@S.C.:
The Revolutionaries are not going to be an enemy faction. Someone has to take the place of the immensely corrupt and brutal WG, and they are it.
I never said the Revolutionaries are going to be evil.
All there has to be is a goal or motivation they disagree with Luffy on.
For example, if the Revolutionaries need an Ancient Weapon like Shirahoshi to defeat the government and they only have one chance to use it or else they'll have to start all over again, but Luffy needs her right away to help save his crewmates from Blackbeard who has another ancient weapon.
Do I think that will happen? No. It's just an example.
But what I do think will happen is that Sabo and Luffy will come to blows for a time much like Ussop and Luffy did.
And I also believe that Sabo will be the one to defeat Akainu in the end and avenge Ace's death.
But when I ask people what they believe Sabo was created for, I don't mean he was solely created to fight Luffy.
He was created to be Luffy older, cooler, brother who wants to protect him AND a Revolutionary that we can relate to and empathize with.
But because he loves Luffy so much, because he would never do anything to harm the only brother he has in his life, that makes it all the more likely that he'll end up doing so.
Why? Because that makes for the greater emotional drama. And brings genuine character emotion, empathy, and conflict; Sabo won't get that with any other person.
But why does Sabo need drama, you ask? I mean, he's going to be involved plenty of drama and conflict like defeating Akainu or CPO, and getting even with Stelly, and accomplish the goals of the Revolutionary Army and overthrow the world government. I'm not saying those battles aren't going to happen. Sabo will accomplish his dream of overthrowing the government and avenging Ace's death, but of course he's going to do that. That's obvious. It's as obvious as the Strawhats vs the Blackbeard pirates. It's as obvious as the Strawhats finding reaching Raftel and finding One Piece.
And those things are obvious because the reader needs to rewarded with the joy and satisfaction of seeing the Strawhats, the characters they know and love, accomplish their greatest dreams and desires and beat the enemies holding them back.
But those are not the reasons why we love and relate to those characters.
We love these characters because seen what they've gone through to get there.
We felt sorry for Luffy and Ussop when they had to fight and love them when they put aside their differences and come back together.
We felt sadness and happiness for Robin when she decides to leave the crew but then come back when the crew shows her their dedication.
When we see just how much shit they've gone though, and how much they've had to sacrifice, we think "Yeah! Kick that bad guys ass!" and "Follow your dreams! Your deserve it."
So what has Sabo gone through?
Well he's had to run away from his hateful family, almost get killed and then saved by Dragon, and then lose Ace.
But what's missing is he hasn't had to sacrifice or give up anything on his own.
He hates his real family, so getting away from them isn't a sacrifice.
He had no idea he was going be attacked by a Celestial Dragon and ended living anyway. Except for his scar, not a real loss.
He did lose Ace. But that wasn't his fault, he had no memory of Ace. There was nothing he could have done. He didn't choose to let Ace die.
Oda has been very, very, good at drawing empathy for his characters because many, many times he has shown just how much they are willing to sacrifice for their dreams or the people they love.
Zoro, sacrificing his dream so that Luffy could live at Thriller Bark.
Zeff, sacrificing his leg so Sanji could live.
Nami, willing to be an outcast in her village so they could be free.
Dr. Hiruluk, sacrificing his life to cure Drum Kingdom.
Vivi, sacrificing her life to try and save her kingdom, plus Kohza et. al. and Cobra et. al. sacrificing what they have to keep the kingdom together.
Cricket, sacrificing his time and life to try to clear his families name.
Wyper, sacrificing his body, using reject over and over again.
Franky, sacrificing his body, to try and get Tom back (he got better, but it's the thought that counts)
Merry, giving his all to make sure the Strawhats could travel safe
Brook, enduring 50 years on that boat just on the off chance someone would come along so he could fulfil his promise to Laboon.
Luffy, sacrificing his lifespan throughout the war just so to free Ace.
Ace, sacrificing his life to save Luffy.
Fisher Tiger, sacrificing his life to free the slaves and send Koala home.
Kryos, sacrificing his leg and be 10 years as a toy, so he could fight back against Doflamingo and save his family.
And on and on. That's why we've come to love these characters.
So what's Sabo going to give up? Certainly not his life. Luffy isn't going to lose another brother. Certainly not any of the major Revolutionaries (Dragon, Koala, Kuma(he's already lost his mind) ), they're too important. Maybe he'll just lose an arm or a leg. But is that enough? He loves his brother so much he'll probably just brush that off.
What would be meaningful enough to have give up? Maybe his goal of overthrowing the World Government. And even then, he'll probably choose just choose Luffy right away.
But if circumstances wind up to where Luffy has to fight him, then that's a dilemma.
Then people will know if he's willing, at least temporarily, to give up being Luffy's protector, and instead stand in his way.
Sabo needs this kind of drama, as that let's us truly see what he would sacrifice, just like many other characters have done, to make sure we truly empathize with him and his plight.
And finally, when all is done, when Sabo and Luffy make up, just like Luffy and Ussop, and then they both accomplish their dreams, then the reader will say, "Oh yeah, that was awesome! You guys went through so, so, much. You deserve it!"
Sure, not every character needs that sort of drama or needs to sacrifice something.
But I believe Sabo does, cause he's important, very important, he's Luffy's only brother left.
I don't believe his actions in the story are only going to consist of him being a cooler, older, brother who winds up saving Luffy whenever he's in trouble.
Is he really going to be like:
deep cool voice "Hey Luffy, looks like I arrived to save you just in the nick of time. I'll handle thing things from here."
all the throughout the remainder of the series?
Really?
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
@Long:
You could use this exact reasoing for zoro to flee in the middle of a fight or for sanji to beat up a woman, or nico robin to quit caring about history and franky to wear pants and a buttoned shirt all the time
See, here's the thing, isn't Sanji choosing whether or not to hit a woman to save his crewmates a genuine dilemma people want to see?
Sanji has vowed that hitting a woman is something he'll never do. So wouldn't you want to see how he'll react if he had to make that choice?
I'm not saying he'll actually do it. But wouldn't you be interested in that kind of drama? Wouldn't you be interested in what he'd do?