I guess I kinda miss when Luffy Sanji and Zoro struggling was the cause of the tension rather than their absence. Dressrosa was probably the tensest post timeskip arc because Doflamingo was just a monster, easily dispatching Sanji and Law was a great start.
Kaido could’ve surpassed this if Oda let Kaido actually kill some scabbards (seriously why did CP0 and Kanjuro get to but not Kaido) and if Oda didn’t start the war by showing Kaido being a hype tool for oden.
Even Mickey Mouse endings like Skypeia where everyone was alive in the White Sea was okay, because while Enel was a villain he was horrifying. And even after it was confirmed Luffy was immune to Enels powers, the tension was still there cause Enel was still terrifying.
You could say that but I’m kinda used to it tbh
Even in Enies Lobby Oda held Sanji up against Kalifa, nerfed him, then finally let him fight Jabra
Can you imagine how fast the arc would’ve ended if Sanji was allowed to wreak havoc from the beginning?
Or even in Arlong Park with Luffy thrown into the water at the beginning. If Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were allowed to 3v3 Arlong, Hachi, and Kuroobi from the beginning the arc would’ve ended in 5 chapters tops.
Luffy started fighting Arlong after being freed in chapter 90 and defeated him in chapter 94. Zoro handles Hachi and fresh Sanji swift diffs land Kuroobi
Honestly now that I’m thinking about it Wano might be one of the only arcs in all of One Piece that the Strawhats couldn’t solve easily if they grouped up from the start
Which is why it sucks that it went the way it did