Chapter 1036: Bushido is the Way of Death

Spiraling off the island from Zoro's slash, King remembers admitting to Kaidou that he took him for Joy Boy, urging him to stay the strongest while King himself would never lose until he claimed the title of Pirate King, before passing out. Zoro, in turn, recalls his oath to Luffy that he would never again lose to anyone until he had bested Mihawk, and pledges to become the King of Hell if that is the price. Using the force of his swords, he flings himself back onto Onigashima, then drops unconscious from exhaustion.

A bird-gifter mary relays the outcome to CP0's Joseph, who is stunned to learn the trio of All-Stars, plus every last member of the Tobiroppo, have fallen, yet insists none of it counts unless Kaidou and Big Mom go down too. Should Luffy beat Kaidou, the flame clouds would fail and Onigashima would plummet onto the capital below to detonate on its stockpiled gunpowder, all while oblivious citizens carry on and Momonosuke strains to pull the island away. Worse still, Kanjuro's Kazenbo is creeping toward that same cache, threatening a blast in midair. Yamato, first to reach the armory, finds the last Number, Rokki, posted at the gate, so rather than wrest the key from him he has Fuga knock the guard down and tie him up.

In the attic, Usopp shields the helpless Kin'emon and Kikunojo under heavy Beasts Pirates pressure. When the samurai beg to be abandoned, he refuses, declaring he will claw to stay alive however wretched that makes him look, and that their task is not merely to fight the raid but to come through it living. The pair take the words to heart just as Izou arrives to rescue an overwhelmed Usopp, displays the Kouzuki crest on his back, and bids the pair hold their trust in Luffy and survive; with that, Usopp and Hamlet haul the two off for aid. A floor up, Raizo and Fukurokuju stay snared in each other's binding jutsu even as Raizo's sash catches fire. In the second basement, Apoo flees with Inbi after CP0 puts down both Zanki and Drake, and Joseph remarks that toppling the two Emperors would tip an already restless world into deeper turmoil.

Atop the Skull Dome, Luffy weathers a hit from Kaidou's club and answers back with a Gomu Gomu no Roc Gun. The two of them crash down, rise laughing, and confess they are enjoying themselves. Orochi keeps listening to Komurasaki's song while awaiting Fukurokuju, and Killer and Bepo battle on. The cover color spread sets the crew across snow-blanketed roofs in a frozen, half-submerged town, a tiger looming in the distance, a nod to 2022 as the year of the tiger. This installment shipped paired with the fifth chapter of the spinoff Shokugeki no Sanji, and it belongs to the Wano Country Arc.