It wouldn't matter when the concept of Yonko became a thing, they'd all have been opposing each other, forming factions, having bases, etc. I don't think it changes anything personally not that I've thought deeply about it.
I think it matters. Well, I don't know, maybe not, but I think of stuff like:
- was Roger the first Pirate King? Or were there others before him?
- could he be considered a Pirate King, despite the existence of those 4 major and powerful characters? Let's not forget, after all Luffy said he wanted to beat all 4. So what if they "need" to stop being Yonko before one can really be considered PK? Or do they just take a beating and give Luffy their
badge "blessing"?
- was it Roger's death that triggered the "conquering" of the New World, that later became ruled by the 4 Yonko?
See, that's the kind of stuff that perplexes me. Maybe the Yonko are really just the best contenders for Pirate King, who knows. But I think it would be very interesting to know. Hell, I'm not even sure if the Yonko thing wasn't some sort of truce/agreement between all parties, or if it's just something that the Marines "assumed".
Or maybe this is kinda like Bleach's 11th Division; if you kill the captain (in this case, Yonko) you get that title for yourself.
That's what Teach did, after all, so maybe Whitebeard, Shanks, Big Mom and Kaidou all had to do the same thing before IF there were others before them.
I think it would be amazing to know this, because being the first Yonkos and becoming a Yonko after killing/beating other Yonkos are very different things, and could put them in an entirely different level.
Well certainly Kaido/BM/WB are old timers like Roger (maybe Kaido slightly younger), but Oda said something clearly, KAIDO BEEN CAPTURED BY YONKO, he emphasized that, so this leads me at least to believe this didn't happen at the beginning of his wonderful pirate career
Wow, I totally missed that :O!
Thanks!