Chapters · Four Emperors (Yonko) › Wano Country

Chapter 1042: The Victor Needs No Epithet

Arc: Wano Country · Saga: Four Emperors (Yonko) · Released: 2022-01-30

Summary

In Onigashima’s first basement level a masked CP0 agent duels the defected X Drake, who fights on “what my justice tells me to do” — the agent confesses he is “envious” of that conviction. Far below in the Flower Capital, the Fire Festival sends wish-boats / sky-lanterns floating up. On the rooftop, the exhausted Luffy–Kaido duel reaches its peak: a drunken Kaido fights with named drunken-boxing forms (“Drunken Beggar,” “Blood-Thirsty Drunk”) and Luffy answers by mirroring him (“Drunken Thief”), reading and bending the trajectory of Kaido’s attacks. Swallowed then blasted free, Luffy re-enters his self-declared “final” Gear Fourth (Bounce-Man) and pours everything into Over-Kong Gun and Gum-Gum finishers, declaring losing is not an option while Kaido preaches that “the victor needs no epithet.” As Luffy commits to one last hit — “if that doesn’t work, then I’ve lost” — a second masked CP0 agent crashes the duel with “Iron Body,” seizing the now-child Momonosuke and breaking Luffy’s strike. Kaido, stunned (“CP0!!”), looms over the scene as Luffy’s straw hat lies in the rubble.

New reveals

• A masked CP0 agent fights X Drake one-on-one in Onigashima’s “first basement level”; Drake’s motive is “my justice,” and the agent admits “then I am envious of you” (p.2).
• Kaido fights drunk with named drunken-boxing forms: “Drunken Beggar” and “Blood-Thirsty Drunk” (pp.6, 14); Luffy mirrors the style as “Drunken Thief” by copying Kaido’s read on the future (pp.6–7).
• Luffy explicitly calls this his “final Gear Four,” counting down the timer (“how many more minutes left?!”, “don’t leave me yet, strength!!”) — the form’s hard time limit is the central clock of the fight (pp.10–15).
• Kaido’s philosophy: Wano’s losers “have accepted defeat into their hearts” and “all have their excuses”; “the victor needs no epithet” — strong or stubborn is irrelevant, only who wins (p.12).
• At the climax, a second masked CP0 agent intervenes on the rooftop with “Iron Body,” seizes Momonosuke (reverted to child form), and disrupts Luffy’s finishing blow; Kaido recognizes “CP0!!” (pp.15–17).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

Luffy · Kaido · Momonosuke · X Drake · CP-0 (two masked agents, both unnamed on-page) · Gomu Gomu no Mi (Luffy’s “Gum-Gum” finishers) · Fish-Fish Fruit (Kaido, dragon form) · Fire Festival (Flower Capital wish-boats) · Onigashima · Skull Dome · Flower Capital · Wano Country Cover story: Germa 66’s Ahh… An Emotionless Excursion, Vol. 6 — “Take Niji and Yonji to Whole Cake Island” (Vinsmoke Reiju, Vinsmoke Niji, Vinsmoke Yonji).

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page + cover story Vol. 6: a “VINSMOKE” portrait/frame, Reiju and the Germa siblings (B&W, decorative — not a color spread).
• Page 2 — Basement: masked CP0 agent vs. X Drake (Allosaurus form); the “justice / I am envious of you” exchange.
• Page 3 — Flower Capital Fire Festival: children launch wish-boats / sky-lanterns (“send your wishes into the sky!!”).
• Pages 6–7 — Drunken-boxing exchange: Kaido’s “Drunken Beggar” ♥ vs. Luffy’s mimicked “Drunken Thief.”
• Page 10 — Luffy re-inflates into “Bounce-Man” (Gear Fourth) out of Kaido’s blast.
• Page 12 — “Over-Kong Gun!!!!” splash; Kaido’s “the victor needs no epithet” monologue.
• Pages 15–17 — Climax/cliffhanger: “Iron Body” CP0 intrusion, “CP0!!”, Momonosuke seized, and the full-page Kaido (beast-man form) looming over Luffy’s fallen straw hat. “To be continued.”

Open questions raised

• How and why does a CP0 agent reach the rooftop, and why seize Momonosuke (who had been the adult dragon moving Onigashima)? What is CP0’s endgame here — the standing order to capture/kill, or to ensure Kaido’s win?
• Can Luffy land a hit with the last seconds of his “final” Gear Fourth, or is the time limit about to expire at the worst moment?
• Why is the basement CP0 agent “envious” of Drake’s clear sense of justice — does CP0’s elite act without a justice of their own?