Hm, I don't think that a new hero using guns and explosives in a Zelda game would, well, feel like Zelda. Unless they were weapons like the powder keg or primitive guns or some original type of weapon, I wouldn't care much for a Zelda with guns.
Hmm, maybe Tingle could die tragically, such as Link fighting an enemy, like a mini-boss or the like, while rescuing Tingle, but he gets in the way and the enemy's weapon misses Link and...