WTF this even mean lmao
Oda decided to put Zoro there for several chapters, he wasn't forced to do that.
I'm not talking about pacing, but narrative.
Zoro vs Lucci lasted a lot in the "One Piece world", that's a fact. And it doesn't make sense for Zoro to have taken so long to beat Lucci if he was able to one-shot him from the start.
He took so long because he's stronger than him, but not so much stronger as his fandom want so desperately to believe. It's that simple.