While within the realm of possibility, I am curious as to why Oda-sensei scripted Yamato in such a manner to only have him remain in Wano Kuni out of focus. I did suspect such a development, but I couldn’t see much reason for it considering the character and narrative momentum Oda-sensei has associated behind Yamato. One of the earlier theories I had which could have seen Yamato remain in Wano was the possibility of there being a seventh Wano Family and Kaido and Yamato being descendants of that family. In order to discover more about his blood and family story, Yamato would need to remain in Wano to uncover additional information. With Yamato not remaining in Wano to follow the “path” Oden took in traveling Wano, this could potentially open up an interesting path for Yamato to develop to be weaved into the story at a later point when the Straw Hat Pirates are in need of assistance.
Even though I have committed an excessive amount of time looking into Yamato and their potential path forward, I am not necessarily disappointed in Oda-sensei’s decision to keep Yamato with Momonosuke in Wano, I am more confused. With the amount of focus, development and panel-time Oda-sensei has dedicated to Yamato, this is clearly not the end of their story, but the curious aspect is where Oda-sensei plans to take Yamato. With the set-up I have identified in my earlier theories, I don’t not believe that Yamato will be relevant to those story beats but as for how Oda-sensei seeks to reintroduce Yamato again back into the story, I really do wonder. And will the Straw Hat Pirates visit Ace’s grave at this point of have an arc to adventure in before meeting up with Yamato and visiting the grave? Yamato will visit Ace’s grave and in order to heighten the relevance, it would make sense to handle both Luffy and Yamato visiting the grave at the same time.
If Oda-sensei does have a reason for Yamato to remain in Wano Kuni, will he dedicate some panel time to highlight Yamato’s adventure across Wano or will it be a future cover story. It does seem that Yamato could be being handled like Jinbe who had to have a lot of loose ends time before officially joining the Straw Hat Pirates. Luffy did leave the door open for Momonosuke, Kin’emon and Yamato (who was the most excited about this consideration). After everything Yamato has been through during the Wano Arc and the belief he has shown in Luffy, especially with his ironclad resolve in believing Luffy is Joy Boy, there is no way that this won’t lead to anyway. The set-up has been laid down and it is up to Oda-sensei to continue what he has begun i.e. Yamato reuniting with Luffy at a later point. Looking forward to the next chapter.
12Dimension 
December 7, 2022 at 3:52 am
Yamato and Carrot have similarities to Vivi. As these similarities began to show, it seemed obvious to me that they weren’t going to be joining the crew.
Please believe Monet again.