Yeah looks like you backpedaled with that OK HES GONNA KILL PEOPLE BUT NOT TOO MANY bullshit.
You are just reiterating my point; you say backpedal, I say you just never understood from the start. It requires you to actually consider what I am saying in the first place, which I am sure is hard when you have such a strong bias and opinion. I didn't say it outright because I assumed you were intelligent enough to figure out what point I was establishing. In fact, I made it clear two posts later because Jadosra couldn't figure it out.
Point is if he kills WB there's nothing stopping him from doing the same with Ace, that whole "maybe I'll kill a bit but not too much" stance reeks or pettiness.
I disagree for many reasons, but I will focus on a random few: I find it hard to believe that someone who has gone to such lengths to erase the death he has written into the story will suddenly throw that out the window for multiple main character deaths. You make it sound like he's just scared of killing people or something. I'm basically suggesting that Whitebeard would be an exception. I certainly hope that it will be a turning point for Oda, and that he will use it more often instead of his regular pretend-it-didn't-happen routine, but initially I think it will be more of an exception than anything. Like I referred to in that post I linked, Whitebeard is old, represents the last of the old generation, represents an equal to the old Pirate King, represents the pinnacle of strength and power, is sick and already dying, has already established his 'dream' and 'dying will', and is basically the only thing barring major chaos in the New World. Killing him would be extremely purposeful for the story; in fact, it is almost necessary. I say almost, because Oda could technically throw him in prison or Blackbeard's hammerspace or something. I would hate that, but it could happen should Oda decide to for any or no good reason.
And lol at Ace dying not being "purposeful". More purposeful than that hilarious little scenario you've constructed for yourselves where a character who's always ever been a shallow plot device becomes the pseudo protagonist.
Really, you are just subjecting me to some sort of fanfic I never wrote. I don't assume to know what will happen post-war, nor do I care to try and figure it out. I just think, as far as writing goes, there is much more that can be accomplished if Ace is kept alive. I would say a lack of imagination, lack of creativity, or recent memory of Sasuke is what prevents others (ie: you) from seeing that potential. Putting aside all previous arguments though, which I think you and Zippy have still not really touched on (successfully), I don't think Oda will detract from his final* use of death by killing Ace for…..for what, exactly?
Put it this way-- well, I say that, but I am just repeating myself with different words here: Oda has an opportunity to use death with great purpose here. For the readers, this will be huge because we have never really seen a successful on-screen death that wouldn't, or couldn't, be reversed a few chapters later. This wouldn't be just any death either, but the death of one of the biggest names in the story! Huge. So, given that, wouldn't it sort of depreciate the significance of Whitebeard's death, and the final* use of death, if he killed another (arguably less important) character shortly after?
Instead of sympathetic from the readers (for Ace, Marco, José el Diamante, etc), we would/could have readers resentful after having spent the last year and more watching Luffy struggle time and time again only to...fail miserably while watching his (current) goal disappear in front of his eyes. Oh, and watching the mighty "Strongest Man" turn out to be, for the most part, worthless. Hell, Luffy lost freaking 10 years of his life for this! What for? Nothing.
None of them have the same goal as Luffy.
That wasn't the point. Most of you have been making a rebuttal around, as Urouge puts it, a fanfic. From that standpoint, I don't see why you have to force some epic battle or scenario of Luffy vs. Blackbeard (vs. Ace). I was simply reminding that there are other pseudo antagonists that can or will play a part in the final portions of the story. How it happens, and how Oda uses the characters, is completely impossible to predict right now because we are talking about an event that is more than likely 10 years away. We've got Shanks, Smoker, Buggy, Coby, Akainu, Blackbeard, Kidd, Law, Ace, and who knows else that can come into play when that time comes. Of course, any number of these could be dealt with long before that, but for the moment who can say?
- "final" meaning, "he finally did it!", not "that was the last one".