^Still thinking about this, we REALLY did not need the WCI arc to move the story forward other than showing Luffy bring down a YC1 (which could have reasonably happened AND made sense in Wano). What would have been so bad about introducing the Big Mom Pirates alongside Kaido’s crew in the land of the samuari? Luffy had already picked a fight with Linlin way back in Fishman Island, so the motivation would have remained intact; Oda could have made it so that the Curly Hats escaped Pekoms and Bege without sacrificing any emotional impact of what happened between Jack and the minks, and we didn’t NEED the Vinsmokes to enter the story (as much as I love Reiju/think their redemption will play a part in the story’s climax); we now know that Kaido and Linlin were comrades in the past, so that combined with their dual reasons for wanting Luffy dead would still have made sense.
WCI felt vestigial and unnecessary for so many reasons, especially at a time when Oda’s trying to move to the end of the story...Sanji’s decisions throughout most of the arc felt counterproductive to his character as established through the entire tale beforehand, a Yonko we were supposed to find indomitable really had a poor showing (Brook, Nami, and Chopper all should have been annihilated if we’re to believe Big Mom is unbeatable), Pedro was introduced and killed off within a shorter span than anyone else in the present timeline, and the Straw Hats STILL have to deal with the BMP anyway! If he’s getting burned out, he has this arc to blame for not getting to where we’re at now any sooner.