I don't know about missing it, but we've got a lot to do there still. It's a pain to have something like this happen right in the middle of everything. [ Missing the others goes without saying. It would be nice to all be together again. Feels like it's been forever. ]

How long is a long time, anyway?

[ Even Luffy's best guess at it is better than nothing. Long enough that turning into a freakin' deer man doesn't freak him out (or, well, Luffy being Luffy, maybe it never would. it doesn't seem like a new really cool transformation he found out about, either).

Usopp takes advantage of the Huggening to preemptively tighten his grip a little. Giving or getting, bad news goes down easier with an armful of important person. That's basically science. ]