Oh my this is undoubtedly the smartest thing Ive read on this forum. Patience is necessary in OP. It somehow all unravels itself in a big boom. Dressrosa seemed a little slow, yeah. but in the bigger scope of things, it should redeem itself.
I don't see this as much of a problem. In Banaro Island Blackbeard considered that even his entire crew put together was no match for Ace. Now we have a guy that we have to assume grew at around the same pace as Ace, a guy who could hold his own against an admiral two years ago. Sabo should be a monster. He can stand against an admiral and hold his ground, even though he is clearly outclassed when doing so.
What I'm saying is Burgess could have been a bigger challenge, sure, but story-wise it makes sense that Sabo is on a league above him. Maybe the story is setting up Burgess for growth, and eventually this moment will have it's payoff.
What I'm seeing Oda do lately is sacrifice the present of his manga to set up a billion things without explanation. He sets up confusing and often frustrating character arcs that may pay off much much later because his manga's longevity is ensured. I think that when looking back all the character elements we detest will be reedemed. Fujitora is already paying off. Rebecca might yet redeem herself, and this arc may yet as well.
There seems to be a severe lack of patience in the forums. Whatever that means.
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I have a feeling the next arc would somehow show the fate of the shirohige crew. Really wanna know what Marco's upto now.