I'd limit it to 4 rival crews. One for each sea out there, the
'best of the best' so to speak. And, this is no fault to Oda since he had made the supernova last minute, I would foreshadow them earlier in the story.
Crocus makes a direct comparison between Luffy and a band of
rowdy pirates back at the light house, favoring Luffy.
Daz Bones was called back from hunting down a
Mafioso with a high bounty for the start of Operation Utopia.
Kaku laments the fact that a high profile
marine turncoat got away from Water-7 because they were unable to act while incognito.
Hogback name drops a pirate as being
an unparalleled doctor who chooses to take lives instead of saving them.
Nothing to distract the reader from the on-going plot, but hints of future characters and their importance to the plot.
- The Kid Pirates from South Blue
- Eustass Kidd as the captain
- Killer as his firstmate
- Scratchman Apoo as the crew lookout
- Heat
- Wire
Apoo fits the general music theme of the crew and I think his angry relationship with Kidd would make for tons of comedic scenarios and give the crew a lot more personality as a whole. Killer is the straight man trying to stop the two from killing each other.
- The Corazon Pirates from North Blue
- Trafalgar D. Water Law as the captain
- Jewelry Bonney as the vice captain
- Bepo as the second in command & navigator
- Jean Bart as a powerful crewmember
- Baby-5 as a powerful crewmember
Baby-5 joining post-dressrosa makes too much sense. They're childhood friends and she's very redeemable, she even got her own flashback. You could add Buffalo in there too but IMO you don't need to waste the ink.
Jewelry Bonney is someone who I think should have been paired with Law as a near equal. Both of them are tied to Shichibukai who are, coincidentally, introduced together after Alabasta. With similar goals and powerful fruits, I think they'd make for interesting bedfellows. Set their situation as more of an agreement—Bonney helps Law take Doflamingo down and this world class doctor will help her undo Vegapunk's mutilations on Kuma.
- The Firetank Pirates from West Blue
- Capone Bege as the captain
- Urouge as a powerful crewmember
This idea tickles me pink. Capone is a very sensibly dressed man who enjoys attention, being wealthy and showing off his life style to others. Urouge is a giant, religious sky monk who has no tact whatsoever. I'd 100% pair them up with Capone Bege being the one to save Urouge's life after he lost to Enel—details don't matter much—and Urouge swearing his life to the godfather.
But the idea of Bege constantly berating Urouge for acting first and thinking second, of being classless and trying to educate him on style only for Urouge to tear apart an expensive suit mid fight, is too funny for me.
- The Drake Pirates from the Grandline
- X Drake as the captain
- Basil Hawkins as the firstmate
I'd keep the SWORD plot, X Drake '
defects' in the middle of the Grandline at a random Marine base and frees a number of pirates being held there, forcing them into his new crew and to give him some credibility as a pirate. Among them is Basil Hawkins who acts as a foil to X Drake. Drake is a pirate but tries to avoid needless plunder and savagry whereas Hawkins will challenge him and insist that a pirate
would attack a merchant ship and let its passengers feed the neptunians.
It would be a reluctant and difficult relationship where Hawkins has some idea that X Drake isn't done being a marine but remains by his side, convinced that it'll lead him somewhere fruitful.
