Just a little musing on what we know. To me, Eustass Kid is Luffy if he never learned the lessons present in Chapter 1. Which is why Shanks is the one who took Kid’s arm.
Kid, unlike Luffy, picks fights with anyone who laughs at or looks down on him. He has no problem killing over stupid things. He’s hurt non combatants.
But Kid is ambitious, dedicated, has Conquerors, is loyal, and has a strong bladesman at his side. He is like a “mean” Luffy, someone who never had Shanks as someone to emulate. This leads him to attack a non-hostile Emperor right out of the timeskip.
It’s fitting then, that Shanks’ crew are the ones who “taught him a lesson.” Shanks LOSING an arm taught Luffy. Shanks TAKING an arm taught Kid.
Kid’s next exploit was a raid on Totto Land in which he did not go seeking to challenge Big Mom, instead fighting a Commander. Lesson learned…and also quite similar to an arc we remember.
*by BlisteringSky
