We all know that Kaido and Big Mom have a unique ability what I will call “invincibility.” Even Armament infused attacks have next to no damage against these two, making them extremely formidable opponents.
Most people would probably assume this is just because those two are built different or have some crazy strong Armament Haki, but I believe it is something different. I believe their invincibility is caused by extremely Advanced Conqueror’s Haki.
In Chapter 1010, we were told that a handful of powerful individuals are able to use Advanced Conqueror’s Haki, but I believe there is something even beyond that.
Advanced Conqueror’s Haki is infusing something or a part of your body with Conqueror’s Haki. But what if you could coat your entire body with it? We already know fullbody Armament is possible, so why not with Conqueror’s? This would effectively be like wearing an indestructible armor that can only be countered by an indestructible punch or by bypassing the armor entirely. This explains why attacks infused with Advanced Conqueror’s Haki is able to hurt Kaido, as well as Armament internal destruction.
There are some pieces of evidence that support this theory. The only time Big Mom took a noticeable outward injury was during the Whole Cake Island arc, when she saw Mother Carmel’s photo get destroyed. Most in the community believed she scraped her knee because she was no longer mentally stable, thus weakening her.
While I do believe this is partially the case, I think there is more to it. Notice the scene right before she falls to her knees:
She unleashes her Conqueror’s Haki. What’s so significant about that? We know that after unleashing it like that, characters are unable to use Conqueror’s Haki for a short period of time. It was stated by Rayleigh when he first used it.
Therefore it is reasonable to believe they won’t be able to use Advanced Conqueror’s Haki either.
Additionally, I find it interesting that we’ve never seen top-tier characters unleash their Conqueror’s Haki like that (Shanks is the exception). For example, if Kaido had done that during the raid, he likely would have knocked out most of the raider’s forces, yet he doesn’t do so. So it can be reasonably assumed that the reason why top tier characters don’t do that is because doing so will prevent them from using Advanced Conqueror’s Haki. Not being able to use it would put them at a huge disadvantage, especially against those who can also use it.
Big Mom accidentally unleashed her Conqueror’s Haki due to the grief of losing the photograph, thus we can see her scrap her knee AFTERWARDS.
This would also explain why Whitebeard was not as durable as Big Mom and Kaido during Marineford. Because it’s WHITEBEARD, it is almost certain he had this level of Advanced Conqueror’s Haki as well. It was stated that due to his old age and sickness, he had trouble using Conqueror’s Haki, therefore explaining why he is hurt by regular attacks such as bullets and swords.
It has been explicitly shown that Big Mom and Kaido taking damage is not normal. A character being this durable has never been THIS emphasized, so I believe Oda is implying that there is something clearly different about these two rather than just simply being strong. If Luffy’s gear 4th barrage doesn’t even make Kaido feel pain, then it is definitely some kind of technique.
So if this theory is true, it implies that Kaido and Big Mom’s invincibility isn’t a result of something like biological talent or a devil fruit. Does that mean that Luffy might be able to learn it in the future? This is clearly an ability that is only reserved for the top, TOP tiers of the One Piece world, so if he masters it it would certainly show that he is truly one of the great legends.
Personally, I would love for this to be the case. I’ve noticed that invincibility is not a very common superpower in manga, while in western comics it is pretty common (debatably a good thing as invincibility is kind of overpowered lol). So Luffy gaining an ability that insanely overpowered characters like Superman have would be very fitting for the endgame of One Piece. There are ways to counter it too, so it won’t completely sap all tension out of the story.
*by Yoradise
