The 8-chapter flashback is no exaggeration. Noland's was eight; Law's was eight, and Oden is looking to be eight. By the eighth chapter, we'll get moments from the present.
We still have to see neko and inu becoming retainers (next chapter), oden meeting whitebeard and roger, lady toki, the arrival of kaido, some fight scenes, maybe some hint about the one piece (an eventual link with wano and the kozuki clan), why the 20 years wait and why the boarders of wano were closed.