So a big theme Oda has ALWAYS followed in this story is the concept of inherited will. Every single Strawhat member has a form of inherited will from someone dead or alive (it does not always relate to their dream exactly either):
Remember, these are NOT stretches, these are THE people that shape a strawhat's personality and belief into becomine the person they are in the present. Oda has very clear cut manner to how he constructs the main characters. You can see how evident this is because non-Strawhats do not usually carry this trait (some do, like the Red Scabbards with Oden by varying degrees). For example, Vivi carries zero references to inherited will. She MAY now if her father died and wished to accomplish something. This is, in essence, what Inherited Will is.:
- Luffy: Clearly he inherits Roger's will. There are examples upon examples of people either being reminded of Roger based the words Luffy says or the fact that Roger was "too early" in his time. I won't post examples of this because I think people understand.
- Zoro: Kuina. Zoro makes a speech that he will become the greatest swordsman and inherits her blade.
- Nami: Bellmere. Nami entirely inherited Bellmere's "mischievous" nature and the acceptance of fighting for what is right (recall her speeches at Arlong Park, Fishman Island and Punk Hazard, they all related to how Bellmere influenced her)
- Usopp: His mother. A big thing people don't realize is Usopp's image of his father as a great pirate was entirely from his mother. She tells him that she was glad Yasopp went out to sea, influencing him to be a pirate. Usopp also began lying to make his mother happy and keep her alive, a trait he carried even after she died.
- Sanji: Zeff. Yes...Zeff is still alive, but Zeff's dreams died the moment he sacrificed his leg to save Sanji's. While Sanji had the dream of finding All Blue before he met Zeff, it was only solidified after he inherited Zeff's desire to find the same thing.
- Chopper: Hiriluk. Hiriluk, even being a Quack Doctor, inspired Chopper to become the man he is today. I don't have to go in depth with this one, its very self explanatory.
- Robin: Professor Clover, Olivia, and the Oharan people. Robin inherited the will of her entire island, to find the true history. Self explanatory.
- Franky: Tom. Tom built Roger's ship. Franky's experiences with Tom made him want to do the same for Luffy.
- Brook: His entire crew. By the time their crew was poisoned and attacked, all of his crew members regretted not begin able to see Laboon again. Their wills lived on through Brook, whos sole desire is to see Laboon.
- Jinbe: Fisher Tiger, Queen Otohime, and Ace. Jinbe is a complicated character. Through both Fisher Tiger and Otohime, we wants to save his people from further persecution while bonding with humans, though he will violently act to defend those who need said defense. He is essentially a mix between between both. Further so, Ace's will to protect Luffy is passed onto Jinbe. Jinbe is the only Strawhat to essentially act as an onboard mentor to Luffy.
And with that comes my main points: Carrot and Yamato
- Carrot: Pedro. Pedro's final words were pretty fuckin self explanatory:
Now I don't think Carrot realizes this yet, but just as Roger influenced Pedro to make his final actions, Pedro influenced Carrot to understand how important these people are. This defining moment has not yet happened for Carrot, but her clear connection to Pedro as his student helps support this. We just need to wait for said significant moment, and Perospero IS actually heading to Onigashima. Of course this relies on him staying dead and Carrot growing from his death.
- Yamato: Oden. Yes, I did mention that the Scabbards also have inherited Oden's will of opening the borders, but Yamato took it to the absolute extreme. His death resonated with her so much that she quite literally took his "manly" persona and made it her own to drive his will forward. I don't have much to go on, only the last 2 chapters. But this is significant and will continue to be as time goes on.
And no, Oden's dream wasn't ONLY to open Wano, it was to see the world. Once she realizes the scabbards are alive and once Wano's threats are gone, seeing the world was another significant step in Oden's life. So I hope people understand the difference here. The scabbards inherited Oden's will to open the borders to drive the plot, Yamato inherited Oden's will to DRIVE HER CHARACTER, much like how Roger, Kuina, Bellemere, Usopp's mother, Zeff, Hiriluk, Clover/Olivia, Tom, Rumbar Pirates, Tiger/Otohime/Ace, and potentially Pedro have done to the 11 other characters.
All 12 of these characters (Carrot seemingly in real time) have been defined by people via some tragic act. They all don't happen in the same way. Jinbe's influence is extremely unorthodox. He barely knew Otohime, just like Yamato barely knew Oden.
Just an important thing to keep notice of when discussing crewmembers. Carrot and Yamato already are leagues above other characters because of these definable traits to varying degrees
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My problem with Yamato is that at this point in the story, it is too late for a newly introduced character to join the crew.
I mean, entering the final stretch of the adventure, it gives me the impression that this person did not have enough adventures and '' moments '' to be worthy of being a straw hat.
Jinbe for example, since impel down is part of Luffy's history, life and adventures in some way. Oda is creating a lot of his interactions with strawhatz to give us the feeling that he has been traveling with them for a long time.
Carrot seems to me the most real bet, she has been venturing with Strawhatz since Zou, and she already has interaction and a very strong bond with all of them to fit in.
It is not "too late" because we have no idea how many more adventure arcs we will have. We in the least have Vegapunk and Elbaf.