Luffy, as expected, takes over for Zoro and Law and tells them that he can now defeat Kaido. They can go down now and tell everyone that Luffy will win. In Luffy’s mind, the damage given to Kaido in combination with his newfound Conqueror’s Haki ability is enough to get the victory.
In chapter 1012, Zoro and Sanji express their trust in Luffy by saying that he will win. Zoro hopes that his contribution with Asura is enough to allow Luffy the victory.
However, as we see in the ending of chapter 1013, they were dead wrong. Zoro’s contribution with Asura was nowhere near enough, and Luffy’s Conqueror’s Haki epiphany wasn’t enough either.
In chapter 1014, an announcement is made that Luffy has lost and that he is sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Bao Huang says that “Kaido will now descend and begin to clean up the stragglers!!” The assumption here is that Kaido is free to do whatever he wants to members of the alliance. He is going to wipe out anyone he wants.
In chapter 1015, another announcement is made to everyone. An announcement telling everyone that Luffy is still alive and that he isn’t dead like previously announced. Luffy will return, and he will win, says Momonosuke. This is also the chapter when Sanji gets to start his fight with Queen. The reason why I’m bringing up Sanji and Queen is up that people don’t understand why they’re fighting. Sure, the similarities between Queen and Sanji’s past opponents definitely exist. However, the main reason behind the fight is their connection with Judge. A connection that was established 20 chapters ago. This connection isn’t a bonus; it’s the main reason for their fight.
In chapter 1016, we finally get to see Yamato against Kaido. She is aiming to delay him until Luffy returns. We’re aware of this because we’re the readers. However, characters like Zoro don’t know that Yamato is currently holding off Kaido. To them, Kaido is destroying the alliance.
Now, in chapter 1017, Zoro is finally about to get healed. And once again, we see that sense of urgency in Zoro. He wants to get the drug as fast as possible so that he can get back going. He doesn’t want to waste time.
Think to yourself, does it make any sense for Zoro to be in a hurry to get the drug so that he faces off a subordinate who is already preoccupied with someone else? It doesn’t make much sense to me, at least. This is the same idea that we saw earlier in chapter 997. Zoro is in a hurry to get to Kaido because he doesn’t want Kaido hurting members of the Alliance as long as he’s capable of stopping it. Now, Zoro has a brand new shot at achieving his goal. He will temporarily be at full strength, and his injuries from Hakkai will be ignored. With this new opportunity, why would Zoro be in a rush to fight King? I don’t see any reason.
Does this mean that Yamato will pack her suitcases once she sees Zoro arrive? No, it’s a matter of timing. You could ask yourself the same question with Luffy. When will Luffy show up? He’ll show up at the perfect moment. Not too early, not too late. If Zoro is to go to Kaido, then the same idea applies here. The two heroes will show up at the perfect moment. Most likely, when Yamato is about to get defeated.
Many people also think that Zoro vs King is obvious because Sanji vs Queen happened. Why did Oda add a connection between Sanji and Queen if the matchup was already obvious? It seems unnecessary. Why couldn’t he do the same with Zoro and King? Also, the reasons why Zoro vs King is considered “obvious” aren’t unique to Zoro and King either. In fact, I’d argue that Marco vs King has a lot more going for it in comparison. From a narrative perspective, Marco vs King makes a whole lot more sense than Zoro vs King . They’re both birds. They are both opponents of the same caliber , their fighting style is exactly that same and it is a fight where it can focus only on the fighting and not power-ups and growth of a character.
King being a swordsman isn’t even unique to him anymore; Queen pulled out a sword to fight Sanji! Zoro won’t face King, his goal is to stop Kaido!
*Theory by NL_24
