Warning: contains spoilers for One Piece chapter #1051!
For the better part of the decade, One Piece has been building up to the reveal of a certain character. Introduced all the way back in the 'Punk Hazard' arc, Momonosuke - the child of Lord Oden - was immediately met with fan backlash for being a snotty brat of a character. Things have changed since then, and fans of the series were more than overjoyed to see the heir to Wano finally come into his own at the end of the battle with Kaido.
Momonosuke was first introduced in chapter 684 of One Piece, titled 'Don’t Do It, Vegapunk.' When he was first brought into the story, Momonosuke was introduced as an eight-year-old child. Because of his status as the child of the respected samurai Oden, Momonosuke grew prideful and bratty. Despite this, he also has a strict sense of honor and his pride stems from the dedication he maintains to his "bushido" or samurai code. It was later revealed that Momonosuke was actually sent into the future by his own mother, Kozuki Toki. At just age eight, Momonosuke was tasked with bringing peace back to Wano after the capture and eventual execution of his father. Throughout the Wano Arc, Momonosuke continued to grow as a person, turning his pride as a Kozuki into benevolence and a willingness to put the people of Wano ahead of himself.
Prior to One Piece chapter 1051, Momonosuke had asked one of his ninja allies, Shinobu, to age him up 20 years in order to battle Kaido. Doing this, Momonosuke sacrificed his entire childhood in order to be the hero the people of Wano needed. With his newfound colossal dragon transformation, Momonosuke was eventually able to use his own flame clouds to move Onigashima out of the way of the Flower Capital. This act single-handedly allowed Luffy to overwhelm Kaido in their final clash and send him to the bottom of Wano’s magma chambers. Momonosuke’s adult form was then kept hidden until the very end of chapter 1051, where he is finally revealed with one of the coolest designs Oda has ever created. Standing proud with Oden’s sword Ame no Habakiri, Momonosuke announces to all of Wano that there will no longer be slavery, polluting factories, or starving people in Wano. He affirms that the Fire Festival will continue and that the people of Wano are finally free of Kaido and Orochi.
Momonosuke’s adult form has been teased for some time now and may hint at coming events within the story. A popular fan theory is that near the end of the series, all of Luffy’s allies that he’s made throughout the series will return to help him in his moment of need. This would include characters like Vivi, Dalton, the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, and of course, Momonosuke. At this point, Momonosuke’s full dragon and human form have been revealed, but not his hybrid form. It’s also stated that a Zoan user’s hybrid form is typically their most powerful, so Oda may be saving adult Momonosuke’s greatest power for later in the series.
As it stands, Momonosuke had one of the most drawn out and tumultuous character arcs of any side character in the series. He went from an arrogant brat to a full-fledged leader of his own country in the time that readers have known him. Despite the Wano arc seemingly drawing to an end, fans of One Piece can rest easy knowing Oda will most surely bring Momonosuke back at some point soon.
One Piece chapter #1051 is available now from Viz.