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With the release of One Piece episode 1075 earlier this weekend, fans saw Luffy and Kaido beginning the final clash before their epic battle is officially decided. Luffy leveraged his Awakened Devil Fruit powers to create the massive Gum-Gum Bajrang Gun, a fist larger than Onigashima that utilizes Advanced Armament and Conqueror’s Haki coating techniques.
Meanwhile, Kaido chose his climactic move for One Piece episode 1075 to be the Flame Dragon Torch technique, which engulfs his body in flames. These temperatures were so hot that Kaido was able to completely melt through one of the Skull Dome’s horns just by touching it for a few seconds.
However, considering that Kaido has yet to explicitly use an Awakening to enter a new form during his fight with Luffy, fans are questioning if this technique is his Awakening. While there is an explanation to the nature of the technique that Kaido uses in One Piece episode 1075, some fans may be disappointed to hear it.
Kaido’s technique in One Piece episode 1075 is indicative of Devil Fruit mastery, but isn’t an Awakened ability
Unfortunately, the technique Kaido is seen using in One Piece episode 1075 is not an Awakened ability, or a new form he is able to enter due to his Awakening. As seen in the episode, Kaido activates his Flame Dragon Torch mode by exhaling flames from his mouth, after which he wraps them around his body.
This engulfs his body in flames, giving him the appearance of a dragon made of fire, This also gives him the ability to melt nearly anything he comes into contact with almost instantaneously, as seen with the Skull Dome’s horn. Moreover, this prevents enemies from touching him, with Luffy’s right hand being able to due to being covered in Advanced Armament and Conqueror’s Haki coating.
While it is technically a new form, it is not one that Kaido is able to use due to his Awakened Devil Fruit powers. In fact, going by the metric of using a new form, Kaido has yet to use his Awakening by One Piece episode 1075’s events. As it is, every form shown thus far has been in line with what a non-Awakened Zoan would allow access to, which can be confirmed because of the information revealed in source material that the anime has yet to adapt.
There are technically two stages to a Zoan Fruit’s Awakening, with achieving a new sentient form being the second stage. Before that comes the initial Zoan Awakening stage, which grants the user far greater strength, speed, durability, and recovery rates than non-Awakened Zoan users.
However, this first step comes with an inherent risk of losing one’s personality to that of the Fruit’s respective animal, as seen with the Impel Down Jailer Beasts. Since One Piece episode 1075 doesn’t see Kaido lose himself when activating Flame Dragon Torch, knowledge from the manga events can be combined with this fact to conclude that this isn’t Kaido’s Awakened form.
In summation
As evident from the current events and analyzing how Kaido activates Flame Dragon Torch, it’s clear that the ability is not his Awakening ability. While it is indicative of some impressive Devil Fruit mastery on his part, it doesn’t meet the standards that the series has currently set for a Zoan-type Devil Fruit Awakening thus far.
Be sure to keep up with all One Piece anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
