User blog comment:Mejiaj1/Which yonko is the strawhats and the heart pirates aiming for?/@comment-119.160.180.58-20120525141826

It can't be Shanks, since Luffy basically idolizes him. It isn't Blackbeard, because he would have a personal issue with taking him down ,since BB was the one to give Ace to the Marines. It would warrant more than a shrug- so it's Kaido. The reason is that Luffy has no idea who or what Kaido is, so he has zero reaction to Law's proposal. Big Mom is the protector of Fishman Island that Luffy declared war on already, plus there is that boobytrapped box going there that will cause issues.

Honestly Luffy is like Tom Sawyer, always doing things the hard but interesting way. He could have just looked for Shanks and sailed the New World under his protection but aside from his wanting to be captain of everything, he's decided to go forward despite knowing not which direction 'forward' really is.