I notice how you keep saying the second Jinbe gets on the "Sunny". What happened to the first showing of Jinbe when he was helming? Why do you consistently ignore that? Maybe because of the fact that there was zero attention drawn to his abilities at all. Luffy was right there with him, but nothing. Totally skipped over with no focus whatsoever on his skills in helming. The focus would only come 300 chapters later.
Because I don't think it's relevant or really compares at all. It's what happens on the Sunny that matters, not in a Marine battleship.
We knew that Jinbei could helm though it hadn't been focused on
We know that Carrot can look through binoculars but it hasn't been focused on
When Jinbei gets his first go at helming the Sunny, it made into a massive deal by Oda, to show off that Jinbei isn't just a helmsman, he's a genius at it
On the other hand, when Carrot gets her first go at being lookout in the Sunny, it isn't a big deal. And then other characters, on the same ship that she's on, do the exact same thing.
She isn't though, is she? She was doing it on the WCI trip- although so we're other characters- then the second the crew has gathered together we don't get any of it. Hell, she didn't even do it on the approach to Wano, which ended in the ship being sucked into a whirlpool.
You're looking at an instance in which Usopp, who has decent sight in his own respect thanks to his goggles spots some enemies whom he was already warned would be there and then snipes them. Yes, that's certainly a role that could've been given to Carrot, with her making him aware of the enemies for him to then snipe, but it's hardly a deal-breaker. Nami's navigational skills put the 1 main helming feat Jinbe's displayed to shame.
What happened before Jinbei got on the ship is irrelevant, much in the same way what happened prior to Carrot getting in the ship is irrelevant. What matters is how Oda displays the characters when they get on the Sunny
-we see Jinbei get a great helming feat, characters comment on how he's great at it, the ship actually sinks in the approach to Wano without him, he reappears and Nami tells Franky he's a brilliant helmsman
-Carrot is a lookout, no one comments on it, other characters do it while she's actually on the ship.
By the way, I'm interested to know your reasoning as for why Carrot's still with the crew, on their ship at the moment. Why didn't she go with the minks?
Eh, we don't know if she's still with the crew. She wasn't shown this chapter after the crew disembarked. And prior to that all the main Minks were on the Sunny, not just Carrot.
Jinbe was background to Sanji and the Big Mom Pirates in WCI. And he had to share his focus with Shirahoshi and the royals in FMI. Even his backstory was just lumped in together with a backstory of the entire island, unlike an individual backstory like every single one of the straw hats got before him. Things have got to such a large scale that Oda doesn't spend entire arcs giving focus to just a straw hat anymore. So yes, Carrot will still get shine. Will she more important than defeating Kaido and Orochi? No. Will she have a significant story arc? Yes, most probably.
There's a difference between sharing focus and not having any at all. Jinbei, Law, Shirahoshi, Kine'mon, Momo, Pudding, Rebecca et al had to share multichapter flashbacks and arcs, but they still stood at the forefront of them. Carrot hasn't. She didn't even get to stand out in Zou, in her home island. Her relationship with Pedro got summed up in a measly three panels. Why should I expect her to have a significant story arc now? The Dawn? Pedro told us that's relates to the Kozuki's and the Minks, she'll see what it means, but she's not likely to overshadow Momo or Kin. A fight with Perospero? Maybe, but Perospero isn't exactly one of the outstanding villains of the arc, and we've already seen her Su Long.
You're right. Whilst Robin was considered a mysterious enemy, Carrot's already a straw hat in all but name. Interacting with them, gatecrashing their group spreads, stealing their panel time and riding on their ship. It's just a matter of time.
Damn right, Paul- I mean Carrot, will clearly be a Strawhat.