WARNING: The following contains spoilers for One Piece, Chapter #999 by Eiichiro Oda, Stephen Paul, and Vanessa Satone, available in English now from Viz Media.
The Onigashima Raid has been a speeding bullet of tension and exhilaration since it began in One Piece's current arc. With a sure-to-be-legendary Chapter #1,000 almost here, the pieces of the ultimate climax can be seen just over the horizon, starting with an unsettling conversation between Big Mom and Kaido in Chapter #999.
Earlier, Onigashima began to shake and stir as if under an earthquake, but it's clear what's happening to Kaido's home base isn't natural. With the power of his dragon devil fruit, he's able to generate clouds that can lift up the ominous island into the sky. Not only is Onigashima now traveling across the open air like a flying fortress, but it's heading directly for Wano where the people of the samurai country are blissfully unaware as they have been celebrating the Fire Festival.
In the last few pages of Chapter #999, two of the most feared names in One Piece, Kaido and Big Mom, plot their next course of action while waiting on the roof of Onigashima's palace. Big Mom asks Kaido to leave Nico Robin alive when he kills the Straw Hat Pirates. Considering she's the only known person to read the Poneglyphs, this makes sense.
Kaido was under the assumption that Big Mom's 35th daughter, and Sanji's ex-fianceé, Pudding, could read the ancient text with her third eye. Big Mom clarifies she has to unlock her true power to do so, but she doesn't wait around forever for it to happen. She's curious where he's going to land Onigashima when they reach the mainland. Kaido says he plans to land it down right on top of the Flower Capital, where the Kazuki resided up until Orochi's coup. Having Onigashima stand as Wano's new capital will be an excellent representation of Kaido's power over the samurai country.
When Big Mom asks about Kaido's Road Poneglyph, the Yonko dismissively changes the topic. A few chapters ago, it was shown that Law found a poneglyph in Kaido's basement, but it wasn't his Road Poneglyph. This means his key to finding the One Piece is still hidden somewhere in Onigahsima or Wano.
Kaido's refusal to be honest with Big Mom upsets her, as she still sees him in a brotherly way from when they still were part of Rocks D. Xebec's crew. This plot thread is still shrouded in mystery, but it is revealed Kaido received his dragon devil fruit, a legendary Fish-Fish fruit model, from Big Mom, on the same day Garp and Roger defeated Rocks at God Valley. Kaido's dragon form coming from a Fish-type Zoan devil fruit is a clear reference to the Japanese Koi fish legend. The Koi fish's perseverance, while it continuously swam up the waterfall, was rewarded when it reached the top, as he was given the form of a mighty dragon.
The two Yonko agree to settle their remaining dispute after they get their true goal: claiming the One Piece. The fact that characters like Big Mom and Kaido have so much history behind them makes them all the more imposing as villains. One can only hope Luffy reaches Kaido in the next chapter.
