The portrayal of Rayleigh has improved. Initially, I thought Garp was coming for a one-on-one with Blackbeard, whom the current Rayleigh admitted he couldn't defeat. But things didn't end up that way. Garp may have heard the report that Law and Blackbeard were fighting in a different place from Blackbeard's main base, giving Garp the opportunity to attack Hachinosu Island. Garp ended up taking out some subordinates and massacring Aokiji, the equal of Akainu, while Rayleigh was fighting on equal footing with Kizaru, with Kizaru and Sentomaru validating it. Although Garp initially won his confrontation against Luzan and Rayleigh "tied" with Kizaru, we should look at the conditioning of both old men. Rayleigh had not drawn a sword for decades, while Garp had spent a maximum of two years "hibernating from combat" at best.