Been a while, had some thoughts.
Denjiro proved that Oda doesn't need an excuse to stick a character where he wants them, whether or not he shows how they get there. And yet, small as her appearances have been, Oda has taken the time this whole raid to show where Carrot is, where she's been going. He went to the trouble to show her on her way to Peros when he didn't bother to show where Wanda was at any point before then. Even now she's on the way back to the battle, despite Kaido being the last enemy to fight.
Regarding the cover story and whether Pedro is one of the shadowy figures, I have to say that for someone who might still be alive, Pedro's death sure has been brought up a lot. Wanda, Neko, Peros, Sanji, they all said in clear terms that Pedro is dead. Multiple chapters over these past 5 years have been devoted to the fallout. Luffy saved Pedro's name for last in his big moment, it garnered it's own panel and everything. Who's death has been given this much reverence except Ace and WB's? If Pedro turns out to be alive in the cover story, I'll give up right then and there because I can't see the point in subverting the way his death has continually pushed everyone forward.
With that in mind, Pedro's death pushed Carrot forward. He passed his will onto her like so many mentors before him. She has yet to accomplish anything related to it, but I personally still feel that's coming, that it hasn't happened yet because it'll be one of the most important things to cap off this arc. The dawn hasn't arrived and she hasn't given up yet, so I'm still excitedly waiting to see what exactly she will do now. Because crewmate or not, Oda has been leading Carrot to something.
Denjiro proved that Oda doesn't need an excuse to stick a character where he wants them, whether or not he shows how they get there. And yet, small as her appearances have been, Oda has taken the time this whole raid to show where Carrot is, where she's been going. He went to the trouble to show her on her way to Peros when he didn't bother to show where Wanda was at any point before then. Even now she's on the way back to the battle, despite Kaido being the last enemy to fight.
Regarding the cover story and whether Pedro is one of the shadowy figures, I have to say that for someone who might still be alive, Pedro's death sure has been brought up a lot. Wanda, Neko, Peros, Sanji, they all said in clear terms that Pedro is dead. Multiple chapters over these past 5 years have been devoted to the fallout. Luffy saved Pedro's name for last in his big moment, it garnered it's own panel and everything. Who's death has been given this much reverence except Ace and WB's? If Pedro turns out to be alive in the cover story, I'll give up right then and there because I can't see the point in subverting the way his death has continually pushed everyone forward.
With that in mind, Pedro's death pushed Carrot forward. He passed his will onto her like so many mentors before him. She has yet to accomplish anything related to it, but I personally still feel that's coming, that it hasn't happened yet because it'll be one of the most important things to cap off this arc. The dawn hasn't arrived and she hasn't given up yet, so I'm still excitedly waiting to see what exactly she will do now. Because crewmate or not, Oda has been leading Carrot to something.