ЗАПАД ВЫНЕС ВЕРДИКТ
Objectively correct.
We waited. We were indulgent; we gave the rest of the competition an opportunity to reveal everything they had to offer. They were handed the golden ticket to the chocolate factory. A bunch of nepo babies were handed greatness against the most powerful adversary they could have asked for, and they failed.
None of them showed anything that puts them over Kaido individually. They ridiculed his standing during the raid because they know, deep down, that his feats eclipse anything that was shown before and likely won't be surpassed for a good while longer. He set the standard. Kaido established what it means to stand at the top and yet, downplay rained down because he dared to be successful in a series that rewards stagnation. He fought the longest and took the greatest risks when Oda hands out anti-feats like they're candy and he flourished.
Kaido was portrayed as on the level as the other legends. At 15, he would have given Rocks a hard enough fight to leave Beehive Island in ruins, he was the only other Rocks Pirate to be personally invited besides Harald(with both receiving the statements of the crew becoming "unstoppable"), and defied all expectations.
He wasn't one shot by Roger once the fighting kicked off, he wasn't the weakest runt of the crew, he openly wanted smoke from the strongest in their era(Roger/Rocks/Garp/Imu), took his fruit on his own merits, outplayed Big Mom twice, landed an attack portrayed comparable to the other ACoC attacks on Imu, tanked an ACoC attack from DR!Rocks without an issue or any lasting damage, and stood on business.
Kaido has the Haki, the stats, the portrayal, the statements, and the narrative.
Kaido = Roger/Rocks/Primebeard/Garp shouldn't be an unpopular take anymore. He's earned that. He's just as capable of beating them as they can him.
It always feels good when delusion is undermined by the truth.
