I did read the thread, and you are taking the comment from Toei out of context. They made sure to ask permission to extend the fight in the anime. That doesn't mean that Oda helped them with it, nor approves of it to be canon.
Do you have any idea how Anime episodes like One Piece are made? Just like the manga, on a week to week basis. Do you think that with Toei on a time crunch to get the episode completed, and Oda on a time crunch to get the chapter completed, both working 6-7 days straight, that Oda had any time whatsoever to gloss over storyboards, and sit down to give his input on how the episode should be made? C'mon, bruh.....
They asked to extend the fight, and Oda said yes.... That's it. Your blowing it out of proportion.
Do you have any idea how Anime episodes like One Piece are made? Just like the manga, on a week to week basis. Do you think that with Toei on a time crunch to get the episode completed, and Oda on a time crunch to get the chapter completed, both working 6-7 days straight, that Oda had any time whatsoever to gloss over storyboards, and sit down to give his input on how the episode should be made? C'mon, bruh.....
They asked to extend the fight, and Oda said yes.... That's it. Your blowing it out of proportion.
Each episode is prepared about three months in advance, and they spend about a month and a half on the average episode.
Also, Toei also said they would seek approval on how extended scenes are as it is to COMPLIMENT/MERGE with the manga. You do not know the ins and out of their conversation. Given TOEI's statement and use of words, the animated flashback is canon and Oda is approving the content they put out so that it can COMPLIMENT/MERGE with the manga material.