User blog comment:WillofOP/Death Amongst the Strawhats?/@comment-4754162-20120712051320

I agree with DP below, a lot of (manga & anime) time has been invested into character development for the main crew members, so its a pretty big waste if anyone were to die before achieving their goal. However, a death to a close person for the crew member(s) may be possible, e.g. Shanks, Rayleigh, Vivi, etc, as the death will cause the crew member(s) to fight even harder (kinda like Ace for Luffy).

Still, if (and only an "if") one of the Straw Hats must die, then it should be... ... Brook! But he's already a dead man... YOHOHOHOOOO! SKULL JOOOKE!!