I firmly believe that this is how the arc will end and how Luffy will keep the WG out of Wano.
The Two Main Arguments:
Narrative progression.
The admirals appear periodically at the end/beginning of arcs to give us a gauge of the MCs progression/level relative to the world.
1. SHs encounter Aokiji mid pre-time skip -> The SHs get washed and are completely outclassed
2. SHs encounter Kizaru late pre-time skip -> The SHs still get washed, something has to be done
3. SHs encounter Fujitora early post-time skip -> The SHs can somewhat hold their own, but it's still too early and we have to evacuate
A natural next step would be
4. SHs encounter Ryokugyu mid/late post-time skip -> The SHs can hold their own fully now and can fend off a marine admiral
The state of Wano and the emphasis on the lack of Forests
A very weird amount of emphasis was placed at the beginning of the arc on how the plants/vegetation and natural resources of Wano were being depleted by Kaido's factories.
Just defeating Kaido on its own isn't enough to return Wano to Prosperity.
Assuming that Ryokugyu has a plant/wood-themed fruit (Fujitora + his purple gravity clearly take inspiration from Madara, why not Ryokugyu and Hashirama?), we could very easily see Ryokugyu getting Aokiji type feats where he creates entire forests in Wano.
The Two Main Arguments:
Narrative progression.
The admirals appear periodically at the end/beginning of arcs to give us a gauge of the MCs progression/level relative to the world.
1. SHs encounter Aokiji mid pre-time skip -> The SHs get washed and are completely outclassed
2. SHs encounter Kizaru late pre-time skip -> The SHs still get washed, something has to be done
3. SHs encounter Fujitora early post-time skip -> The SHs can somewhat hold their own, but it's still too early and we have to evacuate
A natural next step would be
4. SHs encounter Ryokugyu mid/late post-time skip -> The SHs can hold their own fully now and can fend off a marine admiral
The state of Wano and the emphasis on the lack of Forests
A very weird amount of emphasis was placed at the beginning of the arc on how the plants/vegetation and natural resources of Wano were being depleted by Kaido's factories.
Just defeating Kaido on its own isn't enough to return Wano to Prosperity.
Assuming that Ryokugyu has a plant/wood-themed fruit (Fujitora + his purple gravity clearly take inspiration from Madara, why not Ryokugyu and Hashirama?), we could very easily see Ryokugyu getting Aokiji type feats where he creates entire forests in Wano.