I've written book for less
Now, if I'm being objective:
What it confirms : First, Oda DO considers Carrot as an important character for the strawhats. Which is strange looking at the lack of canon interaction at the end of Wano, but it's perfectly logical looking at the canon interaction in the rest of the story. Carrot has indeed the same place in strawhat's hearth as any of their other friends.
What is interesting here is that Oda clearly put Carrot in a specific pose
(she is raising her hand toward Luffy) and she is very visible, being under the center of the image and centered above the text
"what we hold in our hearts is ours forever" > probably talking about friendship, love and memories.
This could mean three things:
- First
nothing. Maybe Oda didn't meant to give any story to this pose and it's just Carrot falling. But this color page is full of stories so it's unlikely.
- Second :
Oda is putting an end to the Carrot fanbase. It could be a way for him to say
"Look, Carrot is waving goodbye, she is a friend, but it's over now, let go" as I think the last poll made him completely aware
- if he was not already - that people wanted Carrot to be a strawhat and I think he knows that her end was not appreciated by everyone. This would be the most likely possibility.
- Finally: Oda could be
teasing us something, meaning that Carrot is not waving goodbye, but is trying to reach Luffy. This would be logikal with her character arc of course, but if I'm being honest I've lost hope in that possibility
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Anyway, amazing chapter. Rayleigh and Shakky are such a great couple.
