WARNING: The following contains spoilers for One Piece Chapter #1014 by Eiichiro Oda, Stephen Paul and Vanessa Satone, available in English now from Viz Media.
Chapter #1013 of One Piece ended with the dreaded image of an unconscious Luffy falling off the roof of Onigashima into the dark waters below. This could spell the end for the pirate-mink-samurai alliance, especially as Kaido announces his victory across all of Onigashima. It's troubling, but worse of all, with Luffy now out of the way, the Yonko can return to going after Momonosuke and end the Kozuki Clan bloodline.
Chapter #1014 focuses on just that. Momonosuke and Shinobu go over his father Kozuki Oden's logbook, given to them by Yamato before rushing to the rooftop to face his father and help Luffy in Chapter #1012. Momo appears oddly distressed as he reads through it, remarking that "It would seem that I truly must not die!" Before Momonosuke can expound on this detail though, he starts to suffer a devastating headache. This could have something to do with Momo being able to hear "The Voice of All Things," which has affected him in the past, as we saw with the ancient elephant Zou is built on, Zunesha.
Both Kin'emon and Kuki arrive at the crawlspace to aid the distressed Momo, but the treacherous Kanjuro is not far behind them. 'Kozuki Oden' appears from out of the crawlspace entranceway to the joy of Momo, but Kuki recognizes this trick instantly.
Kiku goes in to attack Kanjuro, who is disguised as Oden, but the traitorous painter plays with Kiku's emotions. Kiku wants to avenge the death of their friend and fellow retainer, Ashura, which Kanjuro knows to use against her. A single moment of hesitation as she grips her sword is all Kanjuro needs: Once in range, Kanjuro pierces the female samurai through the chest as Kiku laments how even as an imposter, she couldn't attack her master.
Kanjuro's disguise fades away as he's reminded of the previous attack Kiku landed on him when they first disembarked on Onigashima. Kin'emon is overtaken with rage and sadness as he watches one of his closest allies fall at the hands of a former friend.
As he holds Kiku close, the samurai assures that him that her death is close at hand, but Kin'emon rejects that notion, suggesting that "The Light of Wano's Dawn will shine down to the Underworld!" As this happens, Kanjuro attempts to strike Kin while his back is turned, but the samurai was ready for this. Kin'emon delivers a death blow to Kanjuro all while the memories of their time together come tearfully flooding back.
Kin'emon, unfortunately, has no time to lament the man he once called his friend, however, as suddenly the ceiling comes crashing down. Amidst the smoke and debris is none other than Kaido. Kin'emon tells Shinobu to flee with Momonosuke while he stays behind to guard them. Kaido infuses his club with his Conqueror's Haki and slams the massive slab of iron over Kin'emon, instantly breaking his two crossed blades in half. A horrified Momonosuke cries out his most loyal retainer's name but it's unclear whether Kin'emon is truly dead or not. To make matters worse, as this happens, it's revealed that Onigashima has finally reached Wano's mainland.
#1014 is a heartbreaking chapter, to say the least. The majority of our time in the Wano arc has been spent Kiku and Kin'emon, so seeing the two of them fall one after the other really cements the "all is lost" feeling that the chapter tries to evoke. While readers have never really empathized with Kanjuro, the Wano arc has done well showing that the bond between him and Kin'emon was also a tight one. Severing it was a difficult act for Kozuki Oden's most loyal retainer.
