Believe it or not there's a plethora of Smoker fans out there still holding out hope that he'll be Luffy's Marine rival
Literally nothing in this chapter confirmed Koby as Luffy's marine rival.
People need to get a grip.
Koby's moment in Marineford already thrust him forward as the future of the Navy; I thought this was already known.
The future as in the more moral approach in contrast with Sakazuki's absolutism and wanton violence.
The future as in this character stood up to an admiral; leading to the entire battlefield pausing and thrusting the spotlight onto him as he defended his fellow soldiers lives.
Aka a sure way to become a popular officer/a guiding light and sort of; "hero" figure.
I knew this instantly more than a decade ago; down to that Koby would become known as a "hero" but for different reasons than Garp's reputation was made.
Word to word.
That doesn't change the way's that Smoker parallels Garp or that Smoker parallels him in the ways most people; and I guess you wish Koby would and see him paralleling Garp.
Literally nothing has changed in my perception of either character or their roles in the story since I've read Marineford.
And no one's "the next" Garp because a name isn't a title; that's not how paralleling/parallels work and that phrasing ruins all discussion of the topic before it evens begins.