I don't understand this argument tbh. Even if you do think Shanks is Oda's favorite character. This is One Piece, a story about pirates. How often do Top Tiers have 1v1s? Ironically, just the giants really. Luffy has gotten help in almost every major fight since like, Punk Hazard? While Shanks did fight Mihawk 1v1, they're basically friends and drink together. Shanks has no reason to treat Loki like this, since Loki is considered a terrorist who picks on the innocent by most people. Why would Shanks decide to 1v1 him? He even says he doesn't play by the rules as a pirate