Well if you want to use the plot excuse then everything is meaningless and powerscaling discussions are irrelevant.
"its the plot"
"oda holding them back"
they think they are football players or something and not some narrative tools the author has 100% control over or this a power level simulation

If oda wants he can make all the strawhat job, make the giants arrive, get them on the boat and leave, for example
Some peoples brain might have been fried here posting the same thing over the years idk

