@Sabo:
Also… why is Hancock considered OUT?
Because unless Oda is really trolling everyone of us and will throw a curveball pretty soon before the Sunny submerges to Fishman Island, she already was left out of the story for now.
heh, it's funny. When the spoiler for Chapter #599 came out saying that Hancock and Luffy went their separate ways, before any picture or full script came out, I was talking via PM with Halfmetal-lich about the scene and wrote this to him:
That's why I need to see the goodbye scene. Is Luffy already wearing the big bag while preparing to depart, or is there no sign of it? Is it just Luffy and Hancock talking in private, or are the kuja present? Is the scene cut suddenly when Hancock misunderstands Luffy's words, or is there a panel of Luffy waving his hand while the Kuja (and Hancock) stay behind?
We only know a description of the dialogue. How the scene is presented could change everything.
For instance, scenario #1: if they are in private, there's no bag, and no waving farewells, then the scene certainly leaves a lot of suspicions.
Scenario #2: If the kuja pirates are present, Luffy's already wearing the bag, and we see Hancock staying behind as Luffy goes away, then there's nothing left open, and the scene truly is the end of Hancock's plot for now.
There are also several other scenarios that could be in the scale between the extremes of #1 and #2.
I'm eagerly awaiting to see those panels and judge for myself. The more Oda leaves things open to imagination, the more likely is that Hancock may still be a role to play in this arc.
And guess what? It ended up being the worst-case scenario.
I doubt this will be reverted. There are some guys in OneManga forums still saying that she's in the bag, that the one we saw with the kuja was an impostor, that Oda is just hiding something from us. It's foolish to think so.