@brennen.exe:
Rayleigh's was talking much larger scale than simply SA. There's no contradiction or 'hurt argument' in him sending the members of the crew back to a relatively safe rendezvous point (Shakky) rather than having them chase him around the world and then force them to cross the Calm Belt, a near impossible feat for them.
Not sure on this one. Rayleigh clearly tells Luffy that basically he is not strong enough to go back to SA. So if Luffy isn't strong enough, why would we think Chopper or any of the other crew members would be?
You could be right, I am just not sure what to think about this. It would make more sense for the crew to gather on AL, Rayleigh himself stated that it is under the Marine's radar.
@SuperJew:
Let me play devil's advocate for a second:
Luffy's going to need some cannon fodder to prove his newfound strength in roughly two weeks time (by Law's standards, it might be sooner than that). What better way to determine that than via Marine scrubs who plan to attack Kuja Island?
(I'm leaning towards increase in bounty, but not completely ready to discount attack on AL, if only because that would lend itself to some badass scenes.)
I disagree.
There are plenty of strong characters back on SA for Luffy to defeat. Rayleigh just told Luffy that it is still a dangerous place and basically at his current level, if he went back, it would only be a repeat of the first time he went to SA.
Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if there are some Pacifistas or maybe even Sentoumaru himself is going to be there for Luffy to defeat.
I think SA part deux will serve as a way for Oda to drag out the storyline a bit more before we get to see Fishman Island.