## One Piece Chapter 1045, pages 12-13: Next Level - Chapter: 1045 - Pages: 12-13 - Characters: Monkey D. Luffy, Kaido, Yamato, Kozuki Momonosuke, Pedro ### Summary Page 12: Yamato tells Momonosuke that it really is Luffy, even though his hair and clothes were unrecognizable and all white. Momonosuke confirms that Luffy's voice is still fading quickly. Luffy thinks of Pedro and tells himself to get loud again, heartbeat, asking whether after all this something like death can still scare him. Kaido laughs that Luffy is going to kill himself, but Luffy answers, "So be it!!" and the rhythm of the Drums of Liberation resumes. Yamato warns him to watch out as Kaido attacks again. The page shows Luffy choosing to restart Gear Fifth by force, not because his body is fine, but because he refuses to let the rhythm die while Wano still depends on him. Page 13: Kaido's spiked club slams into Luffy's face with a huge "Plonk!!" but Luffy's head stretches around the spikes instead of being crushed normally. Yamato screams, and Luffy yells that it hurts, yet he keeps laughing and moving. Kaido follows with more attacks, squashing Luffy and driving him across the roof, but Luffy's body bends, rebounds, and stretches in impossible ways. The page makes the pain and comedy inseparable: Luffy is not immune to damage, but every blow becomes a new shape, a new gag, and another chance to bounce back. Kaido's overwhelming force is being translated into rubber spectacle rather than simple defeat.