@Rean said in Chapter 1102: Kuma's Life:
If the flashback was still unseen, I'd say that you are correct (and you could still be correct), but the flashback is now over, and that was the most natural place to add this piece of info
I'll point to Chapters 1100-1101. In there, we see Kuma approaching Luffy's village and everyone went. "Oh, Kuma will meet Luffy and find out Luffy's Dragon's son now!" because we already had the info that Kuma knew Luffy was Dragon's son, so it was certain to be revealed at that point.
But then, i nthe next chapter we open with learning Kuma already knew Luffy was Dragon's son for 9 years at that point, and the story gives us a flashback-within-flashback to reveal that information.
Why not reveal it earlier, in chronological order, since the flashback had already covered that time period? Well, because Oda reveals things when he can get the most impact out of them. Having Kuma find out about Luffy in Ch 1098, when we covered that time period, would disrupt the flow of the Ginny tragedy, which was the important beat to tell then. Instead, he waited until he had to show Kuma keeping tabs on Luffy, in preparation of Kuma placing his hopes on Luffy now.
The point is: whatever connection there is between Kuma and Hancock will be revealed when it matters to the story. Oda can make a twist at any moment, even after this arc is over, and then place a flashback explaining things.
I sure was hoping we'd get answers in 1102. But not having them now doesn't mean we will never have them.
What makes me baffled about people resisting this notion is how One Piece again and again shows the world and characters are all connected in unexpected ways, but when the story evades revealing a connection that clearly must exist people just refuse to think about it instead of being intrigued by it.
@Rean said in Chapter 1102: Kuma's Life:
Another counterpoint is that Kuma didn't have any special relationship with Mihawk, and yet he still sent Zoro there, a man he had actual personal interaction, unlike him and Luffy where he kept watch from afar.
We saw Kuma visiting Kuraigana. We saw Zoro declaring he would be the strongest swordsman to Kuma in Thriller Bark. Kuma sent Zoro to Mihawk in Kuraigana. It's not hard to see the connection. We can argue how much Kuma and Mihawk know of each other, but it's obvious that Kuma knew Mihawk was in Kuraigana.
Interesting enough, in 1100 we see the thoughts of Crocodile, Jinbe, Moria and Doflamingo, and all of them clearly have not met Kuma before. And yet we didn't get any thoughts from Hancock and Mihawk. The former ignored the news, the later was just silently reading the paper. Isn't that interesting?
@Rean said in Chapter 1102: Kuma's Life:
The difference is that Amazon Lily is a well-known island
Yes, well-known for being a death trap for men, located in the Calm Belt where navigation is extremely difficult, and ruled by one of the most vicious Warlords who don't even respect the treaty her titles come with. And that image is not even unearned, as Hancock and the Kuja promote it very intentionally.