@theinvisibleworm:
I don't even understand your new arguments, if the bounty hunter has personal reasons for being a bounty hunter he's not going to become a criminal for '30%' of the cut or whatever, or even 50%.
Yes, economics won't affect people with personal reasons for being a hunter. But as a strong man without any particular allegiance, though:
The Marine most likely offers the greatest job security, desk job options if you're injured, and a pension when you're old, but doesn't pay well. Although maybe they use Logia as recruting tools? :)
Piracy offers the greatest economic potential, and the most freedom. If you're really good at it, you can trade freedom for security by becoming a Shickabuchai.
Bounty hunting is in the middle– it doesn't pay as well as piracy, and it's not as secure as being a Marine, and you aren't completely free to follow your views, if you do have or develop personal feelings about someone on the "safe" list.
Being a bounty hunter means finding easily identifiable criminals, if he has a personal vendetta with a shibibukai he might be a bounty hunter until he earns enough money to muster the resources to take one on. At that point, he'd no longer care about being a bounty hunter. I don't see how this negates the possibility of him ever having been a bounty hunter….
People with that sort of morality may not approve of signing on to a moral framework they KNOW from day 1 won't mesh with their own.
To borrow outside the bounty hunter world, I can't see Smoker joining the Marine if he knew then what he knew now– it's just not compatible.
I'm almost 100% positive he did it to have survival money while he attemped to find Mihawk.
Man, he has NO exit strategy then. I'd guess knocking Mihawk out would have been a bounty-hunter no-no.
@Ivotas:
So what, Shichibukai are also considered government dogs and still they exist. Some whacky argumentation you use there.
I meant it in a derogatory sense; for all their "might", the Shickabuchai and Bounty Hunters have to take cover in the government's arms. In that respect, the great loose pirates show more bravery.