Elbaf Loki is probably going to get powercrept heavily by the mid gen.
The issue is, we have barely seen any of the mid gen go all out. The idea that Loki is magically top 2 just makes no sense. Even if he has the potential to be top 2, he hasn’t even awakened his DF yet.
Shanks, Mihawk, Akainu, Teach, and Dragon are probably all going to be on another level from the top tiers we’ve seen so far. Plot demands it. There’s a reason Oda is saving them for last.
Luffy will surpass Loki by Elbaf’s end and Loki will probably come back stronger with awakening EoS to fulfill Rocks’s will.