Yeah, Luffy is running from Kizaru after he beat Kaido, it's all clear now, admirals > Yonko.
Whitebeard ran from fodders. Retreating from 100 battleships with 30k soldiers, 9 Vice Admirals and an Admiral while wanting to help the real Vegapunk escape is the only thing that makes sense. Why would they start an all out war on Egghead.