I will also add that so far Oda hasn't shown Imu able to overpower base Loki, even with his muscles boosted by omen he was only
matching Loki's swing.
The hits he landed were through his mobility and being able to pull any bullshit out of his weapon.
And that was the consequence of Imu being caught lacking for a moment :
Now to be clear :
Imu has the upper hand looking at the chapter as a
whole, but I doubt anyone expected base Loki to be relative to Imu to begin with so that's arguing with ghosts. I rate Loki super high yet I expected him to go hybrid immediately or be forced into it after a few pages.