Timeskip Predictions

[pwnobi]

@Mugiwara_no_Ice:

Luffy/Zorro/Sanji trained for xx years before they went on their adventures; they were strong enough to be able to handle the strong opponents they crossed.

Now they need to be strong enough to atleast be able to GET AWAY from an admiral; After what we saw in Saobondy, a HUGE powerup is needed for that.

I don't think anyone disagrees with you on that point(that they need to get a good deal stronger). There are just some people who feel this gap will be closed through the story as it goes about the pacing it has in the past. Others think a time skip is in order whether it be to make this jump in power more realistic, or perhaps that it's necessary, or for various other reasons.

[StrawHatJedi]

No, my point was that they aren't even at the level where they can enter the New World and expect to live. Rayleigh pretty much directly said this. They lost to Kuma and Kizaru without even the slightest bit of effort. They're not just unable to beat these strong people, they're not even able to fight them and live. If Kuma did not have the desire to save them, they would've been killed…and that's with Gold Roger's former first mate trying to save their lives.

This isn't just a little weak...the Straw Hats are VERY VERY WEAK. Top villains? Top villains are the world governement themselves. They wouldn't be ready to take on the World after a time skip...after a time skip, they'll be ready to enter the New World in the same way they entered the grand Line.

My point is, it's reasonable for characters to improve to a point...but invariably people hit snags along the road. Everyone faces this...they improve to a point, then hit a brick wall...it takes more than a little time to break through to continue improving. The Straw Hats have hit their wall. it's time for a time skip.

If they run off these islands now, there's absolutely no way they will have picked up anything meaningful to continue growing.

Why else would Rayleigh have shown up and warned Luffy about the consequences of running of to Sabaody right now? What else could this possibly mean other than, wait, get stronger, then meet up again and go to the New World?

It just doesn't make sense.

A time skip means the "Monster Trio" will still have the crap kicked out of them by admirals and Emperors....but at the very least, they'll be able to survive in the New World.

There is such a tremendous gap between the few glimpses we've seen of new World Pirates like Whitebeard and the level Luffy is now...if he reaches that level at 17 or even 18, it would be ridiculously unbelievable. It's not that easy to get stronger. If he's capable of something so unbelievable, in a way it removes the tension from the story. It changes Luffy from someone who has to work his butt off to get stronger, to a genius capable of amazing feats at such a young age.

It's even implied Gold Roger left the Grand Line and was forced to return later....took 3 years to reach Raftel on his final journey.

Are we really expecting Luffy to clear the Grand Line and the New World in a year or two? Should it really be that much easier for Monkey D. Luffy than it was for Gol D. Roger?

Baaaad story telling is bad.

Not only were the Straw Hats incapable of fighthing back against Sentomaru and Kuma....they couldn't even run away. They're too weak to run away...that should say enough right there. They were too weak to fight so they tried to run, only to find out they couldn't even do that.

[pwnobi]

@Vongola_Boss_XI:

Why else would Rayleigh have shown up and warned Luffy about the consequences of running of to Sabaody right now? What else could this possibly mean other than, wait, get stronger, then meet up again and go to the New World?

You don't feel as though Luffy could "wait/get stronger" during those three weeks? I realize three weeks may not seem like a lot, but Luffy accomplished changes such as developing the gears in a time span that was most likely not much longer if at all(I'm a little rusty on how much time elapsed between Aokiji -> Enies Lobby). I don't think that a time skip would be bad, I just don't think it's a necessity; you make some good points though.

[StrawHatJedi]

Power ups at Enies Lobby for Luffy, Zoro, and sanji were least believable in the series in my opinion. Zoro and Sanjis were just so out of the blue…I still don't know when they learned those techniques or why they were never used before.

Luffy is a smart tactician, so coming up with a way that made him faster and stronger was somewhat brilliant. Luffy's is more believable than Zoro's or Sanji's...

Chopper, Usopp, and Robin didn't get any stronger really...I mean Monster Point wasn't something chopper could control. Usopp and Nami got new weapons, but physically, they didn't advance to the same level as the moter trio.

But this is the brick wall which I spoke of...when he's fundamentally lacking in power and strength, I can't see him coming up with some other new technique above the gears.

Learning to control Haki in a few weeks is just about the same as "go learn to control your inner hollow and come back with super getsuga tensho hollow mask form 3.0 ftw!" imo.

[Maki707]

@JERK:

Wrong. I haven't cited the Admirals and Yokou, I've cited the single Pacifista it took the entire crew to defeat using all their strongest attacks, and left them exhausted.

In the war arc it was claimed that WB's allies were new world crews who "made names for themselves", correct me if i'm wrong but the only person i remember taking them out was Hancock. I actually looked forward to this because I expected all the new world pirates to start destroying these machines but they did'nt. Oda did'nt show these captains defeating the machines therby highlighting how far behind the SH crew is. Yes there was many of them and the big name ones were'nt shown fighting them but still, all he showed was attacks failing and how powerful they are. That's why i believe they are not as far behind the regular joe new world crews as we all initially thought.

But we need a jump BETWEEN where we are now, and that next gradual slope.

Correct, but does it have to take years or several months? This could be accomplished in something like 3 months.

[pwnobi]

@Vongola_Boss_XI:

Power ups at Enies Lobby for Luffy, Zoro, and sanji were least believable in the series in my opinion. Zoro and Sanjis were just so out of the blue…I still don't know when they learned those techniques or why they were never used before.

Luffy is a smart tactician, so coming up with a way that made him faster and stronger was somewhat brilliant. Luffy's is more believable than Zoro's or Sanji's...

Chopper, Usopp, and Robin didn't get any stronger really...I mean Monster Point wasn't something chopper could control. Usopp and Nami got new weapons, but physically, they didn't advance to the same level as the moter trio.

But this is the brick wall which I spoke of...when he's fundamentally lacking in power and strength, I can't see him coming up with some other new technique above the gears.

Learning to control Haki in a few weeks is just about the same as "go learn to control your inner hollow and come back with super getsuga tensho hollow mask form 3.0 ftw!" imo.

Did you just call Luffy a smart tactician and imply Sanji isn't? I assume they developed the techniques in the time between Aokiji -> Enies Lobby. I think Oda could write power-ups into the story in a believable way without a time-skip. That may sound like a cop out "Oh Oda could do it," and I know that, but that's what I think. That's basically what it all comes down to.

[NWO]

Maybe few months at most.

[JERK DISEASE]

@Maki707:

In the war arc it was claimed that WB's allies were new world crews who "made names for themselves", correct me if i'm wrong but the only person i remember taking them out was Hancock. I actually looked forward to this because I expected all the new world pirates to start destroying these machines but they did'nt.

We saw a few random pirates being killed by them. Crewmates of these large Whitebeard allie's crews, we never saw any captains get hit.
Plus you're talking about tons of Pacifistas.

Oda did'nt show these captains defeating the machines therby highlighting how far behind the SH crew is. Yes there was many of them and the big name ones were'nt shown fighting them but still, all he showed was attacks failing and how powerful they are. That's why i believe they are not as far behind the regular joe new world crews as we all initially thought.

If the Pacifiastas were really fighting as one sided as you suggest then they would have completely wiped out those guys on the ice. It was a sustained battle.

Correct, but does it have to take years or several months? This could be accomplished in something like 3 months.

That would be several months.

[AGOG]

Doesn't seem likely any time skip occurs…

[7 leaf clover]

@AGOG:

Doesn't seem likely any time skip occurs…

Yeah I'm not really sure anymore with this current chapter. At least it won't be more then a week or two at a time.

[StrawHatJedi]

I never said anything about Sanji not being a smart tactician…he's much smarter than Luffy in that regard. The gears were just a skill though....Diable Jambe was an inexplicable new attack much more like Asura.

[Maki707]

@JERK:

We saw a few random pirates being killed by them. Crewmates of these large Whitebeard allie's crews, we never saw any captains get hit.
Plus you're talking about tons of Pacifistas.
If the Pacifiastas were really fighting as one sided as you suggest then they would have completely wiped out those guys on the ice. It was a sustained battle.

Hmm true, perhaps i was wrong about bringing up this angle. I still don't think the SH crew is far away from that level but we have seen little to back that hunch up.

That would be several months.

@Vongola_Boss_XI:

Luffy is NOT fit to be pirate king at age 17.

The aged 17 comment and your next post listing middle aged Shounen heros led me to beleive that you were arguing that Luffy would have to be in his 20's or so to become the pirate king. That is the point i am arguing against, as I beleive he will become the King aged 18 and since it will take a couple of months to sail the sea the story can't accomodate more than several weeks of a skip. But I may of misunderstand that comment.

[wwdbd]

seems like there has already been another time skip, even if only a week or so, because the chapter leads off with "sliding back in time a little…", so the main story is already 3+ weeks out from the war

[StrawHatJedi]

No, I just don't think it's at all believable that Luffy will become King of the Pirates in a year when it took Gol D. Roger more than one trip through the Grand Line, his final trip lasting 3 years, to become Pirate King. The post about older shonen characters was meant to counter the argument that all shonen heroes are young as someone else stated.

In fact, even if Luffy was 17 at the start of the story, he's close to 18 already. We can assume he left Windmill Village just around his 17th birthday…to say he'll be 18 at the the time he becomes Pirate King means he'll be strong enough to rival the Emperors and Admirals in only a year to a year and a half max.

At the very least I'd say 6 months have passed since Luffy left home.

If it took Roger 3 years...why would it only take Luffy 1? Are we to believe that Luffy is just that much more powerful? Luffy isn't some genius character like Sasuke or Hitsugaya meant to be capable of things ridiculously far above others of his age group. He's a hard working hero whose abilities are explained through rigorous training on top of some innate strength.

I think Luffy will be in his early 20's by the end of the manga. Anything younger, and it seems too soon...not that I think the manga will end when Luffy becomes Pirate King. I think it ends when he topples the World Government.

[Maki707]

@Vongola_Boss_XI:

No, I just don't think it's at all believable that Luffy will become King of the Pirates in a year when it took Gol D. Roger more than one trip through the Grand Line, his final trip lasting 3 years, to become Pirate King. The post about older shonen characters was meant to counter the argument that all shonen heroes are young as someone else stated.

In fact, even if Luffy was 17 at the start of the story, he's close to 18 already. We can assume he left Windmill Village just around his 17th birthday…to say he'll be 18 at the the time he becomes Pirate King means he'll be strong enough to rival the Emperors and Admirals in only a year to a year and a half max.

At the very least I'd say 6 months have passed since Luffy left home.

If it took Roger 3 years...why would it only take Luffy 1? Are we to believe that Luffy is just that much more powerful? Luffy isn't some genius character like Sasuke or Hitsugaya meant to be capable of things ridiculously far above others of his age group. He's a hard working hero whose abilities are explained through rigorous training on top of some innate strength.

I think Luffy will be in his early 20's by the end of the manga. Anything younger, and it seems too soon...not that I think the manga will end when Luffy becomes Pirate King. I think it ends when he topples the World Government.

It is reasonable to suggest that it makes little sense that Luffy could do something in 1 and a half years that took Roger 3 years to accompolish and i'm not saying I dislike the idea of Luffy being older by the end of the story.
But it does'nt mean it won't happen. We have already seen worrying signs that luffy is mega special by birthright instead of the working class hero. I mean this whole business about being a 'D' and having 'King's ambition' power and Mihawk stating his unique ability to make allies from everyone and the constant remarks about how he is similar to pirates such as roger and wb in thier day almost like it is fate. It's all Oda giving himself the angles to justify Luffy reaching the top so young. So it's possible Oda could go down the 'genius' route
Again I would'nt mind if your theory is correct, I just don't think it will be.
Edit: Also and how WB trusted him to lead the charge because he 'sensed' something with him. Stuff like that

[AGOG]

Unlike Roger, Luffy is headed straight for a destination, one goal. Roger wasn't too instantly thrilled to head to Raftel, like you seem to suspect.

Do we have any proof that Roger was constantly pushing towards Raftel all his life? No.

So, just STOPPPPPPPPP with the "too young" bullshit, it's so not worth the argument because Luffy trained and prepared for this shit, ever since he had the inspiration to follow this dream.

Age = unimportant.

[StrawHatJedi]

Where did it say Roger wasn't aiming for the end of the Grand Line from the beginning? With the constant comparisons of Luffy to Roger, it would seem the two are very similar. I thought the whole purpose of his final journey, when the brought Crocus along, was to reach Raftel. At least that's all we've heard so far from Rayleigh.

[pwnobi]

@Vongola_Boss_XI:

Where did it say Roger wasn't aiming for the end of the Grand Line from the beginning? With the constant comparisons of Luffy to Roger, it would seem the two are very similar. I thought the whole purpose of his final journey, when the brought Crocus along, was to reach Raftel. At least that's all we've heard so far from Rayleigh.

Rayleigh said that they got Crocus for their final voyage or mission or whatever. They didn't specifically say Raftel. We don't know Roger's goals. I agree with AGOG about age not being a topic of issue as it relates to whether or not there will be a time-skip. That's just my opinion though. As I said before, wasn't really expecting much of a time skip except maybe a brief one for a week or so, and we just got a three week jump.

[Bucephalus]

@JERK:

Go make another thread about rape you annoying OCD spaz.

hahahahahahahahahahaha
oh wow
hahahahaha

[Herackles]

I was on the timeskip boat until Rayliegh said he had a plan for Luffy to protect the crew.

now im waiting to see what he has to say before jumping back on or not.

[JERK DISEASE]

That actually boosted my confidence ten fold.

But various other things have damaged it. I'm unsure now.

[Mikan]

Luffy is obviously not strong enough to battle on par with the likes of Blackbeard or Akainu right now. But these are obviously the "big boss" characters. With the war, we got an insight into the strength of the world's major players, but I doubt they're going to face them until near the end of the series.

Honestly, I think it'd be boring to timeskip and just say "well, it's been a year, and they're all stronger now." The last chapter, imo, sort of kills off the "Rayleigh is training Luffy" theory, since his "plan" seems to refer to an actual plan (what's in the news) rather than training. I have faith in Oda, but I think I'd be disappointed if Luffy was trained in haki. Would Luffy even understand the typical shounen manga training? The only "training" he grew up with was his grandpa beating him up and throwing him in the jungle. He's always become stronger through direct experience.

Does Luffy have to become stronger to fight against the main antagonists? No question about it. But it's more interesting and in character to see the SHs slowly progress through actual battles (Fishman Island, other Supernovas, etc.) than to have them grow off-screen. There is still quite a long ways until the end.

[Retsudo]

Oh boy, I can't until Luffy and Pals once again barely win against another Pacifista and get their asses handed to them by someone else.

[Luphrecio]

@Mikan:

Luffy is obviously not strong enough to battle on par with the likes of Blackbeard or Akainu right now. But these are obviously the "big boss" characters. With the war, we got an insight into the strength of the world's major players, but I doubt they're going to face them until near the end of the series.

Honestly, I think it'd be boring to timeskip and just say "well, it's been a year, and they're all stronger now." The last chapter, imo, sort of kills off the "Rayleigh is training Luffy" theory, since his "plan" seems to refer to an actual plan (what's in the news) rather than training. I have faith in Oda, but I think I'd be disappointed if Luffy was trained in haki. Would Luffy even understand the typical shounen manga training? The only "training" he grew up with was his grandpa beating him up and throwing him in the jungle. He's always become stronger through direct experience.

Does Luffy have to become stronger to fight against the main antagonists? No question about it. But it's more interesting and in character to see the SHs slowly progress through actual battles (Fishman Island, other Supernovas, etc.) than to have them grow off-screen. There is still quite a long ways until the end.

luffy did train when he was a little (all the flashbacks with ace sabo etc…) im pretty sure he can and will do it again. hell in the meantime rayleigh CAN train him...the same way iva is training sanji or similar to that

[AGOG]

I've said this before, you all have the wrong idea on strength.

Luffy is "high" in the standings, he's stronger [physically] than practically every revealed character out there…

He's not lacking speed, unless you consider Kizaru's insanity.

He's not even lacking in anything else, to be frank.

He's just unable to connect with Logia users, period.

Luffy's already at the level he needs to be, and like we found out with Magellan, he doesn't have to defeat every character just to complete his quest. Pirate King isn't about defeating every character, like in Bleach. It is just a simple term that's used to explain one thing: the guy who did a grand feat!

It's like sailing around the world, flying around the world, going to the moon, scoring 100 points in a basketball game, going OJ Simpson, etc. All it is is a feat, an incredible achievement that someone must copy.

Luffy is trying to head to Raftel, to get OP, not to defeat all that stand in his way. He's running away most often than fighting...

Then, the war with the WG that's foreshadowed isn't Luffy against all, it's just Luffy and Allies against all, like Dragon.

Luffy only needs to travel the journey, not train constantly for some championship trophy. He's able to fight against Blackbeard because he's at that level where he can do it.

So, Luffy ain't training because Oda will do it on screen, and show the slight changes over time that merely allow Luffy to hurt Logia more, or something like that.

[Tsukishima]

@Herackles:

I was on the timeskip boat until Rayliegh said he had a plan for Luffy to protect the crew.

now im waiting to see what he has to say before jumping back on or not.

Mihawk who doesn't consider Zoro as a real threat + Sanji getting his ass kicked very easily by Ivankov made me stay on the boat.

[Herackles]

Zoro is all bandaged and shit.

Sanji is a 77 mil pirate facing an Impel Down level 5.

[Sammsy]

lvl 5 can be anyone over 100 million they don't see as needing to be ERASED from history.

zoro would be on lvl 5 and i can't see him faring much better than sanji

[Herackles]

I cbf replying to that

[AGOG]

@Tsukishima:

Mihawk who doesn't consider Zoro as a real threat + Sanji getting his ass kicked very easily by Ivankov made me stay on the boat.

When does Mihawk have to fight Zoro… Tomorrow? The instant they return? Some time in the far far future?

I think it's the latter.

Does Sanji have to defeat Ivankov? FUCKING NO!!

So, why does it matter to bring in "training" for pointless stuff like this? Is the plot "defeat Ivankov and Mihawk to advance?" or is it "REUNITE!!" because I think that it is the latter once again.

This means, it isn't NEEDED-- the time skip or training stuff you speak of.

[Bucephalus]

I would've liked a timeskip of a few years, complete with new looks for all the Strawhats, but it appears less and less likely with each coming chapter.

Who knows? Oda said it was Luffy's last adventure as a 17 year old. It would be straight up trolling to dedicate a chapter to his birthday (OMG DA CREW REUNITED ON MY BIRFDAY!!!!), so I would still write that one out.

[Mugiwara_no_Ice]

Okay I was reading volume 6 and found this:

@from:

• Page 156 -

Mihawk: As the strongest,
I will wait years for you, if need be!!
Take your will, brave one, and use it to surpass my blade!!!
SURPASS ME, RORONOA!!!

In the french trans that I was reading the 'years' Mihawk said, was a little more explicit.

I still believe we're heading for a long timeskip.

[SkyheroY]

@Airflow:

It'll be for a couple of months, I feel the pace would be heavily thrown off if it was longer than that.

I agree with this statement, and any others along this line. A couple weeks to a couple months of time lapse would allow Oda to smooth out some of the awkwardness of getting the crew back together. For example, I really like the premise that Luffy has already started moving with Rayliegh and perhaps even undergone the basic training.

I think training sections can be some of the most damaging parts of a series. Take Naruto and bleach:

in naruto the use of clones to gain experience was granted an original training method that made sense for the Naruto world, but as far as all the other concepts of training, they were pretty repetitive and stale.

As for bleach (and I apologize in advance to any bleach fans), bleach is a really sorry series in my mind, it started with so much potential and now is a new age dragonball z, overpowered, under written, and in many instances just stupid. The training in bleach is the same thing over and over, Icchigo does something in an incredibly short amount of time (just barely) that everyone else would take years to do…. lame

So the idea that one piece would skip the training of luffy all together is appealing to me. I also really like the little tidbits of the rest of the people from the world, especially crocodile, how sweet would it be if he formed a new crew?

[Sammsy]

@Mugiwara_no_Ice:

Okay I was reading volume 6 and found this:

In the french trans that I was reading the 'years' Mihawk said, was a little more explicit.

I still believe we're heading for a long timeskip.

i wouldnt' read too much into that. its just a figure of speech

what is mihawk supposed to say. I will wait roughly 3 months for you to get stronger if i have to. then i will sit on couch and get fat and weak.

[Mugiwara_no_Ice]

@Sammsy:

i wouldnt' read too much into that. its just a figure of speech

what is mihawk supposed to say. I will wait roughly 3 months for you to get stronger if i have to. then i will sit on couch and get fat and weak.

You could say that OR you could say Mihawk thought Zoro needed at least a couple of years to reach his level.

[Sammsy]

@Mugiwara_no_Ice:

You could say that OR you could say Mihawk thought Zoro needed at least a couple of years to reach his level.

no it was mihawk showing respect to zoro.

he said he would wait years if need be. meaning even if it took super long he is willing to wait and not give up on you.

its like a girl saying she will wait for however long it takes even years for you to get out of prison, cause she loves you.

[AGOG]

Sammsy's right. The context is that he'd wait for as long as he'd have to until Zoro is on the level to challenge Mihawk, and he doesn't mean it in a rude way because he has just given him the respect to face the guy with his "Black Sword" due to the bravado that Zoro displayed.

In translation, Oda basically used vague terms to tell the reader that Mihawk isn't going to be dethroned from the No. 1 spot and that the reader should look forward to this "fight" around the end of the manga, due to the wording.

[StrawHatJedi]

See…to me it seems a time skip grows more and more likely with every passing chapter.

At first we see the Straw Hats basically ignoring the potential for growth trying to leave their islands to get back to Luffy...then they see whatever he did in the paper and realize he's alright. Robin even laughs at whatever she sees Luffy has done.

So ultimately, I think the thing, whatever it may be, is meant to show his crew he's alright so they DO NOT reunite immediately...why would they need a message to tell them to reunite right now? Isn't that exactly what they were trying to do already? so we see Chopper is ready...but honestly how are Usopp and Zoro going to get off their islands anytime soon? I'm sorry, but I don't think a few months is sufficient.

It's one thing to say they don't need training...but come on, theyre obviously on islands that could help them grow...and they're supposed to just run away from that? Why did Oda send them there to begin with? I can't see Zoro picking up anything useful in 3 weeks...that would seem so much more lame...to have them reunimte with super power ups from like a few weeks of training? Yeah right! That's bad story telling and a Bleach type power up at its finest.

Sanji getting his butt kicked by Iva is serious...especially if you consider how many times we saw Iva get his butt kicked in the past arc. Have we ever been lead to believe Ivankov is a powerhouse like the best of the best? NOT AT ALL! He couldn't stand up to even Kuma, let alone Magellan, Akainu, or any of the other really powerful characters.

You say Luffy doesn't have to be any stronger than he is now to become Pirate King...can't even beat Magellan? No big deal? Um, Roger did fight evenly with freakin' Whitebeard at his prime....that's pretty darn powerful.

This isn't about Luffy reaching the level of Whitebeard or Akainu...it's about the fact that the ENTIRE STRAW HAT CREW are needed to defeat a single Pacafista and that when two more showed up, they weren't even capable of running away. Too weak to even run away. Too weak to even run away. Too weak to even run away. No way would Luffy have survived Impel Down if he were with the Straw Hats rather than Iva, Crocodile, and Jimbei. Not like these guys were up there with Akainu, Aokiji, Kizaru, Shanks, Whitebeard, Marco etc...none of them could even touch Magellan.

This is about Luffy and the Straw Hats reaching a level where they can walk into the New World and not die instantly.

[Sammsy]

how does the paper tell them to not reunite right away?

sanji gave no indication of staying
zoro seems to be trying his hardest to leave
robin didn't tell them to turn around
nami is working hard to get back
chopper still flying
usopp trying even harder to escape
brook is just lol
franky is trying to get back

now i don't know who read what paper, but still none gave off a "ooh lets train" vibe

[mr.french]

And what evidence is given that they will re-unite right away, because most of what you wrote is nonsense. I'll give a short rebuttal.

-Sanji is not trusted by Iwa, and probably won't be allowed to leave.
-Zoro having quite a bit of trouble.
-Robin being escorted most likely to an RA base, or to Dragon himself. It was left unclear, even though Robin stated she would leave on her own.
-Nami's condition is unclear. Will they trust her at all right away?
-Usopp, defeating that beetle suggests that there are other beasts ready to block his path. Not just one beetle. And we see how difficult it is for Usopp to defeat one beast/creature.
-Brooke has become a slave essentially and is being taken to the two-jointed people's country.
-Franky found plans, and will just go back? or will he secretly improve his own body and take time to figure a way off the island as well?

Seems to me that is going to take some time. Perhaps a month. Maybe even 3 months. Maybe even longer if Oda wants.

Here's an idea. Oda may employ a couple of short time-skips to give time to the SH crew to ready up, and for us to be given an idea of what is currently going on in the world at the same time.

[Sammsy]

@mr.french:

And what evidence is given that they will re-unite right away, because most of what you wrote is nonsense. I'll give a short rebuttal.

-Sanji is not trusted by Iwa, and probably won't be allowed to leave.
-Zoro having quite a bit of trouble.
-Robin being escorted most likely to an RA base, or to Dragon himself. It was left unclear, even though Robin stated she would leave on her own.
-Nami's condition is unclear. Will they trust her at all right away?
-Usopp, defeating that beetle suggests that there are other beasts ready to block his path. Not just one beetle. And we see how difficult it is for Usopp to defeat one beast/creature.
-Brooke has become a slave essentially and is being taken to the two-jointed people's country.
-Franky found plans, and will just go back? or will he secretly improve his own body and take time to figure a way off the island as well?

Seems to me that is going to take some time. Perhaps a month. Maybe even 3 months. Maybe even longer if Oda wants.

Here's an idea. Oda may employ a couple of short time-skips to give time to the SH crew to ready up, and for us to be given an idea of what is currently going on in the world at the same time.

WHAT? where are you making this stuff up from. not going to bother refuting your rebutal, but..

I was arguing that the paper was not Luffy telling his missing crew, whome he has no way of knowing where they are, to stay and TRAIN and not come back yet, not that they are going to be back within a week.

hell it could take a year or two to all get back, but thats not what i'm discussing. i was just saying that based on characters actions that luffy did not say "hey guys, stay and train in your random places, and don't come back for a couple years, later" that is just moronic.

[mr.french]

Well I read that part as being an entirely different part of your post. My bad.

[I survived the buster call]

@Sammsy:

WHAT? where are you making this stuff up from. not going to bother refuting your rebutal, but..

I was arguing that the paper was not Luffy telling his missing crew, whome he has no way of knowing where they are, to stay and TRAIN and not come back yet, not that they are going to be back within a week.

hell it could take a year or two to all get back, but thats not what i'm discussing. i was just saying that based on characters actions that luffy did not say "hey guys, stay and train in your random places, and don't come back for a couple years, later" that is just moronic.

But Sammsy, while I agree there was no indication that the crew had abandoned any attempt to get together after seeing "the news," the manga always cut away from those who did see the news (not all of them were shown seeing it) before we heard or had any indication exactly how the news impacted them and their choices. IMHO, in other words, it's vague and not resolved exactly what they are going to do now. (Oda may have decided that sort of information would have given us too much of a clue about the news itself, lol.) It's still possible, if unlikely, that we will learn they got the message to stay and train.

And I'm hoping that Robin does in fact meet Dragon, while he's still talking to Iva, and confirms Sanji's identity.

[Dan Dangerously]

Well lets see.

-Sanji i'm sure would have no problem getting Iva's trust. That whole thing was mostly for gags (bringing back the wanted poster, Sanji getting owned, etc). There's really no significant obstacle there.
-Zoro is an interesting case, but all indications are he won't take long as well. Think about it, even his firggen' dream couldn't slow him down, so the second an avenue for return is open he's taking it.
-Robin is on the way back. She declined the Revo's invitation and then the next thing we see everyone's moving on and it's all hunkydory. The Revo's don't force people against their will.
-Nami's already on the way back too.
-Chopper as well.
-Usopp is… i dunno. Given the fact that he's already cleared one obstacle and going by the state of the rest of the crew, his departure has to be soon as well.
-Brook is a slave. His captors want to make a fortune off of a slave. Where exactly does one go to make a fortune off of a slave?
-Franky only has two likely scenarios. The people after him are no problem and he beats them gets/builds the ship he needs and his on his way back. Or the people after him beat/capture him. Were do captured, infamous pirates get sent?

Further, judging by how long it took Garp and Iva on their recent voyages, once the SHs are in transit it won't take them long at all. Even if some don't leave until a week from now, it'll still only be like 3 weeks max until they're all back. But given that Luffy has already started doing his thing and should be healed and done doing whatever he's doing within another week, i anticipate it not taking much longer then that for the reunion.

@I:

But Sammsy, while I agree there was no indication that the crew had abandoned any attempt to get together after seeing "the news," the manga always cut away from those who did see the news (not all of them were shown seeing it) before we heard or had any indication exactly how the news impacted them and their choices. IMHO, in other words, it's vague and not resolved exactly what they are going to do now. (Oda may have decided that sort of information would have given us too much of a clue about the news itself, lol.) It's still possible, if unlikely, that we will learn they got the message to stay and train.

And I'm hoping that Robin does in fact meet Dragon, while he's still talking to Iva, and confirms Sanji's identity.

Oda cut away from the people learning the new so we wouldn't learn it as well…............ They were obviously gonna talk about it..........

[StrawHatJedi]

Er, the message was not "STAY AND TRAIN" from Luffy directly. I think he did whatever it is he did to show them he's alive and he's alright. The whole reason they're trying to rush back to him is that they think he's an emotional wreck.

I think he's just done something (it's obviously not serious…it made Robin laugh) probably humorous (my example would be he went back and painted his crappy version of the SH jolly roger onto something important like the Gates of Justice or the rubble at marineford with the help of Rayleigh and posed for a pictuer) just to show he's doing alright.

This will ease the crew's worries and they won't be as desperate to leave immediately and will decide to take advantage of their current locations and will reunite after getting stronger.

[Dan Dangerously]

^^^

Sorry, but i got to say that all pretty stupid to me.

First of all, If Luffy did do something like that, a blatant insult and challenge the WG's power, they sure as hell wouldn't print it in the propaganda rag that they call the newspaper.

Secondly, why would that ever be Ray's plan? He has no clue how much Luffy wants to see his crew and it serves no other purpose.

Thirdly, Robin laughs at everything, including very serious stuff. She's lost her cool like what, two times in the whole series?

Fourthly, why would the crew's top priority no longer be to reunite just because they see that Luffy was doing better then what the absolute worst case scenario would be? Think of it from their perspective. "Oh well, Luffy seems to be doing alright. I guess i'll just sit on this island for no reason and not continue getting back to the people most important to me for a while longer." And from their perspective, there is no reason to not reunite. A power up is the last thing on their minds right now.

And lastly, Luffy just lost his brother. Lost a loved one. It doesn't matter how strong a face someone in that situation puts on, the people that care about him will want to be with him no matter what.

[I survived the buster call]

Good points Dan (except that if Luffy were in serious danger, I don't think even Robin would laugh. It was something outrageous)

Additionally, Iva said when he looked at the paper that he could tell Sanji where Luffy was because now the whole world knew. If Luffy just painted something somewhere then left, that wouldn't be the case.

Where ever it took place had to be pretty close to AL, due to the time constraints on getting there, doing whatever it was, and getting it in the paper and the papers to the people at all these various islands around the world–which all happened within a week of Ray making his offer or idea or plan known to Luffy. The gates of Justice, I believe, are all too far from AL (unless you can access the Tarai current) to make that feasible.

[StrawHatJedi]

Well, I was just giving an example. It's ridiculous for them to blow off the opportunity to get stronger, reunite and continue being weak. Maybe some of them will come to their senses and realize the opportunity they have right in front of them.

I mean okay so they wan to see eachother…but what good is it if they all end up dead because they're too freakin' weak to even run away from a couple pacafista and Sentomaru?

It didn't say the whole world knows where Luffy is, it says the whole world now knows his current state (it was questionable whether he was alive or dead).

Robin wouldn't laugh at just ANYTHING Luffy does...like I highly doubt she'd laugh at something like punching a Celestial Dragon. There's a difference between keeping your cool and laughing at things that aren't in any way humorous...you make Robin sound like some giggly moron who just laughs at things that aren't funny.

[7 leaf clover]

@Vongola_Boss_XI:

Well, I was just giving an example. It's ridiculous for them to blow off the opportunity to get stronger, reunite and continue being weak. Maybe some of them will come to their senses and realize the opportunity they have right in front of them.

I mean okay so they wan to see eachother…but what good is it if they all end up dead because they're too freakin' weak to even run away from a couple pacafista and Sentomaru?

It didn't say the whole world knows where Luffy is, it says the whole world now knows his current state (it was questionable whether he was alive or dead).

Robin wouldn't laugh at just ANYTHING Luffy does...like I highly doubt she'd laugh at something like punching a Celestial Dragon. There's a difference between keeping your cool and laughing at things that aren't in any way humorous...you make Robin sound like some giggly moron who just laughs at things that aren't funny.

Robin does snicker at most weird things Luffy does… P.S. Vivi isn't going to "rejoin".

[JERK DISEASE]

16 Bells, 8 for the old year, 8 for the new.

True it could be a symbol for a new era.

But why then would Luffy care about the crew getting the message?
What would a symbolic gesture of Whitebeard's passing matter to them?

It wouldn't. Not in the sense that Luffy would worry about it.

Nor is that something he would risk life and limb attacking Marineford for.

The crew will reunite in the new year.
A year or so timeskip ladies and gents.