User blog comment:Neowitch/A Fabulous Appreciation Blog/@comment-93.128.7.79-20130407164048/@comment-4605926-20130407201340

Not every pirate's objective in the New World is One Piece. He just travels around the place searching for interesting things to do. Another possibility is that he went there specifically in order to get the fruit and he just thought he wasn't yet strong enough to progress. There are many possibilities. I'm sure that it's not because he's what you think he is. Otherwise though, good point.