For having bounties anywhere besides the Grand Line, I do not see the point. None of the four Blues are going to be able to catch up with them.
@Malintex_Terek:
I mean, the Marines will undoubtedly be chasing him down through Grand Line after the Enies Lobby arc concludes, so he'll be caught…but I doubt the Marines would tell the world, "oh, by the way, we have a new Pirate King".
I'm not sure I understand any of this. Why will he be caught after Enies Lobby?
To become the new Pirate King, one must obtain One Piece. Those around Luffy when he obtains it will know. Then…
"Oda has specifically stated that One Piece exists and is tangible."
...Oh, I never knew this. Since this is the case, Luffy will obtain/find it like said above, but then no one knows what will happen; One Piece could be something the government does not want anyone to know. Maybe One Piece is a censor for what the object actually is, and if Roger told anyone the real deal, the Marines would kill all of his crew/would have not let all of them survive, therefore making Roger's sacrifice worthless. This is assuming some yet untold events, but nothing is ever mentioned of his crew, even after 400 chapters. If they all died before Roger, that would be dull, probably making Roger a bit depressed as opposed to smiling while dying.
Digression aside, if it is a WG Secret, it would take forever to be let known. And given that would mark the end of the series, it would HAVE to be known faster, or it would not have the same impact. This is where the above poster's idea, of it triggering a world-changing event, just like Roger's did because the result filled so many with motivation, would turn into a reality. If One Piece is not a WG secret, and that would make no sense now that I think about it, people around Luffy will acknowledge him as the next Pirate King. Then you will have people such as Malintex_Terek creating such titled threads as this with absolutely no solution except for a world-changing event. I STILL say an alien should burst out of his chest and then have the screen go to black just to fade in to Zoro doing one-handed pushups with Chopper on his back.
Luffy's past should be very interesting.
Oda said he has had the ending in his head from the beginning.
As a random thought: the thread title should be something more relevant. Then again, many people anticipate new chapters around here so they'll check any new thread!
How's that for no pathos?! Don't forget to avoid contractions! OWNED!!! er, hi