@Roo Yeah this chapter really is starting to have me convinced that Smoker may join Luffy's crew after all. We do not know Kuzan's goals, but even Blackbeard convinces him by virtue of using the crew as an advantage to assumedly achieve his justice.
When you look at Smoker, hes been jaded by the Marines/WG every time we see him. Now hes conspicuously missing and not mentioned. This is gearing him up for a big entrance somewhere (imo Egghead) before directly allying with Luffy like Kuzan is with BB.
This also just supports that matchup potential in the endgame because they are closely tied together post Marineford and PH. It may be hard to believe, but I can see Shiryu and Laffite (for example) edging the former Admiral out when it comes time to fight Luffy's crew.
In this way, powerscaling generally doesnt matter because Luffy will likely have defeated Kizaru by then, and Akainu is stronger than Aokiji (he won the fight).
Overall, excited to see what happens with him here.
Yonko vs Admiral bros. Dont at me. Power is relative and Admirals are not equal to each other, same with Yonko, same with both combined.