@Dahaka.:
I don't know why you're trying to argue then when I basically said the same thing :P Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that you can't know for sure what is going to happen. People can throw hypothetical scenarios at you, and you can feel free to try to shot them down like you did above, but there are many possibilities and there might just be one that would make perfect sense. His death may seem very unprobable now, but it doesn't mean it's impossible to frame the whole thing so that it would make perfect sense and be well-written. After all, that's what clever writing is all about, to deliver something that the audience do not expect but makes perfect sense once executed.
But the thing is that just because you can't predict every single detail or event in the future does not mean you can't catch wind of a specific direction. Yes, Oda COULD make Jimbei die. It's a POSSIBILITY, sure. But there are other possibilities that are much more PROBABLE and have way more evidence as well as narratively benefitting the quality of the story much more if you simply analyze One Piece's story/character themes. In order for something to make perfect sense once executed, you need to have a trail of subtle build-up, and authors always build up things for a reason. Hence why it's always possible to catch certain twists ahead of time (not every detail like when or even how, but the fact that it will happen in some sort of fashion), and how we can understand why it adds to the story. Specifically why it adds to the story in a way that appeals to the author, who is trying to appeal to you as an audience.
That and we have standards for stories we enjoy like One Piece and why they appeal to us in favor of, say, Fairy Tail. So while you can detect multiple possibilities, some of them are often obviously bad and would make for a waste of buildup. If you know the author is above doing that, then it's okay to disregard those ideas or at least put them on the back burner compared to what actually makes the most sense both literally and qualitatively. Not that you should only support possibilities you selfishly like and confuse delusional wants with reality, but why talk about something that's objectively detrimental as one of multiple possibilities unless you love bashing a series lol? Just because something is slightly possible does not mean it's worth giving it attention if it's obviously a turn off and there's other, much better options. There's a reason why possibilities such as characters like Carrot, Perona, and Monet being potential Straw Hats should be disregarded despite them technically being "possible", because we have standards for Oda's writing, we're used to him delivering, and we're familiar with his storytelling patterns and why he sticks to them.
Oda can pull whatever reason to justify Jimbei's death, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't make the years of waiting a copout or that the real result is disappointing compared to the potential of an obvious idea he should have gone with. I'm going to stick to discussing what would actually benefit the story objectively and has more supportive evidence.