@Vansavestheday@everyones_eyes@strawhats As much as I love Oda and One Piece - that wasn't an early setup. Oda is a masterpiece of believable retcons. A lot of things were setup and seeded but none of this was part of the original 5 year plan One Piece
Masanori Morita (Rokudenashi Blues) posted about being taken for a "dream meal" by Eiichiro Oda to fulfill a 1 year old promise, the meal was alongside part of the "elite" manga authors and Morita draw a illustration depicting how the "tough-looking gang" walked to their taxis:
OP fans were arguing for years that their goofy designs for villains were great, and that's what Oda intended, making it "PeAk FiCtIoN"
Yet the second they get a character design that fits the standard of an intimidating shounen antagonist, they can't shut up about it lmaooo