User blog comment:Videogamep/Why is Sabo Such a Big Deal?/@comment-13876472-20131214123029

I had already argued in blogs about the role of Sabo in One Piece (Ofc, DP was the guy I argued  the most) and I love that now I can repeat my statement from a superior place.

Sabo, is not the character who played a decisive role in Luffy's choices. The guy who inspired Luffy was Shanks and Sabo was "just" one of the remarkable figures in his childhood. Bringing Sabo back is not like bringing Tom, Hiluluk or Kuina back, like DP stated below. These three characters fullfilled their role in the story, they lead our protagonist to take their path, to make their vow. Luffy vowed to Shanks, when he met Sabo, he was already introduced himself as a guy who wants to become a strong pirate.

So, if Sabo didn't guide Luffy's choice, what's his role in the story? His role is to destroy the distinguishing between the nobles and the commoners. The moment Sabo made his vow was a moment before he meets Dragon in the Gray Terminal. Dragon was here in the right moment to lead the child's life. He wanted to become a pirate with no real reason, but then he found a deeper goal to follow, one that fits him more.

Even if we agree what's Sabo's role in the story, why we have some much trust on him? Oda, decided after the (arguably) most critical arc of One Piece (Marineford) to introduce Sabo in a flashback as a brother of Ace and Luffy. He placed him as equal among the two most promising figures of One Piece. Luffy is the person who will carry the storyline on his back at least till he becomes the Pirate King. Ace was the only pirate who could block his way on it, not only because his potential, but also because his inherited will. His value is undebatable and Oda had to kill him, because the storyline simply cannot host both Luffy and Ace on it. And now we have Sabo, a child who trained himself with the same ideals as the "Future Pirate Kings". A child who seems to has as much potential as them. As far as we know, his inherited will is not as strong as on his brothers, but this may change in the future.

Briefly, in the aftermath of Marineford arc, Oda showed us the childhood years of "the three potential Pirate Kings". He didn't hide it, these three would carry the world on their backs. Ace carry himself far and when he died, he "occured" the time skip, he made Luffy strong enough to bare New World, both on mere strength, experience and feelings. Not a bad deal, since he didn't want to become the Pirate King anyway. Sabo strenghtened Luffy's vow a little and returned to continue his work, to fullfill his role. He will be that Luffy's ally, who will carry the Revolution till the end. The most important of his allies, the one who will make the One Piece world a fair world when Luffy pulls the trigger. In the end it is the new generation who will turn the world upside down, so Dragon is just not the Revolutionair who can play this role. Even him, he knows it, his action to save and guide Sabo is his own vow the same way Shanks traded his arm to save and guide Luffy.

All this analysis could be made before chapter 731 and some elements of it were already inside our heads. That's why Sabo is a big deal, cause we already knew he is not just a strong child, but an offspring of the future.