floor of the Skull Dome, a recovered Zoro battles a berserk King, who “lost it” after Zoro damaged his mask — because no one is permitted to see King’s face. Declining Franky’s help, Zoro trades named techniques with the Calamity, is sent falling, and demands King “show a little respect” and let him die by the sword; King answers, “I’d ask the same of you.”

New reveals

• Kaido is flying the whole island. Onigashima is being carried through the air on Kaido’s gigantic dragon-generated flame clouds, heading for the Flower Capital and “no more than five minutes” away (p. 9).
• The doomsday mechanism. If Kaido “should succumb first,” the flame clouds vanish and Onigashima plummets to Earth; the island holds “an incredible stockpile of weapons… and explosives” — “Onigashima might as well be a giant bomb.” If it falls, “everyone will perish… friend and foe alike,” with no time for the citizens to evacuate (pp. 10–11).
• The clouds are already failing. The flame clouds are weakening and going unstable, so the rock can no longer be supported — the island is starting to crack and collapse (p. 8).
• Dragons fly via flame clouds. Momonosuke learns the mechanic — “you create the clouds… that’s what a dragon does, and race through the sky” — and takes flight for the first time (pp. 6–7).
• Keep Luffy in the dark. The alliance decides nobody can tell Luffy about the falling island, because “no one but Luffy can beat Kaido” and the knowledge could make him falter (p. 11).
• King’s mask = King’s rage. A Beasts subordinate explains that Zoro “just damaged King’s mask,” and “nobody knows what King’s face looks like… no wonder he snapped” (p. 14).
• Kaido’s legend. An ally recalls reading in a journal that when Kaido met Roger and Whitebeard in combat, he “split the heavens open” (pp. 2–3).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Appear: Momonosuke (dragon form), Yamato, Kaido (dragon form), Luffy, Carrot (Mink), Nekomamushi (“Boss Cat Viper”), Zoro (“Zolo”), Franky, King
• Mentioned / referenced: Kin’emon, Okiku (Kiku), Roger, Whitebeard
• Locations: Onigashima, Skull Dome (Performance Floor / Live Floor), Flower Capital, Wano Country
• Lore / concepts: Flame Clouds, New Onigashima Project, Sulong (mink moon-form)
• Threads advanced: Why Is Kaidos Son Yamato Aiding Luffy — Yamato coaches Momonosuke’s flight and insists Luffy keep fighting Kaido uninformed, fully committed to the alliance (p. 11)
• Techniques named: Zoro — “Three-Sword Style: Ultra Tiger Hunt,” “Two-Sword Style” (p. 15, 17); King — “Imperial Archer,” “Clear Lance” (pp. 15, 17); Kaido — “Thunder Bagua” (p. 4, referenced)

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title splash (reader request by Toshikiya): “Roger gleefully running from a lion whose face he scribbled on.” A one-off request illustration, not a cover-story serial; no color spread this chapter.
• Page 2 — The moon is out again; Carrot warns Cat Viper (Nekomamushi) not to turn Sulong; an ally reads from a journal about Kaido’s past combat.
• Pages 6–7 — Momonosuke grabs the sky, generates flame clouds, and flies: “I’m flying!!!”
• Pages 9–11 — The five-minute countdown to the Flower Capital and the “giant bomb” reveal; the decision to keep Luffy uninformed.
• Page 14 — “Nobody knows what King’s face looks like… no wonder he snapped.”
• Page 17 — King’s masked close-up: “I’d ask the same of you!!” Zoro falls. (To be continued.)

Open questions raised

• Can Momonosuke generate flame clouds strong enough to hold Onigashima aloft, given he “may not have the same power as Kaido”?
• What is under King’s mask, and why does damaging it enrage him?
• Will Luffy’s allies manage to keep the falling-island danger from him for the rest of the fight?
• What exactly happened when Kaido fought Roger and Whitebeard?