Kaido’s Immortality

Whitebeard and Kaido-The Sentencer and the Sentenced

When we were first introduced to Kaido and his inability to die, many theories were created as to what his power might be. What keeps him from dying?

I remember reading people’s comments such as “he should just jump into the ocean” or “he should just eat more than one devil fruit.” And while at first I thought the fact that Kaido hadn’t tried either of these things was due more to plot convenience than anything else. But then another thought occurred to me: What if Kaido had already tried these things during his life?

Let’s talk about some things that we already know about Kaido that will be important to this theory:
1. Kaido murdered Moria’s entire crew as well as Momo’s parents
2. Kaido attempted to take on Whitebeard right before the Whitebeard war
3. Kaido has been given the death sentence repeatedly for his crimes

These points are important because they tell us that:
1. Kaido brazenly murders
2. Kaido had some reason to attack Whitebeard
3. Kaido has committed atrocities that many deem punishable by death

And now about Whitebeard:
1. According to Buggy, no one messes with the Whitebeard pirates for fear of angering Whitebeard
2. The other Yonko didn’t dare cross him, even in his old age and sickness
3. Whitebeard’s second division commander slot had been open for ages before Ace filled it

These points are important because they tell us that:
1. At some point, Whitebeard showed the world what happens to those who mess with the Whitebeard pirates
2. The Yonko wouldn’t cross Whitebeard due to more than just his reputation
3. Whitebeard had reservations about filling an empty slot in his crew, possibly due to pain of loss

And now, Kaido’s first words:

Many fans including me at first simply dismissed this statement as “Whitebeard did a good job by dying.” But many people in One Piece have died, why did Oda decide to have Kaido specifically chose to mention Whitebeard here?

Do you see where I’m going with this? I believe the story goes like this:

Kaido was a young, incredibly dangerous pirate who had dreams of claiming One Piece, and was making a reputation for himself at an alarming rate to the World Government. He made his name well known throughout the new world for his strength and brutality, through feats such ascrushing and murdering Gekko Moria’s entire crew. At some point, Kaido became cocky and decided to make a move for the One Piece, but of course, he would have to go through the King of the Sea, Whitebeard. Kaido made his first move by crushing Whitebeard’s second division and killing the second division commander. Enraged, Whitebeard unleashed his full wrath on Kaido and defeated him. It was a brutal battle that left both Whitebeard and Kaido permanently scarred, and in a final act of revenge, Whitebeard used his abilities as a Speaker of the Voice to sentence Kaido to an undying existence, and then cast him into the sea. As Kaido possessed a devil fruit, he was doomed to drown helplessly for eternity, without dying. The world was shocked and awed by the true wrath of Whitebeard, who had just crushed the strong young pirate for murdering a member of his crew. Kaido drifted at the bottom of the sea for months or even years before he was finally brought back up to shore by some person or some sea king (for whatever reason lol). Back to the surface, Kaido was delusioned and angry by his months/years of suffering and was left with suicidal tendencies. The world was terrified by the man who they all thought had been killed by Whitebeard making a reappearance (possibly by sinking prison ships). When Kaido was convinced that he could not die, he began to amass his power in the form of eating multiple Zoan-type devil fruits and gaining their abilities, earning him the name of Hundred Beasts Kaido, the man with many Zoan forms. Kaido never forgave Whitebeard for the curse that he placed upon him, and for this reason continuously had fits of rage towards Whitebeard,even attempting to take Whitebeard’s life before Marineford. With Whitebeard dead, Kaido was left with his undying body, and his dreams of claiming One Piece once reaffirmed.

I believe this would explain Kaido’s suicidal tendencies, why he actually hasn’t died from eating multiple devil fruits/drowning, the pirates of the worlds’ acknowledgement of Whitebeard even in old age, the fact that the Yonko dared not cross him, and even why in his old, sickened state that Whitebeard was still viewed as the strongest pirate on the sea, as he was a Speaker of the Voice.

But where did this ability come from? What is its overall purpose in the story?

*Theory by Saving Ace