For the longest time I have been wondering if this was a thought nobody else shared, but yesterday I saw some people discussing it on other boards and this made me realize it's a possibility for some fans: A potential second, short timeskip before the final war.
The reason for that are manifold:
1. There are a lot of players on the global board right now and some setup needs to happen for all the pieces to be in their right place at the right time. Granted, we don't know what happens outside of Wano right now and crews, Marines, etc. might already be on their way to their designated spots - but in the case of entire armies like Alabasta or armadas like the SH Grand Fleet this might still not be enough.
2. No matter what happens in the arcs after Wano and before the Final War, I think Oda wants to keep some cards in his hand hidden until the last minute as having all secrets revealed before a 100+ chapter war arc might just turn it into a rather unexciting combat slog where we basically just go through the notions of defeating designated enemies. Stuff like a Void Century and Roger flashback, the reveal of the One Piece, Laugh Tale and other important plot points are the big mysteries of the series and spoiling it all a bit too early would make me feel like Luffy at Sabaody.
3. There is a chance for redesigning characters and making last minute adjustments. This is a more of a personal pet peeve of mine, but I wish some Strawhats would get a redesign as I find their post-TS designs worse than the pre-TS ones. Good example would be Chopper's various points (and him being too cute in general compared to his initial appearance) and to a lesser extent Franky's cyborg body (not my style, but it seems a lot of people adore it) and the female crew members (for the love of god, give Nami her short hair back).
4. It might allow Oda to have a short break just before entering the final arc, leaving him time to polish the storyboards, draw ahead a bit and make sure everything is just perfect for the climax of the biggest Shounen on the market. At the same time, a publication break that mirrors the timeskip is a perfect way for WSJ to start the hype machine and try to get some people who haven't gotten into OP yet to catch up ("Now is the perfect time to join in on this historic moment" PR). Maybe even have a longer break and give us a short spinoff series by another author or keep the hype up even further.
How should it happen, though? Imho after collecting all 4 road poneglyphs the Strawhats will be the #1 target of the WG since they are by far the most dangerous group in the world at that point with their access to Laugh Tale, Robin as a crewmember and Luffy being a D. There is a not so small chance that the Marines will attempt a last ditch effort to prevent Luffy from reaching the One Piece at all costs, throwing everything they have at their disposal at them - including whatever Vegapunk's new weapon is, WMDs, Pacifistas 2.0, etc. I can see a situation where they appear to succeed and we get a fakeout "death" of the crew and the Sunny, being seemingly brought down by this display of power. Obviously they aren't dead and will continue their journey, but this plot point would serve several narrative functions:
We can go into an extended setup period of maybe a few weeks or months in-universe that does not feature the Strawhats so Oda can focus on the points I lined up above. At the same time, it allows Luffy and Co. to learn everything, prepare and establish contact with their allies without Marines intercepting them as they will likely be too busy with their "grand cleansing". Same goes for Blackbeard who will likely be close to his endgoal - whatever it may be - and give our friends trouble as well. It also serves as a hype generator since in-universe people may initially believe this, but then rumours are popping up about Luffy succeeding, further heightening the stakes and establishing a tense atmosphere for Marines/WG, BB, revolutionaries, our allies and the general population ("Did we really witness the birth of a second Pirate King?!"). It would also lay the groundwork for an amazing reappearance of the SHs at a desperate moment for the Revolutionaries or other endangered parties during the great cleansing as the Marines/BB proceed with their plan, ignoring the rumours - similar to how WB appeared at Marineford with his allies to save Ace just in time (Just imagine several doublespreads of the SH Grand Fleet, the armadas of Alabasta, DR and FI as well as the Sunny with the Strawhats appearing back to back.). After that, the final arc can start in earnest, with the final reveals and flashbacks like the Laugh Tale voyage being sprinkled in at pivotal points.
Does this sound plausible or am I alone in wanting something similar to this to happen?