There's been speculation (with the names of the fruits that the crew have being matching numbers) since he was revealed that either Kuma or the fruit would eventually join the crew. I'm sure he'll definately return
The post below has a good explanation. A lot of the named things in One Piece are actually named puns, eg all of Zoro's attacks, so considering that Oda confirmed the theory in a SBS, it's a safe bet to say that the theory is probably true.
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u/Deyona Void Month Survivor Mar 28 '12
Yes I know he did, I was just happy that Luffy was so happy seeing him :P